3 : Chapter One A screech could be heard throughout the kingdom , coming straight from the castle itself . No one will have known what caused it though , because the regular people in the Brightvale never knew what went on in the castle . Not even the low guards did . The screech belonged to a young royal draik named Evoi . He would soon be the king , for his dad , King Everoi , was very ill . Right now he was in training to become a fierce knight , a leader of battle , but his clumsiness had cost him his ability to walk for a brief moment . He had dropped the heavy training sword that his personal trainer had handed him on his foot ! He hopped around on his left foot , favoring his crippled one , a few times before he fell sideways with a thump . Darvien shook his head in disapproval . He expected , being the mighty king 's son , that Evoi too would at least be able to hold a sword . Most people would have been surprised too , because knowing the king 's reputation as a great war leader led them to expect his son was born with a toy sword in hand , the reins of a kougra cub in the other . Kougras were the steeds used in Brightvale , and in fact Evoi was born with one at his side . Arridi , he had named him , and he was the best friend Evoi had . Arridi would agree too , having no friends other than the steed of Evoi 's sister , Evalyn . Evoi limped out of the castle 's practice grounds , having been dismissed by his teacher after another disappointing practice . 1 4 : The first two practices , he had wielded a much lighter sword , and after taking a few swings , assured his teacher that he was ready to move on to a heavier one . If you had seen the first two practices too , you would disagree , but Darvien believed that , by showing Evoi that he in fact , wasn 't ready to move on , he would have taught Evoi a good lesson . 2 5 : Chapter Two Evoi opened the door to his massive room and was welcomed by a wet swipe across his face . Arridi . In Brightvale it wasn 't strange to keep your steed with you in your own home or room . They believed it was good to grow a tight bond between Neopet and mount . Of course even if Evoi and Arridi were apart , it wouldn 't lessen their close friendship at all . Evoi would probably visit him everyday spending hours either riding him or talking to him . " Hi Arridi , " Evoi said , smiling for the first time that day . His practices were treating him bad and he hadn 't been getting as much sleep , always dreading the next day . Of course , Arridi couldn 't talk , and could understand few greetings and commands , so he just looked up at Evoi . He sensed something to be wrong so he nudged Evoi 's leg with his cold wet nose . Evoi grinned . Arridi never failed to cheer him up a bit . He led the way over to his bed where he lay down not bothering to change out of his soiled practice clothes . " What will I do Arridi ? I can 't be king ! Let alone a war leader . " Arridi curled up next to Evoi , and laid his chin on Evoi 's pillow as though to comfort him . " Daddy can 't die . He just can 't ! What will Evalyn and I do without any parents ? How can we rule a kingdom on our own ? Daddy is always making the wise decisions that I could never make . " Evoi went on , turning to face Arridi . Arridi just watched with those loyal eyes and that was enough 3 6 : to make Evoi feel he wasn 't alone , to know that someone would always be there to listen to what he had to say . He scratched Arridi absent - mindedly . The kougra seemed to be enjoying it . Finally , a maid knocked three times on the door , meaning that it was almost dinner time . Evoi hurried up and took off his practice clothes , pulling on some clean dinner clothes . " Well I guess I 'll see you after dinner . I 'll bring you back a souvenir . " He said grinning again and patting Arridi one more time before heading down to the dining room . The maids brought Arridi food three times a day , so he was well fed , but Evoi would always bring back a little something anyway . 4 7 : Chapter Three When Evoi entered the dining room , he spotted his dad sitting at one end of the table looking sicker than ever . Evoi frowned and looked away trying not to let him see the usual tears flood his eyes . He looked down the table to see who was going to join them for dinner that day . It changed just about everyday . Sometimes it was Darvien , a few high ranked knights , and King Everoi 's top general , Stelpe . Stelpe was an old friend of King Everoi , and was usually one of the people who joined them , but the situation determined the guests . If there was an illness being spread around the stables , which rarely happened , it would be the top stable keeper , to update Everoi on what was going on . By doing this , Everoi would have more time for other business when it wasn 't dinnertime . However , these days King Everoi took care of things sitting in bed more . Today , it was the usual group Darvien , Stelpe , and Gorob , another trainer . Evoi assumed they were here to talk about his progress in training , so he kept his eyes glued to the ground as he walked to take his seat , one of the two nearest to his dad . The other seat that was closest to his father belonged to Evalyn , who was looking at Evoi somewhat puzzled by his behavior . He usually took his seat and dug right into his food . Evalyn imagined that 's how all boys his age were . Today Evoi had no apetite . The only time he looked up from his plate which was emptying a lot slower than usual , was when his eyes strayed to his mother 's 5 8 : chair which had been empty every dinner for as long as he could remember . She had died from the same illness as King Everoi had . Evalyn , figuring there wasn 't much she could do for Evoi , started on her own plate , adding a helping of vegetables . He had looked at that chair everyday as if expecting his mother to be sitting there with that encouraging smile of hers directed at him . Of course , he had only seen that smile in pictures , but he felt as though he knew the mother he couldn 't remember just because of the many pictures of her he had been shown . From the stories he had heard from the maids ever since he was a little Draik , she was best known for her kindness , generosity , and beauty . Queen ever to rule Brightvale . Seeing the usual empty chair , Evoi looked back to his food and continued eating , slipping a few chunks of potato into the pocket of his pants once he was sure no one was looking . King Everoi was first to finally break the silence . " You wanted to speak to me ? " He said in the frail tone that had overcome him these days . Evoi always felt pain rush into him at the sound of this voice , foreseeing the day that his father was buried next to all of the other Kings and Queens of Brightvale . He couldn 't bear to look or listen to his father at all . He preferred to pretend that his dad looked like the same old happy king that everyone in Brightvale loved . The voice of Darvien broke through Evoi 's thoughts , and he knew what was coming . " I 'm afraid Shenkuu has declared war on us , sir . " A clattering of spoons hitting the stone floor echoed around the dining hall . Evoi looked up with a puzzled expression . This was far worst than what he had expected Darvien would say . 6 9 : Chapter Four Darvien paused for a few seconds , allowing it to soak in . " They are on their way , which of course , could take several months , for they are taking their whole army across the sea , and it will take some time for all of them to arrive and organize themselves . I do not wish to have to bother you but , of course , this is very vital . " King Everoi let out a long breath of air . Evoi continued to look startled . He had expecting so much for Darvien to tell King Everoi of his disappointing practice sessions . But war ? Evoi could hardly remember the last war in which his father was strong and healthy enough to fight in . They had successfully won that one that was against Shenkuu , the land that had often declared war on Brightvale . This time , Shenkuu was bound to have made a strong recovery and add to their army . Brightvale on the other hand had been caught totally off guard . King Everoi had not been ordering training to continue anymore , other than for his son , for he expected the Shenkuu would have never declare war on them again , and all the other lands didn 't bother with the trouble of crossing the sea to go to war . Most of his previous warriors had retired to peaceful lives , losing almost all of their skill . They just didn 't have the time to build up another army . The King looked very sad at this news , and asked , " What is it this time Darvien ? " He reached for a chicken leg , more for doing something than intending to eat it . 