Aelwen's nose wrinkled as the quiet murmurings of male voices reached her ears and lifted her from the depths of unconsciousness. Her father's low tones in particular caused her foggy mind to begin to clear. Simply hearing him again made her feel warm and at peace for the first time in a while. Perhaps the kingdom had never been attacked. In fact, what if she was sleeping cozily in her castle bedroom, her father gently urging her to rise and greet a new day as princess of Eveanor? What if Queen Liriel had always been kind hearted, and was always Aelwen's real mother? Aelwen took comfort in this thought. Maybe, just maybe, everything was still as perfect as it had been just a few weeks ago. Aelwen jolted, a thought coming to her mind as she struggled to fully awake. She had to plan for the Golden Festival, as it was approaching quickly! But what gifts would she get her parents? And, of course, she still had to arrange for the stable-master to order golden-silk outfits for all of the show horses. They couldn't be in just any riding gear when they marched through Capitol Cainor's streets and pulled the royal carriage! Oh, not to mention she still needed to discuss the design of her festival dress with her personal tailor--

A sudden burst of light met Aelwen's eyes when she cracked them open. A silvery-orange fire blazed atop a pile of logs and twigs. Several dark figures sat around it in hunched over positions.

A young man's voice spoke quietly. "Wouldn't that just agitate them? I mean, I'd be pretty miffed if random humans started shooting fire at my nest... if I had one, of course."

Aelwen blinked away dwindling thoughts of her old life as the reality of the situation crashed down upon her. No, it was all just a dream. Just--just a dream. She took a haggard breath.

The young man, whose name was Kotuya (though he preferred to be called Gerel), continued, quickly brushing a hand through his raven hair. "Why not try sneaking past?"

"That's a little hard to do when we've got a moaning, snoring princess to lug about," lamented a tiny fairy named Jane. Her green and orange butterfly-like wings sparkled in the moonlight. "Oh, I--I didn't mean to sound rude, I'm just being honest." Her voice dropped down to an embarrassed whisper.

"We might have to go around. Wyverns are not to be toyed with," an older man called Erno stated with authority. He was the biggest person in the group, his tall, muscled body atypical of a man his age. Thick armor and layered robes decked his frame. "What do you think we should do, your highness?"

"Hmm?" Aelwen's father, King Jesoph, looked up at Erno. "Aelwen is in dire conditions. I feel we need to get to the Kana as soon as possible. Turning into dragon form and flying as high as possible over the wyverns may be the best solution."

Erno gave a small grimace. "I understand your reasoning, your highness, but the wyverns would still spot us. They are fiercely territorial and intelligent. As soon as one sees us and alerts his brethren, we'd have hundreds if not thousands of little acid-spitting flying lizards after us."

Gerel's eyes brightened. "An invisibility ward! We could use-"

"They would smell us. And hear us. Not to mention taste the air." Erno shook his head.

Aelwen gave a sharp intake of breath when a sudden surge of pain burst from her leg and up her spine. Everyone in the camp whipped around to look at her.

Gerel and Jesoph immediately got up and went to Aelwen's side.

"Aelwen, how are you feeling?" Jesoph asked, delicately touching his daughter's hand.

Aelwen gritted her teeth and grunted in response. She craned her head upward from where it had been placed on a makeshift pillow made of her satchel. Her face turned a sickly white when she saw her leg. It was tightly strapped to the scabbard of her rapier, which acted as a splint of sorts. Many blood-soaked bandages were repeatedly wrapped around her shin. Her stomach rose into her throat as she moved slightly and felt her foot shift unnaturally as if it were disconnected from the rest of the leg.

Gerel placed his hands over her and whispered a set of unintelligible words. Reddish-pink light wove from his fingertips and into her leg. The pain gradually ceased.

"Don't move!" Gerel ordered. "It needs to be kept still to heal properly!" Already he was taking a book from Erno's bag and strapping it to her foot and the scabbard.

Beads of sweat lined Aelwen's forehead. Her head rolled back onto her pillow. "H-how bad is it?" her voice croaked.

"Liriel really did a number on you," Gerel said through his teeth as he waved his glowing hands over her. "Cracked the bone into several pieces. I've managed to refuse a few but I'm not nearly as skilled as mom. The main fracture still needs to be repaired."

