When Caleb finally opened one of the many identical doors in the healing house, Nic felt a death like hand reaching out to him. He shivered and had to force his foot to step through the doorway.

Inside, the curtains were drawn, and a low fire burned in the corner. Besides for the fire and the warm glow from the orange curtains, the room was still and cold. A nurse sat in one of the armchairs by the fire, her hands were folded in her lap and a pair of knitting needles lay at her feet. When she noticed the two visitors she gathered up her things and left after giving a quick nod to Caleb. He seemed not to notice, seemed to forget about Nic too.

Caleb moved straight to the hearth and spread out his hands to its heat. Nic made his way to the only bed in the room. The occupant was asleep, his face a deathly white, but Nic could see his chest rise and fall from his strained breaths.

"What is wrong with him?" Nic whispered. A frown cut across the broad forehead and the man's lips were a purple-blue with deep cracks along the tender flesh. His cheeks were gaunt and his eyes sunken. Nic would have taken him for dead had it not been for the steady wheezing sounds coming from the slightly open lips.

"Over use of cura," Caleb sighed heavily. "He was so worried about the villagers he abandoned the precautions."

"Will he die?"

Caleb seemed to cringe at the question, "I hope not," he eventually managed.

"Can't you tell? You usually can always tell."

"Not always, I wish I knew the answer, but the truth is I don't." Caleb seemed to be talking to himself rather than answering Nic's questions.

A silence followed, the only thing that could be heard was the uneven breath the unknown man took. Nic closed his eyes and sought out the aura of the sleeping psallyra. The usual healthy glow was a sickly green and was very faded. At some parts it did not even exist. The man had no light coming from his hips down and his hands were a very pale green. Opening his eyes, Nic took a few unsteady breaths.

"Who is he?"

Caleb's response was long in the making and slow in delivery. "His name is Pyra Agama...he is...he is my brother." Caleb choked.

"Your brother?" Caleb nodded slowly. "I am...I am so sorry, Caleb. Can you save him?" Nic knew Caleb would say he could, but from what he had seen, it looked like a lost cause. The man was close to death, perhaps a day, or an hour.

"I intend to, whether I am able to...I don't know."

"What if you slowly replenished the missing energy?" Nic said, looking for any hope that still existed.

"It is not that simple, he is beyond my help now. Once all available energy is gone, cura uses the body's stored energy from the organs and different systems. It breaks down those organs or systems like a disease until each is destroyed." Caleb paused and Nic waited patiently. "He has used almost all the energy in his body. It was foolish of him...he has always been like that, always putting others' lives before his own. He never hesitated to help a stranger, even if it was a risk to his own life. I warned him. The Will knows I warned him. But he never listened, he never..." Caleb squeezed his eyes shut and took in a shuddering breath.

"I'm sorry...I..."

"You don't need to say anything, except promise me you will listen to the warnings I give you. I do not give them lightly, just as cura should not be used lightly. It's a dangerous art, and one can easily abuse the privilege, and I don't just mean over use of it. If the wrong people knew how to unlock the secrets of cura, imagine what they could do with it. Imagine all the people that could possibly die? It's a horrible gift, and Jalee had every right to be angry with me for introducing it to you so early in your training."

Nic nodded stiffly.

"Cal–" Caleb moved his focus to his brother. The frail body was stirring slightly under the covers.

"I'm here, Agama, I'm here."

"Inside...look..." Agama opened his eyes slightly. A shaky hand extended under the sheets.

"Look where?"

"Inside...secret..."

"Agama you are making no sense."

"Inside..."

Before Caleb could reply his brother's body started to shake violently. Caleb hesitated from shock. His face dropping to a mask of horror, veins appearing in his neck and temple. He snapped out of it, threw back the covers, and held down his brother's limbs. Nic stared at the frail body, it seemed to be eating itself away. There was nothing left of the broad-framed shoulders that fought against Caleb, and the long, strong legs that thrashed in the air.

"Nic hold down his legs. He's going to kill himself if he continues this."

Nic threw himself at the flying legs, one foot connected with his jaw. He fought through the searing pain and caught the foot, and pinned it down. The shakes subsided after a while, the body limp, the chest hardly rising at all.

"Quickly, go fetch Pyra Cassador, tell him I need his help. Go!"

Nic fumbled out of the room, his heart was beating inside his throat.

By the Gods! What has just happened?

He sprinted down the hall of the healing house, almost rushing into a serving maid who swore loudly at him. He ran all the way to the Council Hall, his lunges burning from his nerves and desperate sprint. Pyra Cassador was just exiting the hall as Nic arrived.

"P-Pyra Cassador!"

Cassador spun to see who called his name, "Ah Nic, how–Silverbark, what is wrong?"

"Help...Caleb...Healing House."

