Rory watched as the brown-skinned girl stared blankly at the wall. Eira had been struggling immensely to come to terms with everything that happened. No one really knew how to help her. They'd all been trying to break through to her, and even Eliphas had tried to get her to yell something snarky at him. But there was nothing. She didn't want their help; she just kept saying she wanted things to go back to how they were. Being a pyrave went against her very existence. Rory vaguely thought back to her conversation with her friend just a few hours ago.

"Is there... anything I can do, Eira?" Rory pleaded desperately, wanting nothing more than to help her friend.

"Any chance you can manipulate the memory and reverse everything?" Eira asked with a straight face. Rory didn't say anything. They had talked about doing this before. But they knew that Rory wouldn't be able to get out of another life sentence. Besides, they weren't sure what else could be reversed should they go back. "I didn't think so."

"I'm so sorry, Eira. If you need anything... just let me know, okay? I'm here for you," Rory told her sternly, giving her a comforting smile. Eira paused, deep in thought for a moment.

"Well... there actually is one thing."

That was how they got here.

Eira's sister blinked once.

"Hi... I'm Rory," she began nervously. The frantic girl shook slightly, spastically looking around.

Eira had always mentioned how her sister, Maeve, talked about how she wasn't from here. She said that no one ever believed her, and it drove her to near insanity. Now, Maeve spent her days alone, muttering about how she needed to go back. Once Rory heard this, she offered the idea that she might be from Earth, that the coven brought her here for some reason.

"I'm not from here either, you know," Rory blurted out, making the girl stop her muttering.

"You're... what?"

"I'm not from here," she repeated slowly.

"You're not..."

"...from here," Rory finished gently, sitting down next to her on the bed. "I'm from somewhere called Earth, do you remember where you're from?"

"Yes! Earth, that's where I'm from!" Maeve ranted out excitedly, sitting up in her bed. Eira watched in disbelief; she hadn't seen her sister coherent in months.

"It's quite different here, isn't it?" Rory began with an amused smirk. "The animals, the powers, the-"

"Lack of any sort of technology? That was a weird one for me! And the fact that I don't recognize anyone, did you? When did you get here?" she babbled, and Rory couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "I have so many questions for you!"

"There is certainly a lot for us to discuss..." she agreed kindly, gently taking Maeve's hand in her own, "but first, I just need to check something, is that all right with you?" Maeve nodded hesitantly, letting her hand go slack. Rory gave her a reassuring smile before closing her eyes and focusing.

Maeve stood calmly as snow fell around her.

She gently flicked her hand, the snow moving in coordination with her hands. A small smile graced her face as the snow followed her every command. Tiny white lights floated under her skin as she moved. Maeve seemed to notice the lights underneath her skin, a full grin spreading across her features as she admired the beautiful lights.

Being a Haunani, it made sense she could control the snow, but she wasn't sure. When Rory realized she was brought from Earth, she was worried that the coven found another oracle that they wanted to bring here. Rory wondered if they did some sort of test run with someone else, worried it wouldn't initially work. The thought angered Rory. It meant the coven killed another innocent person on Thera and stole this girl's life.

"Thank you. I just wanted to check something. But everything seems to check out just fine," Rory assured the two sisters, which seemed to give them both some sense of peace.

Rory cleared her throat, turning back to Maeve. "Now, let's talk about the fact that they have dragons in the sky."

Footsteps echoed in the hallway. The walls seemed to be closing in as Rory made her way down the hall. She could feel her long hair swishing behind her. Letting out a shaky breath, she tried to keep herself from looking at the scar on her hand. It had been getting harder not to notice it. When it first happened, everything was happening so fast that she didn't have time to look at it. Now, all she had was time. It was there when she went to sleep, and it was there when she woke up in the morning. It was always there.

She kept her scarred hand tucked to her side, trying not to think about it. The sound of people talking got louder as she got closer to the room. Aliya swooshed by her quickly, making her flinch slightly. Rory paused, trying to muster a smile at her amicorda. Aliya came to hover in front of her, whimpering once. Rory sighed out as she raised her hand to gently stroke the vibrant red fur.

