"Then we have our destination. I have to go where the map leads."

Amira's heart plummeted at her uncle's sudden declaration, her words caught in her chest but thankfully her mother was beside her to make sense of them and call him out on his nonsense.

"Wait...what are you talking about? You can't leave!" Zaria cried out furiously, hardly believing her brother's sudden declaration.

Amira could hardly believe it either but Rayner wasn't backing down. The look in his eyes was like nothing Amira had ever seen before. It was the same one she saw in Sybil the night she decided to become a Nightspun. It was the same one she gave as a trainee Combat Mage and it was the look Claud had given him when Rayner needed to be brought down a peg or two. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Everything is clearly marked on the map. It even states the Ironwood forest as a border. If I go to the site of Daybreak with a Portal rune tonight then there will be no one patrolling there. There has to be another reason why Siara mentioned it and not the sea. I think Daybreak collapsing was a sign, a way to help us safely leave Neridia." 

"That's insane! You can't prove that! Siara was probably just randomly choosing the best route for a Sunspell elf!" Zaria insisted, adamant to stop her family from leaving her.

"Whether it's random or it's been set in stone since the beginning, Siara somehow knew that this would happen. I don't know why but...now I don't have the duty of all Neridia on my shoulders I need to see this through." Rayner begged, the runes on his belt flaring a deep purple.

Amira had no idea how the earth collapsed under her without hurting anyone and the fact there was no physical change to this border meant it didn't harm the other side either. There were no runes, no traces of Casting, not even an Earthspell elf could've moved an entire hillside without casualties and more importantly there was no sign of the wrecked cabin. The only explanation was that it was some kind of miracle. So why Rayner felt the need to follow a mystery that only led nowhere based on a hunch was crazy.

"Idiot! You'll be an outcast, Rayner. They'll brand you as a Wildspell mage, you'll never be allowed to return. I can't...I can't say goodbye to you too." Zaria said, her eyes brimming with tears.

Rayner's fate made Amira gasp in shock, the guilt plain to see on his face. Wildspell mages were elves that did not pledge themselves to using or studying only one type of Casting. They were hermits cast out from Neridia's capital and never showed their face to anyone. The elfling Spinner Tales had named them 'Pale Faces' as they did not have the glow of the Laia given to each individual elf when they were born. He wanted to give up everything.

"Twenty years. You'll both have the power to rally a diplomatic mission in Two Moons. During that time, I will gather all the information I need about Sybil's father and these other places but only if you promise to wait twenty years. Whether you hear word from me or not."

It was then that Amira stood up, distraught at the thought of her mentor, her uncle, her family being nothing more than a stranger to her because of some stupid letter.

"No, uncle! I won't let you go without me, I'll fight you, I'll...father would never have wanted you to abandon us!" Amira cried out, the tears threatening to spill over.

Rayner saw her distress and gently placed his hand on her shoulder and hugged her tight but Amira wrenched away, furious at his crazy decision to leave them. She hit him as hard as she could again and again but just as he had done with Sybil he held her hand tight and begged her to look at him.

"Amira, Mira-cub, please. I need to do this. Not for Carver or my pride but for you. After he died he entrusted me to look after you, train you and take his place as the High Nightcaster. I wasn't able to do any of these things for you and now look at you."

"I'm a cripple, so what?" She spat, not caring how much he hurt him with her words.

"No. You're the Runeknight of the whole realm and I have never been anything but proud of you. You all have to stay to help them survive. Neridia doesn't need me anymore." Rayner admitted, his fears finally spoken aloud.

Amira's eyes went wide and she pulled him close, not wanting to let him go as she burrowed her head into his shoulder, clinging as tight as she could.

"But I need you. I'm not you, uncle. I can't lead the Corps, I can barely keep my emotions in check and I can't stand by while people get hurt and...I'm always scared I won't be enough."

Rayner's eyes were clouded over as he slowly led her towards her favourite swing chair and squished up next to her without letting go of her hand.

