The Knights of Evermore

At the base of the mountain, Lauren and Askari trotted a few steps into the forest. "I guess this is it. Now or never."

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The trio made their way through the forest. As they got farther in, they noticed synthetic things slowly appearing throughout the forest. A cloak hung from a branch, a shovel sticking out of the ground, and an assortment of other items. Several tree stumps littered the ground. Blankets and tarps hung over free-standing logs to form tents. Men were walking around, performing various tasks.

Lauren rides forward towards a young man around her age who was chopping trees. He stops and looks up at her. "Who are you? How did you get here?" He seemed almost fearful of her and her friends.

"I'm Lauren. We got here by the path in the mountain." At that statement, the boy's eyes widened and he dropped his ax and ran over to an older man. He said something to him which brought a surprise to the man who walked over to Lauren with the boy trailing behind.

"Describe your so-called 'path'. No one should be able to find us, much less with a path."

"Well, I took out my sword, and when the sunlight reflected off it, a silver path up the mountain."

The man nodded. "Let me see your sword." Lauren unsheathed her sword and held it up for the man to see.

"Look," The boy said. "It's the Starstone!" The man nodded.

"She is the Moonstar," Amias said as he urged his horse forward so he was next to Lauren.

The man nodded. "I believe introductions are in order. I am Kalzin and this is William," he said, gesturing to the boy.

"I am Amias, Fallon's son," Amias said.

"Of course," Kalzin said. "How could we not have recognized you?"

"I am Odi, former captain of the Nites," Kalzin and William looked a little uncertain until Lauren confirmed his allegiance to her.

"And this is Askari," Lauren finished, patting the black horse's mane.

Kalzin nodded. "I see you have met my daughter."

"Your daughter?" Lauren questioned.

"Sasha. She is the one who gave you the Starstone."

All of a sudden, Lauren remembered the nurse who had talked to her back on Earth. She had given Lauren the Starstone and told her that her father was a member of the Knights of Evermore. It all made sense now.

Kalzin turned to William. "Introduce the Moonstar to the others while I take care of some preparations." William nodded and gestured for Lauren to follow him. They went deeper into the forest and deeper in the camp.

"Everyone here has their own element that they can relate to and manipulate. Kalzin is Fire, the young woman over there is called Maline and her element is Water. Upon hearing her name, Maline looked up from what she was doing and smiled at Lauren as she pushed her blonde hair out of her face. "The woman walking towards her with the black hair is Elina. She is Kalzin's daughter and Sasha's sister. Her element is Air." William turned around. The man talking to my father is Hadrian, his element is Earth. There is one more element. Shadow. That element belongs to Icas Thornton when he was a member of the Knights of Evermore."

Lauren nodded, trying to take it all in and not forget anyone's name or element. "Do you have an element, William?"

William looked at her and nodded. "You can just call me Will if you want. My element is Sun and your's is Moon. I'll take you to get introduced."

"Wait," Lauren interrupted. "Is the Obsidian Lake real?"

Will nodded. "It is only about a half of a mile that way," he said as he pointed past her. "Why?"

"Well, Amias wants to try to reach the bottom. It's a personal thing."

Will nodded. "Well, I suppose he can. I never heard of any rules saying that he can't," he said with a smile.

Maline, Elina, and Hadrian walked up to Lauren. "It is such a pleasure to meet you," Maline said with a smile. Lauren nodded and smiled, still not sure how to respond to all the respect that she was getting.

"Is it true that you come from another world?" Hadrian asked.

"Yes," Lauren responded with another nod.

Elina looked Lauren up and down. "Is that what you wear in your world?"

Lauren looked down at herself in her costume. "No, I have this on because," she had to find a way to explain filming movies to medieval people in another world. She decided against it. "Because me and my friend, who is dying, were playing pretend. I am here to find a cure for him."

Elina nodded. "Well, I am sorry to hear about your friend but I still would like to know what kind of Moonstar we have here to 'save us.'" She looked over at Askari who was watching Lauren from a distance. "So that is the legendary horse from the prophecy. I wonder if he is as fast as all of the legends say. How about you race William? He has the fastest horse here. If you are the Moonstar then you should easily win."

Lauren stuttered for a moment. Win a race? She had no doubt that Askari was fast, but was he fast enough to beat Will's horse? But she was the Moonstar. She had to prove that she was worthy. If not to them, then to herself.

"Very well, I accept."