Yellow month, night 27.

  Horwann woke up in the middle of the night, completely drenched in sweat. For the third time in a row he had the same dream. In his dream he is with his family and everyone is happy. Suddenly, more and more darkness appears in the dream. Horwann’s family members disappear into it one by one. At this moment Horwann always wakes up.

  Horwann, shaking all over, got out of bed. He looked at the small, sleeping Onyx, stroked his cheek, and then sat down at the table. Horwann sat at the table for a while without moving. He was very tired, but he couldn’t sleep. There was despair and fear in his eyes. Then he pulled a book out of the table drawer, its title was “The Tamer of Shadows”.

  Horwann began to read the book, it calmed him a lot. It is a book written in the period when Horw II ruled Middleworld. Middleworld was in a great crisis, because Horw II was the first ruler after Horw I - the man who conquered Middleworld. Because of that, people didn’t have that much respect for him. All over Middleworld there were attempts at coups, rebellions, and panic. Horw II calmed everything down… in every possible way. “The tamer of shadows” is Horwann’s favorite childhood book.

  Yellow month, day 28.

  Horwann was heading to the Shadow battlefield. A great arena where every year a tournament for the best warrior of Middleworld is held. Swing III won this tournament five times in a row. The tournament should take place in a month, but if the situation with the numbers is not resolved, then unfortunately the tournament will not take place.

  If the tournament did take place, it would be very interesting, because Swing is on an expedition to find the place where Two and his group come from, so he wouldn’t participate, because who knows when he will return.

  Horwann decided that at this place he would refresh his fencing skills. Grin was seriously injured, because Horwann did not take his sword to the celebration… he was defenseless. As the king of the kingdom of the black Crystal, he must take the sword into his own hands.

  At the place he met Raven. - “As you asked, Your Highness. Three swordsmen are ready to face you.” - “Thank you, Raven, I hope you also followed the second part of my request. To invite very experienced swordsmen.” - Horwann took a practice sword from storage. That is, a sword that is blunted so that no one gets hurt during training or a tournament. The three swordsmen did the same.

  Raven watched from afar as the warriors prepared for the fight. Suddenly Grin II began to arrive. Two members of the servants were helping Grin, because his injuries were still quite fresh.

  Grin sat down on a wooden bench that was built around the Shadow Battlefield. Raven sat down next to him. - “Cousin, what the hell are you doing here. You should be lying down. Damn. You don’t have to worry, I’m handling your job well.”

  Meanwhile, as Raven came over to her cousin, the training began. The first swordsman rushed at Horwann. He tried to hit him in the body with his sword. Horwann dodged and gave him a quick strike to the back.

  “Believe me, Raven, I would be lying down, but I wouldn’t miss this moment.” - “What? What moment. Horwann is just training normally.”

  Raven wasn’t paying much attention to the fight happening in the background. Instead, she was talking to Grin. Grin was looking at Raven more and more questionable. - “Raven… don’t you know?” - “Don’t I know what?”

  Grin thought for a moment. - “Well, it kind of makes sense, after all you’re only twenty-four. Twenty years ago you were only four years old, so I’m not surprised you haven’t heard about it.” - “HAVEN’T HEARD ABOUT WHAT??”

  Suddenly Horwann threw his sword in front of Raven. He was almost not sweaty or tired at all. - “Raven, I told you to find experienced swordsmen.” - Raven looked behind Horwann, where the three swordsmen she had chosen were lying on the ground.

  Raven turned back to Grin, who finally said what he wanted to say. - “Horwann is kind of a predecessor of Swing, in his younger years he won about six tournaments… until he became king. He's truly the tamer of shadows!”

  Before Raven could answer, Horwann looked her in the eyes. - “So… you didn’t find anyone solid? You didn’t follow my request?” - Raven started to panic, then a brilliant idea came to her mind. - “But of course I did. Your Highness. This was just a warm up. Your opponent will be me!”

  Raven and Horwann prepared for the fight. Then they ran at each other… The swords of Raven and Horwann met and the real training began.

  Brown month, day 29. - Nineteen years ago.

  Quarterfinals of the tournament for the best warrior. Two people were fencing in the middle of the battlefield. The crowd was cheering, chanting, and having fun. One swing was immediately followed by another. Two swordsmen were going at each other.

  Suddenly one swordsman’s swing did not hit the opponent’s sword, as it always had until this moment. The swing was completely off. The swordsman made a mistake and his opponent instantly took advantage of it. The opponent hit him with his sword on the shoulder, which forced him to drop his sword. The hit to the shoulder was followed by a direct hit to the neck, which sent the man to the ground.

  “THE FAVORITE OF THIS DUEL SHOWS WHY HE IS THE FAVORITE. LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… PRINCE HORWANN ADVANCES TO THE SEMIFINALS!!!”

  Horwann was celebrating, he did his classic celebratory move. He stabbed his sword into the ground and slid on the ground. His knees always suffered a bit, but the audience loved it.