"Yeah, I know. I wish we didn't have to do this either," Rory admitted in a tired voice. Aliya wrapped herself around the back of her neck on her shoulders, as she always did. Her tails occasionally stroked the side of Rory's face comfortingly, the gesture making her calm down a bit. "Moments like this where I miss Earth even more... at least there I wasn't battling on the war front."

"Rory? That you?" Someone called out, snapping Rory back to reality.

She cleared her throat, licking her dry lips. "Uh, yeah. I'll be right there."

Aliya flew in front of her into their conference room, landing at Rory's spot at the head of the table. The grand table was made of sleek wood, the table containing the smell of nature in Fantamia. Flowers floated above the table, shimmering in the light. The group they developed throughout their journey sat around the table. Eliphas and Saffire sat on the opposite end from Rory, seeming to be in a light conversation. Their faces were usually both tense with worry, always assuming the worst will happen.

But now, they both seemed reasonably calm- certainly calmer than Rory felt at the moment. Her brothers seemed to be in a deep conversation with Channing. Maximus smacked his brother on the top of his head as Aidan laughed wildly at something that was discussed. Even Channing, who was seated across from them, couldn't help but laugh at whatever Aidan said.

They continued to bicker before they noticed Aliya. Assuming Rory wasn't far behind, they turn to greet her. Both of them welcomed their sister silently as she entered through the door. They offered her a smile, which she returned. Malakai and Eira sat on either side of Rory. Eira stared at the table blankly, the bright red details in her skin flaring violently. Malakai kept his vibrant green eyes locked onto Rory, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

Rory noticed a few extra chairs in the corner. She froze for a moment, thinking about how Valery should be seated at the table with them. For a moment, she saw her sitting with them. She saw a girl with white hair and red streaks laughing along with Aidan and Channing. Rory saw the girl look slightly uncomfortable, as if still unsure if she belonged with them, uncertain if she deserved to be seated with them. Valery would laugh along politely, nodding as she listened to the others, only chiming in a few times. Rory felt a pull in her heart as she thought about it; she should be here.

Pushing the thoughts away, Rory took a seat at the head of the table. She cleared her throat again nervously, smoothing out her outfit. She lifted her head, making eye contact with each of them. They stared at her expectantly, waiting for her to start the conversation. "Um, were Birch and Iris not able to make it?"

"Not today, they have some business to tend to in the forest. But they'll be here for the next meeting," Channing explained formally. "They told me to tell you they're sorry for not being able to attend. To make up for it, they said they would bring you..." he paused, furrowing his eyebrows slightly as he tried to gather his memory, "I believe they said, 'the pansies from the root of a wilbum tree.' They said you would know what they meant."

Rory smiled faintly, nodding slightly. "Yes, I know what they mean. I asked them to pick up a few ingredients for some medicine I'm planning to make."

Channing nodded in understanding, waiting for her to bring up the real reason they were here. But Rory didn't want to begin. The second she began to talk about it, she knew it would never stop, it would make it real. She didn't want it to be real. A part of her wanted to hide in her bed and wait for this all to end, to pull the sheets over her head and just wait it out. She knew she couldn't do that, though. She had a duty to everyone now, and she couldn't just run.

The group stayed silent as they waited for her to begin. She made eye contact with each of them, slowly making her way around the group. Rory suddenly got an overwhelming feeling to protect them all. She knew the war would undoubtedly cause casualties, but she made a promise to herself that she would save as many of them as she could. She couldn't let anyone else die. Once again, Valery flashed into her mind. She swallowed thickly, trying to push the picture of her dead body out of her mind.

"All right, time to plan a war," Rory said, exhaling in exasperation, "listen, I've never done anything like this. I don't know where to start with this."

"That's okay. That's why we're here, we're here to help every step of the way, all right?" Aidan assured her firmly. She forced a small smile, nodding a bit.

"Right..." Rory said unsurely, "well, I guess we can just start by discussing everything we know. I didn't exactly have time to tell you everything, so I guess now is the time to do so. I'm going to tell you everything I know, and it'll be a lot easier if you just let me say it. It's gonna be confusing, and I don't even understand most of it. But I just need to get it all out without interruptions."

"I think that's reasonable," Maximus nodded, encouraging her to continue.

