Navaji Marla collapsed in bed. Pain jabbed in her stomach, and it wasn't because she had gorged herself at dinner. Well, maybe that was part of the reason. But the other reason was that Marla knew they had to return home empty-handed tomorrow. The thought made her sick. Was failure even an option?

"What are we going to do?" She wondered out loud.

"You heard Solen at dinner. He said to not give up. Illias seems stubborn, but with more convincing, we can make him change his mind. We have to."

"But he said we have to leave tomorrow."

"I don't care. Illias is just a wizard. We have orders from the Queen of the Kingdom. If he has a problem with it, he can take it up with her." Remalyn crawled into her bed. "It is late. We should get some rest." She turned the last remanding light off.

"You are right." Marla pulled the covers up. "Goodnight."

Though the bed was the most comfortable, Marla remained restless. She felt a weight on her shoulders. At some point, Marla fell asleep but was soon awoken by tapping against their window.

Click, click, click.

Marla sat up.

Tap, tap, tap.

She pushed herself out of bed and threw the window open. Who was disturbing her sleep?

Nelee burst threw.

"Geez." Marla fell to the floor. Her heart pounded in her chest. "Nelee, you scared me." She found herself laughing.

Remalyn stirred in bed.

Nelee chirped.

"Shh." Marla threw up a finger. "Let's not wake her." Nelee twirled in the air but remained quiet. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The owl approached her. Ever so gently, it booped Marla's nose with its paw. Slowly, her feet began to rise from the ground. She gasped. Marla grabbed at the air, trying to find something to prevent her from floating off.

"What- How? Am I flying?" Nelee circled around and grabbed the back of Marla's shirt collar. Together they began drifting up into the night sky. "Oh, Gods." Marla closed her eyes. They were suddenly so high. If she fell now, she would be good as dead.

Nelee chirped.

"I realized I don't like heights." The owl continued to chirp at her. "Fine." Marla peeked open an eye. They had traveled far above the city, even past the floating buildings. Marla could see distant planes and a small mountain hidden in the neighboring forest.

Nelee flew ahead of her and did an excited spin. It took Marla a second to realize she was not being held anymore.

"Wait, Nelee, come back." Marla recoiled at the height, afraid of the fall, but her body remained weightless and still. "Ok. Ok." She reassured herself. Nelee slowly moved her paws back in forth while flying around her. Then she began to fly towards the mountain down below. Marla moved one leg and then the other. She moved one arm and the other. She paddled one after the other until she had developed some movement. Slowly she floated after the owl cat until her feet touched solid ground. Gravity returned, and her body felt heavy once more.

"Let's not do that again." She laughed. Nelee ran up a flight of stairs. "Where did you take me?" Marla paused. She hadn't even noticed the temple that lay before them. It was like the one she had seen in the Navaji's dream. A large stone door sat ahead. Before Marla could lay her hand upon it, it opened. Hesitantly she entered; however, Nelee did not. "Come on." She motioned for the owl to join her. She didn't want to go in alone. It shook its head. Instead, it flew off back towards the castle. "Wait! Where are you going? Nelee!"

"Marla." There was a whisper. She turned back towards the temple. Inside was a large enclosed garden. Small fountains ran water from one side of the room to the other.

"Hello?" She called out. The door to the temple shut after her. Marla walked through the flower arrangement. Colors of yellow, white, red, and pink surrounded her. In the center was a tall cherry blossom tree. Petals danced as they fell, and their sweet aroma filled her nose.

"Marla," she heard again. A golden bird descended from overhead and sat upon a tree branch. Instinctively Marla knelt. Once again, the Great Magoia had graced her with her presence. "Rise, my child. It is good to see you again."

"And you, oh Great One."

"So you've met the magician, Illias."

"Yes." Marla bowed her head. "But he refuses to help us."

"That is right. I refuse." Illias walked up next to her. Nelee hid behind his leg. Had she gone and brought him here?

"You must return the power to her." The Great Magoia flew down to a closer branch.

"Why do you ask this of me? You know the source of its power."

"This must be done. You wish for peace, do you not, great magician?"

"You know I do. But how will this bring peace? It only makes the Navaji stronger. Not only that but if I recreate her power, it will draw the monster here. I can not risk your safety, as well as the people's.

"I am strong here. I will protect what you have created for us."

"Why not ask for Vayne or Estarosa? They are just as capable as I."

"Your magic is pure; even they understand that."

"But-"

"Illias!" Her voice grew loud. "You will help Marla."

"Fine, but only if Marla learns the truth of everything." Illias crossed his arms.

"I will show her myself." The Great Magoia looked to Marla. "There is much to show you. Close your eyes, my child." Marla did as she was told.

"Many centuries ago, the kingdom was ruled by a man named, Ansellus. Like all kings and queens before him, he was taught the history of magic. He learned that all magic consisted of fear and happiness, as is the balance of all life. Within me are two sides; light and dark. Your power, as well as everyone else's, contains a balance of both. It is how it must be."