"Do you remember the day your father made you that Ironwood prosthetic?" He asked kindly, wiping Amira's tears much like he did when she was younger.

She shook her head stubbornly and just like a Nightspun would Rayner decided to tell her a Spinner's Tale of his own.

"Your father stayed up all day finishing it and when it was done do you know what Zaria said?"

Out of the corner of her eye Amira could see her mother blush purple as she crudely interjected, eyes just as watery as her daughters.

"I told him it was crap."

Sybil laughed loudly, her attempts to allow the three to have some space completely upended by the brazen comment. Amira gave her a small smile, grateful she had tried to overcome her bias earlier.

"It really was. But I promised to help him til it was done since I was better at figuring out the functionality of it. We wanted to surprise you after...well, after what happened." Rayner faltered, struggling to continue as he was drawn to her wounded shoulder.

It was a gristly stump of burnt flesh like it had been hacked off and the ends had been made into a greevy burger. Amira was always told to 'wear her injury proudly' but how could she when all it did was remind her of what she already lost? 

At least her father's clunky Ironwood prosthetic reminded her of the legendary Carver Nightwood but once again it had been lost to the very same rune that had cruelly taken her arm. Perhaps it was a punishment from the Laia when her father got Feversun or maybe it was simply bad luck.

"I'm truly sorry about your injury, Mira. I should've kept a closer eye on those damn Peacekeepers. Had I known they wanted you to test prototype runes I would never have-"

"No. I know now that there was nothing you could have done. I shouldn't have blamed you all those years little brother and I shouldn't have let Niasi take my only daughter away from me." Zaria interrupted, her fury being redirected towards her heathenous sister in law.

Sybil was doing her best to conceal her emotions during the private exchange but a sympathetic smile from her was enough to tell she never wanted to pry into their privacy without permission. Zaria took that incentive and stood up to embrace her brother, Amira reluctantly moving to one side as she heard the words she'd never thought her mother would say.

"If you truly feel like you need to do this, then do this for yourself and make her regret messing with our family."

Rayner's eyes went wide before narrowing in determination.

"You know I will, Zari."

Amira let out a strangled sob as she covered her mouth with her hand, her heart knowing the inevitable before her mind did. Suddenly her thoughts drifted to the fight she had to make Sybil see sense and a wave of regret washed over her. Her uncle moved out of her seat but his niece was too fast, hugging him from behind and startling him to bits.

"I'm going to miss you so much, Uncle Rayner. I love you."

Collapsing back into the chair, Zaria seized her moment to fall into a great big cuddle pile, dragging the reluctant Sunspell elf into the fray. Sybil awkwardly hugged all of them as Dewdrop settled in Amira's lap, comforting her by nibbling on her shirt.

"Alright, alright that's enough hugging to last me for two moons. Let Rayner go before the sun sets and he has to learn how to read a map in the dark." Sybil announced with a note of finality, pulling out the letter and map she had unceremoniously stuffed in her pocket.

Rayner waited bashfully as his sister gathered his cloak and a quick emergency pack of supplies. Amira had hoped he would stay a few more nights but she knew with Sybil's ascension to royal Sunstress only days away he would barely be able to escape without alerting security. It was now or never.

"If you do happen to find my father break his nose for me." Sybil said, wishing him good luck the only way she knew how.

They all burst out laughing despite knowing how real the threat was as Rayner instinctively rubbed his newly healed nose before giving her another, slightly less awkward hug.

"I'll make sure of it, Sun Puncher."

In a matter of moments Rayner Ignited his Portal rune and gave Dewdrop a grateful pat on the head before stepping into the swirling abyss. Even after the tears began to overflow and blur her vision she waved until her arm hurt. Then, he and the portal were gone.

"Does it ever get easier, Syb?" Amira asked, the Sunspell supporting her in a hug just like she had done that night in the mandraroot field.

Sybil smiled softly, the sun descending into the horizon.

"No. But that's why I became a Nightspun. It's so no matter how hard it gets I'll always have stories to remember them by."