7 10 : Darvien hesitated . Then he started , " This time , they don 't want the money and they don 't want slaves , they want the land . " Evoi didn 't think a draik could look sadder than his father did right now , but the frown grew and you would think he was about to cry , but King Everoi cried only once , and that was when his wife died . Now , it was his beloved land 's safety he feared for . " How can this be ? They 've left us alone for so long . And now ! Now of all times . " King Everoi gently laid his fork down . " Yes sir , I agree , but what to tell the people ? What to do for an army ? I was hoping you could answer these questions so maybe we could start preparing . The earlier the better , " Darvien said . He hadn 't wanted to bring this news to the King anymore than other people . He , like so many people of the land respected the King , who was not harsh or cruel . He was gentle , and ruled Brightvale well . " Yes , yes , " King Everoi replied , understanding that Darvien only meant good . " Come to my room after dinner and we shall discuss this . " And so the rest of the dinner was a silent one , the only sound being the occasional scraping of a fork or spoon . Everyone ate hurriedly sensing the rush in the air . 8 11 : Chapter Five Once dinner was over , Evoi took the steps back to his room two at a time . He pushed open the door and shut it quickly behind him . Arridi ran to his master looking up expectantly . He was used to Evoi bringing him food from dinner just about everyday by now . Evoi pulled out the food he had tucked in his pocket at the table , and laid it gently in front of Arridi , who leaped forward happily and began munching down the snack immediately . He was too absorbed in his treat to notice the quiet , sad atmosphere about Evoi as he lie down on his bed to think . This was no time for a war . King Everoi couldn 't lose his city to those Shenkuu , nor could he fight for his land . With his loss of strength , Evoi would be surprised to see his father holding a sword or shield . How would he command the army in such condition ? Evoi , wondering what his father could possibly have in mind , had an idea . He remembered those last words spoken at dinner . " Come to my room after dinner and we shall discuss this . " That was it . Evoi would go to his father 's room and listen ! He had to know what his father had in mind . He just had to . By the time Arridi looked up from the remains of potato , Evoi had already gone . A bit confused , Arridi turned back to his meal , and once finished , bounded to the door where he lay in wait for his master to return . Meanwhile , Evoi crept up a few flights of stairs 9 12 : the second to the top level , where his father 's rooms were . He tiptoed passed a couple till he reached the door to his fathers meeting room . He put his ear to the door , but heard nothing , so he tiptoed to the next trying not to make one little sound . A few voices could be heard from this one , his father 's main room , so he pushed his ear to this door . " - choice we have is to give up our land so no one will get hurt , dear King . We don 't have the time to build up a decent army ! I 've sent a spy to see their numbers , but I fear I know what the answer will be . " That voice belonged to Darvien , Evoi thought . " I should 've never let our defenses down . Dear me , I think you 're right . We will have to give up our land But first , let 's hear what Scrart has to say . I called him here , so he should soon arrive . " Evoi recognized that as his father 's voice . Scrart ? Who was that ? Evoi had never heard the name before . " Scrart ? He 's still around ? But sir , what could he possibly do . He must be old and lost his skill by now , " said Darvien . " Scrart losing his skill ? Now dear Darvien , what could possibly make you think like that . Scrart will surely die with his bow in one hand , an arrow in the other . He would never give up his skill that easily . Besides , he is an old and trusted friend . Not to mention a great advisor . He might just hold the answer to what we must do in this battle . " And as the King said this , Evoi 's head turned around abruptly . Standing behind him was a hooded figure . A Hissi to be exact . Evoi was astonished ! He had always had a great sense of hearing , but he hadn 't heard that Hissi as it crept up behind him . 10 13 : Chapter Six The Hissi moved forward and Evoi had a better look at his face . Evoi looked him straight in the eye and sensed a high superiority . In fact , this Hissi was far more intelligent than anyone Evoi knew , but Evoi did not yet know that . Evoi stepped aside , and after one look at him , the mysterious Hissi gently took the doorknob , twisting it , and pushed the door open in a quiet manner . This took the King and Darvien by surprise , as their backs were turned to the door . They jumped as Scrart mumbled something of a greeting . " Scrart ! It feels like ages since I last saw you . You gave me the usual startling greeting though . " The King gave what was supposed to be a chuckle , but turned into a cough . Darvien patted him gently on the back , then rubbed it , and the King was soon back to talking condition . " Why come dear old friend , come take a seat , " said King Everoi , gesturing to an empty chair . " Thank you sir . What trouble has caused you to call upon me , Everoi , my friend ? " Scrart said in a low gentle voice , taking the seat King Everoi had gestured towards . " Ah , it is but sad news , Scrart . Shenkuu has declared a war on us . I need your opinion on what to do , " the Kind said sadly . By now Evoi had recovered from the shock of his encounter with the Hissi they called ' Scrart . ' He recalled what he had looked like . 11 14 : A deep hood that covered most of his face . A belt wrapped around his waste which held many different tools , including a knife , Evoi had noticed . He had a sort of cloak wrapped around him , to block out the cold . And one last thing . A longbow slung over one arm , a quiver strapped behind the other . He looked as if that was a normal outfit . As if he took his bow and arrows like that everywhere . It just so happened Scrart did take his bow and arrows everywhere . Without them , he would never go out in public . In the safety of his little cabin , Scrart would always keep these near , but not on him . This , Evoi thought , was not someone he would ever mess with . His curiosity risen , Evoi put his ear back to the door . 12 15 : Chapter Seven " This is indeed , bad news sir . I 'm sorry to hear . And how much time might we have ? " Scrart said , his low voice not giving in one bit to surprise . Darvien replied for the King , " Three to four months , maybe . " Scrart 's eyes darted from the King , to Darvien , and back again . " Hm I see . Not very much time at all , but I believe that would be enough time to build up some kind of army . Maybe not big enough to fight , but we have a chance I 'd say , " Scrart said , to everyone 's surprise , including the small figure standing on the other side of the door with one of his big ears listening carefully . Darvien , probably the most surprised , couldn 't believe this . " Are you crazy Scrart ! That 's nonsense . If we can 't build up one big enough to defeat them , then how do you suppose we have a chance ? That is just impossible ! " It wasn 't that Darvien disliked Scrart , because it was just the opposite of that . He actually respected , and liked the ways of Scrart . It 's just that it didn 't seem possible to him . King Everoi put his hand up , signaling Darvien to calm down , as he spoke , " Oh ? I don 't doubt what you say Scrart , buy may I know what you 're thinking ? " Scrart started nodding his head , lost in thought , but soon snapped out of it and said slowly , " Yes sir . I 've studied the ways of different lands for years and years now , and I know enough to 13 16 : say that Shenkuu are very superstitious people . They believe in all kinds of crazy things . The ' Ghost of Emperor Shen ' to be one example . " Scrart gave a mysterious smile as if remembering something An experience maybe . Everoi 's confused expression slowly turned to a smile . " You 're up to your old tricks again Scrart , aren 't you ? " " I suppose you could say that , " replied Scrart . Evoi was as confused as ever . Who was this Emperor Shen , and why would the Shenkuu be so superstitious about him . A sound at the stairs startled Evoi out of his thoughts , and he saw a shadow coming up the stairs . 14 17 : Chapter Eight Evoi ran to hide in the doorway of a linen room across the hall just as King Everoi 's servant reached the top of the stairs , and soon entered with a tray holding three cups of tea . She didn 't suspect for one second that the young prince was across the hall . Not even when he made for the stairs and all the way back to his room . He had some thinking to do * * * * * * The next morning , Evoi was missed at breakfast . He was wandering through the woods where he assumed Scrart might live . He had a faint memory of playing in these woods with Evalyn when he was younger , and they had come across a small cabin near the edge , so this was where he hoped to find Scrart . He had been searching for half an hour now , his hopes slowly fading away . Then , he saw smoke , and the tip of a chimney poking through the top of some trees . He headed for that direction , and soon came to a cozy looking little cabin . Sure enough , this was the source of the smoke , and Evoi followed the short path to the door . He hesitated , and knocked gently hoping that no one would be home . That would be a nice excuse to tell himself to go home . To his disappointment , he 15 18 : heard a slight sound as someone made for the other side of the door . He wanted so badly to run , but forced himself not to . Even as the door slowly crept open , Evoi stood stock still . 