“You said that she had killed an innocent!” Kistur growled from his throne. His hands firmly gripping the armrest so he wouldn’t grab the hilt of his sword. The muscles in his arms shook from his anger.

The dark woman and the Naaram priest were kneeled down before him. Both wearing hooded cloaks that covered their faces. They had been told to prepare for a journey before they appeared in front of their king. There was now no doubt in their minds that he would be sending them after Ariane.

“She did, milord, she…” The priest began with a hint of worry in his voice, but was quickly interrupted.

“She has not joined us on the specter plane and remains locked away in her own. This means that she has not connected with her Naaram essence, which also means she has no connection to us.” Kistur turned to the dark woman. “You must create this connection immediately. My spies tell me that Vasilys has failed us and we have lost the Sygontian Woods. Ariane now continues her journey north. It won’t be long before she is at our door. We must have her on our side or she must die…”

“I’ve tried to ensure her dreams occur more often, but her soul is so strong.” The priest told him, keeping his eyes to the ground.

The dark woman looked up to her king, “There is something strange about this child, Kistur. She is not like us.”

The priest continued, “When I gave her the map in Yodgonosh, I could sense more then Naaram’s essence. There is another god at work, perhaps Placidia.”

“Placidia would not be strong enough to hold off Naaram for this long, especially after she killed the innocent!” Kistur snapped. “Priest, your visions are what sent me after this girl in the first place. Yet, it seems now that it would have been to our benefit to leave her be. Though she carries a great deal of Naaram’s power, she could not match me once I absorbed the rest of the essence. Therefore, this is your mess and you shall deal with it. Turn her to our side or kill her.”

“What of me, milord?” The dark woman asked.

“Go with him. He may need your magic as well as your connection to the specter plane. Ariane can not know that you are near, ensure that you hide your essence at all costs. If it is decided that Ariane will not turn to our cause, then it is your duty to destroy her.”

Both stood and bowed.

“If you fail, then there is no doubt that she will kill you.” Kistur spoke as his eyes pierced the dark woman’s form. “It shall be a fitting punishment.”

She bowed to him again and they began their journey down the hall to the portal room. Once they were out of the throne hall, she looked over at her companion. “I grow weary of his insolence. It will do me good to see the last child slit his throat.”

“Hush.” The priest snapped, “You do not want his minions to overhear you.”

“Is she the last child, priest? You must tell me.”

He turned his old eyes to her, though she could barely make them out. “No, but she knows who is.”

A grin came to her crimson lips, “Then why do you allow Kistur to think that she is his rival? We both know that Kistur is not the last child, though he carries a great deal of essence. What is it that you hope to accomplish?”

“I asked you to convince Kistur of his power, and you have done so to perfection. When Naaram returns you shall be rewarded for your loyalty to your father. That is all I will say.” He opened the door to the portal room and waved her in.

---

Ariane stood looking over the cold, blackened remains of the small village. Eryalith stood beside her with a piece of the burnt wood in her hands. It left a black charcoal film on her fingers as she slowly crushed it. Though the entire village had been burned to the ground, there were no bodies. Knowing that the bodies at the last village could have been snow elves, Ariane had to question if it was right to destroy the ashen elf entrance that was suppose to be near by.

“What could they possibly want with human remains?” Eryalith asked as she watched the others picking through the ruins for clues.

Vidan was sitting against a nearby tree that had been spared from the flames. “I highly doubt they took dead bodies with them. Live sacrifices appease their god.”

“But the bodies at the other town looked like snow elves. Why would snow elves take hostages?” Ariane asked.

He stared at her for several moments, before running his fingers through his white beard. “It would not surprise me if the snow elves and ashen elves have formed some sort of alliance. No doubt due to Kistur’s influence. It seems that Naaram child has his hand in most every evil occurrence in this day.”

“My people would never align themselves with the ashen. The ashen are disgusting, vile creatures, who…” Eryalith silenced herself when she heard the sounds of an approaching group.

Ariane turned to face the group of five that approached. She immediately recognized Mikal, though he was without Oriana and Frayne. The quarter ashen elf smiled as he approached the group, though his good humor vanished when he saw the burnt ruins.

“Lady Ariane, you are alive?” Mikal took her hand when he approached her. “We searched the manor for days after it fell. We all thought you had perished.”

Theron and Mitsos came to stand next to Ariane, and Jabin soon joined them. Eryalith reached for Jabin‘s hand. She was looking for comfort and safety as she knew that strangers would not be welcoming of her presence. Jabin held her hand only briefly before coming to his senses and releasing her. With a look of sadness in her eyes, she pulled up her hood to cover her face.

