The black gates of Cy Mountain opened like jaws of a large creature, red light and faint smoke spewing out. Horses galloped with dark knights and cyborg skeletons riding hard into the dark. Mordekai stood watch as his forces rode out in haste. He gave a simple order; raid and pillage. He knew they will not win but he wished to not only test the strength of Dagon before he executed his next stage, but also wear them down. With a bit of magic and potion, Mordekai placed something within the cyborg skeletons that may do the trick. He gave a small chuckle. "Enjoy the gift I bring to you, Atreus," he said.

At the twilight of night, people have gathered together, with food, for the great feast. Atreus stepped out of the castle, dressed in his armor in case of an attack, and walked down the steps. His Captain of the Guard, Qara, approached him and gave a bow. "I have guards assigned to the wall. We shouldn't be disturbed," he announced. Atreus gave a nod. "Let's hope not." On the front wall, two of the Dagon guardsmen, Teras the veteran and Jaden the rookie, took notice of a dark blue fog rolling in across the field. "Hmph," Teras grunted disappointedly, "a bad omen." Jaden shook his head. "Every time the fog rolls in, you always say it's a bad omen."  

"Let me tell you," Teras began, "whenever the fog approaches, something always happens; an ambush, an accident, someone getting lost." Jaden laughed. "The only accident that happened so far was when that poor lady's cargo horse panicked and ran through the streets, tearing down markets, all because someone dropped a jar. It doesn't take much to scare a cargo horse." 

"And there was fog just like this one on that day," said Teras. "A coincidence," Jaden said as he shrugged his shoulders, "there was no fog when we were hit with that garnrat infestation." "There was one that morning," Teras argued. Jaden scoffed, "No, there wasn't. I was on the wall that day receiving training. It was a clear, glorious morning. You were in your bunk sleeping in that morning because you got into a drinking contest with Sanora and lost."

"I did no such thing!" Teras scolded, his face reddened with embarassment. "Oh, come on, everyone was talking about it. The both of you drank up to twelve mugs of Trivan Mead and you made it to nine and a half while Sanora drank 10 before you both crashed." Teras's face grew redder. He quickly waved off Jaden, "Oh, go walk the wall." Jaden let out a snicker, knowing how embarrased Teras was about that contest, as he began his patrol.

After the tables and food were set, with some put aside for the guards later on, people took to their seats. They looked to Atreus as he raised his glass. "May this night be blessed for you, People of Dagon," he said. "Hail, King Atreus! May you reign forever!" The people said as they raised their glasses. They drank from their glasses before they began feasting. Atreus scanned the area with his eyes, noticing that Elara was nowhere to be seen. Have she forgotten, he wondered. Or did she change her mind? He didn't know. But then, he heard something behind him and he turned to see Elara. 

Wearing a green tunic, flowing gently, and a small golden headpiece with a glowing cat's eye, she decended down the steps. Her appearance stunned Atreus. Seeing his expression satisfied her. She came to the table and sat next to him. "You like my outfit?" she asked gingerly. "I've... never seen you wear that before," he answered, hesitantly. She let out a small giggle. "It was my mother's. She wore it when she met my father. I just felt like tonight was the perfect time for me to wear it."

"Well, you look beautiful," Atreus said. Elara blushed but said nothing more. Before either of them could say anything, the lights around them dimmed, diverting their attention as well as the rest of the people away from conversation, confused. Then, out of nowhere came a series of flying balls of light, followed by rhythmic drums and flutes. Women, both human and elf dressed in flowing outfits with ribbons and additional balls of light, came darting out of corners and began to dance.

The people seemed to enjoy this festivity as smiles formed on their faces and some even let out a series of "Wow" and other expressions. The women twirled, leapt, and swing their bodies ever so smoothly and fluent as the drums began to pick up the pace. Atreus marveled at the sight and enjoyed the music. People began to rise up from their seats and begin to move to the music. Some linked arms and danced, some just danced alone. Truly, this merriment excited Atreus as he continued to watch. Feeling moved by the rhythm, Elara rose from her seat and began to dance as well. Atreus was the only one who remained in his seat the entire time.

He watched as Elara spun, leapt, and twirled, her tunic floating with grace. She noticed that her king was by himself so she danced her way to him. She took him by the hands and pulled him from the seat. At first, Atreus didn't want to but after a couple of tugs, he gave in and stood. He unhooked his sword and sheath and set it on the table before he joined the fray with Elara. They danced among the crowd, laughing as they enjoyed themselves. 

Outside the walls of Dagon, in the dark blue forest, Mordekai's men arrived but they came to a stop before they drew any closer. The lead horseman took at look at the entrance. Only two guards were at the top of the gate, one standing watch while the other was pacing by. They waited for the perfect moment to begin their ambush.

The people laughed as they continued to dance, some of them grabbing both Atreus and Elara to dance for even a brief moment before letting them go. However, each time Atreus and Elara try to approach each other, they're always grabbed by another civilian and danced with them for a brief moment. Neither one grew frustrated, for this frequent distraction pushed them further for each other. Finally, the two made it to one another. 