"Caleb! Is it Pyra Agama?" Nic nodded, unable to catch his breath. "Thank you, Nic. Rest here. Pyra Calebrean will send for you when we are done." Cassador flicked his long grey coat back and glided back in the direction Nic had come.

Gods protect them!

Nic collapsed onto the stair, his breath slowing to a more even rate. The image of Agama's thrashing body was burnt into his memory, like a scar.

When Nic returned to the the inn, the common room was filled with people. Mostly, recovered villagers but some pyree could be spotted being thanked by the civilians. Nic ordered ale and sat on a barstool. He ran his fingers through his hair and almost jumped when somebody tapped him on the shoulder. A bright round face was smiling at him. Her pretty dark lashes battering open and shut, covering her liquid dark eyes.

"Oh, Bernie is it?" He mumbled, managing to force his lips to curve. "Do you feel better?"

"Much thank you, but you don't look too well. Have they been working you too hard?" her hand remained on his shoulder.

"Ah... not really..."

"Do not worry," she took the seat next to Nic's. "Not long to go, right? It will all be over soon and then you can do what you want."

"I guess if you call four to six years short." When Brenie did not answer, Nic turned to face her. She was very pretty and confident. Brown hair, deep brown eyes that had a slight tilt to them. Her long lashes made her eyes seem bigger than they really were; like dark pools. She had high cheekbones and a small upturned nose with full pink lips that never stopped smiling.

"How old are you, if you don't mind me asking." She squinted her eyes at him, probably because he was staring.

"Sixteen."

Bernie's smile widened further. "I'm fifteen," she said sweetly. "We are basically the same age."

Nic managed a smile, he was in no mood for small talk, but he would endure it for as long as need be. Brenie was being friendly and he should give her the same courtesy no matter how much he would rather sit in silence.

"Nic?" she said his name brightly.

"Hmmm?"

"I was wondering...if you were promised?"

Nic unintentionally looked at her disdainfully, "Excuse me?"

"Well...I was wondering...it was just a thought..." She growled. "Are you really going to ask me to repeat the question?" she stammered for a bit under his scrutiny, but then lowered her gaze to her lap where he fingers were intertwined.

"No, and no I am not, but I don't see..." Nic felt his cheeks heat up. Yes, perfect, why don't you turn a shade of roses to prove how masculine you are. Brilliant way to grab a hold of the situation.

Brenie giggled, "I still make you nervous, don't I?"

Nic cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Will you be going back to Norton?"

Brenie's smile vanished, "I don't know. We would like to return but are unsure if there shall be anything left to return to. I suppose once everyone is well again we will return home, and if nothing stands we will make for one of the towns near by. Either way we cannot stay here." Nic was surprised at her bland tone.

If anything happened to Trojan Vale, I would not know what to do. It is home, my home. "I am sorry for your loss Brenie."

"We don't know if it's a loss just yet. So withdraw your sympathy until it is needed."

Nic smiled. "I shall not withdraw, but let it stay with you until you wish to accept it."

She laughed, "Listen to us, we sound so old and wise."

"I feel old, not sure about that wise part."

Brenie frowned.

"I have only recently started my training, so I got a lot to learn."

"But you said–"

"I lied so you wouldn't worry." Nic raised his hands and spread his fingers wide to show his apology. "I didn't want to frighten you with the thought of being treated by an amateur."

Her features bunched into a painting of shock, and the look in her eyes almost wrenched his heart out. He was about to apologise again when a smile shone through, banishing the momentary pain.

"I wouldn't have been afraid, but thank you for the thought." Brenie touched his arm reassuringly. Nic looked down at her small, thin hand. So delicate compared to his rough ones. The door to the common room opened and Pyra Fred walked in. He searched the room before seeing Nic and Brenie. He beckoned Nic.

Nic turned to Bernie, smiled and left, a warm spot lingering on his arm where her fingers had lain. The side of his mouth twitched. He followed Pyra Fred out of the inn and reluctantly back to the Healing House.

"Is this about Pyra Agama?" he asked uncertainly. No answer came. He was led to the back of the building—the visitors lounge. The room was quiet besides for the few pyree that were seated there. Pyra Eta and Benyam were among them and a few others Nic had not met yet. Pyra Fred seated himself next to Pyra Benyam and Nic took the empty seat next to Eta.

"What's happening?"

"Pyra Cassador has called the Council for a meeting here."

"Then why am I here?"

"You were summoned too." Eta seemed distant. She spoke as if she were not there, as if she were actually walking somewhere in the Aldo by herself. No one spoke, they all sat ramrod straight, their gazes looking but not seeing.

It has to be something about Pyra Agama. Gods bless the man and get him through this.

To his surprise Nic found that he was praying for a man he had never properly met. He then prayed for Caleb, then Anya, Tjorin Vale and the whole of Hanarah. Lastly he prayed for Bernie, her family, and the rest of Norton's villagers. He had seen too much to turn away now. He had to help, no matter what. He needed to play a role in purging the land of these killers.