16 19 : Chapter Nine He probably couldn 't have run even if he wanted to , for there , in the doorway , were those eyes . Those intelligent eyes froze Evoi . He opened his mouth to talk , but as nothing came out , he shut it again . " Yes ? " questioned that low , mysterious voice . This time as Evoi opened his mouth , a whisper came out . " Uh Scr - scrart ? " said that small whisper . The Hissi looked annoyed by now . " Yes , that 's me . Come in boy , you look like a nervous wreck out there in the cold , " he said to Evoi 's relief . Evoi walked past Scrart towards the fire place and took a seat in an old , but still very comfortable , chair . A very good smell drifted in from what Evoi guessed to be the kitchen . He hadn 't realized until then how hungry he was . After closing the door , Scrart followed Evoi to the fire place , and he saw Evoi 's longing eyes staring towards the kitchen . He sighed . There went his breakfast . Although Scrart seemed like a person who disliked people and being around them , he actually was very generous . Evoi watched Scrart slide towards the kitchen , heard a few pots and pans clanging , and some silverware being thrown around . He wondered if he was going to have to watch Scrart eat his breakfast , and was confused as to how Scrart handled his guests . Normally a Neopet would let a visitor in , show them to a seat , and 17 20 : sit down to see what they had come for . Evoi was starting to think Scrart had forgotten he was there when the Hissi entered the room with plate and fork in hand . On the plate was two perfect over easy eggs , a few slices of bacon , and one slice of toast , not burned , but not too light . Evoi 's stomach made a small noise , and he wondered why the Hissi had to torture him like this . He looked away towards the fire place , trying to take his mind off of the perfect breakfast so close , yet so far by running the question he wanted to ask Scrart through his head . To his surprise , the plate was set on the small wooden table directly in front of him . " Eat up , " came Scrart 's voice . So the next few minutes passed quickly for Evoi , but slowly for Scrart . He hated that he had to give up his breakfast , but he figured the young Draik was hungrier than him , so he just watched as Evoi finished off the last few crumbs of toast . He lay the plate down with a satisfied look in his eyes , but remembering where he was and why , that look quickly disappeared and he looked up to face Scrart . Scrart spoke up . " What is it that you want anyway ? " Evoi , his nervousness returning to him quickly replied , " Well I overheard your conversation with my dad last night and " He stopped , thinking over how to finish off his sentence . Scrart looked at him expectedly , waiting patiently for Evoi to gather his words . " And Can you teach me how to shoot arrows ? I hear you 're an excellent archer , and I just know that sword fighting isn 't for me . " 18 21 : Chapter Ten Evoi said these last words quickly , trying to get it over with , and Scrart gave it a few seconds thought , gathering what he had said . He was quite surprised by this . He had expected something like Evoi begging him not to tell his father he had been eavesdropping at his door last night . After giving this question some thought , Scrart replied , " Why ? Why do you want to learn archery ? " This , Evoi had been expecting , and he had already come up with an answer . " I want to be able to be a good war leader like my father when I grow up . Only instead of knowing how to fight with a sword , I want to know how to shoot arrows . Please Scrart , I feel so useless ! " Scrart sighed . The reason he had disappeared for all those years , only letting the king know where he was , was because so many people had come to him asking this same question . Could he teach them archery ? The truth was he didn 't know how to teach people , because for him it was just something that one should teach themselves . At least , that 's how he had learned it . He had watched his father for so many years shoot arrow after arrow into the trees surrounding their home . He had soon developed his own eye for things , and after all those years of watching his dad , he felt that he could shoot an arrow , even if he had never picked up a bow in his life . So one day when his father had gone off to the village to buy 19 22 : a few things ( his mother had died giving birth to Scrart , so couldn 't go and buy things for them ) , Scrart took his father 's bow in hand , and an arrow from the quiver next to it , and went out . If someone had seen him shoot that arrow , they 'd think he had been shooting arrow for years ! But , as should be expected , Scrart still had a lot to learn , so he began to teach himself everyday , and soon was as good as his father . His father though , was gone now . He had passed away of old age only a couple of years ago . Scrart suddenly realized that two hopeful eyes were on him . Those eyes told him that Evoi was expecting an answer . For once , Scrart hadn 't said that immediate ' no ' to the question . He liked this young Draik . He liked his curiosity , his courage to visit the Hissi that most feared , because of his amazing talent of archery . He liked his father too , and so for the first time in seven years , Scrart said ' yes . ' Well he didn 't say it directly . " A boy that can 't pick up a sword ? " he had actually said , although he only meant it as a joke . " Well a bow is certainly lighter , isn 't it ? " he finished , giving a faint , yet rare smile . Evoi looked up in surprise . Scrart had watched him at his practices ? He knew that Evoi had dropped his sword ? In fact Scrart had gone to all of Evoi 's practices , curious of the king 's young son . He had watched each time , as Evoi tried so hard to earn his father 's approval , and the more he saw Evoi fail at sword fighting , the more he knew Evoi was born to be an archer . 20 23 : Chapter Eleven And so the lessons were to begin . Scrart and Evoi agreed not to tell the king about them yet , because Evoi felt confident , but knew that not everything worked out , so didn 't want his father to know until he was sure he would be able to at least shoot an arrow . That way if it turned out he wasn 't the ' natural archer ' Scrart thought he was , the king wouldn 't be disappointed . But Scrart was always right . Years of observing the world around him , and paying close attention to everything that happened Closer attention then people would normally do , taught him the truth in things . So he always noticed things that a normal person wouldn 't , and he could always tell what the truth was and what wasn 't . It was another quality he had learned from his father , who had also been very intelligent . Evoi continued his sword lessons though , and learned a few things that might come in handy , for archers couldn 't just learn how to shoot arrows . Because if an enemy ever got close enough , their bow would be useless . Evoi would also have to learn to fight with knives . The morning of his first practice with Scrart , Evoi was excited . Arridi felt the excitement of his master , and copied him . He ran about Evoi 's room , jumping up on the couch or bed every now and then , followed Evoi , and constantly went to Evoi to lick him . He wasn 't sure why Evoi was excited , but like any steed that developed a friendship with his rider , Arridi shared feelings with Evoi . He sat 21 24 : at the door where he would wait until Evoi returned , and watched as the door closed . Scrart on the other hand was building an idea he had thought of the previous night . A strategy he was going to use to train Evoi was slowly forming in his mind . So , when Evoi came and saw Scrart poised to shoot an arrow into a tree trunk , he was confused . Was Scrart going to teach him , or just shoot arrow after arrow through that tree . In fact , that was just what Scrart was going to do . He was going to shoot arrows into the old tree , and Evoi was to watch . After about twenty minutes , though , Evoi had had enough . He stood up from where he was sitting and said , " Well ? Are you going to teach me or shoot all those arrows into that poor tree ? " he wasn 't happy . All excitement he had had this morning had left him . Scrart looked at Evoi with a look that told him to be quiet , sit down , and watch . " If you want to learn , you watch first , okay ? If you don 't want to watch , leave , " came Scrart 's demanding voice . So , Evoi sat down , and watched , his impatience growing . But Evoi knew better than to ignore what that demanding tone had ordered . He grew sore as hour after hour passed , and he had by now seen Scrart shooting fifteen or so arrows , walking forward , pulling them out of the trunk , and walking back to where he had been standing before , and repeating the process . It wasn 't until then that Evoi took notice of a long leather cuff around Scrart 's left arm , and as he watched , he saw the cuff 's purpose . As Scrart nocked an arrow , and carefully , but quickly drew back the string of his longbow , and soon after released it , the string would whip the inside of his left arm , but it did no harm with the leather cuff there . Evoi soon had the basic idea of shooting an arrow , and after 22 27 : Chapter Twelve Evoi walked over to where Scrart stood . The Hissi held out a small bow with both ends of it curved to make a ' C ' but then curved back out at the very ends . " This is a recurve bow . You will start with this , and if you get good enough , when you are A bit bigger , you can use a longbow like mine , " Scrart said , placing it in Evoi 's hands . Then from his belt , he pulled a leather cuff like his own , and also handed it to Evoi . To Scrart 's satisfaction , Evoi slid the leather cuff up his left arm . " This is good , " thought Scrart , " he has , at least , learned something from watching . " So the practice that Evoi had really hoped for began right there . He picked an arrow from the quiver lying at his feet , and attempted to nock it . After quite a few seconds he had it about right . So he slowly drew back the string , took aim at the center of a nearby tree 's trunk , and let go . Whoosh ! The arrow flew past the tree , somewhere into the woods behind it , yet Scrart still seemed happy with the outcome . But , of course , he didn 't let Evoi see that . He knew that if Evoi grew too confident of himself , he would never learn to be a great archer . 24 28 : Confidence was definitely needed , but too much definitely wasn 't . Scrart nodded his head slowly and motioned for Evoi to try another . This time Evoi was a bit faster than the last try , but still , the arrow hadn 't found its destination . So as arrow after arrow was fired , each one missing its target by less and less , Evoi at last shot an arrow that landed home . It was now deep in the center of a huge oak . Evoi smiled to himself , and Scrart once again nodded his approval , but turned away with the last words of the day to Evoi . " Now , go retrieve all of those arrows . " Evoi looked up , astonished by what Scrart had said . Go find all the arrows ? There were at least nine had flown past the nearby trees deep into the dark woods . But , he didn 't dare say ' no ' to Scrart , so he trudged off into the dark gap between two huge oaks in search of the arrows . * * * * * Elsewhere , the front gate of Brightvale Castle shut slowly behind a small Shadow Draik that rushed up the steps leading to the huge door to the castle itself . He knocked three times , and was soon let in by one of the door guards . The Draik hurried past the guard and towards a small door leading to the planning room of the castle . This was where the king was now , as sick as ever . As the Draik entered , three eyes looked to him . One belonged to the king , another to Darvien , and the last pair to a cloaked Fire Hissi . " Sir , " the Draik spoke , " I spotted half a dozen ships , but I 'm sure there are more . They hold the flag of Shenkuu , sir . " 25 29 : Chapter Thirteen That night as Evoi fell asleep easily , Scrart , Darvien , and King Everoi stayed up late into the night planning what they would do in the weeks to come to prepare for the arrival of the Shenkuu . Evoi hadn 't heard a thing about the Shenkuu being so near , so that night he slept soundly dreaming of a mighty Royalboy Draik Archer and of Scrart showing his approval and giving Evoi a pat on the back . That was the last thing he would expect from Scrart * * * * * The next morning , Evoi awoke most unpleasantly with one big , familiar paw on his chest . This paw belonged to Arridi , but there was something about him that told Evoi he didn 't want to play fetch or go for a ride deep into the forest . No , something was wrong , and as Evoi thought of the possibilities , he rolled out of bed and pulled on his usual outfit , he pictured the worst of them all . He pictured his father motionless in bed , eyes shut , but suddenly shook the thought out of his head as he took one quick look in the mirror before wrenching his door open . He ran down to breakfast . To his relief , King Everoi was sitting at one end of the table . For a minute , Evoi figured he had misunderstood Arridi 's behavior , but then he saw that the chair that sat across from his 26 30 : own was empty . Evalyn was gone . The king , looking gray and devastated , beckoned Evoi over , so Evoi took a seat . " Evalyn has been kidnapped by a Shenkuu spy . A Shadow Draik to be exact . " And for the first time since Evoi 's mother died , the king began to cry . 27 31 : Chapter Fourteen No ! This couldn 't be happening ! Evoi couldn 't believe his ears as he realized that the only thing nearly as important as his father being close to death was his sister being in such danger . Evoi knew that King Everoi had lived a long happy life , and that he wouldn 't mind passing away at any time , but his sister was barely fourteen ! She hadn 't seen anything she wanted to yet . This was the sacrifice of being the princess , but Evoi would never let anything happen to her if he could help it , and he knew that now , of all times , she needed him . He rushed up the stairs , back to his room , ignoring his father 's quiet voice that was calling after him , and slammed the door behind him . As he came in , Arridi ran to his side wearing the same grim face he had that morning . Arridi had warned Evoi that something was wrong without words that morning . And indeed , something was wrong . Arridi followed Evoi around , confused as to what he was doing . He had never seen Evoi like this so , as always , he matched his emotions to Evoi 's and became worried . Evoi was busy throwing things into one pile or another . He walked over to the items that were tossed onto his bed . A warm tunic , a pair of thick breeches , biscuits from the plate that the servants brought him every morning as a little before breakfast snack ( Evoi 's apetite had started to grow recently ) , and finally , 28 32 : a small dagger that was given to him by his father on his eighth birthday . He also grabbed the canteen that sat on his nightstand in case he got thirsty in the middle of the night . Although tasteless , the biscuits were heavy and it took very little for them to fill you up . The dagger was light and easy to wield unlike a full sized sword , and it had many more purposes than just a weapon . Evoi 's dad had taught him how to use it as a throwing dagger and also as a defensive weapon when he had given it to him . He pulled the blue sheet off of his bed , and folded it into fourths . This made it small enough to manage and he laid the items that were laying next to it into the neatly folded sheet . Then he brought the four corners of the sheet together and tied them together tight enough to hold its contents in , but in a way that would make untying it a simple task . Evoi beckoned Arridi , who had given up following him by now and was standing and the foot of the bed , over . Arridi was still confused , but he walked over to where Evoi was and looked up at his master . Evoi draped his thick patterned quilt over Arridi , and ripped a strip from his pillowcase off . He used this strip of cloth to tie the quilt into place . Then , Evoi walked over to a corner of his room and picked up the recurve bow and quiver of arrows that Scrart had given him . Then he swiftly walked to the door and took the handle in his hands . " C ' mon Arridi . We 're going to find Evalyn . " 29 33 : Chapter Fifteen Evoi crept down the stairs that led to the entrance hall , pulling Arridi along behind him . When he arrived at the end of the hall that led into the entrance hall , he peeked around the corner to make sure his father hadn 't cut dinner short to pace around the entrance hall , but he hadn 't . Either he was still eating , or he had gone back up to his room . He pushed Arridi ahead of him pointing to he big door and soon followed Arridi , tiptoeing . He let out a sigh of relief once he reached the door , and when he stepped outside , he turned left and got into the safety of the shadows that the roof made , and walked along the wall . Arridi immediately wondered where they were going . The gate was the other way ! But , of course , he continued following Evoi . As soon as Evoi reached the west side of the castle , he made quickly for the stables . No one should be there yet , as most of them would either be eating or sleeping . So , he entered the stable , and walked down to where his sister 's steed , Relcore , would be . Since Evalyn was gone , a servant had been ordered to take Relcore down to the stables where he could be cared for while she was gone . Arridi wouldn 't be able to carry both Evoi and Evalyn if he found her , so it would be wise to bring Relcore along too . Plus he 30 34 : could help carry Evoi 's supplies . Only when Evoi untied the sad Kougra , did he look up . Evoi led him over to where Arridi was . He wasn 't worried about Relcore running away , because Relcore recognized Evoi and figured that he probably was going to find Evalyn , Relcore 's best friend . Relcore cheered up and played with Arridi for a minute , biting his ear gently and rolling in the soft hay that covered the floor . Evoi was too busy looking around for where they kept the dry beef that they fed to the animals in the stable . Soon , he spotted it and walked quickly to a corner of the stable . It was occupied by a mean looking Fire Kougra , so he stepped over it and carefully untied the sack of dry meat from a hook on the wall . Then he carefully stepped back over the Kougra , but the tail had twitched enough to where Evoi had stepped on it . He didn 't realize at first , until he noticed the heavy breathing of the Kougra had stopped . That was when he looked behind him and met angry eyes of the Kougra , who was now on his feet . Evoi was terrified , and he made for the stable door wondering how long that rope was . And how thin it was too He motioned for Arridi and Relcore to stop playing and follow him , so they did , and as he slammed the stable door closed , he noticed a black ear had been caught and heard whimpering sounds . Evoi couldn 't just leave that ear stuck in there until the stable caretakers arrived , so he opened the door just enough to let that ear back into the stable and closed the door . Or at least he thought he did . 