"So, have we reached a conclusion? What is our next move?" Silas asks as they had all gathered again.

"Well, we had decided to talk for a while earlier after chasing this rascal around." Soren says as he lifts Zym up, the little dragon giving a yip. "And after retrieving prince Salim's boot as well, Tressal agreed to be the one to attempt to do the spell and said any dark mages who are strong enough are welcome to travel with him to Xadia for this."

"I still offered to help but a certain amount of certain someone's refused to let me." Claudia adds, casting her brother and friends a scowl. "I'm still a second option! Viren told me as a child that I had the potential to do dark magic, so maybe -"

"Claudia, we said no because we don't want you to mess yourself up doing a huge spell." Enya says, interrupting the teen. "Look at what it did to Callum! Do you want awful fevers and being unable to wake up from it?"

"If it results in me being able to do primal magic afterwards, then yeah."

"Not this again." Tressal mutters and shook his head. "Fine, if something goes wrong you can do the damn spell - only just a smidgen of it. I've seen young mages attempt to do spells too powerful to handle and become ashes or husks of their former selves, if your brother and friends are against it, it's for a good reason. But that probably won't be necessary because I'm considered quite powerful for my age, so this should be a piece of cake."

"Anyways, if the young mage is making the journey, who shall accompany him?" Selene asks and turned to the others. "Any volunteers?"

"Me." The group looks to prince Salim in shock as he held his hand up, looking unsure of himself. "I volunteer to go. I've read every book available on Xadia in my kingdom's royal library and memorized maps and scrolls of the whole place if we don't have an elf guide to help us."

"Any other reasons why you want to go?" Tressal asks in a bored tone.

"I...I just want to make things right. My brother came to Xadia with what some would view as bad intentions and never came back, I wish to go in with good intentions and come back alive and a way to help my soldiers and the soldiers of the other kingdoms. It sounds selfish, but I just don't want to sit back and let everyone do the work for me. Back at home...a whole council thinks of me as weak and useless, inferior to my older brother, but I want to prove them wrong."

"Then you'll need a proper guard, can't always rely on Tressal and his magic." Enya says, raising her hand. "My king has a whole crownguard to protect him while I am gone, one less guard won't harm him. And my dog will tag along as well, I won't leave without her again."

"Alright, three to take the task." Silas says with a nod. "Anyone else wish to - prince Callum?"

"I volunteer, you will need some more magic users in case things get a bit sticky." The young mage says, holding his hand up and looked to his brother. "You have to stay home this time, can't leave running a kingdom to Opeli again like that."

"Fine, but you gotta promise not to wander off to look for Rayla." Ezran states firmly. "And you gotta come back too, we still gotta clean that study of Viren's and fix it for you to use."

"Fine I'm coming too." Soren says raising his hand as Claudia does the same. "Enya can't be the only adult running around to keep you kids in check. And I know my sister is gonna join so I need to keep an eye on her or our mom will murder me."

"Sure, that's why you wanna go." Claudia teases and looks to the elves. "Sooo...any of you wanna come? Unless you're worried being near the Forge thingy might affect you."

"You'll need someone to help who knows sun magic to test if the Forge works again, so I'll go." A Sunfire elf soldier standing next to Janai says as he raised his hand. "For my kingdom and my queen I will aid these children."

"Uh some of us aren't kids!" Soren protests. "I'm eighteen!"

"Still a child." The elf shrugs and turns to a a female solider. "Bineta, do you wish to accompany us? The more fighters to protect these children, the better."

"I'm not a child!"

"I suppose, there are many dangers in Xadia that I'm sure none of them have encountered before, so I'll go." The female elf says with a nod. "Also to make sure Babukar doesn't set anything on fire that doesn't require it."

"So...Ibis?" Callum asks, turning to the Skywing mage hopefully. "We could use an extra pair of eyes in the sky for this."

"Ah, I'm afraid not this time Callum. Now that the queen is awake, I must stay at her side." Ibis says with a shake of his head and Callum's shoulders sank a bit. "But I do have a gift to give you before we depart and go our separate ways, it could help in your education on sky magic."

"So that's eight of us so far, is that enough?" Salim asks holding up eight fingers. "Or nine if we're including that dog Enya mentioned?"

"Eleven if we're counting our two dogs, not leaving my fur babies behind!" Claudia adds.