Aelwen felt a wave of nausea roll through her. "G-great. Just, great." She gripped her father's hand tightly, overwhelmingly thankful for his presence.

Gerel sighed. "Listen, you're not going to like this, but--"

"Uughh..." Aelwen put an arm over her face.

"I know, I know, but we've gotta do this. You need to change back into dragon form. That way you can walk on three legs or fly. We can't carry you all way to the Koana without losing valuable time--"

"Although I'm sure he wouldn't mind it all that much-- having you in his arms, that is," Jane piped up as she tightened her ponytail.

Gerel paused for several seconds. "And I'm sure Lord Riche Cheval would feel the same way about you." He turned his head back toward Aelwen before Jane's blush could cover her entire face. "It's going to be painful, but I'll try to minimize it as much as possible. The scabbard and bandages will be temporarily removed while I use magic to hold your leg together as you Shift. Got it?"

Looking up at Gerel, Jesoph grimaced. "We shouldn't do this now. We aren't leaving until morning and she needs to get her rest. She can transform at dawn. See if you can fully set her bones before then."

Gerel gave a begrudging nod.

"Gerel, were you--did she hurt you at all?" Aelwen asked hurriedly, the events before her injury flooding back into her mind with each passing moment.

He gave a small shake of the head.

Aelwen's eyes squinted into the campfire's light. Her brows rose and lowered as she thought. "What... what's happened? What are we going to do? K-Kera-- where is she?"

Gerel closed his eyes.

"We are trying to get away from her as fast as possible. She must not know where we are, as she'll try to get to you and possess you just as she did with Kera. We need to reach the Fire Kana and receive their blessings and alliance." Jesoph went on to explain that Liriel now had access to all of Kera's memories, including those of the mission and the location of the Koanan encampment. Thus, the whole village could be in danger. He also told of how Shev had been sent to warn the Koana, but may have gone back for Kera instead.

"Isn't there any way for us to contact them through magical means? An enchanted looking glass? A familiar messenger?" Aelwen questioned, wiping sweat from her brow.

"We gave our only Letter Seed box to Riche Cheval," Gerel explained. "The only other way to get a message to them is through Shev if he makes it, or a Soul Waker, who could reach dad. None of us are Soul Wakers, though, so we'll have to think of something else."

"What is a Soul Waker?" Aelwen asked.

"Oh, well there are certain followers of Auria who have the ability to 'wake' the souls of other people and, essentially, transport them into the realm of spirits. My dad is one of them, that's how he was able to have you meet Auria when you first arrived to the encampment. It's also why he is able to paint prophecies consistently. He's not the only Waker in the village, but is one of few. If one of us was a Waker, we could send either ourselves or another into the spirit realm and hopefully meet dad's soul there. Then we could tell him about Kera."

A violent shiver raced down Aelwen's spine. Her thoughts ripped back to when she first battled a dragon. She had been helping to protect a caravan of refugees by staving off attacking soldiers of Empress Kaleign's scaly army. In the end, she'd beaten one of the dragons, but had been afraid to deal the final blow. She was compelled to put her hand against the dragon's head, and once she had done so, the dragon passed out, seemingly unconscious. Moments later, the dragon awoke and explained that she'd seen the creator of the world, Auria. Aelwen had sent her to the realm of spirits.

Could that mean that I'm a Spirit Waker? I'd been meaning to tell everyone what had happened, but never got around to it. What if I can warn the Koana?

"Gerel, I..." Aelwen wiped more nervous sweat from her brow. "...I think I can help." She explained her story to the group, who all took it in a stunned silence. Even the normally indifferent, grouchy young boy (and son of Empress Kaleign), named Devin perked his ears up to listen. "I don't know if that means anything, but--"

Erno got up from his seat, his palms raised to the sky. "Of course! I knew it!" he cried. "By the Gardener I could see it in you when I first laid eyes on you! Ha HAH!" He joyfully clapped his hands together as if he'd found an invaluable treasure.

Gerel just stared at Aelwen in an awestruck fashion.

Jesoph gave a warm smile. "She's chosen you! It makes so much sense--"

"--This is perfect!" Erno said.

"The Koanans and my people are saved!" Jane squeaked.

Aelwen's heart rose. Was this the answer they were looking for?