No matter what Caleb says, there is a war coming and if it is not a war then it something bigger, something dangerous.

Nic's thoughts were interrupted, by the scraping of chairs on stone floor. Pyra Cassador had entered without him noticing and he was standing in the centre of the room, with a tired grimace on his face. He had dark shadows under his eyes and his body seemed to droop from exhaustion. Caleb stood behind him, his eyes were downcast and red. Tears. The same dark pools lay under his eyes, but he stood straighter and stronger than ever. Nic felt a compassionate urge to rush to him and give him a comforting embrace. That was his mother in him; affectionate and sensitive. Vira always said it was the best part of him, he doubted that.

"Friends, I bring grave news." Cassador said in a solemn voice. Sighs went through the room. A statement like that only meant one thing. Death. "Our dear friend, and brother, Pyra Agama has left us to take his place with the gods. Our deepest condolences go to his wife and child as well as younger brother Pyra Calebrean. Nahali uratim Calebrean de Caw."

"Nahali uratim Calebrean de Caw," the rest of the room said in unison.

"Although we grieve for our lost brother, Pyra Caleb and I have decided to discuss an important issue with you. I have asked his permission to do it now. I understand it's untimely, and in many ways inconsiderate, but he has assured me that if there was anytime to bring up this matter, it would be now."

Cassador ran his gaze around the room before continuing. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes as if gathering the strength to fight a huge battle.

"Something stirs in the East, some great evil that lurks in the shadow of our land has awoken. It waits for the time to attack—when? We do not know." He paused, studying the group in front of him. "I fear we have been ignoring the signs for far too long. Some of us have heard the tales of goblins and kuvasai killing men, children and women not he border, now some of us have witnessed it. We have spent days curing victims, tending to the wounds inflicted by these beasts. Something has changed. Something is preparing to strike."

"How do we know this?" a man shouted out. "These are only assumptions and conjectures from coincidence, Pyra Cassador. We cannot base our judgments on any claims or occurrences of happenstance. I mean no offence in saying this but we cannot act upon whim. Yes, Norton is evidence to a goblin attack, but they are living on the border. They should have moved from that territory years ago if they truly wanted to avoid this kind of thing, I for one will not take this as the only set of proof, and as I said before, will not act on whim."

"This is no mere whim," Caleb raised his stern, grey eyes to the man. "Pyra Therio, a man has just died and you call it a whim? I for one, brother, will not sit back and watch this world crumble for the fear to act upon signs that are not clear but are there nonetheless."

"Caleb, please," Pyra Cassador put his long, spiny fingers on Caleb's shoulder. "Pyra Therio, I acknowledge what you say, but as Calebrean has said we cannot do nothing."

"But we cannot act in front of the guardians either. We need not remind you, Pyra Cassador, that we are in hiding. For years now we have been untraceable and hidden to the world. We cannot just reappear and show ourselves to the Keeper and guardians."

"True, but we can use our resources to discover the source of this disturbance." The pyree murmured amongst themselves for a while and then a woman with graying hair spoke up.

"What are you suggesting Cassador?"

"That all Pyree emerge from their hiding and assist us in solving this problem, before it evolves into something serious." Cassador seemed to expect the shocked reaction that followed.

"Preposterous!"

"Outrageous!"

"It will never happen."

Nic watched Caleb, he said nothing and did not move from behind Cassador. There was a new defense holding the man together, a shattered glass in an iron frame.

Cassador raised his hands for silence and immediately the room stilled. "Friends. My fellow pyree," Cassador spoke with enough force to cause the room to shake. "Hanarah calls for our help once again. Will we not answer? Will we ignore the pleas just because of fear?"

"If you haven't noticed, Cassador, the people of Hanarah despise us. We are treated as vermin in the—criminals, and our crime would be our identity. Our title—once revered and respected. Forgive us if we are hesitant to carry out your suggestion." The old man who had spoken, enforced his point by banging his fists on the small table beside him.

"Fi, is right. Why must we risk more of our dwindling numbers to protect others that dislike us." Another pyra shouted above the other agreeing murmurs.

"Because that is what we do, we help even when help is not wanted. We pyree don't turn our backs on others just because others have turned their backs on us. No! We hold true to our beliefs and our customs no matter what. What is this age coming to if not even pyree stay true to the old ways?"

"We live in dangerous times, Cassador. All the more reason to show caution." Fi said, lifting his eyes slightly from his clenched fist. "Even amongst our own ranks there are traitors." A chorus of agreement.

Pyra Cassador, eyed each man and woman in the room. Lastly his eyes fell on Nic. "I will not force any of you to help me, but whether you do or don't, Caleb and I will be carrying out my proposal. If any of you wish to help, stay behind, otherwise meeting dismissed." One by one the pyree left. Nic watched as they all filed out, stopping by Caleb to offer their condolences. Caleb accepted them with a nod and a murmur of thanks, but Nic could see he was not really concentrating on the people around him.

