– It's never too late to start improving, especially since the book is very interesting.

– Well, you can't even argue with that.She confirmed Huon's sister's words.

The girls came to the cliff, the bridge over which led further on the way to the Amulets. Old and rotten logs were attached with frayed ancient ropes, which made it scary to step on the bridge even with one foot, let alone cross to the other bank. In the days of the Ancients, there were unprecedented beauties here, but only now only the ruins of unimaginable architecture remind of the greatness of the civilization of the first elves. In the old days, the water in the current cliff lapped like a huge and raging river, passing through the entire Gaela Range and falling in a high waterfall almost at the top of the Temple Peak. The river was crossed by a wide bridge built of dark stone, which the Ancients extracted from the very depths of mountain mines, for the construction of especially beautiful architectural monuments. On this bridge, at one time, caravans and scientific expeditions passed, the path of which ran through most of the lands of Alletria, not even skirting the territory of the Norgs, and all that remains of it now is a few pillars that did not collapse, resting on the bottom of a small river barely visible below, on which mosaics and sculptures based on ancient legends are carved, barely distinguishable and

When Huona had taken a step and made sure that the bridge was still in use, she took her sister's hand and walked cautiously across the river. The tree crumbled with each light step, and Zarri squeezed her eyes shut, clutching her older sister's hand tightly as she walked with her eyes closed, still afraid to open them and see the bridge falling with them. Fortunately, everything went smoothly, and Huona held her little sister by both hands so that she could safely get off the bridge, and then went on along the wooded path.

– So, what does it look like?Zarri broke the silence."Does he really look like a dragon?" With fangs, animal eyes, and a tail?

– Don't-her-t, what are you.the girl said, laughing.– He's just an elf like everyone else, just more agile and has stronger magical abilities.

– What about the scales? Everyone said there were scaly growths on his hands…

– "It has no scales," Huona answered, laughing even louder, and each time surprised by the stories of the young novices.– He has extraordinary drawings on his hands that resemble scales. But I do not know where they come from.

– The books don't say anything about it?Zarri asked, wanting to know more about Trion.

– There is no exact information, except that most of the members of the Order had such drawings, only each one has its own meanings and patterns. I'll ask Trion about it, see if he can tell me anything about such rites in the Order.

– All right, all right. One last question for now. We're getting close to the Wards anyway.

– Indeed, because of the conversation, I didn't even notice that we had come a long way through the forest, " Huona added quietly, pleasantly surprised by the circumstances.

– How does he kiss?Zarri asked with a wide smile, her eyes darting to her older sister's face as quickly as possible.

" Zarri!Huona drawled, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.– What kind of questions?"

" Hee-hee –" the young prankster laughed loudly, straightening her curls in the wind."La-aa-bottom, I was joking. You don't have to answer, but tell me about his magical abilities, since they are so powerful.

– No one else has such magic, not the mountain elves, not the sun elves that Trion belongs to, or the Norg shamans. It has something to do with his father and being a member of the Order of the Five Talons. He has incredible fire and wind magic, which he can effortlessly combine to form even more powerful spells, and he can also talk to various draconids-wyverns, hydra, and, of course, dragons. He can also make contact with other monsters, I've already heard a couple of stories.

– It's amazing. I've never heard of elves talking to monsters before!Zarri said admiringly, already anticipating interesting stories from Trion himself.

– I doubt we'll ever hear any more. The rest of the order's priests are dead, so Trion is the last of the elves with such abilities.Huona breathed in frustration, realizing the position of her object of sighing

– Now I understand why the Elder is so protective of him. How does he even live in the casemate…?Zarri mused, not even waiting for a response from her sister.

– Everything was fine, but the last time we met, Kyte told me that Trion had been raving about the plot for more than a week, hearing the whispered conversations of the plotters who were planning an attack.Huona said suddenly

– What do you think of that?"Zarri asked, surprised by her older sister's response.

– I'm worried about him. Almost three years of living in an empty casemate, locked up and unable to leave his reservation… I just want to know that everything is fine with him-excitedly and sadly said the girl, and these words in her shining eyes flashed a light of fear-But I have not been allowed to enter the Monastery for several days.

– Okay, "Zarri said, running away from her sister, who was frozen in place," I've already learned a lot, now all I have to do is meet the Great Son of the Dragon in person.

Looking up, Huona saw five shining pillars of light rising high into the sky, as if resting on fluffy clouds. The girls were so engrossed in talking about Trion that they could easily have missed the right path leading to the top, to the very pillars of light that emanated from the Wards. Zarri, well ahead of the lagging Huona, was the first to climb to the Altar of Knight's Wards, through which the phylactery was to be filled. Placing the box in the center of the altar, the girl removed a pendant with a purple stone that shimmered like mother-of-pearl from her neck and, leaving it next to the phylactery, went to one of the wards. There were ancient runes scrawled on the stone wheel, which framed a small design that vaguely resembled wind currents moving towards the ancient altar. With a wave of her hands, Zarri let out a fairly powerful gust of air from her small palms, aimed at the runes of the amulet, from which they gradually acquired a glow, lighting up clockwise, one by one. The glow grew brighter, bursting out of the stone ward in slow, careful tongues of non-scalding blue flame. The stones on the box in the center of the altar table also began to twinkle, like stars in the night sky, which flickered on and off again, giving their light to the neighboring ones. When the box finally began to shimmer and warm steam began to flow from under the closed lid, Zarri went back to the table and put the pendant back around her neck. The box abruptly went out and once again stood calmly on the gray stone, the runes on the amulet also lost their radiance, until they did not lose their magic fire at all.