Deviser Gaines's POV:

I remember a moment of panic, in which I desperately shouted at the others to flee. I remember the feeling of terror I felt at the end, when I realized that there was no way out without running into Galena's guards. I felt myself being dragged away by two men who were much stronger than me.

And then everything went black.

When I awoke, it was because I only had a minute left. I was unable to move, paralyzed and strapped to a table in what looked like a hospital. There were tubes coming out of my head, and they were connected to a monitor. Most of the screen was blank, but there was a countdown in the corner. I could only guess what would happen after it reached zero.

There were so many more things I should've warned the others about Anatase, especially Galena, but I foolishly tried to repress my memories instead.

It's not like I'll have memories once this countdown is up, after all.

You see, Galena, and the original Anatase, was founded on the belief that cluelessness is happiness. The leaders, about fifty of them, wanted all of their citizens to blindly follow their rule. As time increased and technology got better, they invented machines that would force their citizens to be clueless, which included wiping their memories.

When Safire and I upset the Galena authorities the first time, we managed to get away without having our memories wiped. Now, there was no stopping the machine, and Safire wasn't here. It was just me, and the monitor.

At 5 seconds, I began to feel dizzy, and couldn't remember what I had been thinking about before.

At 4 seconds, I forgot who Safire was

At 3 seconds, I forgot that I didn't want the countdown to reach zero.

At 2 seconds, I was filled with sudden joy.

At 1 second, my last few memories were slipping away.

And then I was gone.

Mot's POV:

We were led out of the room by about ten heavily armed guards. After being searched, and they discovered that none of us were carrying any weapons, they allowed us to walk freely. However, walking on my own with a gun pointed at the back of my head was almost just as bad. I stared straight ahead, trying to make sense of everything that had just happened. The Galena guards said that they weren't going to harm any of us, which was incredibly relieving, but they had also taken, and probably harmed, the person who mattered the most to me.

Dianite was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it.

Andor and Alyssa walked in front of me, and I kept an eye on them to make sure that they stayed in the center of the group. If the guards started shooting, for whatever reason, I wanted them to be the last people that would get hurt. Everyone seemed to agree that they were the ones who deserved the protection the most, even though we hadn't actually discussed it.

"Who are we going to take them to?" the guard behind me asked. "Someone who isn't a leader, that is."

"Who's working at the visitation center right now?" another guard asked.

"I think the twins are on duty for the next hour or two," someone answered. "How about we take them to Eris? She can at least help them to feel comfortable. And I'm sure Malachai can educate them in Galena's ways."

"Sounds fine to me," the first one said. "Any objections?" When there was no response, he continued, "Good. Eris it is."

We walked a little bit further, and then everything came to a halt. The guard in front held his gun out in front of him, and addressed all of us. "I don't know why you came here, or what you're intentions are. All I know is that you had three gods and a traitor with you, and that's unacceptable. However, our rules are that we don't judge visitors but the company that they keep, so you may proceed without punishment. All I'm instructing you to do is follow the rules, because you won't last long if you don't."

"Who's there?" a lady from the next room yelled. "Oh, it's you. Why is your gun out? And who are... oh my gods." A lady with long silver hair stepped out from behind a counter, and gaped at us. "How many of them are there?"

A guard counted silently. "Twenty. None of them are armed, but we can only assume that they mean harm. They came here with three gods, as well as Gaines. Do you remember him?"

She walked closer to get a better look at us, straightening her long black coat. "Safire's friend? The one who abandoned Anatase to work with a god from another realm?"

"That would be the one." The guard turned and gestured for the other guards to return to their previous positions. "They came through the portal to Ruxomar that we weren't going to use until we got more information. They probably don't know much about our way of life, so how about you give them a tour?"

She shrugged. "Sure. Sounds like more fun than what I had planned for the day anyway. Anything I need to be worried about?"

"Nope, Eris, you're all good. They're unarmed. If they attempt to attack you, your scythe will kill them in a single hit. Are you fine if I return to my position now?"

Eris nodded, a faint grin appearing on her face. "I'll be fine now, thank you."

For a minute or two, nobody spoke. We just stared at each other as the guard disappeared through the door, leaving us with this mysterious woman. She looked at each of us in turn, frowning at some of us, and smiling at others. In that minute, I was able to get a full look at her. Her silver hair was draped over the hood her knee-length coat. It was unzipped, revealing a dark red top and black trousers. She tapped her boots on the marble floor in a slightly menacing way, but something about her told me that she wasn't to be feared.

"Well, there's certainly a lot of you. Ruxomar, you came from?" She nodded, looking slightly impressed. "I bet Gaines shared a lot of our secrets with you, at least when it comes to technology." She glanced behind her at a clock hanging on the wall. "Well, I only have an hour and a half left on my shift. I suppose I better get to know you guys in that time. Do you lot have a leader?"

Nobody said a word, so I spoke. "We did, but... he was a god."

"I see." Eris glanced at each of us again, as if she was studying us. I didn't like it. "You know, there's a lot I can tell just by looking at you. I'm going to elect... him," she said, pointing at Sparklez, "her," she pointed at Martha, "and him." She finished by pointing at me, and then motioned for the three of us to come closer to her. "I want to elect you as the leaders for now. It'll make things a lot easier if we split into three groups."

Immediately, Alyssa jumped behind me, and Andor followed her. "Dad," she whispered as she came closer, "do you think we're safe?"

Eris turned around sharply. "I can hear you, you know. I'm not going to hurt you unless you attack me first, which, looking at you, you're probably not going to do. Those guards are just necessary precautions, I promise. I'm here to welcome you to Galena, and to show you that everyone can feel comfortable here."

As she was speaking, a man who looked very similar to Eris turned the corner and almost ran right into us. "What is this? Who are they?" he gasped. One thing that stood out to me straight away was a long, jagged scar running through one of his dull, grey eyes. I didn't like his appearance, but then again, I was the last person who should be judging someone based on how they looked. I was an incredibly short man wearing a purple flower crown with green spores running down my face and neck, after all.

"Malachai, meet this random group of people that just came out of the Ruxomar portal," Eris said cheerfully. "Random group of people, meet my twin brother."

Hey guys! Huge thanks to silverfirefly11 for giving me the characters Eris and Malachai to use in my book! <3 If you want to give me character ideas, feel free to comment one or send me a message! The beginning of this story will take place completely in Galena, where everyone is a Dioptase (Dianite) worshipper, so you might want to keep that in mind while creating a character. Please include a physical description, as well as the character's personality. If you want them to be someone's alternate, feel free to add that too! Thanks for all of your support!