When all that wished to leave had left, only eight pyree remained: Cassador, Caleb, Eta, Benyam, Fredrique, Nic and two other pyree Nic had never met

"Well, this is more than I expected." Cassador sighed, scratching his thick beard. "Thank you, for staying. Please, let us sit at a table." They each pulled up a seat at a long eating table by the fireplace. Caleb drew up a seat next to Nic.

"Caleb...I'm sorry...I..."

Caleb squeezed his shoulder, shaking his head. Not now. His eyes seemed to say. Nic wanted to say more, but turned to Cassador at the head of the table.

"We are all friends here, but within this group we need something stronger than friendship." Cassador paused to give the statement effect. "Trust. Something that is too often distributed, but always hard to find. I believe I can put my trust in any pyra, maybe that is my downfall, but I'm asking if I may put my trust in the seven of you."

"You already know the answer to that, old friend," Eta said with a slight hint of amusement. "You may trust us, just as we trust your judgment and guidance."

"Then let me begin. I unfortunately cannot leave Irim for a while, but you, my friends, can."

"What do you need us to do?" Benyam asked.

"I need you to travel and gather information. Any information. I'm not certain what we are looking for, but I trust you to use your initiative and find what you deem important. There is too much uncertainty to be too hasty and I don't wish to put our people in any sort of danger by announcing our existence to the world. That I think will bring more trouble than good. The new Keeper is still unknown to us, for they still need to choose one."

"It may be a good opportunity to gain an ear with the guardians," one of the strangers said, the female.

"Perhaps, but who knows what the new one will be like. Perhaps he or she has a strong dislike for our kind, or perhaps dislike is instead a great expanse of tolerance and forgiveness. I think time is needed in this situation. Slowly we will appear from the shadows; slowly we will make ourselves known to all again, and slowly we will make a difference. Can I ask this of you?"

"If you had asked us to walk into the seas, we would. Why would you think we would say no to a bit of traveling?" Eta's usual bland voice rang in the room.

"Danger lurks, Pyra Etheral, and some are not willing to face it yet."

"Danger! Ha! Since when have we pyree become afraid of the dark? Those who walked out these doors are cowards and do not deserve the title of pyra!" Eta spat out.

"Pyra Eta, we do not judge our brethren for their decisions."

"I do not judge I despise."

"All the same." Cassador shook his head. "I forbid any pyree, from now on, to travel alone so I will need you to pair up. Eta and Benyam, you will travel south and find out what you can from the menfolk, but do not expect to find much."

"Aye," Benyam growled. "A reclusive bunch.

Cassador nodded. "Pyra Jorden and Pyra Fallen, you will travel east but I need you to exercise every bit of precaution. I forbid you to enter Shu'ed Mar, or to go anywhere near the border between the lands. The furthest you go will be to the borderland town. I need you to help evacuate those towns as soon as you can, but without force. You assistance must be discreet for if guardians discover you, or even the King's men, you will be harshly interrogated or worse, punished. Save as many as you can and gather as much knowledge there too. You will find healers along the border, so leave them to do most of the curing. Disguise yourselves as healers for the time being."

"We will." The young Pyra Fallen was a beautiful ageless woman, her auburn hair flowing gracefully down her back and her almost yellow eyes shined when the light caught them. Pyra Jorden was the biggest man Nic had ever seen. His defined muscles could be seen through his brown coat that hung loosely at his side. He was slightly taller than Nic but nowhere near as tall as Caleb. His face was angular and dark. A thin beard covered his chin, trimmed neatly to his face. His dark eyes and long hair that came down over his eyes made Nic think of a shadow in the daylight.

Scary man. I would not want to be on his bad side.

"Caleb, you will take Nic west to Andriah. I understand he still needs to complete his training, so I encourage you to visit all the other Elemental lands as well. Travel wherever you like but keep your ears pricked and eyes alert. Meet with the lords and kings of the land. I think it will do Nic some good in his training. You do have those connections, do you not?"

Caleb nodded and smiled as Nic's eyes shot up.

"As for Pyra Fredrique and I, my friend, we will be lingering here in Irim for a little while longer before moving north. Which could be for the better since there is something I need you to research for me in the library."

The small group discussed matters further, preparing their journeys and taking down notes of people they could trust. Nic was surprised to hear so many names mentioned. Most of them sounded foreign, not from the tongue of Men.

At last, when the sun began to set the group split up. Cassador called Caleb back to speak to him in private, so Nic walked with Pyra Benyam back to the inn. The plump man had little to say and Nic was glad of it. He would not have been able to concentrate.

I am going to see the elves! By the gods, the elves!