The greatest magi and warriors of d’Resh gathered with Korremar, preparing to make their presence known throughout the Moonlands. Nahara glanced across the mass of assembled d’Resh magi. Most were packing supplies and adjusting packs for the journey ahead, while others were making sure they had their most useful animite rings handy. Dey, however, seemed to have been prepared for the journey for some time. He stood with his massive arms folded across his chest as he watched over his prisoners, Lanyx and Chur.

"Dey, Korremar has no further need of the shadow-magi. I need you to take them where they won’t cause anyone trouble."

Dey looked at Nahara, his eyes indicating that he understood. "Do not delay the journey waiting for me. When all are prepared, leave. I shall catch up."

Nahara nodded and turned to leave as Dey approached the two shadow magi. He placed restraints on their wrists as a precaution. Their animite rings had already been taken from them upon their capture, but Dey was taking any chances. Pushed roughly along by their captor, Chur and Lanyx reluctantly started walking into the desert.

The two shadow magi were forced to march across dune after dune, each new rise identical to the one before. Finally they reached a dune that was topped by a Hyren skull, the huge mass of bone rested embedded in the sands. The skull was larger than either of the shadow magi had ever seen. It was as wide as many of the trees of Naroom and taller than most houses.

Knocking Lanyx and Chur out of their moment of awe, Dey set their course toward the skull. Reaching the base of the skull they realized how deep it was imbedded into the sands. Dey wasted no time herding the two to one of the empty eye sockets. Dey shoved the two shadow magi, while looking through the cave like hole, ito the skull. As they entered, the restraints on their wrists instantly disappeared. Without hesitation, Lanyx grabbed for then tapped a ring he had hidden in a fold of his cloak. A series of bright red sparks sputtered and floated to the ground as Dey watched with a huge grin on his face. Expecting a shadow dryte to have appeared, Lanyx stared at his ring in disbelief.

"You should save your strength. Your dark magic will not work in this place. The spirit of this great beast will not allow it." Dey said, patting the side of the skull like an old friend. Finished with his task, Dey turned and headed back the way he had come, sure that Lanyx and Chur would be unable to escape the magical prison.

Left alone, Chur approached the entrance cautiously. She was surprised to find that Dey had vanished, leaving the entrance wide-open and unguarded. Reaching out her hand, she was zapped by a charge of energy. A wall of faint blue energy encompassed the entire skull momentarily, flashing with magical power. Although they made attempt after attempt, Chur and Lanyx could find no weakness in their cage.

The land beneath Zet’s stubby feet quickly transformed from a rocky plain to dunes of sun-bleached sand as he traversed the desert of d'Resh. Tired of walking, Zet tapped a series of rings on his fingers. One by one, a number of grubbles appeared around Zet, hopping over and into one another. Pulling out a piece of animite he had found earlier in the weave, he tossed it to the group. They pounced on it like a group of balamant pups at dinnertime. As they gobbled down their treat, the grubbles began to morph together and grow. Soon, a menacing junjertrug stood before Zet in place of the grubbles, its eyes glowing with the corrupt energy of the Core. Zet clumsily climbed atop the big beast and urged it to carry him onward across the sands of d'Resh.

The heat was tremendous. Everywhere Zet looked the air was shimmering and distorting the horizon. He pulled at the collar of his cloak to try and cool off but to no avail. Trying to get his mind off of the heat, Zet began to daydream about what his kingdom would be like.

"There isn't much out here, just sand and bones. If I'm going to have a kingdom, I should at least have a castle with a throne!" Zet thought as he began to imagine a large complex castle made of the bones he had noticed scattered about the shifting sands. Suddenly, as if from a spell, the castle he had been idly daydreaming of appeared before him on the desert’s horizon.

As the junjertrug bore him onward toward the castle, Zet found he couldn't believe his eyes. "It's perfect!" Zet exclaimed in a parched voice. Then he noticed the distinct figure of Korg standing next to the castle. As Zet looked on, Korg pulled a tiny bone from the castle's base and held it up with a huge smile. Zet watched in dismay as the entire castle collapsed into a heap of bones and billowing dust. Korg remained standing there, holding his trophy and smiling toward Zet, as the dust from the collapse began to clear away.

