Egon Wood ( E Gon )

Pet: Lion Mercury ( Mer Cur Re)

Theresa Ashdown ( Tha Ris A )

Pet: Panther Nyx ( Nics )

Rayner Moonfall ( Ray Ner )

Pet: Bear Ares ( Ar Es )

Ceridwen Vix ( Care A Dwhen )

Pet: Owl Snow ( Snow )

Mali ( Mal E )

Mace Kane ( Mace )

Pet: Horse Nilas ( Neil Ass )

Duzna ( Duz Na )

Vestomer ( Ves Tom Ear )

Adisa Rathmore ( A Dis A )

Salina Mortem ( Sa LI Na )

Lilith Calarook ( Lie Lith Cal A Rook )

Rolland ( Roll Land )

d

Chapter Seventeen: Forbidden to Enter

Theresa watched as Ceridwen raced away.

"She cursed Ceridwen?" Theresa asked pointing to Adisa.

"Under the lies of Duzna, yes..." Rayner said.

"And you brought her here!?" Theresa's voice a sizzling spark of electricity as she let go of Rayner's hand and slowly backed away in disgust.

"She's changed She's not the same person." Rayner said as he tried to weave his fingers back into Theresa's hand.

"No." Theresa ripped her arm away. "NO one can change that much..." She stared at Rayner tears forming in her eyes. "Come on, we need to get to the outpost..." Theresa turned around and motioned for her friends to follow her, leaving Rayner, Ares, and Adisa alone in the field.

"Well aren't they just a pleasant bunch of─"

"ADISA! Don't!" Rayner snarled. "Let's just get to the outpost!" Rayner mounted his bear, and motioned for Adisa to hop on. Ares let out a low growl, and Adisa backed away. "Ares...don't do this..." Rayner begged.

Ares exhaled in anger. Rayner extended his hand and Adisa clamped onto his arm as he swung her onto Ares's back.

***

Snow soared high in the clouds, as she had been for days, following Ceridwen. Upon spotting her owner the owl tucked in her wings and dove to Ceridwen.

"Hey girl..." Ceridwen said as the bird grip onto the huntresses shoulder. "You just missed all the fun." Ceridwen said as she continued to race toward the outpost.

"Take another step and we fire!" A voice, stern and harsh, echoed through her ears. Ceridwen planted her feet and held her hands in the air. Three archers stood a few feet in front of the huntress, bows drawn.

Dirt brown tunics peeked through their chainmail armor that glistened in the morning sun. The men wore black leather boots, and green mask guarding their features.

"Mali sent me...sent us..." Ceridwen said as her friends came bolting up behind her. When they saw Ceridwen motionless, hands sky high, they did the same.

"Who told you that name!?" The same person who had roared at Ceridwen before growled, releasing tension from his bow and lunging so he was inches from Ceridwen's face.

"Mali was my trainer, he sent us here to collect enough Magic Born to stop Vestomer and his army." Ceridwen slowly lowered one hand to her pocket and emerged with a folded piece of paper. "He told me if y'all didn't trust me I should give this to Rolland, his brother."

The boy pulled off his chainmail helmet and dark green mask, reviling his sunset orange eyes, like a kindling coal was lit in his irises. His blonde hair curled to his ears.

He snatched up the letter.

"Follow me!" He told Ceridwen and the others. "Watch them...closely!" The boy said to the two other archers, who still had their bows drawn.

***

Rayner and Adisa rushed towards the outpost as Ceridwen, Egon, Mace, Theresa, and Lilith were escorted in by three archers.

As they arrived no one was in sight, so Rayner and Adisa slid off the bear and trudged into the camp.

***

Ceridwen followed the boy through the camp, people whispered as they passed by, and sucked into their tents. The group followed the young blonde archer until he stopped outside a massive snow colored tent, which sat in the center of the outpost.

"The panther and bird stay out here." The boy said, pointing to Nyx and tilting his head toward Snow.

Child! Nyx roared to Theresa.

