...Rubicant lies dead, a victim of Lord Garland's Draconian hit men. His death was not an empty one, for he has
granted Kain the powers of a fire elemental. Aided by his new powers and a new companion; the mysterious elf
Elistriel, Kain sets out to find the orb. This ancient artifact hold the key to the Worldgate, and Kain cannot allow it to
fall into the wrong hands...

Dragoon Kain
Part 6


The Tower of Zot, once glowing and magnificent, stood as a testament of the power of Zemus. But with his defeat, the tower
had fallen, it's metal body cleaving a swath of destruction through the countryside. It's two mile length lay shattered across the
grassy plains, over cliffs of the StoneCoast, and into the churning ocean. Only the first six floors stood undamaged, but it had
become a haven for birds and other feral wildlife. The once beautiful (and terrible) tower was now a monument to decay.

Nekis eyed the strange old man curiously. "Are you sure this is the place?" the caravan driver asked. This place worried him.
The wind tore across the plains loudly, ripping leaves from their parent trees. Deep onyx clouds bore down on the green
valley, blowing in from the ocean.

The ancient wizard looked at the remnants of the tower and grinned. His wrinkled, crow-like face twisted as though
unaccustomed to smiling. "Yes." he hissed, his gnarled hands stroking the glittering orb. "Thank you for your services. Just
unload my equipment here, and my people will deliver it inside."

Nekis looked around. The only people here were his caravan men. The wizard had been their sole passenger (except of
course, for their missing guardsman). The wizard chuckled at the man's dumbfound expression. He then extended his hand out,
pointing to the gravestones that were laid out, oddly enough, in the middle of nowhere. He whispered a word of magic.

"They have been waiting for me." Akel droned as he watched the gravesites. Slowly, a bony hand tore through the dirt. The
bones were nearly brown from the decay, having never been bleached white in the sun. Twelve skeletal knights wrenched
themselves from their graves. Nekis stumbled backwards, his screams of terror choked in his throat. "Well, I can't have you
telling people where I am, now can I?" Akel crowed. "Kill them. Leave no survivors." The black-robed mage craned his head
around, and watched as his skeletal troops tore the caravan team to shreds. Their screams of terror filled the sky. Soon they
were joined by wicked laughter. Akel hadn't had this much fun since the siege of Fabul all those years ago.

The wizard opened his spellbook and prepared a spell. It was a special enchantment he had devised himself which allowed him
to control the dead. "Wikash ne olemtas neroska." Softly, he chanted the words as he rubbed a fingerbone and a oak stick
together.


Kain squinted his eyes, trying to sort out the alien colors. He was not accustomed to night-vision. In fact, he was still having
trouble controlling even the simplest of his powers. He had nearly melted his cherished dragon-armor in an earlier attempt to
warm himself. Ever since he donned the amulet, he had suffered from a deep chill. Several times he tried to remove it, but each
time it seemed to catch. "It won't come off until you are dying, or a better host comes along. " Elistriel chimed, almost laughing
at Kain's antics.

"How do you know so much, lady? And what did Rubicant mean when he said 'Tell him the truth'?" Kain snapped. He was
finally starting to warm up at least. Elistriel let out a deep sigh and bowed her head.

"I suppose now that you are one of us, you deserve to know." the elf spoke cryptically.

"What ARE you talking about? I'm no Elf, I'm an elemental..."Kain's voice trailed off, realizing the truth for himself. "You are
no elf either?" Kain eyed the girl suspiciously. "Are you?"

"No." she answered at length. The wind was picking up. the ghostlike breeze caught the elf-maiden's hair and tossed it. Kain
began to stutter. "Yes, I am Valvalis, Kain."

"But...but why the ruse? Why didn't you just tell us before?" Kain asked.

"I am Valvalis. Do you know how many knights want my head? I had to hide my true form until I could be sure..."

"Be sure of what?" Kain prodded.

"...that you wouldn't kill me." Valvalis whispered, bowing her head low.

"Kill you? Why would I do that? You helped us back there. Hell, I owe you my life. " Kain replied, surprised. Valvalis
blushed. She didn't seem like the brutal Warrior of Wind he knew from the days when he was under Golbez's control. She
seemed almost human, fragile.

"A lot has happened since we last met." She smiled at the dragoon. "It is I who owe you MY life."

"What do you mean?" Kain wondered. He slid closer to her, slightly, but enough for her to notice. Her face was hidden in her
golden hair.

"Before you joined us, I was a..." Valvalis paused for a moment, contemplating the consequences of her words. "I was a
coward." Kain jerked back in surprise. Never had he seen the woman shy away from any battle. "Not in the normal sense of
the word. I was scared of myself, my mortality. My humanity. I saw the weaknesses of 'normal' humans and I was afraid I
would become like them one day. I had no emotion, no soul. I was afraid to look at my true self. The girl inside this warrior
body." Valvalis shuddered slightly and went on. "But then you came. You weren't like other humans. You were strong, brave.
You had a passion that I had never seen before. When Golbez tried to take your mind, you held strong. Only when you
dropped from exhaustion did you yield. But even then, ever so slightly you still had control. I admired that. I respected that.
When you betrayed us, it was like a sword being struck in my heart. I felt so alone then. So weak. It was then that I realized
that I was in love with you."

Kain's head jerked up in surprise again. He tried to speak, but his voice eluded him. Valvalis looked into his eyes and
continued. "Golbez captured my mind. He twisted my emotions so that I would hate you. After you defeated me a second
time, Golbez cast us away. Only Rubicant and myself survived, but he bore a deep resentment towards me. In his eyes, I had
allowed my emotion to cloud my judgment. My love for you was so deep that I couldn't bear to destroy you.

"After the downfall of Zeromus, I wandered the world as an Elf, watching you. Following you. But I could not bring myself to
face you. I was afraid...I was scared you would reject me." Valvalis shuddered again. Kain noticed the tears running down her
face.

"You are braver than you think." Kain spoke softly, brushing the hair from her face. "That took a lot of courage. To say those
things" Valvalis smiled slightly. Kain rested his hand on her cheek. "I guess this makes us partners, huh?" Kain said as he
moved his face closer. He pressed his lips against hers.

The wind rippled through the trees, but neither of them noticed.