31 35 : Chapter Sixteen Evoi had put the sack of dried beef and his own luggage on Relcore 's back . He didn 't mind at all . It was lighter than a human , and he could probably run at a moderate speed with it on his back all day and never get tired . Plus , it divided itself in half , and made the beef go to both ends of the bag , and the padding of the clothes in Evoi 's bag was a plus . And Relcore wouldn 't have beef digging into his back all day . So Relcore happily followed Evoi and Arridi . As they reached the corner of the West wall of the castle , Evoi shot an arrow to the East side and all of the guards , hearing and seeing something come from that direction , headed that way . Evoi ran as fast as his legs would allow him once the guards were far enough from the gate , and pushed open one of the big doors . Arridi and Relcore followed him , and even pushed their noses against the big door to help him close it gently . Evoi mounted Arridi , and they ran towards the shelter of the forest . By now Evoi figured the guards would see the arrow , and one of them was bound to have noticed the door closing . Sure enough , when Evoi was half way to the forest , Relcore following closely behind , he heard shouts of the Shoyrus that had been distracted by the arrow , and probably had seen the gate close 32 36 : its last few inches . Evoi gently patted Arridi 's side , which told Arridi to speed up , so he did . Evoi was now a few feet from the forest , and he heard the gate opening along with more shouts . " Come on Arridi , almost there ! " said Evoi 's urgent voice . Arridi felt the urgency , and switched to full speed mode which he could only hold for so long , and made one great leap into the forest . Relcore followed in unison , being able to hold the speed because of his light weight passenger . Relief spread over Evoi as he pulled Arridi and Relcore behind a big tree to catch their breath , which took about five seconds . This is why Kougras were such popular steeds throughout Brightvale . Not only could they run at amazing speeds , but it didn 't take them long to recover . They could also run fast speeds and hold them for a long time depending on the load on their back . Evoi watched as two of the three Shoyru guards came out looked around for the person who had snuck out of the gate when they weren 't looking . People like maids were only allowed out of the castle on certain days , and this was not one of them , so they had to keep an eye out for a lazy servant that decided to go visit their family or maybe run away . When they saw nothing , they retreated back into the castle grounds , taking their usual places by the gate , wondering if their eyes had tricked them . Once the gate was closed , Evoi mounted Arridi again . The land that Evoi was sure the Shenkuu would anchor that was north , so Evoi faced the north path and they set off into the forest at a medium speed . The journey to rescue Evalyn began . 33 37 : * * * * * Seeing that Evoi had not come to dinner , King Everoi ordered his personal maid to go up and knock on his door again . When the maid returned , she said , " Sir , your son is not in his room . " And that 's when the king knew that he had lost both of his children in one day . 34 38 : Chapter Seventeen Evoi had been riding Arridi for an hour now , but the Kougra showed no sign whatsoever of tiring . Relcore had been the same . He was in a somewhat cheerful mood on realizing that Evoi was definitely going after his sister , and was thinking about the treats she always gave him so much , that he forgot that he was running . Every once in awhile , Evoi would pat Arridi , telling him to speed up , but in a few minutes he would pat him again , which told him to slow back down . This way Evoi wouldn 't have to worry about injuring Arridi or stretching his limits . The sea might be a day or so journey from the castle , so Evoi would definitely stop for the night . As soon as the sun began to set , Evoi directed Arridi onto the side of the North path into a spot that he would not be visible from the path . When Evoi was just ten , his father hired a teacher for him , who taught him survival skills . The king had gotten lost in the same forest Evoi was in right now , when he was little , and knew nothing about building fires , what foods were poisonous , and where to find edible food , so he made sure that Evoi knew these things . One of the things Evoi was taught was how to build a fire . After taking the quilt off Arridi and the dried beef off Relcore , 35 39 : he led them to a small pond in a clearing to drink . After Evoi had taken a few sips himself and filled up his canteen , he walked back to the spot he planned to rest for the night , and gathered some dry wood that surrounded the area . Then he formed a little teepee out of them . After that , he took one of the sticks he had gathered and started rubbing it against a rock which soon produced a small flame . He slowly put this flame into the heart of the ' teepee ' and a small fire started . Evoi quickly gathered dry leaves and sticks and fed these into the fire . Soon enough there was a big fire dancing before Evoi , and he brought Arridi and Relcore back to eat . It was a cold night , and Evoi was sure the kougras wouldn 't want cold beef , so he carefully pulled two reasonably big chunks out of his bag , stuck them on a stick , and held them over the fire . The flames licked at it , and as soon as a delicious smoky smell drifted to Evoi 's nose , he took off the beef , and gave one piece to each of the drooling Kougras . Normally the Kougras were spoiled with food three times a day , but they had skipped lunch today , and were ready to attack the delicious smelling food . Evoi took off a small piece from the beef for himself , but being so used to juicy moist meat , he found the dried beef quite disgusting . So , Evoi had to settle with the tasteless grain bars that he had packed . He carefully opened the bag that held the bars , and pulled half of one out . He wasn 't hungry at all . The thought of his sister somewhere out there in danger made him lose his appetite . Evoi quickly munched down his own food . He knew it wouldn 't be healthy to go to sleep on an empty stomach . As soon as the two Kougras were done eating , they settled 36 40 : down next to Evoi , and he pulled the thick , warm quilt over all of them . Soon he was very warm despite the chilly night . And he eventually fell asleep . * * * * * Hours had passed since Evoi 's disappearance , and by now the King had ordered some of his best men to go looking for Evoi . This group of men had asked the guards a bunch of questions , and soon figured that Evoi must have made for the forest , and so they all followed Darvien , the leader of the group . * * * * * Evoi woke to shouts of at least a dozen men . He only recognized one of them , and it belonged to Darvien . At least he thought that was what woke him until he turned to his left and saw the fire he had made the previous night was spreading over the grass , and sending a lot of smoke into the air . 