SHE hadn't seen the snow of Cosdn, but she didn't expect the land to be shining red with blood.

One wall of the cell had blasted open, sending Karyn flying to a corner. By the time the ringing in her ear quietened and her vision cleared a bit, gone was the bed that Hulia laid on. Blood splattered over the remaining standing walls, but the explosion had given Karyn a view far exceeding the physical cold she'd endured, but hot enough to scorch her mind.

A massive land of red lay in front of her. A picture of a massacre. She could see the vantage point of the guards. A tall wall that stretched high and blocked their view of anything else. From there, the guards rained down white fire on the crowd that fled out of the prison. The more they ran, the more fire rained down and the more blood soaked the snow. Before she could make sense of what was happening around her, someone had dashed into Hulia's cell, yelling that the woman was gone and they could do nothing about it before pulling Karyn away from the gory sight.

They'd rushed down, trying to keep their feet steady on the trembling ground beneath them. When they got down, Karyn choked at the sight in front of her.

The land was red and flowing with blood, prisoners' blood. Bodies, countless of them, lay motionless. If she didn't know better, she would have thought the prison wear was red. A barely visible energy charged in the air and it took a while for Karyn to see the mist of different colors that floated out from the slain people and back into the land. It was a sight Karyn knew would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"The guards blew the place up once the first set of people stepped out, but we still have a chance," the person said and wanted to run but someone pulled them back and Karyn gained control of her limbs, turning to see a small group of people were assembling behind them. All eyes held hostage by fear.

"We can't just go out there, we'll die," a girl with pixie hair and short stature said.

To drive home her point, they saw an enormous blast of white fire charge across them, forcing them to crouch with their hands over their heads for safety. The ground shook beneath them as a loud crashing sound erupted and the fire blasted up snow some meters to their side.

The person who pulled her back spoke next. "We have to get to the portal. The Reviwina has come and now they're battling the guards, but they can only hold the guards at bay and keep the portal open for so long. Whoever remains, this will forever be their fate."

"You're right," she declared, turning to the group behind them. Her voice cut through the chaos of bangs and yells, clear and unwavering. "We have a choice. We can either fight our way through or resign ourselves to this prison. I don't know if you feel it, but I feel a shift—a sense of lightness. The explosions must have weakened their grip on our powers. We've been here far too long, but no matter how long they weaken us, our powers remain an integral part of who we are. All we need to do is reach deep within ourselves and unleash them. Even if we face death in this fight, we'll know we gave it our all. I know what I want. Justice. Freedom. What about you?"

They were quick to nod in agreement.

"Then we take it!"

Together, they all charged forward, their footsteps pounding against the snow. Once she was out, her pupils widened. The cold air pierced her lungs, but it also filled her with a renewed sense of energy. The dullness that had engulfed her like a dark cloud since her imprisonment vanished, replaced by a tingling sensation that prickled her skin.

Something light fluttered down on her face as another blast came. A splash of water shot toward the fire and only did so little to douse it. Karyn rose from the crouch position she'd flung into and locked eyes with the shirk girl with pixie hair earlier. They both shared a nod of understanding.

Reaching deep within herself, she visualized a wall made of glistening silver ropes, intertwining and twisting to create an impenetrable barrier. But when she opened her hands, the ropes materialized as mere strands, lacking the strength she had envisioned, and fell limply to the ground.

A deafening explosion erupted meters away, sending her crashing into a heap of snow. Determined not to give up, she struggled to her feet and tried again. This time, a shield formed in her hands, lightweight yet sturdy. Though she couldn't protect everyone at once, she began handing out these shields, one by one, to those who escaped, while the girl continued aiming water to combat the fire. With each shield she created, she felt her ropes growing tighter and her power flowing more freely.

She didn't know how many shields she'd given, but when she felt she could handle more; she closed her eyes and reached in, tapping into the familiar sensation. This time, when she opened her eyes, the world glowed around her.

She lost awareness of everything else and focused her mind on creating a barrier shielding the rebels and prisoners from the red guards. Her hands became one with the fibers, stretching and intertwining in a tight mesh until she couldn't see the red-dotted figures in the distance. The only thing that stood in front of her was a giant wall of silver fibers.

Despite the cold, a thin sheen of sweat broke out on her forehead, while sweat poured down her back. A wave of nausea washed over her, and she brought her hands up to her mouth, trying to steady herself.