"Make that nine!" The others then turn to Routhna, who holds a hand up.

"Umm, don't we have enough muscle on the team?" Claudia asks cautiously.

"Nonsense, you can never have too many fighters in a group!" The woman laughs. "Besides, someone has to keep Tressal in line to avoid getting slapped again and I'm sure Salim wouldn't mind having a familiar face around when he's far from home. And as someone who was trained to fight and survive in the harshest conditions, I can help keep you safe and even give you better tips on surviving. Plus, I've always wanted to see Xadia. I heard the place is quite nice this time of year."

"Indeed it is." Selene says with an amused chuckle. "Alright, anyone else wish to go?" When no one answered, she nods. "Very well then, you all should prepare yourselves for your journey, it's a long road to your destination, we wish you all luck."

"Alright, roadtrip!" Claudia cheers as the council session ends and turns to her brother excitedly. "This is gonna be so fun! Dangerous, but fun! Oh I can't wait to see all the cute magical creatures there! Oh you think we'll find a unicorn too?"

"Maybe, you never know." Soren says with a shrug before turning to his friends and their new companions. "Alright, I know the perfect way to get into Xadia, but we should all head back to Katolis to prepare for the trip. Anything we need?"

"Proper traveling clothes, I don't think this is suitable for going far and dangerous places." Salim suggests, tugging at his top. "If that's okay with you all."

"No problem, my dad and I can whip you up something a little more appropriate to travel in, and I know someone who can make you some sturdy boots to wear." Enya says and grins. "This trip to Xadia will be more fun than the last one, still with a dangerous quest but still fun!"

"That's the spirit!" Routhna laughs as she slapped the teen on the back, nearly making her fall forward. "I like your way of thinking missy. Hope you Katolians have a good blacksmith in your kingdom, we certainly need our weapons sharpened just in case we run into some trouble involving hostile elves - no offense to our elf companions."

"None taken." Bineta says with a shrug. "I suppose we should depart soon, is there anything else we need?"

"Well I certainly need ingredients." Trestle says and everyone looks at him in horror. "What? I can't perform my magic without it, you want a dark mage to tackle something that powerful without ingredients? Unless you elves are willing to lend me some of your hair and bits of your horn."

"Eww." Claudia gags. "Why don't we just lend him some ingredients that Viren kept? Easiest way to get rid of them and you don't have to go killing cute little Xadian creatures like...those burr things."

"Adoraburrs." Tressal corrects her. "Very well then, whatever your father has in his office I'll take and make use of it."

"Then meeting over." Janai says with a nod. "I shall be heading to the camp where my people have been staying and wait for your arrival then."

"I wish you all luck." Silas says giving the new group a smile. "Your mother would be proud of you, Prince Salim, as would your father."

"Thank you." Salim says with a small bow. "I...I'll try my best to be of use."

"I'm sure you will."

"Hey Callum, weren't we gonna...you know, tell them about..." Enya makes a grumpy face and pushed her bangs and hair back in an attempt to mimic Viren as the members of the group broke apart to their encampments. "That guy?"

"Uh, well maybe another meeting, this is important." The young mage says quietly.

"We should tell them at least, the rulers of course and our new group members, can't have him spring up on us and everyone get mad that we kept this to ourselves."

"Okay fair point, perhaps I could tell the elven leaders and maybe you tell the human rulers who came, or I could tell Ibis and his dad and he can pass it onto the others and Zubeia."

"That can work, I'll tell Aanya and Salim and she can pass this onto Silas." Enya says with a nod. "Oh that reminds me, I'm gonna have to pick up where we left off on your training."

Callum frowns. "Oh come on, I can do magic now! Why do I need to learn how to pick up a blade again? I'm terrible at sword fighting!"

"Trust me when I say this is for your own good little brother, it will come in handy when magic fails us."

---

[Somewhere in Xadia]

It had been three days...three days since that happened and Desmond wasn't really liking the company of the latest addition to the cave. For one, Aaravos was just...unsettling to be around. Ever since he emerged from the cocoon, his father suddenly had multiple tasks for him to do that required him to be outside of the cave for long periods of time. Every time he came back the two seemed to have been discussing something that was upsetting the no longer dead mage that had him glaring at the elf from a far part of the cave.