37 41 : Chapter Eighteen " Oh no ! " Evoi cried to himself . He had forgotten to put the fire out the previous night . He grabbed his canteen and started squirting the flames down , which helped a little in keeping it from starting up the big tree that stood nearby , but if Evoi stood there trying to put the fire out that way , either he 'd catch fire himself , or the men that owned those shouts would get to him and stop him from finding Evalyn . Suddenly , a miracle happened . Behind Evoi a bucket of water was produced and splashed over the fire . This was repeated several times before the wide - eyed draik thought to turn around , and there , standing feet behind Evoi , was Scrart . " Go boy ! " he hissed . " Go to the girl ! " and Scrart continued dipping the bucket in the pond and throwing the water to the fire . Evoi stood there for a second , until finally he realized what was going on and he ran to Arridi . He grabbed the quilt , throwing it across Arridi 's back , gently throwing the sack of beef and his own pack over Relcore 's , and then he started running through the forest until he heard a faint cry , but this didn 't belong to any of the men , it was a girl 's cry . Then Evoi remembered the words Scrart had spoken . ' Go to the girl ! ' Evoi had thought he meant Evalyn at the time , but now he realized that the girl who this cry belonged to must be the one 38 42 : Scrart meant . Evoi pulled Arridi to a stop and turned him around . He headed off back in the direction that had caused him so much confusion before , and sure enough he saw a young girl on the path . At first Evoi thought it was Evalyn , but looking closer , he saw a number of differences between this girl and his own sister . One thing he noticed right off was the difference in their hair lengths and clothing . This girl was wearing Shenkuu colors , so Evoi figured she must be one of them . The girl was running , but something seemed to be slowing her . An injury , Evoi soon saw , on her left foot . There was a small , but deep looking scratch across her foot . Evoi watched the scene being played out before him , wondering what to do . Darvien leading a group of men on Kougras , chasing after the girl , and crying , " Get the princess ! " The princess ? What were they talking about ? Maybe they had made the same mistake as Evoi , and thought it was Evalyn . But wouldn 't they realize that Evalyn wouldn 't run from them ? Evoi thought . He really wanted to save her , for not only did he feel sorry for the young girl who was stumbling to get away from these men , but she might also be able to show him where her people were Where Evalyn was . But he couldn 't get captured himself . Then he wouldn 't be able to rescue Evalyn . Torn between the two options , Evoi saw an opportunity . Down the road , closer to Darvien and his men came three arrows . Each one buzzed past Darvien , barely missing his head . Scrart . But Evoi didn 't have time to take this in . All of the men were shaken and distracted . This was his chance . So with one giant leap , Arridi took Evoi onto the path , and 39 43 : Relcore , as usual , followed . " Grab on ! " Evoi cried , pointing to Relcore . The young girl Draik acted amazingly fast , and grabbed on to Relcore 's neck , swinging herself onto his back behind Evoi 's supply pack . This caught Relcore by surprise , but he quickly recovered , and with little effort , sped up to match Arridi 's speed with his new passenger . The girl Draik shifted uncomfortably on the sack of beef , until all of the pieces had been shifted to one side or another on Relcore 's back . They could hear the shouts start up again , far behind them , and the sound of paws pounding on dirt , but Evoi 's actions had caught the men off - guard and they had sat there for several seconds , watching the Draiks riding away . Evoi reared Arridi into the forest , because he knew Relcore would need some time to adjust to the new weight on his back , and within a couple of minutes , they came to a stop in a clearing that couldn 't be seen from the dirt path . Evoi got off of Arridi , catching his breath , and the girl Draik copied him . Only she had much more breath to catch , and as she got off of Relcore , she crumpled to the ground . Evoi could see that her cut was starting to bleed worse then before , and he took the strip of pillowcase that he had used the previous day to tie the quilt firmly to Arridi 's back . It was perfect for the size of her cut , so he wound it tightly around her foot . She let out a little whimper . " It 'll have to do for now . We 'll clean it up later , " said Evoi . He paused and then continued , " Who are you ? " The Royalgirl Draik looked up , and decided that she could trust this Draik who had rescued her . " I am Princess Yuen Lee , daughter of the Shenkuu King . " 40 44 : Chapter Nineteen Evoi probably would 've been able to make it to the Shenkuu camp in a few hours time , which according to Yuen Lee , was located about where Evoi had guessed . But since the injured princess was with him , Evoi thought it best to stop by mid - afternoon , and so they did . Again , Evoi looked to make sure their resting spot was invisible from the path , and that there was water nearby . Once he found a good spot , he unpacked everything and built a fire . The fire was necessary because this afternoon was very cold compared to the last . Once Evoi had done all this , he sat down and examined the princess 's cut , which she had told him on their ride through the forest , was caused by a sharp rock that jutted out of the ground , but was covered by a thick layer of leaves . " It 's not too bad . Just give it a week or so to heal , and there might be a scar , but it won 't be too bad . Yuen Lee smiled and said , " Thank you . " Evoi poured some water on the cut , used a clean piece of the strip of pillowcase to wipe it up a bit , and tied a piece of the sheet he used to carry his supplies in around Yuen Lee 's foot . Yuen Lee was shaking , so Evoi gave her the quilt to wrap around herself , and she sat quietly on the forest floor staring into the fire . Again , Evoi led Arridi and Relcore to the water to get a drink , 41 45 : and he filled his canteen . He then sat by the water listening to Arridi and Relcore lapping the peaceful water . One thing that had been on his mind that he hadn 't even thought of asking was ' what was the princess doing here in the first place ? ' And he was ready to go back and ask her that when there was a cry . That same cry he had heard earlier that day . The cry belonging to the princess . Evoi sprinted back to the spot he had picked to camp that night , only to see four wild Lupes circling the princess . 42 46 : Chapter Twenty Evoi didn 't think for a second ! He ran to grab his bow and arrows that he had had over his shoulder up until now . One of the big Lupes saw this movement and prepared to pounce on what he hoped would be dinner , but Arridi got to him first , jumping on the Lupes back digging his teeth into one ear . The Lupe , caught by surprise , gave a yelp , and tried to shake off Arridi who had sunk his teeth into the Lupes back . When he finally shook Arridi off , he ran for a gap in the trees whimpering and disappeared . Arridi wasn 't one to fight , and had not even broken through the Lupe 's skin , but the bite had hurt all the same and the Lupe wasn 't ready to trade pain for food . By now Evoi had an arrow nocked and soon sent it after one of the Lupes . It whimpered , and Relcore took this opportunity to jump after it . By then Evoi had another arrow nocked and aimed this one for the biggest of the three Lupes . Suddenly it ran at him , catching Evoi by surprise , and knocking him down . The Lupe stood over Evoi , while Arridi and Relcore were occupied chasing the other two away , and Evoi knew he was down to his last minutes . He felt stupid for leaving his dagger in his pack , and the Lupe 's impact had caused him to drop his bow . 43 47 : The Lupe , having not eaten for days , was trying to decide what to do with his meal , and Evoi , his eyes closed , was wondering what was to become of him . Then , a black , orange , and yellow blur came out of the dark trees , and knocked the wind out of the Lupe that stood atop Evoi . At first , Evoi didn 't know what happened when the weight that had just been on his stomach disappeared , but when he opened his eyes , he saw a black kougra with flame markings on top of the Lupe that had just been on top of Evoi . It was the Fire Kougra ! But why , wondered Evoi , would the Fire Kougra save him ? Then something in his brain flickered , as he remembered one day a long time ago . A Fire Kougra stood beside the Queen , his mistress . Something was wrong , he could feel it , and as the Queen used her last strength to run her fingers through the Kougra 's soft fur , the Kougra licked her . She smiled and said , " Good bye friend . " The next thing the poor Kougra knew , a servant had come in , screamed , and that 's when the Kougra realized the Queen was no longer patting him , but her hand lay still and motionless . He was sad and confused , but things only got worse . Two of the Queen 's personal guards came in and pointed at the Kougra that sat next to the Queen . " What have you done ! " one of them cried , and before the Kougra knew it he was being dragged by his tail to the king , but before they could get him there , a small Draik came out of a room and saw the poor Kougra being dragged in such a way . " Stop ! " cried the young Draik . " That 's my mommy 's Kougra ! " This was the Queen 's son , of course , and the guards had to listen to him , so they let go of the Kougra , and gave up , deciding that they would simply tell the king that the Queen died of her illness ( which was , in fact , the truth . ) That would be much easier then persuading the young Draik to let them carry on with their business . 