A chilling silence fell upon them, broken only by the howling wind of the portal. Guards, rebels, and prisoners alike stood in awe of the masterpiece of art and magic she had created. Even she couldn't help but marvel, but she quickly snapped out of it, redirecting her focus to the task at hand.

She spun and urged the people to go on. They watched her with uncertainty, questions, and hope glaring in their eyes, but she paid them no mind.

"Move now!" she yelled, and her voice must have been loud enough to jolt everyone back to reality. With that, the silence vanished and this time when the blast came, the wall stood firm as a solid protection. Despite that, the Red Guards didn't stop their assault. Barrage after barrage. Blast after blast, but the silver wall remained firm.

Someone stumbled out from the hole and paused when their eyes met the wall. She rushed over to them.

"Have you seen David?" she yelled and shook their shoulder when they didn't answer.

"David?"

"Buzz cut, blue eyes. He was always with Giliashad."

"Sti... still inside, I think,"

She then urged the person to move towards the portal. The person stumbled through the snow, eyes not leaving the wall as they struggled on. She headed back inside, bracing herself for the dullness that lay waiting. Her feet slowed down visibly when she stepped in, and she forced her muscles against the heaviness that fell upon her like a heavy blanket, smothering the fire of her magic within her. Yet she moved with purpose, even as everyone moved in the opposite direction she went. She forged on until she saw Giliashad running toward her.

"Yer! Come, we must go."

"What of David? Where is—"

"David says yer must get ter the portal. And me sure yer know why."

The look in Giliashad's eyes told her everything.

"But we can't just leave him."

"He'll be fine. Come—" Giliashad started, but stopped short, his eyes wide as he stared at the gleaming silver wall. "You..." he whispered, the familiar Nosherian accent strangely absent, replaced by a softer, almost hesitant tone. But he was quick to recover and resumed his journey, dragging her along the snow, barreling through heaps of it.

Her Sense gutted her in two directions and for the first time, she wasn't sure what to do. A part of her knew she had to go forward into the portal, but another feared for David. She couldn't leave him behind, not when he had lost everything in his search for her.

As they neared the portal, the wind whipped at everything and anything, making their movement even more difficult. She saw some red guards in the distance charging towards them on foot. They had stopped their barraging of white fire and now brought the battle to the land. That meant the people left inside would have little time.

She took the luxury to glance back for once and she did so at the right time because her eyes widened when they settled on the person she had been worried about. He had his eyes closed and chest puffed out as if he was taking in a breath and relishing being free from the hold of the prison.

He opened his eyes and made the step to move, but that was when the wall gave way. Her scream died in her throat as the last thing she saw before Giliashad pushed her through the portal was the wall, her wall, crashing down. Red blazing eyes and black-blue fur came barreling through and David was a mere shade of grass at its feet, waiting to be crumpled.

He didn't stand a chance.

♛ ♛ ♛

HE rushed out at once when the rumbling stopped. Out of the building, out of the gate, and onto the open field, a handful of people wearing green stood, laid, or sat. Most had their clothes drenched in red and he couldn't tell if it was theirs or they had to swim through a blood bath to cross the portal. Some had wide, fearful eyes darting around, trying to make out if they were in a dream or not. Some stood quietly, their eyes distant and unfocused, silently carrying the weight of the struggles they had endured. They alone held the knowledge of the hardships they had faced.

His eyes scanned around as their medical team rushed past him, looking for those badly injured, then his eyes fell upon her and he rushed towards her. She took in a ragged breath with one hand on the steel gate and the other clutching her side.

"Ashe! Ashe! What happened?" he asked. She tried to stand straight at his arrival, but the grimace on her face tightened.

"You're hurt. You need rest."

"Nigel, the red guards knew." She released some pants before she continued. "They knew everything, but they didn't stop us."

His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the handful number of prisoners he could almost count. Surely this couldn't be all?

With a heaving chest, she said, "It was a massacre, on them. They never directed their ammunition to us, even when we attacked them. Before we knew it, a land of blood stood between the portal and the hole in the wall. We'd lost all hope. I'd lost all hope, but she was there."

His hands stilled in an understanding of her words, and then her eyes shifted and he followed them to a young girl with brown hair, and a dried mess on her head. There she sat on the floor, her eyes a hollow of shadows.

The Silverein.

♛ ♛ ♛

HER skin burned as she laid on something grainy, with tiny dots pricking through her uniform and stinging her back. She kept her eyes closed, but the light shining directly above her still tortured them. Yet, no matter how high the temperatures soared, Karyn wouldn't wish to be back at The Grand Prison.