Zet fell from his mount, face first, to the ground in disbelief. Spitting sand out of his mouth, he rubbed his eyes hoping that he was only seeing a heat-induced hallucination. When he finally opened his eyes again, Korg and with the destroyed castle were gone. "I have to keep from letting these illusions get to me. They’re just tricks of light and the heat!"

The dark junjertrug was looking down at its summoner, grinning a mocking grin. "Stop it!" Zet yelled as he tapped his grubble ring. A rift in dreamplane appeared below the dark junjertrug and it’s smile quickly changed to bewilderment as it fell in. Brushing himself off, Zet was more determined than ever to start his kingdom and forget Korg. A flash of light catching Zet’s attention gave him direction as he ventured further into the sands of d’Resh.

The heat of the setting sun beating down on his face reminded Lanyx of his days in Cald. He had once been a powerful warrior, feared by all. Now here he was, trapped in d'Resh and defeated without even a fight. Korremar’s words at the moment of his betrayal burned into Lanyx’s ears, "I expected to have to face Lanyx, not you." The words dug into his pride more and more each time they echoed through his head.

"The Core," Lanyx mumbled.

"What," asked Chur?

"The power that the Core has granted me. I have not been using it properly."

"What do you mean, I’ve seen you cast your dark flames many times."

"Yes, I have the dark power of the Core, but I expected it to suddenly make me more powerful. I have not exercised and honed that power with that of my own." Lanyx thought back to when he ran…when he ran from the Dark Twins…when he ran from Grega and the other cald magi. He came to a sudden realization and spoke his thoughts aloud. "I....I have grown…weak! I will not allow it any longer! Once I am free, I will train and sharpen my powers properly as I once did. Then the Moonlands will once again fear my power. The Dark Twins, Korremar, all of them will feel my POWER!"

"You impress me Lanyx," Chur said with renewed interest. "You may be the one that could truly lead the shadow magi after all. That is, if we are ever able to get out of this cage and find them all!"

Frustrated with his imprisonment, Lanyx began fighting the magical field. Scraping his hand across the field caused sparks to fly. FZZZPT! Lanyx was flung backward into the interior of the skull by the magical shock.

Looking at his still smoking fingertips, he moaned, "Argggh, it feels like picking up an ergar!" Lanyx squinted up at the passive Chur. "Assuming we can get out of here, how do you propose I convince the others to follow me? The shadow magi are scattered and refuse to serve anyone."

Chur looked off into the horizon. She could just barely make out the peaks of the Teeth in the distance. "Kybar’s Teeth. From what I’ve overhead the d'Resh magi say, they are going there to stop the Dark Twins.

"So, ‘why?would I want to go to where all of our enemies are gathering?"

"The magi of the Teeth follow one law over all others: the strong rule. If you are as strong as I think you have finally realized you can become, followers will be easy to gain. The other shadow magi will eventually come to us." Chur turned from looking out to the horizon. "We need to get out of here before the Dark Twins reach the mountains or it may be too late."

In the cover of night, Zet climbed the side of a large dune. Reaching the top he peered down the other side and watched four figures sitting around a small campfire. Zet softly chanted an ancient Core spell. Before him appeared a small eye shrouded in dark purple shadows. While it was a simple spell, Zet had made a few of his own personal improvements.

The eye floated down into the camp as Zet slipped behind the dune for cover. Peering through the magical eye as it floated through the camp, Zet examined the locals. They seemed to carry no infused Animite. Zet breathed a sigh of relief. With a pointy-toothed grin he stated, "Korremar wasn't lying after all. I've been looking everywhere in these cursed sands, but there is not a single magi of any power!"