44 48 : So the Draik took care of Arridi and Blaze , the Fire Kougra until his father ordered that the Kougra be taken down to the stable and cared for with the others . Evoi was very sad upon hearing this , but knew he couldn 't change his father 's mind , and gave Blaze a nice meal , and a big hug before the Kougra was taken away . All had forgotten that Blaze had been the Queen 's , and Evoi wasn 't allowed to the stable to visit him , so he had been mistreated and turned from the soft , gentle Kougra to a fierce , rough one . Until years later when his old friend had came to the stable , and shut his ear in the door when all Blaze had wanted to do was lick Evoi . But he forgave him , and escaped out of the door that hadn 't been closed all the way , following Evoi on his journey . 45 49 : Chapter Twenty - One Evoi 's thoughts broke to the howling of the small group of Lupes , which announced their retreat . As Evoi looked around , he saw three Kougras with a few scratches and a frightened princess . " Evoi ! Are you okay ? " asked Yuen Lee . Evoi thought about that question , and looked over himself to see if he had been hurt . Fortunately , he hadn 't , thanks to Blaze and of course the other two Kougras . " Yeah , I 'm fine . Are you alright ? " Evoi finally said . The princess nodded her head as Evoi picked up the discarded bow and quiver . He set these down by his bundle of supplies and walked over to Blaze . Arridi , soon recognizing the Fire Kougra , also ran over with a silly look on his face . Blaze had been his friend when he was a cub , and he could never forget him . Blaze got one big swipe across his nose by Arridi 's tongue , and a bear hug from Evoi . Finally , he could see his old friend , and this time he wasn 't running away . That night the three Kougras settled down next to the two Draiks while Evoi told the princess that he was searching for his 46 50 : sister . Neither of them talked after that , and eventually they shut their eyes to fall asleep . This time , Evoi made sure to put the fire out . * * * * * Darvien walked into the entrance hall of the castle , his head down . " Ah , Darvien , at last you 've arrived . Any good news ? " came the king 's voice . This startled Darvien , and he looked up surprised . " King Everoi ! I didn 't think you 'd be up this late , " Darvien said . " You know I won 't get any sleep until my young ones are found , " the king said , letting out a small cough . " Yes , well " Darvien thought for a minute . He didn 't like bringing bad news to the king , but he didn 't like lying either . He was saved when the doors to the castle swung open , and a hooded figure stood in the doorway . " Hello there Everoi . I 've brought you news of your son . He is safe in my cabin resting for a bit . I 'll bring him to you once he has recovered . You see , he is suffering from lack of sleep , but nothing serious , " Scrart said , drawing the eyes of both the king and Darvien . For a second the king looked at Darvien , a confused look on his face , and Darvien shrugged . He was as confused . Finally the king decided to break through the silence saying , " How did you find him now , Scrart ? " He asked this question more to break the awkward silence then he did to know , because anyone in their right minds knew that Scrart was an amazing tracker . After a few seconds , Scrart replied , " I followed his footsteps . Now , good night to you both . " With that , Scrart made a slight bow and backed out into the cold night pulling the doors closed gently . 47 51 : King Everoi gave Darvien one last look of confusion , but then decided to just be grateful . He rose from his chair and exited to the staircase that led up to his room calling out behind him , " Good night Darvien . " And Darvien was left standing in the middle of the entrance hall . What was Scrart up to this time ? He wondered . 48 52 : Chapter Twenty - Two The stirring of Arridi woke Evoi the next morning , and he pulled himself from under the warmth of the quilt into the cold morning breeze , careful not to wake the others . Soon he had a fire burning , and searched the nearby bushes for berries . After going through three groups of bushes that had poison berries on them , Evoi finally found a group that didn 't . These berries were blue , and has Evoi sniffed them , looked at them closer , cut one open to take a look inside , and finally licked one , he decided they were not poisonous . This was another of those skills he had been taught by his survival teacher , and , although then he hated the lessons , now he was grateful for them . Evoi wandered back to where he left the others lying under the quilt with as many berries as he could carry in a makeshift bowl he had made out of his shirt , and saw that the only one still sleeping was the princess . The Kougras , soon noticing the absence of Evoi , had awoken and sniffed around the clearing looking for something to eat . Relcore had caught a small mouse , too tiny to share with the others , so when they saw Evoi coming back with berries , they got excited . Evoi put some dry beef over the fire , making sure that each Kougra got a reasonably large amount , and setting aside a medium 49 53 : piece for Yuen Lee . As soon as the beef began to give off a smoky smell , Evoi set down a piece for each of the anxious Kougras , and piled a few berries on top of each . Soon the princess was awake because of the aroma , and Evoi handed her some berries and beef . He settled with a biscuit and whatever berries were leftover . " You never told me who you are Evoi , " Yuen Lee said suddenly . Evoi looked up , as if he wasn 't sure if she had really spoken or not . But soon enough he replied sadly , " I 'm the son of King Everoi . But my dad 's really sick and I might have to take his place soon . " To Evoi 's own surprise , the princess didn 't look at him in disbelief or anything . She just continued eating as if he had said nothing , until finally she spoke . " I thought you were . You just don 't act like regular people . " And their conversation ended there . Once they had all savored the last moments of rest , Evoi piled whatever items he had removed from his pack back into the sheet , and as soon as Blaze , who had refused to go back home , was loaded with the supplies , they were off again on the same dull ride through the forest . Evoi wouldn 't have minded so much if it was scenic , but the only things the five Neopets ever saw were trees , and the narrow dirt path that they rode alongside . They rode in the forest instead of on the road , just in case a traveler or Shenkuu guard was caught by surprise and decided to fire an arrow . The trees made it nearly impossible for anything to hit home . Finally , after what Evoi estimated to be three hours of sore riding with only two rest stops , a massive camp came into view . About a thousand red tents were scattered everywhere , people moving around here and there , and one huge tent that was red with 50 54 : beautiful designs covering it , sat in the center of all the tents . " Is this it Yuen Lee ? Are these the Shenkuu warriors ? The princess nodded her head slowly taking in everything . She hadn 't realized how big it was when she was actually in it , but now here eyes moved over every detail taking in the amazing scene . She was just about to ride down the steep hill when Evoi stopped her . This was his chance to ask her the question that had been nagging at him the second she had told him she was the Princess of Shenkuu . " Wait Yuen Lee . How did you get into the middle of the forest where you were ? Why didn 't you just stay here ? " 51 55 : Chapter Twenty - Three The princess looked in the distance for almost a minute , but finally she turned to Evoi and said , " I hate war . I 've always hated it , ever since I was a little girl and my father would go to wars everywhere . Nothing I said could stop him , for he believed war was the answer to all things , and a way of getting power and money . As soon as Nite came with the ' good news ' of how Brightvale believed that the Shenkuu were miles out in the sea , my dad was going to send him right back to tell King Everoi that Shenkuu ships were spotted , but not too close , even though we had already set up camp here . My father believed this would throw them way off . " I couldn 't take it anymore . My dad was a coward ! He was being so unfair , so I thought maybe I could beat the Shadow Draik , Nite , back to Brightvale . Maybe I could tell them the truth , and maybe I could stand between the war and stop it all ! But I was wrong , and it was foolish of me to think so . That 's when I bumped into those Kougra riders , and you saved me . " Evoi thought all of this through , and it all began to make sense . The King of Shenkuu probably thought that his daughter had been kidnapped , and sent this ' Nite ' to not only tell the king the lie of how the ships were spotted , just in case the king hadn 't actually ordered anyone to kidnap his daughter , but to also take Evalyn just in case the king did take his daughter . That way he would have something valuable to trade for the 52 56 : Princess of Shenkuu , but also he could ensure that if the king hadn 't taken his daughter after all , he was thrown off by his own spy That was actually the spy of Shenkuu . Evoi nodded his head . " Okay . It 's time Yuen Lee . You go down first so they won 't think I 'm holding you hostage , and shoot at us . Tell them everything ! Maybe they will listen to you if you ask them to free my sister . " After giving Evoi a firm nod and a pat of encouragement saying , " Don 't worry Evoi . I owe you , and I will make sure you see your sister again , " Yuen Lee rode off down the hill to the camp . There were several shouts from a few of the closer tents , and the shouts spread through the camp until practically the whole camp was full of shouts . Evoi waited and waited for at least twenty minutes , and finally the familiar Yuen Lee walked to the foot of the hill and waved Evoi down . Without being told what to do , Arridi went bounding down the hill almost losing control of himself . Blaze followed and was just about to fall head over heels , but finally they came to a stop at the bottom next to the princess . " Come on Evoi ! Follow me ! " she said hurriedly . Evoi got off of Arridi and walked after Yuen Lee . After at least five minutes they arrived at the heart of the camp , but Yuen Lee stopped outside of the tent before them . She put on an encouraging smile and said , " Don 't worry , I promise my father won 't hurt you or your sister . Just go inside and talk with him . " Evoi hesitated only just a second , and entered the tent to see a round Red Draik with a crooked crown atop his head . 