When Zacre cut my arm during our battle I felt an immediate freezing there like my arm was suddenly plunged into icy waters, it quickly spread throughout my body, quickly followed by an immense burning in the wound only. Pressing the battle to him, suddenly I had the upper hand, I thrust my sword into the brown scales that covered his body and pushed him away towards the dark chasm. On his way down his pink forked tongue lashed out, grabbed the throng of leather around my neck that held my All-Stone. His momentum carried him down into the enfolding empty darkness.

My All-Stone was lost! I grabbed the nearest teleporter, shaking his body so hard that his armor clinked loudly, “Teleport me down there! I must find my All-Stone, it hasn’t spoken to me yet!” Terrified he replied, “Commander, with all due respect my All-Stone will only let me teleport to places that I have seen or are visible. In the darkness we could transport into a outcropping of rock and be crushed!” Shaking him harder I commanded him, “Teleport me down there now or be stripped of your rank!” The smell of ozone and burnt metal attacked my nostrils, it felt like a fish hook was stuck through my torso pulling me into abyss below as we transported down. I was shaking the teleporter furiously each time we disappeared and reappeared lower into the dark depths. Countless times we reappeared on a ledge, still shaking him, causing him to bash his skull into the rock, he collapsed and I fell and tumbled further to where the darkness enveloped me.

I could hear a voice that sounded strangely similar to my own, calling my name. I knew it was my All-Stone, “Pythos, all is not lost. Seek me and find me here in the dark. We will do great things together.” The darkness of unconsciousness enveloped me again.

Again I was aware of the echoing in my head telling me to come find it there in the dark. I was aware of a movement rocking me, coldness still embraced my whole body except the wound, but I also felt manacles encircled on my limbs. I opened my eyes a squint and saw bright light. As I got used to the brightness I saw there were other prisoners in the caravan’s cages, all of them were of the army that we had fought in war for so long. The war that I had ended by agreeing to fight Zacre alone and winning. But it was meaningless without my All-Stone.

I heard someone shout, “Go get Glace , I think he’s waking up.” Several minutes passed with my body continued rocking by the cages movement. Suddenly my oldest friend Glacier appeared, “You have been unconscious for days, prisoner. We were beginning to doubt you would wake up. Your fever had not receded, how do you feel?” I croaked a reply, “Kill me. I lost my All-Stone, even throughout all my winnings and accomplishments of war against the pangolins it means nothing with out my All-Stone. It hadn’t even spoken to me except...” and I heard it call to me again telling me to come find it in the dark. Glace, my best and oldest friend spat, “I would kill you but it is not up to me. When we get to the Dox Citadel, the Queen will decide your punishment. She told you not to go against Zacre alone, but to fight against him with our whole army. But I was told to give you this as soon as you awoke. It is from the Princess, your betrothed.” He handed me a parchment. I untied it, written on it in the Princess’s own blood and magicked so it would not dry was an accusatory word. It read: TRAITOR! I croaked, “Leave me alone.” Closed my eyes and slept once more.

I woke suddenly to the sound of filing. A prisoner had broken off one of his scales and was using it to help me escape. We broke out and made our way out of the camp that I spent so much time as commander. Now I snuck away an outcast.

We made our way back into the lower levels of the abyss. We found the decaying mass that was Zacre, in a pool nearby there was my darkened All-Stone. When I looked into the mirrored pool I saw not my reflection, but Zacre’s.