"Right, well... I'm not the only oracle," she revealed, making the others stare at her in shock, "when I was looking for Aurora in the coven, I came across a room with aisles of stars, each of those stars had a different universe in it. I wanted to cut off the coven's access to the other universes, so I destroyed it. But before I did that, uh... Metus came to me. Not as a person, but in a whisper."

"He was... powerful. He was able to literally create fear. He didn't even have to show me anything to make me scared. He was able to just create fear. One thing led to another, and he ended up telling me there are more oracles. I don't know how many. He said that the coven used his power to create the oracles. He wants that power back, it's why he wants the oracles dead," she observed Eliphas, waiting to see if he reacted. She wanted to know what he knew. Eliphas was hiding something, and she was determined to find out what. He did a decent job of masking any emotions as she stared at him. Rory tilted her head calculatingly, but his poker face remained intact.

"He only brought me here because he thought he would be able to make me his weapon against the other oracles. Metus thought he could use me against them. I don't take power away from him, I'm the loophole because I'm from Earth," Rory finished explaining, sighing out worriedly. "We need to find the other oracles, but I have no clue where to start. We don't know how many, and we have no clue who they are."

"They could be anywhere in Thera. When the coven started to take over villages, a lot of people hid their powers. Plenty of people still hide them," Saffire reminded her, leaning her elbows against the table. "I can go around some of the villages and try to get a feel for their powers. I can go specifically to the people who claim they have none, see if they're lying or not."

"But then what? We drag them back here? Force them to fight?" Malakai questioned, pointing out the obscurity of it all. "I know we've broken a lot of laws, but I feel like we should probably draw the line at kidnapping."

"They can decide for themselves what they want to do. We don't have to force them to do anything," Channing told him sternly.

"Yes, we do," Eira spoke up for the first time in the conversation, "if they're in danger and Metus is out for blood... they need to learn how to fight. If we let them do nothing, we might as well kill them ourselves."

No one said anything for a few moments. Aidan cleared his throat awkwardly. "Seems a bit extreme, don't you think?"

"No, I don't," she shrugged carelessly, "if they're not prepared, they'll die. Simple as that."

"We can figure out what we'll do with them after. I think we can all agree that we definitely need to find them. When I was in those guard's heads, I saw that they're in the other realms; this isn't the end of the coven. Not all of them were there, they wouldn't have risked everyone," Rory said, making them both reluctantly nod in agreement, "the other oracles are still at risk. The coven can still use them... Metus can still use them. We first need to figure out who they even are. Any ideas on where to start?"

"I think I can help with who the oracles are," Malakai spoke up, causing Rory to quirk her eyebrow at him.

"And you're all-knowing now?"

"Not quite, but I did hear something. When I died- when we... died," Malakai corrected uncomfortably, fiddling with his fingers, "I heard something, a voice, I guess."

"What did it say?" Rory asked in a concerned voice when he didn't say anything for a few moments.

"It said a name: Sakara."

The ghost of the man floated above his chair, his body flickering back and forth between life and death. His transparent body occasionally became whole again due to the girl's death. A shiver was sent down his spine, the cold air nipping at his incorporeal form. He watched his followers bow to him with displeasure. They had failed him.

He asked for the girl. That blithering fool Caeler had assured him he would bring him his warrior. Instead, he decided that he would treat the girl as an object- a trophy he called her. While the idea was appealing, it was not his initial plan. He wanted a weapon against the oracles. But now, he saw that it was unattainable. The girl would be his trophy. She would bow to him in front of Thera as a sign of his triumph.

He would have to kill the rest of the oracles first. There were not many left, but there were enough to pose a threat. Once they were dead, his true plan could commence. His eyes flickered down to his followers. They stared up at him with fear, and he knew he was the cause. With his current state, controlling his abilities could be far more complicated than he anticipated. He needed the rest of his power back.

As soon as he had his full strength back, he would defeat the girl and the pathetic army she had. He would make her bow at his feet and make her watch. He would make her watch as he killed her friends, as he killed her brothers, as he killed her lover, as he killed everyone she ever cared about.

He would make her watch as the world burned.

A chilling grin stretched upon his face.

Yes... it was a good plan. He mused to himself maniacally.

Metus would make his little star watch as the world burned.