"For reasons I still don't understand, Ansellus was fascinated by the dark side of magic. He believed that a feared king would better serve his kingdom. I knew he desired to learn dark magic, but I did not realize he would try and separate the two completely."

The man named Ansellus appeared. He wore a red robe laced with opal thread. Upon his head lay a pointed crown and a wicked smile. Before him lay two birds. First the golden finch, which Marla knew as the Magoia, and then there was a black crow.

"That is the Navaji's true form."

"How-"

"How did the Navaji turn into such a monster?" The Magoia sighed. "Ansellus tortured him. That is where your power comes from, the Navaji itself. But unlike the magic I give you, it's chaotic and evil."

"But I've never felt anything like that from my power."

"You only have a fraction of the Navaji's power. If you had more, your soul would become corrupted. As I explained, the Navaji is fear itself. It is not something that should be handled as a separate entity. It was part of me for a reason. Ansellus soon learned that the more power he took, the less he could control. As he took more and more fear magic, his soul changed along with the Navaji. But that did not stop him. The idea of limitless raw dark magic took hold of him. He repeatedly tortured the Navaji until it wasn't the raven I knew. It had turned into a mass of unrecognizable dark energy. I warned Ansellus that he had gone too far. I think that is when he finally believed me. He saw what the Navaji had turned into. Ansellus began to fear the very magic he took, but it was too late. Their souls already mirrored each other. I watched the Navaji devour him. The Navaji had turned into a monster built on fear itself. It might have devoured me too, but Illias saved me. He made a safe sanctuary for all magical creatures alike, so others would not end up like the Navaji."

"I did go back for him," Illias spoke. "I wanted to save the Navaji."

"But it was too late for my other half. It killed Ansellus and everyone underneath him. You would have been killed as well. There was nothing you could have done. It is a part of my own soul, but even I am lost. I see everything it does, but there is nothing I can do. I have spent many years trying to understand the best way to bring peace, but even now, I have all but hopes."

"What are these hopes?" Illias asked.

"We must be reunited, body and soul. But we have had too much time apart. Its body has only grown more corrupt. It has forgotten itself, kills whatever enters its path, and sees no reason. It only feels anger and dread. Now it searches for me. The help it once sought has become but a dream."

"Who knows what it will do if it finds you." Illias shook his head.

"I don't want it to steal your magic as it did mine." Marla didn't even want to think of that scenario.

"It hasn't taken all, my child. Have you forgotten that I, too, bless all with my magic? Upon birth, each is given the ability to use magic. My magic contains the balance of life and death itself. When Navaji was torn from me, I felt empty. I thought I would never be able to give people powers again, but Illias helped me. He used his magic to recreate what I lost. That is his magic."

"Wait." Marla's eyes opened. "Do you mean to say I had two powers? The power created for me and then the power given to me at birth?" Was she understanding this correctly? "I had magic from you too?"

"Of course. I give it to everyone. You still have it."

"But the Navaji- It took my power."

"It took your nullifying magic. Even if it took both of your powers, you would still possess the ability to use magic. If I were to return it to you, you would use it as if nothing had happened. Magic could only be taken away if your soul itself was manipulated. Your soul comprises two parts; your spirit and your chi. Your chi is what gives you the ability to do magic. If this was taken away, even if I were to restore your powers to you, you would not be able to use them. Fortunately for us, the Navaji can not touch the soul. It can only take what is on the surface."

Marla sighed. Since the Navaji had taken her power, she had felt lost. But suddenly everything seemed a bit more possible.

"Why haven't I felt your magic?" She wondered.

"The power created for you by the others weakened my magic. When your nullifying ability was taken, the power I had given you strengthened. You've used it before; you just didn't realize it."

Marla paused. Her nullifying power had been taken by the Navaji. Why hadn't the Magoia's?

"Why didn't the Navaji take both of my powers? It easily could have."

"Yes. That is the question. Why did it only steal one of your powers? Why did it also show you your future at the spiritual pool? It could have used its form to see its own future, but it turned into you."

"Why?" Marla asked.

"I believe its subconscious is trying to break free of its monster form. And it thinks you can help it."

"How?"

"With the power I gave you."

"What is it?"

The Magoia laughed.

"I will let you discover that for yourself. If you keep your mind open, you will soon understand." The Magoia looked at Illias. "Do you have what you need to recreate her nullifying ability?"

"There are some things I will need to prepare. I will work on it immediately." He bowed.

"We shall reconvene here in two days' time. Does that work for you, magician?"

"Yes." Illias sighed.

"And what about you, Marla? Does that work for you?"

"Of course. That is why I am here."

"Good." The Great Magoia flapped her wings. "Let us take the first step towards a kingdom of peace!"