"Father, it's been three days and counting since the elf emerged, what are we doing now?" The teen finally asks one day as he hands Viren a bowl of soup he had prepared. "Also ignore the eyeball in the broth."

"We can't really do anything right now, considering his...current state." Viren says as he glances at their new guest, who was muttering angrily to himself and drawing faintly bright runes that kept fizzling out after a few seconds before he could utter a word.

"So he's pretty much useless." Desmond says with a frown. "Good to know, at this rate you'll be an elderly man with dementia by the time he can actually get his powers back to full charge."

"Desmond, hold your tongue."

"I still fail to understand why my magic isn't working anymore." Aaravos says as he is walking over to them and tugs at the collar of the tunic he was now wearing. "Don't you have anything bigger than this?"

"That's one of my own so no." Desmond retorts before heading back to the pot to grab another bowl to fill. "Father said we couldn't let you catch a cold since you emerged without your fancy robes, so we had to make do."

"Fair enough, but perhaps-"

"No." Viren says quickly. "Whatever you suggest, he's not going to do."

"I was simply going to say if he could get me a few yard of proper cloth I could sew myself something." The elf says with a shrug before accepting the bowl of soup from the teen.

"I don't even have money to get you cloth anyways." Desmond says as he sat down by his father with his own bowl of soup. "Also how do you even know how to make clothes? You're not even a tailor."

"I managed to pick up some hobbies during my imprisonment, so I'm quite good with needle and thread if I say so myself."

"Sounds like Damian and his daughter have competition." Viren says quietly and Desmond scowls.

"Back on the subject of my magic, I am having trouble even doing simple spells a toddler elf can do." Aaravos says with a frown before taking a sip from his bowl. "Not even the butterflies the boy has managed to catch or the little animals that scurry in here have been any help in reinforcing my magic. We need help."

"And who can even help us?"

"Kim'dael."

"Uh...who?" Desmond asks in confusion.

"Did you know that long ago there were Moonshadow elves who could perform a forbidden type of magic that was somewhat similar to dark magic? It was able to expand their lifespans and enhance their magic." Aaravos explains. "However these elves were hunted down, save for one. Assuming she's still around, she could be of use to us."

"And what is this forbidden magic?" Viren asks, now growing wary.

"Oh just blood magic, which requires the blood of elves. If we drink it, our magic can come back to its previous power and perhaps even stronger than that."

"Then I can go and kill an elf and fix that, we don't need some elf who's probably not sound anymore." Desmond scoffs.

"You are not going to do that." Viren snaps.

"I'll have to agree with your father on this, plus it requires a ritual involving a blood moon that comes around every year during the autumn." Aaravos says nodding in agreement. "Kim'dael should still be alive, just haunting the ruins of an old temple in Moonshadow territory where the rituals take place. Perhaps if we were to find her and convince her to join us, we could get back on track with our previous plans and get back at those who wronged us all."

Getting back at Soren, his sister and Enya? Oh Desmond was definitely in for that. He loathed his father's children from his previous marriage, failures who abandoned their father when he needed them most. Then again if they had stayed, he would never have been found by Viren and adopted, he probably would have died in the streets of starvation or of some illness he couldn't get treated easily. As for Enya, well, he just hated her plain and simple. She just irked him and would gladly get rid of her given the chance. And the others, Callum, Ezran, that Moonshadow elf, literally everyone who wronged him and his father, they would pay tenfold for going against his father.

"I'll do it then." Desmond says loudly. "I'll find her."

"Absolutely not!" Viren snaps. "You will not go out there and get yourself killed by elves simply to fix us! If we go, we go as a group and when I have recovered my strength enough."

"I'm strong enough to do it on my own! I'm not weak!" Desmond yells back angrily. "I can fix you both and we can go back to the way things were before they all ruined it!"

"I will not lose my son simply for chasing a damn fairytale-"

"WHEN WILL YOU STOP HAVING FAITH IN ME?" Desmond screams, standing up to fling his bowl onto the ground and breaking it, sending shards and lukewarm broth flying. "I BROUGHT YOU BACK FROM THE DEAD, SOMETHING NO MAGE HAS BEEN ABLE TO DO! YOU HAVE NO FAITH IN ME AND IT PISSES ME OFF! I'M NOT A CHILD FOR YOU TO BE SO PROTECTIVE OF ME LIKE THAT ANYMORE! FUCK YOU AND YOUR WORRY I'M DOING THIS AND YOU CAN'T STOP ME!"