  Horwann had the first duel in the quarterfinals, so he could calmly watch the remaining three duels. Next to Horwann sat his older brother Dark. - “So, lil bro, do you think you’ll become champion for the sixth time?” - “Definitely. I just eliminated the prince of Desert paradise from the tournament. If anyone scared me a bit, it was him. I’m sorry he won’t be able to shine because he fell before the semifinals, but well… maybe he’ll have luck next year.”

  Before Dark could answer, a man sitting on the bench below Horwann spoke up. - “With all due respect, I don’t think the prince of Desert paradise is the one who inspires the greatest fear.” - Horwann replied with a laugh that had a bit of pride in it. - “Really? And who is that terrifying favorite in your eyes… master…?” - “Master Bowler! I mean… not master, but you know!! Anyway, of course the biggest fear is you, prince, but… there is a man here you should really be afraid of. It’s his first tournament, but he has a big chance to win.” - Dark tapped Horwann on the shoulder. - “Yeah, I’ve heard about that. That guy really destroyed his opponents in the two duels he took part in so far.” - Horwann’s smile began to fade a little. - “So who is that star…?” - The man who was talking to Horwann turned around. - “ME!!!”

  Yellow month, day 28.

  Horwann and Raven were walking away from the battlefield together. Raven was leaving all beaten up, while Horwann was leaving only a little dirty. - “Well, Your Highness… losing 7-1, I really didn’t expect that… and honestly I’m afraid that I beat you that one time only because you let me win.” - “Haha, well, we’ll never know that, Raven.”

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  At that moment one member of the guard arrived to Horwann. - “Your Highness. The Seaway army has arrived.”

  Aqua and Horwann met in front of the gates of the capital. Already their second meeting this month. At their first meeting, however, Horwann was sure that his son Horw was alive and Aqua still had both arms.

  “80% of the army and ships of the kingdom of the blue Crystal are available for this attack, king Horwann. The ships will soon arrive at your harbor.” - “Thank you… thank you, Aqua, for your help. I really appreciate it.”

  Aqua patted Horwann on the shoulder. - “I’m not doing it only for your kingdom, but yeah… you’re welcome. Oh and… when we start the attack, that shark person is mine.”

  Aqua and Bowler were the only leaders who didn’t need Horwann to send someone to convince them to provide their army to the kingdom. Bowler was determined to help Horwann because of their relationship, and Aqua had a clear goal… to get back the trident that has the blue Crystal in it. Unlike Sand, Aqua will help Horwann in any way to get that trident.

  The servants of the kingdom of the black Crystal began to build tents and shelters for Aqua’s army in front of the city. Aqua and Horwann began planning together.

  That night, Aqua handed Horwann a mysterious bottle. - “Please open it. It’s alcohol from Southles… very high quality alcohol. I think we need to relax a bit you know.” - Aqua started pulling cards out of his pocket while Horwann was looking at the bottle Aqua had given him. Horwann was looking at it as if he had seen a ghost.

  “Sorry, Aqua… I don’t drink, but I’ll gladly play cards. - ''YOU TWO… COME HERE!” - Horwann called two members of the servants who were standing in front of the room where Horwann and Aqua were. Horwann invited them to play with them.

  Brown month, day 29. - Nineteen years ago.

  After winning in the semifinals of the tournament, Horwann was saying goodbye to his only brother and his parents. His father stroked him on the head. - “Alright, Horwann. I hoped we would be able to watch the tournament until the end, but unfortunately, this meeting cannot wait.” - Horwann’s father, the king of the kingdom of the black Crystal - was sailing to Southles. He had an important business meeting there. His wife was going with him, as always. Dark had never been to Southles, and so he wanted to see it.

  “Now you’ll have the kingdom on your shoulders for about twenty to thirty days. I did give you the legendary sword… but MOSTLY, don’t do stupid things with it. Overall, just be an icon of the kingdom, don’t do any crazy nonsense. AND… DON’T DRINK ALCOHOL while we’re gone.” - “Don’t worry, dad… I’ll be a good boy! And when you come back, I’ll be the six-time champion of the tournament!!!”

  Horwann said goodbye to his family. Suddenly Quinn jumped on Horwann’s back. - “SO??? ARE WE GOING?? I’VE GOT A REALLY GREAT BOTTLE FROM SOUTHLES” - “WE ARE GOING!!!”

  A slightly drunk Horwann came to Bowler and offered him his hand. - “Congratulations on the semifinals. Your opponent didn’t stand a chance. Hey… me and my buddy are going to celebrate… well, I’m already celebrating my advancement… buttttttttttttttttt now we can celebrate yours too!”

  Bowler immediately joined Horwann and Quinn. Together they went to a meadow nearby, where they drank and raced horses. Then they all sat together under a tree. - “Hey Bowler, I won’t lie… I’m quite afraid of you for the final. But hey… friends, whoever wins… right?” - “You bet, man. You two are a blast!”

  Brown month, day 30. - Nineteen years ago.

  Horwann woke up on the floor in the middle of his room with a huge headache. As soon as he woke up, he ran to the window and threw up. Horwann’s room was about twelve meters above the ground, so there is a big chance that someone got hit.