Ariane grinned sadly at Mikal, “Vidan saved me before it fell, I was in Githeth.”

He smiled and turned his eyes to the jealous gaze that Theron offered him. “Well met, Theron.”

“Mikal, are you going to introduce us to your friends?” A beautiful half elven girl asked. She looked to be a priestess, but of which god, Ariane was uncertain. She had a build similar to a human, but thin and tall like an elf. Her ears were not as long as most elves, but longer then Mikal’s. Her eyes were a beautiful light green that seemed to pierce ones soul when she looked upon a person.

“Yes, forgive my rudeness.” Mikal kept a strong grip on Ariane’s hand, “This is Lady Ariane Kafele, paladin of Placidia. She is the one that saved me from my curse.” He introduced the rest of Ariane’s group. “This is Lady Lyrana, priestess of Kiele. Her companions are Conlan.” Mikal pointed to the fighter, who didn’t seem to be a paladin of any sort. He looked as if he had been in many battles, and his age was closer to Mitsos that it was to Ariane’s. “Rederick.” He pointed to the dwarf who was no taller then Mikal’s hips. He had a dark brown beard and black eyes. Ariane had never met a dwarf before, as most never left Icilus. “And Lady Caleigh and Lady Haleigh, both paladins of Ginafa.”

Ariane bowed her head to the twin paladins. Both looked to be Theron’s age with light brown hair and gray eyes. Their thin faces carried a serious about them that was not uncommon in Ginafa’s paladins.

“Yes, now that were are all acquainted. What has happened here?” Haleigh asked looking over the burned town.

“We just came from the south, and another town was attacked as well. It appears whoever did this took the people who lived here before they burned it. It is either ashens or snow elves.” Ariane told her.

“Most likely ashens, they have an entrance nearby.” Conlan growled.

“I wouldn’t jump to conclusions.” Vidan said from his tree.

All eyes turned to him.

“Vidan? Is that you?” Lyrana asked and approached him.

He nodded his head and offered his hand out to her when she came to stand before him. Kneeling down beside him, she looked him over. “I heard that you were expelled from your circle, but I did not believe it. Why has this happened?”

“Do not fret, my dear girl.” He patted her hand, “It was all for a just cause. Tell me, are you doing as I asked of you?”

“Yes,” She began to dig into one of her pouches, “I have the…”

He stopped her from pulling out an item from her pouch, “I believe you.” Vidan mumbled and looked over at Ariane to ensure she hadn’t seen anything. “You are on your way to Hopeless Harbor then?”

She nodded her head as she removed her hand from her pouch, “Yes. A man from a nearby town begged us to see if there were any survivors. He said the town was attacked while he was hunting in the nearby woods, and…”

“Ariane will take care of it. You must make haste to the harbor. That item must be in the hands of the priestess before…” He stopped himself, “you know of what I speak.”

“But, Vidan, I can not just turn my back on those that need my help. Kiele would never forgive me.” Lyrana felt Mikal’s hand on her shoulder.

“Lyra, Ariane is quite capable of handling this situation. Her group is better suited for the task. Conlan and Rederick are still injured from our last battle. We would only hinder the investigation.” He kneeled down beside her and began to whisper, “And with the twins hate for ashen elves, I doubt they would allow us to seek the truth. Ariane seems to think the snow elves may be involved.”

Lyrana nodded, “You are right, we are not suited for this.” She turned her eyes to Vidan, “Perhaps, you should come with us.” She kept her voice at a whisper, “Ariane has a violent task ahead of her, you would be safer…”

“No, my life is short as it is. I will not hide from danger and I must see this through.”

Lyrana nodded, “Very well.” She stood and turned to the others of her group. “We will return west. Ariane’s group will deal with this situation.”

Haleigh was about to object, but stopped when Conlan shook his head at her.

“It was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ariane. Your father was a hero to all the people of Arywan. His exploits were the reason I joined the temple, though we had no Placidia temple in my village so I settled for Kiele.” She winked.

“The pleasure was mine, Lady Lyrana.” Ariane responded.

“I will catch up, Lyra. Allow me to say goodbye to Ariane.”

Lyrana nodded her head, “I am sorry that we did not get the chance to get to know each other better.” She bowed her head to Ariane and her group and noticed that Eryalith had taken special care to hide behind Mitsos and cover her face. She decided not to ask why.

Once the group was a decent distance away, Mikal turned to Ariane with a smile. “It does my heart good to know that you are alive and well, Ariane.”

She smiled.

“I’m sure it does, Mikal.” Theron growled.