"She says that's fine." Theresa informed. Nyx sneered at her and Theresa flashed her a knock it off look. "I'll stay with her." Theresa announced.

"In fact, we'll all stay." Mace said, nodding at Ceridwen.

The boy through back the tent flap and ambled in.

"I don't trust him, if I'm gone longer than five minutes..." Ceridwen's words trailed off as she gazed at the ground focusing on those words.

"You'll be fine." Mace reassured her. Ceridwen faked a smiled as Snow flew from her shoulder to Mace's forearm, and the huntress tucked under the tent flap.

***

"Are you sure this is the right place...?" Adisa said as she darted her eyes around the outpost.

"No, we've just made a wrong turn and ended up at a different hidden outpost." Rayner retorted.

Adisa stopped and blasted a shadowy wall in front of Rayner, and instantly the environment melted into a pit of anger and despair.

"Don't dump your anger on me because your friends couldn't see the good in me and you can." Adisa roared.

Rayner rapidly unsheathed one of his blades and held it to Adisa's throat.

"I'M NOT!" Rayner growled through his teeth.

"We've been here once before, do you really want to go through that field of landmines again?"

Adisa's palmed radiated with the aroma of darkness, which materialized into balls of night like fear. She flung her hands towards the sky and the blackness slithered upward then fell onto Rayner's body, blighting his skin in a dark fury.

Rayner dropped his sword and cradled into the ground. Adisa swiped her hand through the air and the shadows evaded.
"Do not blame me for your friends disbelieve!"

Adisa strolled past him then spun on her heel and smiled down at him. She extended her arm to help him up, but before their hands could touch she was knocked backwards by a powerful wind.

The earth around Rayner erupted upward incasing him in a cage of dirt.

***

As Ceridwen entered the tent her eyes fell upon a man that resembled Mali in every feature. He held spectacles to his eyes and viciously scanned over an opened book. "A hem." The boy said, announcing his presents and extended his hand, clutching onto the letter. The man, Ceridwen assumed to be Rolland, broke his gaze on the book and focused on them.

He would've been identical to Mali, excepted for his eyes. Were Mali's snow like orbs glowed this man had glossy irises with a faded grey, not like Rayner's vibrant stormy pupils, but more of a tainted rain cloud.

"Ceridwen Vix, You have arrived!" Rolland said as a smiled broke the once irritated expression he had on his face.

"You...you were expecting her, sir?" The boy stammered.

"Why of course, my brother always stands by his word, and he said they would be coming." Rolland stood, walked past the dumbfounded archer, and embraced Ceridwen. "You look just like your mother." He pulled away from the hug and studied her up and down.

"You...You know...Knew her?" Ceridwen managed to fumble out the words.

"Yes my dear, I did..." Rolland's gaze dropped and a shimmered of sadness rippled through his veins.

"So is it true? Are there really Magic Born trapped in Tenebris, along with my parents?" Ceridwen stared deep into the man's eyes searching for answers.

"I'm afraid so..." Rolland's faint expression of sadness was hurdled into a hurricane of sorrow.

"And to potion, the potion to release them, is real too?" Ceridwen didn't break her gaze from Rolland.

"Yes, if only I could find the book with the recipe..." Rolland growled.

"I think I can help with that..." Ceridwen said as she pull a peeling leather bound book from her backpack. "Mali gave this to me, I just don't understand this writing, it's some sort of code."

"No worries my dear, this is wonderful." Rolland gawked at the book and slowly took it from Ceridwen possession. "Yes, this will do quite nicely." Rolland rubbed the fragile book. "Are your friends outside?" He asked.

"Yes..." Ceridwen replied.

"Splendid!" Rolland turned and set the book on his desk. "Now, Nassar, Show them to their tents." Rolland said to the archer, who still stood bewildered, and unresponsive. "Nassar Thornton, now!" Rolland repeated.

The blonde archer shook himself free of his thoughts and rushed out of the tent.

"Now, Ceridwen let's see if we can decode this recipe!"