  Then Horwann looked around his room. Bowler and Quinn were also lying there. They slowly began to wake up, completely wrecked from yesterday. They all looked at each other and then started laughing loudly. Yesterday was great.

  Suddenly one member of the guard burst into Horwann’s room. - “YOUR HIGHNESS… I’M SORRY, BUT… WE RECEIVED NEWS”

  Yellow month, day 33.

  The army from Stoneworld arrived in the kingdom. Horwann and Bowler… their ruler… welcomed them at the gates. - “Army. Thank you for coming. I apologize that I did not come for you myself, but a friend needed me.”

  On the same day, Grin III returned from Lava lake. When Grin arrived in the kingdom, he started kissing the streets of the city. As soon as Horwann found out that Grin had arrived, he went to ask him about the state of the Kingdom of the Red Crystal.

  “Your Highness… I am NEVER going there again. Ash went crazy… CRAZY. But uh… she said she will help in the war against Two! Anyway… I uh… I have to see my father. Honestly, I thought I would never see him again.” - Grin laughed nervously and ran away before Horwann could ask him more questions. Horwann later found out the missing information… it made him VERY uneasy.

  That night, Horwann sat down again with his favorite book. He reached the final page. He read the whole book again. Horwann had been holding back tears for a long time, but now he finally let go. A crying Horwann is a very rare thing. The last time he cried was…

  Brown month, day 31. - Nineteen years ago.

  Horwann was sitting alone and completely destroyed in his room. Someone knocked on the door and opened it. It was Quinn. - “Hey man… I don’t want to disturb you, really not, I know you need to be alone. Just… the final is taking place at the moment when the sun is strongest. I know how much it means to you, if you wanted to come… it starts soon. So bye… take care, man.” - Horwann answered in a very quiet voice with one word. - “Thanks…”

  The final duel was about to begin. Bowler stood in the middle of the battlefield, not very enthusiastic. He also knew what had happened to Horwann. Suddenly Horwann arrived at the battlefield.

  Bowler came closer to Horwann. - “Hey uh… are you sure you want to fight… I can let you win or something. Or I can just give you the victory… really, say the word.” - Horwann looked Bowler in the eyes. - “Thanks for the concern… this means a lot for all of Middleworld… we will just fight.”

  The final duel began. Bowler started swinging his hammer at Horwann. Horwann successfully dodged. Bowler was a strong opponent, but as Horwann expected. Not that strong. Bowler only had luck with opponents this tournament.

  Horwann saw an opening where he could stab Bowler and win the tournament. Horwann prepared himself. Bowler swung his hammer wide. Horwann could win here and now.

  Suddenly, however, Horwann remembered something. - And when you come back, I’ll be the six-time champion of the tournament!!! - Horwann deliberately missed. That gave Bowler a chance to strike a fatal blow. Horwann was hit in the head and fell.

  Bowler became the champion of the tournament.

  Yellow month, night 33.

  Horwann tried to wipe away the tear that dripped onto his book. Unsuccessfully. The book had a wet stain on it. Irreversible damage.

  Horwann closed the book. He stared at the closed book for a while and thought. - “Tamer of Shadows… we are both broken inside now. Good night.”

  Nineteen years ago.

  Horwann became the official king of the kingdom of the black Crystal. Within a month, the kingdom began to face a crisis. Horwann was young. Nobody took him as a real king. People started stealing in the city and rebelling, because they were not afraid of consequences. Food and other supplies also started to run out. The expenses for the tournament are always big. Horwann’s family sailed to Southles to obtain gold and jewelry, which they had guaranteed in the name of Horwann’s father. Since the ship with Horwann’s family sank in the sea… the gold was not obtained. And also, people began to leave the army.

  In the Great hall there was an important meeting. Everyone present was discussing what to do next, while Horwann was sitting in silence. Nobody let him speak.

  Horwann took a torch from the wall and threw it in the middle of the table. Those present put it out and then turned to Horwann.

  “Finally you are quiet. Your proposals are very nice… but too pathetic. We need a proposal that is disgusting, but the harsh reality.” - One of those present spoke up. - “Do you have such a proposal… Your Highness?”

  Horwann sat back down at the table.

  In the following days, the northern and eastern parts of the capital were closed. That is, the two less important parts, because the west has the city gate and the east has the coast. Other cities of the kingdom had a similar fate. As for the parts that were not closed, they received only small food rations. Horwann himself and his servants also began to save a lot.

  In the closed parts, chaos reigned. After a month, the situation in the kingdom improved again. The cities were opened again. To those who survived in the closed parts, Horwann offered a little feast and a place in the army, and more. Most accepted.

  Nobody liked what Horwann did, but it saved the kingdom. At that moment, the nickname “Tamer of Shadows” settled on Horwann.

  Brown month, day 27.

  Horwann watched from the cliff as the fleets sailed toward the black Islands. Horwann can be a cruel king, but when it comes to the kingdom, he has one thing, out of respect for his family, in first place. Victory.