53 57 : Chapter Twenty - Four The Shenkuu King didn 't even look up when Evoi entered . He was too busy whispering to the guard beside him . Finally the king saw the small draik out of the corner of his eye , and looked up . " A bit smaller then I had imagined . Oh well . Let 's get straight to the point , as I 'm a very busy man , and it wasn 't my intentions to leave here empty handed , but it appears I have no choice . " The king paused looking at Evoi to make sure he understood what he was saying , and then continued . " I must thank you for saving my foolish daughter . I don 't know what she was doing going into those woods by herself , and I certainly am grateful for what you have done . I also realize I have something of yours . A certain relative ? Yes , well now that I see you Brightvalieans haven 't kidnapped or harmed my beloved daughter in any way , you may have her back . Of course , that is no reward is it , since you hadn 't kidnapped her in the first place . So here it is . A great sacrifice on my part , but an offer all the same . I will not come and disturb your land or your surrounding lands as long as I am king . My daughter is worth all the world to me , and the loss of her would be much greater then to stop raiding your lands . We will be allies . Is it a deal or no young man ? Please do hurry as I have much things to do . " Evoi didn 't think twice before saying , " Yes ! " This would save his father so much trouble and worry , and 54 58 : Evoi knew that his stress was a big impact on his illness . The King of Shenkuu nodded his head and waved a hand of dismissal . " Then you have my word . No more wars , no more raids , you and I are now allies . Now off with you , I 'm a busy man . " And Evoi left the tent , his happiest in the last several days . One of the guards was ordered to take Evoi to a tent that had been emptied except for a bed , just for Evalyn . Evoi entered this tent and saw Evalyn sitting on the bed her head down . " I 'm not hungry , " she said softly when she felt the presence of someone besides herself in the tent . " Evalyn ! " cried Evoi . " Are you okay ? " " Oh no ! They got you too Evoi ! " Evalyn looked up with her surprised expression fading to a sad look . " No , no Evalyn ! I saved the Shenkuu Princess , and now the King of Shenkuu is letting me take you home , and no more wars . He promised no more wars Evalyn ! " Evoi was so excited at this point , he wanted to tell Evalyn everything , but there was no time , so he ran to her and gave her a big hug . Now she was back to her surprised face , and the two siblings sat hugging each other until Relcore happened to wander in . Upon seeing his old friend that he had missed so much , Relcore got excited and leapt onto the bed settling next to Evalyn . She switched from hugging Evoi to hugging Relcore tightly . * * * * * " Thank you for everything Yuen Lee , " Evoi said , who was sitting on Arridi ready for the long ride back home . " " No , thank you Evoi . You saved my life ! " Yuen Lee said , and just as Evoi , Evalyn , and the three Kougras were about to leave , Yuen Lee pressed a small , soft bag into Evoi 's hand . 55 59 : As Evoi looked into his palm , she spoke again . " Here , take this herbal tea to your father . It cures almost all illnesses . " Evoi didn 't know what to say . It was like she was giving him his father 's life back . Then Evoi thought of something . He produced the small dagger given to him a long time ago and handed it to Yuen Lee . " Here , take this and keep it with you at all times . It will protect you from wild Lupes . " Both Draiks smiled , and Evoi and Evalyn were off . 56 60 : Chapter Twenty - Five When Evoi and Evalyn finally arrived to the edge of the forest , all they wanted to do was sleep . To their surprise , Scrart appeared out of the trees , and motioned for them to follow him . Evoi recognized this path . He had taken it once before when he had wanted to learn archery . That 's when he realized . Archery had helped him quite a few times on his journey . He had used it to distract the guards at the gate , and Scrart had done the same to Darvien and the other men in the forest . Plus , he was sure that if he hadn 't shot an arrow into the wild Lupe in the forest 's leg , it would have most definitely done a greater amount of damage to Relcore , who had been the one to chase it away . Evoi didn 't know how to express his gratefulness to Scrart , for taking his own time to teach a skill he had already mastered to another . Finally , they arrived at Scrart 's cozy looking home . Scrart led the three Kougras away towards a small shed at the side of his house , and let the Kougras settle down in there on the soft hay that was piled high , while Evoi and Evalyn wandered into the house . When Scrart entered , he saw that both Evoi and Evalyn were fast asleep on the sofas nearest to the fire . 57 61 : " Perfect , " he muttered to himself . * * * * * Evoi woke up all of a sudden to the sound of knocking on the door . Scrart hurried to the door and opened it to see the king standing on the other side . " Hello sir , " came Scrart 's voice . " Oh uhm Scrart " the king was distracted trying to look around Scrart into the room behind him . " Ah , you want to see your young ones , do you ? " Scrart asked , ignoring the king 's attempts to peer past him . " Yes please Scrart . Oh ! Did you say young ones now Scrart ? " the king gave up and looked at Scrart . " Oh , did I forget to mention that your daughter his here ? Hm . My bad . " And at last the confused king was allowed inside , and the two young Draiks immediately ran into his arms . " Daddy ! " they both cried in unison . Except Evoi continued , saying something about Shenkuu being their allies and no more war . " Ah , at last ! I have missed you both so much , " said the king . " Now what 's this about Shenkuu being our allies ? " And so Evoi told the whole story , leaving out the part about them only arriving hours ago . ( He figured Scrart had lied to his father so the king would have one less thing to worry about . ) This left the king confused for the rest of his life as to how Evoi accomplished all of this in one day , but he never bothered to ask . * * * * * Days later , a letter arrived for Evoi . He ran up to his room from breakfast , excited because he 58 62 : had never gotten a letter before . These days he wasn 't greeted by one swipe across the face , but two . The king had listened to Evoi as he told him of how Blaze once belonged to his mother , Queen Sonia . This time Blaze wasn 't sent to the stable . This time he was allowed to live with Arridi and Evoi , and they were all happy . Evoi settled down in his bed and opened the envelope . The letter was folded , and one of the sides said ' YUEN LEE OF SHENKUU . ' Evoi carefully unfolded the letter and read the three words that were written in ink on the paper . ' Stay in touch . ' Evoi smiled at the letter from his friend . 59 63 : Epilogue So life went on in Brightvale , but with a few changes . Evoi continued sword practices , and became one of the best Knights of Brightvale , but he put more effort into archery . The herbal tea that the Shenkuu Princess had given to Evoi had completely cured the king who lived on to be the ' The King Who Lived the Longest ' ( and best by far . ) The three Kougras became strong , mighty steeds , and very popular throughout Brightvale . And , of course , Evoi grew up to be the ' Second Best ' for not only was he the second best king , but he was also the second best archer Yes , Scrart lived to an amazingly old age , and died as , still , the best archer . Yuen Lee , on the other hand , being the only child of the King of Shenkuu , made sure that the alliance between Shenkuu and Brightvale was kept . She frequently sailed across the sea to visit her old friend , Evoi . 60