Zach, a young man with mysterious powers, lives in the magical land of Zhanth. One day, the evil ruler Marthin takes over Zhanth, transforming its people and landscapes. With the help of an imp-like creature named Xya, Zach is turned into a wolf and journeys to defeat Marthin. After a fierce battle, Zach regains his human form and saves Zhanth, though it is unclear if Xya was real or part of Zach's imagination.

1. Brittany H.<br />The Battle of Dark<br />Zach sat in the cool pond, softly splashing the crystal clear water with his bare feet. He looked at the scar of the Zhanth symbol on his right hand. He couldn't remember how he got the scar, but people said it meant he was the \"
Sacred Zhanth Warrior.\"
Zach always laughed at that remark. Zach was six feet and one inch in height. He had black hair and eyes like a granny smith apple covered in carmel. He wore a faded sapphire blue tunic, grey tights, and ankle-high boot made from the skin of a serpant. He secretly had a crush on the princess of Zhanth, Aurora. She was tall, about five feet, eight inches, had long champagne-colored hair and eyes like a peaceful ocean. All of the sudden, a berserker on a bore came crashing into the lake! \"
I am Marthin! Ruler of Underworld! Obey me, or I will cast a horrible spell on all of Zhanth!\"
he bellowed. Zach pulled out his long, silver sword and held it out to Marthin. Then, he hissed, \"
I will never obey you, fool!\"
Marthin let out a deep chuckle that sent chills down Zach's spine. \"
Alright then, but because of your brainlessness, Zhanth will pay a horrible price!\"
Then, Marthin pulled out a massive horn and blew it with all his might. Right away, ominous storm clouds started to swirl in the sky and two horrid creatures with long claws fell from above. They charged at the frightened, young Zach. They swung their hideous fists at him until he was unconcious. Then, they dragged him away from the lake. Marthin blew his horn once more, and the water in the lake turned to a purple mist. The people who were in the city formed into little golden clouds, and the sun that once shined bright and gaily in the sky, turned into a depressing, Cimmerian hole. The berserker let out a villianous laugh and said, \"
My work here is done! Now I rule both the Underworld, and the World From Above!\"
He then turned around and rode away. Zach awoke in a dismal dungeon that smelled like a hundred wet dogs. He didn't feel the same though. He looked at himself in a piece of shattered glass and discovered that he was a huge, grey wolf! Zach heard a high-pitched laughter. He quickly spun around in surprise. Then, a bizzare looking creature appeared in front of him. It was a small, black imp with bright yellow cat eyes and a sharp tooth sticking out of its mouth. \"
My name is Xya,\"
she screeched through ear-piercing giggles. \"
I'm very pleased to meet you! As you probably know, Marthin has pretty much taken over your gay little world, and I don't really want our two worlds to be mixed together like that. So, I'm here to help you defeat Marthin and win back Zhanth.\"
This is so confusing! What is going on here? Zach wondered to himself. Xya smiled at Zach, revealing five pearly teeth. \"
I bet you didn't know that I can read your mind, did you? So if you need anything, just think about it and I'll be there. But for now, just follow me!\"
Xya snapped her thin fingers and they both disappeared from the prison cell and appeared in room of stairs. Xya led Zach all the way up the spinning stairwell. When they got to the top, there was nothing but a large pair of mahogany doors. Xya opened the doors and Zach saw someone in a long, dark robe inside. Who was this person? When the door shut, the mysterious person turned around quickly. They took down the hood of their robe and a waterfall of golden locks of hair fell. It was Princess Aurora! Zach's heart began to pound like a hammer hitting a nail. He felt his furry cheeks get hot with agitation. His mouth became as dry as the Sahara Desert. Aurora's brilliant blue eyes were filled with sorrow, and her skin was pale. She looked like a living corpse. \"
Oh Sacred Zhanth Warrior, please defeat Marthin!\"
she wailed. \"
Our world is not meant to be this way, it's supposed to be radiant and cheerful! Not dark and depressing!\"
Zach nodded his head, and turned away with Xya following. On the way back down the stairs Xya looked at Zach and said, \"
Marthin should be in a cave over by the Grand Zhanth Lake! I can transport us over there to save us the time.\"
After that she snapped her fragile fingers and they vanished. When they came to the murky lake, right away they saw a horrific cave. As they slowly approached it, they heard a loud BOOM! They spun around in a flash, and discovered Marthin perched on his enormous purple boar behind them. \"
So, you've come to save Zhanth? Well to bad! It is mine now!\"
he yelled, followed by a menacing laugh. Marthin and his boar turned around and started trotting away. Zach ran after them and pounced on Marthin like a cat. He let out a feirce snarl and chomped on Marthin's neck. Marthin roared in pain, and tried to free himself from Zach's jaws, but Zach held on. Finally, he let go, but not for long. Quick as lightening, Zach bit onto Marthin's arm and shook his head. Marthin bled and bled and finally fell off of his boar, which ran away as fast as it could. Zach jumped on Marthin, but before he could land on him, Marthin wacked him to the cold floor. Zach layed there, wounded badly. He cried in pain. \"
You thought you could defeat me? I am much more powerful than you are! You ca-\"
Marthin didn't finish his sentence before Xya came up from behind him and hit him in his head with a heavy log. Marthin tumbled to the floor, unconcious. Zach slowly rose from the ground and limped over to Marthin. He chomped onto his face and ripped his skin right off of it. Then, the area lit up with a glorious light. The gloomy waters from the lake became clear and glistened. \"
Thank you,\"
Xya said to Zach in a soft voice. \"
Our worlds are seperate again and you no longer need to worry about anything.\"
She then pulled out a thin wand and tapped Zach on his head. His wolf body began to lose its hair, his long nose shrunk, and eventually, he was his human self again. \"
I can sense that Princess Aurora is waiting for you at her castle. I can take you over there now, but then I must leave, and we can never see eachother again after,\"
she said, solemnly. \"
I understand,\"
Zach replied wistfully. Xya snapped her fingers pathetically and they disappeared from the lake. When they got to the castle, Aurora was outside waiting for them. She bolted towards Zach and hugged him. \"
Thank you so much! You saved Zhanth! Thank you!\"
she cried. \"
I couldn't have done it without the help of Xya,\"
he said, turning around to Xya, but she wasn't there. \"
Where's Xya?\"
he asked. \"
Who?\"
asked Aurora. She sounded confused. \"
Xya. That imp-like creature that was with me,\"
Zach explained. \"
You must have bumped your head Zach. There was no imp with you at any time,\"
Aurora said giggling. Zach looked at the floor. Had Xya been in his imagination the whole time? \"
Come on! We have to celebrate!\"
Aurora exclaimed. She skipped into her beautiful castle. Zach sat down on the floor, wondering if Xya was real or not. He decided to finally forget about her and enjoy the celebration. He really was the Sacred Zhanth Warrior after all.<br />