Gerel cleared his throat. "Wait. Could that be one of the reasons why Liriel wants to get to her so badly?"

The festivities stopped. A blanket of worry fell over the spirits of those in the camp once again.

"What do you mean? Could she use that ability through me? Would that make her even more dangerous?" Aelwen searched her companion's faces for an answer.

"Your mother, Kaleign, is a Soul Waker," Jesoph explained. "Before the fall of our kingdom. Then when she... went astray, she was able to use her abilities to harness the power of souls."

Aelwen remembered Delku (Gerel's father) telling her about Kaleign's twisted form of magic. She could capture the spirits of those she consumed within her and use their energy to cast spells.

"If Liriel possessed you..." Jesoph continued.

"...It would be bad news for everyone," Aelwen finished quietly.

The group mulled over this new development until Erno took a deep breath and spoke.

"First things first, let us attempt to get in contact with Delku," he said, striding to Aelwen's side and kneeling down. "Send me."

"No." Gerel sent one last swath of healing magic into Aelwen before looking up at her. "Send me. I want to see the realm of spirits. I've never had the chance before, because of my fear of what I would see in my tree. Please, let me go. I'll find my father's soul and tell him what's going on."

Aelwen blinked. Gerel's dragon form bore pure golden scales. For most of his life he had been terrified of changing into a dragon, as gold was the metal witches used to cast spells. Gold also represented Cainen, the enemy of Auria and the demon responsible for the fall of Jesoph and Kaleign's kingdom 200 years ago. As it turned out, Gerel's dragon form had been claimed by Cainen, and could be readily possessed by the demon. "Well, alright, but I don't know if I can do it again. I don't really understand how I did it the first time." She tentatively placed a hand on her friend's forehead. Immediately a peculiar feeling rushed up her arm. It was like her limb was immersed in a wave of cool water mixed with particles of sand.

"Just ask her," Erno said softly. "Like I taught you."

Aelwen's mind dove deep within herself, searching for the pools of Auria's power that made up her own life source. "Auria. Please send Gerel to you, where you reside in the spirit realm. Let him find his father."

The wave swept from her heart and into Gerel. His eyes rolled back into his forehead and he slumped forward onto the ground beside Aelwen.

Looking from her hand to Gerel, Aelwen let out a surprised huh. "He's going to be fine, right?"

Jesoph gave a gentle smile. "Of course. You did well."

"Now we wait." Erno got up and threw a dry log into the fire. "We have only another day's travel until we reach the Fire Kana. However, there is a problem we were discussing earlier. There is an enormous canyon blocking our path, and it is filled to the brim with Wyvern nests."

Aelwen remembered the earlier conversation. "Oh no," she replied. "And you haven't been able to find a way across without disturbing them?" Wyverns were incredibly dangerous and smart creatures. Once Aelwen had seen one locked up in a noble's house. Without its pack it had been scared and lonely, and mostly hid in various places around its enclosure. However, when a servant tried to get it to come out on a harness, it clawed through the strap on its mouth and spit acid at whoever was nearby. Aelwen had been shooed out before she had seen the aftermath. It was still enough to scare the living daylights out of her, even if she was later informed that no one was seriously hurt.

"Not as of yet, anyway. But I've been cooking up a few ideas," said Jane as she flapped her wings above Aelwen. "You see, I brought along a few contraptions, which, if altered, could help us out."

"What do you have in mind?" Aelwen inquired.

"Hah! Well, I'm glad you asked! I was inspired by the smoke of the campfire. I believe we can mask our scent and obscure our bodies by using some of the chemicals and minerals I brought to mix up a kind of incense. Once it is burned the special smoke will hide us from the--"

A strange noise--a mix of howling and screeching--sounded a distance away. Several more repetitions of this were heard just after.

Erno's head raised high, his eyes searching the woods just beyond. His hand clenched into fists and his neck veins bulged as he gritted his teeth.

"Is that--?" Aelwen started.

"The wyverns," Erno said in a harsh whisper. "One of their hunting packs found us." 

((( Hi, everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of the second book~! I am so grateful and happy for your support of the previous book! It will be available for purchase very soon. I'll make a new part when it is. I love reading each and every comment on these chapters, so comment away! Reading your feedback and general story reactions is fun. ;3 )))