“You needn’t worry about me any longer, Theron. My heart does belong to Lyrana, it always has. You do remember Lyrana from when we were children, do you not?”

“I do not remember all the girls that you used.” Theron was trying to stop himself from putting his arm around Ariane’s shoulders.

“Lyrana was my friend before those days… unfortunately, she was the first to fall victim to my curse. She has sense forgiven me for stealing part of her life.” Mikal was telling Ariane more then Theron. “She was my first love.”

“She is beautiful and seems very devoted to her god. I am happy for you, Mikal.” Ariane squeezed his hand when he took it.

He looked between Theron and her, “And I am happy for you as well.”

“Thank you. What of Oriana and Frayne? I noticed that they are no longer with you.”

He nodded, “After Rundalfelt, Oriana decided that she no longer wanted to travel. It became a good time to stop her adventuring as Oriana and Frayne have decided to have a child. They returned to Yodgonosh for a time, then they will return to Oriana’s home village of Iskan to the south.” He looked over his shoulder and realized he could no longer see his group. “I must bid you farewell, Ariane. Good luck with your travels.”

“To you as well, Mikal.” She waved as he ran towards the horizon.

---

Standing on a cliff of the nearby mountain, the dark woman watched as Ariane and her group looked through the remains of the village. The priest was kneeled down behind her, as he mediated trying to gain insight into their situation.

“She won’t willingly kill anyone unless she believes them to be a Naaram child.” She said slowly, as she was trying to concentrate on the spell that hid her essence from the Naaram spawn in the distance.

The priest looked up at the black hair that flowed gently in the wind. His companion was quite beautiful, but the death and destruction she carried within was all to apparent to anyone who dared look. “Indeed, which is where your abilities will come into play. Ariane’s will is too strong, fortified by another god no doubt.”

“Placidia is the goddess of restraint.” She kept her eyes on her sister.

The priest stood up next to his companion and looked across the burnt village, “Placidia could not overpower Naaram’s will. Only Ladandia and Marolarn has the strength to destroy him at will.”

“You forget that is was Tevona that…”

“Only when he had lost much of his essence, and she will suffer for her betrayal.” He frowned causing wrinkles to form around his lips. “No, only the goddess of life or the god of death could have such control over Naaram’s essence.”

“They do not involve themselves in these matters.” The dark woman looked over at him, taking her eyes off Ariane briefly. “Perhaps, it is more then one god at work here. Each giving a blessing unto Ariane to protect her from the essence.”

“It is a possibility.” He folded his hands in front of him. “Not even they can keep the essence at bay once Ariane has reached her potential. She must kill an innocent on her own accord. We can not trust that we can separate her from the group again, so she must believe them to be another spawn.”

“If the ashens had not burned this village, then we could have used one of the humans here.”

The priest shook his head. “No, they would have to know that they would die and understand what it means to be a Naaram child.”

She chuckled, “I’m sure there are plenty of men at the castle that would willingly sacrifice themselves for Kistur.”

“They would not understand how to behave. No, it will have to be me.”

Slowly she rose an eyebrow, “Doesn’t she know you as the Adrik priest? She would never believe that you are a Naaram child, as she has already come into contact with you.”

He nodded, “Indeed, but she does not know whether or not I have the ability to hide my essence as you do. You are able to place your call upon me, are you not?”

“I can make it seem as if the essence comes from you, yes. I do not understand why you would do this. If you die here, then Naaram will never know what you have done.”

“Naaram will know. You can not kill a god. He still yet lives on another plane. Awaiting his time to be reborn into the heavens. When he does, my soul will be rewarded.”

“And what of me, and all that I have done for you?”

“My brotherhood is well aware of what you have done. They will ensure you get what is coming to you.”

“When shall we do this? Now?”

He shook his head, “We must kill the wizard first. He may not look to be a threat, but he is much wiser then either of us could imagine. He also carries the blessing of a god upon him. Someone in the heavens wishes for him to linger in this existence.” He turned his eyes to her, “Summon one of the sorcerers. Inform them of the havoc that the ashens have caused against Kistur’s will. Then ask for our best assassin, the wizard must die tonight.”

---

The group moved closer to the ashen elves’ cave opening that night. They had to be careful not to arouse the suspicions of any ashens scouts, so they made camp in the nearby woods. To ensure their safety, two people had to be awake at all times while the others rested. Ashens were not known to be welcoming of strangers around their caves. It was something that became painfully clear to the group in the past couple days.

Ariane and Theron had wanted to take watch together, but Mitsos insisted that the two remained separate. He said that it was to ensure each watch was equally able, but Ariane had a feeling it was to stop them from spending time together. She didn’t understand why Mitsos had become upset with their coupling. It didn’t seem like long ago that he had been in favor of their relationship.