He rolled down the dune, confidently grinning. "Now that I have my lands, where to place my throne?" Zet scratched between a few teeth in contemplation as he walked. Reminded of his new ring, firmly attached to his finger, he began to feel out its curves and edges as he continued to think. "I should stay away from the borders of d'Resh, wouldn’t want to attract any unwelcome visitors right away. Yessss, the skull would be an exceptional place to build my castle." Zet lifted his hand from the ring and started looking around in puzzlement. "Skull? How do I know about a skull? Perhaps it was another one of Korremar’s boring stories. Hmm, if this skull proves to be useful, he might make a good advisor in my kingdom. I shall seek out his council later."

"Zet," Lanyx said in disgust while peering out his prison door. Lanyx watched the small core magi staring at the gigantic skull they were trapped within. The shadow magi and true core magi had never seen eye to eye. Lanyx, however, had long disliked Zet’s manipulations when Agram was not around.

"What is HE doing out here?" Chur asked with a snarl on her face.

Lanyx regained his composure, noticing that Chur's distaste of Zet equaled his own. "Relax, I'll handle him."

After a long pause, Zet finally descended from his vantage point and approached the edge of the skull. Reaching the huge empty eye sockets, he looked the entire skull over as if he had seen it before but wasn't quite sure from where. Zet stopped fiddling with his dark ring, a habit he had caught himself doing often recently. Lanyx came into his view and stood as if waiting for Zet to challenge him. Zet’s shifty gaze took in the shadow magi then into the back of the skull, his eyes meeting those of Chur's.

"Are you two ready to cause some real disarray?" Zet said with his trademark grin firmly on his face. "Swear loyalty to me and I'll let you two out. Then my kingdom will rise to cause chaos throughout the Moonlands."

Lanyx nodded to Chur and they both reluctantly agreed. Zet reached out to the magical barrier and placed one hand on it, while chanting an incantation. Lanyx wasn't sure, but he could have sworn the desert skies darkened slightly as Zet cast his magic. Black bolts of energy spread across the barrier and crackles of magic echoed within the skull. Suddenly, with the barrier disappeared. Lanyx and Chur quickly left the skull and immediately felt their magical energy return to them.

Watching his ring twinkle with renewed life, Lanyx felt an inner strength return to him. He watched Zet, who was looking curiously at some dark ring he wore and appeared to be in a trance or daydreaming. Anger started to rise in Lanyx as the thought of the much smaller magi as his leader and master. Zet's daydream was quickly interrupted as he found himself lifted into the air. Lanyx stood their holding Zet up with one hand by the neck as Chur watched in admiration.

"Listen you little runt! No one rules Lanyx. Not Agram, not the Dark Twins and certainly not YOU!"

Gasping for air, his stubby legs kicking the empty air beneath him, Zet summoned a pack of grubbles. They quickly jumped together and began forming a much larger creature to protect their master. Scowling at Zet's defiance, Lanyx pointed his free hand at the forming creature. Black flames swelled around the shadow magi’s hand. Releasing the energy, it shot through the creature and grubbles flew in every direction, leaving only a blackened crater beneath Zet’s feet. The grubbles, not wanting to get blasted again, retreated and disappeared into the dream realm. Zet glanced at his new ring and wondered what would happen as he reached for it. Before Zet could activate the ring, Lanyx threw him into the skull's entrance and the magical field once again appeared. The crackle of energy and yells of anger echoed in the skull as Zet attempted to unleash his full fury of spells and dream creatures at the cald shadow magi. Without a backward glance for their erstwhile rescuer, Lanyx and Chur turned and headed toward the grand mountain peaks rising far to the east.

Zet, finding himself trapped in the hyren's skull, had nothing to do but contemplate what, when and where had the shadow magi become so powerful. "Could it be because Agram had been defeated?" Zet’s thoughts were eventually interrupted as he fell unconscious from the heat of the sun, still dreaming about his future castle.

When Zet awoke the first thing he saw through blurry eyes was a small sandcastle next to his head. Looking up he noticed a figure in the sunset looming over him casting a shadow over Zet. Zet immediately recognized the unmistakable silhouette. This time he was pretty sure it was not a hallucination. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"