They danced, linked arms, and at times they leapt. At one point, Atreus lifted Elara to the air and spun around. Most of Dagon believed the two would make the perfect couple but none dared to say a word, for it is the two who must make that decision on their own. When Atreus lowered Elara to the ground, the two stopped dancing and stared into each other's eyes, their hands still connected. There was a spark in their eyes and they can see it. They began to slowly move their heads to each other...

Suddenly, a red laser arrow was let loose and the single guard at the gate took a hit to the breast plate, sparks and blue liquid shooting out as the guard fell. More laser arrows flew into appearance as one of the other guards screamed "AMBUSH!" As soon as the bell sounded, the festivities stopped and people already began to scream, stopping Atreus and Elara before they could kiss. They immediately push away as Atreus went for his sword while Elara caught her bow a fellow Dagon knight tossed to her with a bundle of arrows. "Get inside and barricade the doors!" Atreus commanded the civilians. Elara ran for the gate as knights unsheathed their swords, prepariing for battle.

Mordekai's troops charged forth on horseback as several of them fired their neon crossbows as the wall guards. The Dagon guards shot back and two horsemen fell. As both sides exchanged shots of laser bolts, another volley of laser arrows fired from the fog and several Dagon guards fell. Then out of nowhere, a large boulder, glowing red on the exterir but solid black in the center, launched from the fog and exploded the moment it struck the gates. When the gates fell open, the horsemen charged in. One Dagon guard fired another bolt at the invasive troops and killed one. A skeletal cyborg fired back and the Dagon guard, upon getting shot, staggered backwards until his back hit the wall and he slumped down lifeless.

The Dagon knights charged in an effort to protect the civilians while preventing Mordekai's troops from advancing. Elara fired off a single laser arrow and dropped the leading dark knight. Without hesitation, she quickly drew another and fired once more, dropping another one again. In the midst of battle, Atreus took one swing of his sword and knocked a skeletal cyborg off its horse and beheaded it as it rose to stab the king himself. Red and black liquid oozed out of the headless corpse then slowly began to sizzle, a sign of Mordekai's special surprise beginning to reveal itself.

Several dark knights fell during battle while some barreled through on their horses, attacking the civilians. One unfortunate civilian took a laser bolt to the back as one dark knight galloped by, only to be shot swiftly by Elara who desperately tried to help fend off the attackers. Some of the skeletal cyborgs climbed off their horses before advancing into the fight, firing their crossbows once before unsheathing their swords. As they clashed with the Dagon knights, their swords crackled purple electricity as they struck the Dagon blades. 

Each of the skeletal cyborg fallen began leaking out red and black liquid from their fatal wounds, which too began to sizzle. A few dark knights fought their way upstairs onto the wall, only to be shot with laser bolts from Teras and Jaden. Teras threw his crossbow at another dark knight before leaping down onto the others, tackling them. "TERAS!" Jaden yelled before unsheathing his sword and rushed down to help his comrade. He slew three of the dark knights with a quick swing of his sword, denying them a chance to ready themselves. He soon found himself face to face with a larger dark knight, wielding a war hammer with glowing neon orange lines. The War Knight, as he's learned of back in the academy, uttered a low growl before kicking Jaden squarely in the chest, sending him flying to his back. The War Knight began to advance his way to Jaden, only to be blocked off briefly by a Dagon guard. With a swing of his hammer, the War Knight struck down the Dagon guard before finishing him off with a single strike to the head. With blue liquid splattered on his spiked armor, his war hammer, and helmet, the knight faced Jaden and continued forth. 

Fighting off the knights, Teras took a glance and saw Jaden's foe. With quick thinking, he took out a small glowing, star-shaped knife and threw it. As luck had it, the knife found its way through the War Knight's armor. Golden electricity emitted from the knife and the War Knight dropped his hammer as he violently shook before dropping lifeless. Teras rushed over and helped Jaden to his feet. "Thank me later, boy," he said, "right now we got a job to do." They charged into the dark knights. 

As the battle raged, a trumpet sounded in the distance, prompting the dark knights to cease fighting and depart. The skeletal cyborgs were all slain. The Dagon defenders cheered but Atreus remained stern, for he sensed something was off about this. He turned to see Elara helping the wounded civilians. He was relieved to see she was okay. Just as he began to walk over, he immediately froze. The red and dark liquid emitted from the corpses of the skeletal cyborgs evaporated into a large glowing sentient cloud. It took humanoid form and bellowed, alerting everyone, including Elara. Immediately, laser arrows and bolts were let loose but they passed through the creature harmlessly. The creature turned its focus to Elara, who stood between it and the civilians defiantely.

Without thinking, Atreus rushed forth as the creature advanced to Elara. He pushed Elara out of harm's way as the creature rose its arm and brought it down, only to strike Atreus's sword. Blinding light flashed out, forcing many to shield their eyes. Then just as the light appeared, it vanished... along with the creature and Atreus.