Soon, a hot wind blew, lifting tiny sensations that pricked her face, some getting into her nostrils and stinging her there as well. It forced her to sit before she opened her eyes. She blinked once, then another and another, trying to clear the pepperish sensation that spread in her right eye.

She raised her hands to scratch at them but paused when a voice said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

She sneezed and struggled to open her left eye and squinted up at the person who spoke. His shadowy figure stood in front of the blazing sun, making it hard for her to distinguish his features.

"There are tons of needles in the sand. Using your hand to clean your eyes would even make it worse."

"So I should keep my eyes closed?" she asked bitterly.

"No. I can help with that."

"No, not me. Others need that help. I can manage."

Out came his hand, and she watched it warily.

"Won't I get the needles on your hand?"

"I can manage." He reiterated her words.

She placed her hand in his and his warm, dark, and calloused hand wrapped around hers before helping her up. He handed her a cloth, which she used to clean her right eye. After a few rubbing motions, she opened her eyes, and that was when she took in her helper.

His dark skin shimmered under the brilliant sun, radiating warmth as his deep brown eyes locked onto hers. With a deliberate motion, he pulled down the cloth mask that had concealed his mouth and nose, revealing a smile that was both inviting and mysterious, allowing her to appreciate every detail of his striking features. His hair was a striking mass of short afro curls, each one glinting with a luminescent blue hue at the tips. The well-groomed curls framed his face perfectly, highlighting the sharp angles of his jawline and cheekbones.

Her gaze wandered down to the fabric of his navy blue breeches, tailored perfectly to his form. The ensemble was completed by a fitted black vest that clung to him snugly over a vibrant blue shirt, his feet clad in sturdy, polished black boots that bore the marks of many travels. On the left side of his vest, a sigil caught her attention—a stunning emblem formed by the intertwined letters RVW.

She tore her eyes from the captivating sigil, scanning the surroundings until they fell upon the awe-inspiring gate looming ahead. Towering before her was a magnificent structure, its steel bars soaring up and vanishing into the clouds that floated above like enormous cotton bags. She stood mesmerized by the expansive runes that snaked their way up the bars, shimmering in brilliant gold against the stark black backdrop.

Behind the formidable gate, a grand building stood, crafted from a metal that glinted and sparkled under the sun's rays, with runes that mirrored the patterns on the gate. It was an architectural marvel, both wide and tall, stretching endlessly before her—an enigmatic fortress that seemed to embrace the sky without quite reaching it. She strained to make out its edges, but it was so immense that her eyes could barely grasp the full extent of its grandeur.

"Looks magnificent, right?"

Her eyes refocused on the people around, somewhere being wheeled past the open gate. Others could walk, but almost everyone was moving in, no matter how few they were.

"What is this place?" she asked.

"My name is Nigel Dnokwen, leader of the Reviwina, and welcome to Reviwina Pont Furo. The first camp out of a few we have. We will settle you and everyone else as soon as possible, but for now, we need to check on you."

She turned to retort, but he stopped her.

"You need to be in good health. The road ahead is not an easy one. This is Cosima Klendiare. She's my right-hand woman."

Karyn's eyes left him to focus on the woman beside him.

Cosima was a striking figure, a young woman whose dark complexion set off her long, twisted hair, which cascaded past her waist in a brilliant display of gold and brown shades. Each twist shimmered in the light, catching the eye. Slung across her back was an intricately crafted arrow pack, the tips of the arrows just visible. In her left hand, she clutched a red bow, its polished surface gleaming ominously as if eager for action. Although she had her lips set in a stern, disapproving frown, the dark shades concealing her eyes rendered it difficult for Karyn to discern her true feelings, adding an air of mystery to her demeanor.

"Cosima, you'll be in charge of her integration into the camp."

"She should be integrated like everyone else," her low voice came in a defiant tone.

"She's different," Nigel said.

Cosima, who had her head directed at the leader, turned to Karyn. Although Karyn couldn't see her eyes, she had a good guess that the lady did not approve of her new designation.

With a huff, she turned and walked ahead.

"She's a bit... frosty."

"Then why put her with me?" Karyn couldn't help but wonder.

"You'll see soon enough."

She trudged on eyes locked on the stoic lady, as she navigated through the austere corridors of the building. The grandeur of the lobby they had just passed, with its high ceilings and intricate chandeliers, faded from view as they entered a small, square room with rick burgundy walls adorned with a series of numbers.