"Desmond!" He hears his father yells as he turns and runs, ignoring his yells. Fuck what his father said, if this was going to fix things he was going to do it. And no one was going to stop him.

---

[Del Bar, Askelson Residence]

"Auntie, are Claudia and Soren gonna come home soon?" Leif asks Lissa as she is trying to sharpen a knife.

"It's only been a few days, they've probably just got there." The older woman responds as she tries not to flinch from the pain. Even after all this time her hands still hurt, when would they even heal? "Plus, they might take time getting to see the friends Soren made when he was away, and it will take time to come back."

"I wish I went with them..."

"You probably wouldn't like Katolis, it was too warm for my liking."

"I could handle it!" Leif protests with a huff. "And Sprinkles too!"

Sprinkles, who was asleep on one of the chairs, lazily opens one eye and lets out a small meow before going back to sleep. Lissa chuckles as she shakes her head.

"Tell you what, when they come back from Katolis, perhaps in a few weeks we could go visit it for ourselves. And perhaps if Ezran has spare time, he could make time to play with you and show you around."

Leif's face lights up in excitement. "I wanna try jelly tarts! Soren says they're delicious and Claudia tried recreating them but burned them the other day."

"Yes, only Barius can make such tasty tarts that feel like you swallowed magic." Lissa chuckles before she looks up to see her brother in the doorway motioning for her to come. "Hey why don't you go clean your room, I was very sure I saw some dirty socks on the chairs."

"Those are Soren's!" Leif protests.

"Then go clean up your toys. Soren did complain the other day that he tripped on one of your blocks to avoid stepping on your wooden figures."

"Okay fine." The little prince mutters before sulking out of the room. Once she was sure he was gone, Lissa gets up and hurries over to her brother as he leads her into the kitchen and to the pantry.

"Okay I know the whole Audin and Aric business is over and done with, but it's not." Raul says once they were in the pantry. "Cira becoming queen had upset some people, those who were fine with Aric being king and those who wanted Leif as king after Audin spread the rumor of what his nephew was doing to his baby brother."

"Cira is a better ruler than her twin and Leif is too little to rule, what's up with people wanting to change that?" Lissa asks with a frown. "Though the fact that the younger princesses got skipped is concerning."

"Yes I know, but there's been talk about a revolt happening while Cira is gone that's either going to return Aric to the throne or have someone try to get Leif to come back to the palace. You know what this means, right?"

"That trip I promised him to Katolis is coming sooner than planned. Get my horse ready and get your daughter to pack some things for the three of us."

"Why my daughter, she's still injured!"

"She's healed enough, we'll just seek refuge in Katolis for now. Plus you know she's not going to want to stay here when I take the young prince away, she's going to state as a crownguard soldier it's her duty to protect any member of the royal family."

"I heard me being mentioned what are we doing?" They hear Sigrid yells from outside the pantry. "And why are you in the pantry?"

"Pack your things, we're taking Leif to Katolis." Lissa responds as she pushes the doors open to exit the pantry.

"I'd question why but YEAH ROADTRIP!" Sigrid cheers. "Hey if we see Claudia and Soren I'm gonna bug them about that girl Bjorn mentioned!"

"ANother time, for now we must make haste and seek shelter there." Lissa says as she briskly walks past her. "Leif! Pack your things, we're going on a trip!"

"I wanna take Sprinkles!" They hear the young prince squeal excitedly as they walk into the living room and he comes running in waving his wooden toy figures. "Can I take him? Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!"

"Maybe for precaution we should." Sigrid whispers to her aunt. "Just so he won't be bored."

"Then you carry whatever we have to put him in." Lissa agrees before turning to Leif. "Now pack some light shirts, it's gonna get warm over where we are going and plenty of socks. Oh and maybe a book or two to entertain yourself with."

"Yes!!" Leif yells before rushing away to get packed.

"So is there a reason we need to rush to Katolis?" Sigrid asks as she goes to pick up Sprinkles from his chair. "Just curious since you swore years ago that you wouldn't return as long as your ex-husband lived there."

"Well he's gone now and I want to see some old friends, that and we have to get Leif out of here." Lissa says with a small shrug. "I promise I'll explain when we have to rest at an in on the way, and hope we can leave with no one noticing."