Sitting in the darkness, Ariane watched the charred remains of the wood finishing its burn. Mitsos was her partner for the evening, and he was more interested in their surroundings. Every time Ariane tried to make conversation, he would silence her and return to his watch.

“Ashens have an incredible sense of hearing, do not talk.” He would mumble over and over again.

Ariane sighed loudly and realized her mistake when Mitsos shot her an annoyed look.

They were the last watch of the evening and Ariane could see the sun beginning to rise through the canopy as it was turning the sky shades of pink and orange. No Ashens would come out this late in the evening, as she had heard they preferred darkness.

She scanned the camp. Theron and Jabin were sleeping peacefully nearby, while Eryalith had taken to sleeping with Ariane. So, all Ariane had to do was reach behind her to feel the snow elf, who was snuggled closely to her back. Vidan was sitting up with his back against a tree and his eyes closed. He didn’t like to sleep laying down, or at least that’s what it sounded like he mumbled when Ariane questioned him.

Mitsos stood up and looked towards the sky. For a moment, he seemed to be in awe of the beautiful colors, but the look of happiness faded quickly. His dark eyes returned as he turned them to Ariane, “Wake the others, we need an early start.” After giving the order, he made his way into the woods.

She gently shook Eryalith, who blinked rapidly as she tried to come awake. The snow elf sat up and began to poke the charcoaled remains of the fire with a stick. Theron and Jabin were easy to wake as she only had to push them once with her foot. Both stood up and made their way over to the camp fire. Jabin gave a loud yawn and stretched out his arms as he did so.

Kneeling down beside Vidan, Ariane gently shook his shoulder. “Vidan, it’s time to wake up now.” She whispered, but he didn’t move. Ariane was use to his deep slumber, and tried again. “Vidan, wake up.” She shook a little harder.

Theron came to her side when he heard her try for a third time. He kneeled down next to her and shook him. When the old man didn’t respond, Theron gently shoved the old wizard and he fell to the ground. There was no movement from the body, nothing to acknowledge that Vidan lived among them any longer.

“Oh, no.” Ariane whispered and covered her mouth with her fingertips.

“What’s wrong?” Eryalith ran over to them and enclosed her face with her hands when she saw Vidan.

Jabin stood up, but did not come any closer to them. At that time, Mitsos arrived with wood for the fire in his arms. He looked at the strange positioning his group had taken, and seemed to understand what had happened. It was no surprise to him that the wizard had passed on, as he was surprised that he had survived for as long as he had.

Without questioning the party as to what had happened, he started the fire.

“Everyone needs to eat and then we will bury the wizard.” Mitsos said as he began to dig through one of the packs for bread and dried meat.

Theron did as he was told and came over to the camp. He began to eat the meat that was given to him, and Jabin followed his lead.

“I…I… I can not eat when a dead body lays so close.” Eryalith whimpered when Mitsos offered her some of the food.

“It is no different then when he was alive.” Mitsos told her, “It is the same flesh and blood that he was yesterday when we ate together. Only today there is no life.”

The snow elf shook her head, “No, I won’t eat.”

With a roll of his eyes, he offered the food to Ariane.

“I will pass as well.” Ariane told him.

“Do not tell me that you can not eat in the presence of the dead.” He grumbled.

She looked over at Vidan briefly, “It is my sorrow that has sent away my hunger, not the body.”

With that Mitsos retracted his hand and began to eat his own meal.

Ariane and Eryalith decided to prepare for Vidan’s funeral, while the others ate. Having nothing to dig a hole with, they found as many rocks as they could. Ariane chose a spot near a small flowering bush, which was where they laid his body and buried him beneath the rocks. Ariane held back her tears the entire time, and tried to tell herself that she was not to blame for this. As the group said their farewells to the wizard who had begun the journey for them, Ariane placed a yellow flower from the bush on his grave.

“May Placidia’s judgment bring you a peaceful afterlife.” Ariane whispered when the flower left her hand.

It was a small and quick ceremony with few tears. Theron and Mitsos were far too use to burying their comrades, while Jabin and Eryalith had no real connection to the old man. Ariane, however, knew that he had lost his immortality because of her. He believed in her and he had saved her from death.

They continued their journey and Ariane kept her sorrow to herself. No one ever noticed the small hole in Vidan’s neck, where the dart had pierced his skin. Nor did they ever see the shadow cloaked assassin that had entered their camp and retrieved the dart. They would go on believing he died from his loss of immortality, and never know that it was murder that had taken their friend and comrade.