Intrigued yet apprehensive, Karyn watched as Cosima approached the wall with a purposeful demeanor and pressed the number 8. In an instant, the world around Karyn twisted and swirled, reminiscent of teleportation. One moment she was standing beside Cosima, and the next, she found herself in an entirely new space.

Placing her palm against the cool wall to steady herself, Karyn waited for her senses to catch up. However, Cosima seemed unfazed by Karyn's disorientation. "There's water in the bathroom and fresh clothes for you. I suspect Nigel would prefer to have food brought to your room, giving you some time to gather yourself before facing the crowd."

Sure that whatever little remained in her stomach wouldn't pour out from her mouth, Karyn asked, "Crowd?"

"Yes, crowd," Cosima responded, her voice clipped and sharp. "You must have faced quite a lot. Or not. It wouldn't surprise me. You've been skirting around Wlerden without a care in the world for the people you've affected."

Karyn squared her shoulders. Dizziness threatened to crash over her; the adrenaline that had kept her moving was beginning to ebb, and she could sense the impending flood of exhaustion from all she had endured in the last few hours. Yet she found herself gripped by a fierce determination; she couldn't let this woman intimidate her. She'd endured enough icy encounters in her time in the Grand Prison; she didn't need any more.

"I don't know what perception you have of me, but I'm willing to create a new one and—"

"I don't like you." Cosima stepped closer, her boot striking the floor with an authoritative thud that echoed ominously, silencing the room at once. "And that perception won't change. You brought this hell upon us and you will have no choice but to pay. The Red Guard hunts us like prey, forcing us to conceal our gifts, to hide our skin, our eyes. But not for long. Your mere presence changes nothing. Whether you choose to acknowledge the devastation you have wrought in our lives or remain silent, it still changes nothing. Unlike Nigel, some of us don't see the value of your life. Those of us who will go forward will do as we have planned, with or without you in the picture."

With that, Cosima turned on her heel, striding away with an air of finality that left Karyn in a chilling silence, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air.

Throughout her time in the tub, Karyn didn't know what to focus her mind on. Was it the period of torture she'd gone through, the deaths she'd witnessed in and out of prison, or finally the stoic words of Cosima, the stranger who loathed her?

When she'd freshened up, she settled for dark blue jeans with a white top. While she dried her hair with her towel, she stalked to the window, looking out the window at the clouds of sand that floated above when she heard voices outside the door.

"You can't go in yet. We didn't tell you so that you would disturb her peace."

"Oh trust me, my presence would do anything but that."

The second voice, even though muffled, sounded familiar. Then came the knock before the door flung open and it was the least person she could think would be here.

"Elowen!"

Her eyes filled with tears the moment she saw her best friend racing towards her. Overwhelmed, her knees buckled, and she sank into the comforting embrace, allowing herself to lean heavily into the warmth of that familiar presence. Although she felt the swell of emotions ready to spill over, the tears stubbornly held back for the time being.

For the first time since that fateful leap into the tunnel in Vunmarc, a glimmer of relief washed over her, offering a moment of solace amidst the turmoil.

"Karyn, I couldn't believe it was you, but Nixon said his brother had found the Silverein and I just had to see it for myself." Her best friend's words tumbled out.

"Elowen, how?" She sniffed as she pulled back to view her best friend of many years. The toll of whatever Elowen had experienced showed on her face, which was no longer the picture of health and joy it once was. Her cheeks, once full and inviting, now appeared hollow, and her smile no longer stretched as wide as Karyn remembered.

Karyn's eyes drifted to Elowen's hair, noting the braids that seemed to lack their former luster as if time had washed all vibrancy from it. But the sight of her blue eyes and how they had darkened, brought a recent and painful memory forward.

"Come," Elowen said as she led Karyn to the bed where they sat. "I have to tell you something."

"I have something to tell you too," Karyn muttered, wringing her hands, unsure of how to break the news.

Someone cleared their throat behind them and said, "I'll give you some time."

She looked up to see who, but the person was already shutting the door, and soon she was alone with her best friend.

"I know there's a lot to talk about the prison but there's something you need to know. I've known ever since and I won't forgive myself if I miss the opportunity to tell you again."

"Again? What do you mean?"

"I saw who killed Kara."

♛

ITNC: Karyn learns of the heartbreaking reality surrounding Kara's death, while Gema finds herself in a fierce battle not only for her own life but also for the sake of Salome.

♛

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The Sparkling Authoress,
Mis. A
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