"I don't like the desert," Cascade complained, something Andrea would never have expected her to do. "It's got no water. It's empty. It goes on forever. And there's so. Much. Sand." Cascade collapsed onto the sand once more and lay there. "It's dry, annoying, and there's so much of it everywhere." Cascade groaned.

Andrea trudged on. She grabbed Cascade's arm and pulled her back up. "Come on! We need to continue until we reach where the vision's taking us. You've never given up before! Don't give up now!"

Cascade groaned and wearily complied. "How are you not dying of heat? You're wearing black."

"I'm not wearing black anymore, Cascade. We both bought white outfits from that caravan of traders that we passed earlier because we were in the desert, remember? Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

"No. I'm not sure."

"Really?"

"What? No. I was speaking rhetorically."

"Oh."

"Do you know what 'rhetorically' means?"

"No, not really."
"Why didn't you ask?"

"I figured it would come up at some point. What does it..." Andrea trailed off.

"What is it?" Cascade straightened wearily.

"Steep drop." Was all Andrea had to say.

Cascade was puzzled. She stepped forward and looked over the top of the dune they were standing on top of. She quickly backed away once more. "Whoa."

"Now the pull is coming from below us." Andrea said. "From there. That pit of darkness, or whatever it is."

"I don't feel like jumping in that pit right now."

"Me neither."

"I won't ever feel like jumping in that pit, in fact. No matter what crazy vision said I should."

Andrea stifled a laugh, though not very successfully. "Then what do we do now? Go back the way we came?"

Cascade realized that Andrea had a good point. There's almost no way that we could return to where we came from. It would take forever. We also wouldn't know how.

Cascade looked around for a path that they could take down. She slowly scanned the edge-

"HELLO?" Andrea shouted into the pit.

Cascade jumped. "Could you be a little quieter, maybe?"

Andrea ignored her. "ANYBODY THERE?"

Andrea has a very loud voice sometimes.

"HELLO?" The shouting continued.

"Andrea, I don't think there's anybody-"

"Hello!" A boy suddenly appeared in front of them. He was standing on a piece of earth that appeared to be floating in the air.

"Hello?" Cascade asked. Then she got distracted. "Are you controlling that piece of earth?"

"Yes. I am. Have you seen the vision?"

Wow. So direct. "Yes. We both have."

"What was it?"

"Dunes. With some letters on top that say 'Denecay Dunes.'" Andrea told Concord.

"All right. Hop aboard."

Cascade raised an eyebrow, but Andrea jumped right on. Cascade sighed and joined them on the slab of earth. "So, when are we going to leaAAAAAAAAA..." Cascade didn't get to finish her sentence as the slab suddenly shot down towards the ground. Cascade and Andrea were nearly left behind as the slab shot downwards.

The slab slowed for the last part of its descent. As it touched down on the ground, both Andrea and Cascade stumbled heavily off of it and looked around at their surroundings. There were letters and symbols all over the walls and the floor.

"What do those say?" Andrea asked.

"We don't know." A new voice came. Another boy approached them now. "We've been here for a few days, enough time to figure out, roughly, how to navigate this place. But we can't figure out what the symbols mean. Or rather, Concord over there can't figure out what the symbols mean. I'm Omar, by the way."

"It's nice to meet you, Omar." Andrea replied.

Normally, Cascade would have been surprised by Andrea's amiable greeting, but at the moment she was distracted. I've seen these symbols somewhere before. I just can't think of where.

Then she realized where she had seen them. "Omnistherus! Of course! The temple of Omnistherus!" she exclaimed.

Everyone looked at Cascade strangely.

"The temple of Omnirus? What?" Andrea asked in confusion.

"Omnistherus. It's Omnistherus."

"Omwisternus. Whatever." Andrea said.

Cascade gave up. "It means that we're in the temple of knowledge. This place has the history of every single person who has ever lived on Zenaria."

"Wow. You figured that out a lot faster than we did." Concord said, a little intimidated by how fast Cascade had come to the conclusion.

"I'm not surprised. The symbol of Omnistherus hasn't been used in over three thousand years. There's no reason that you should know it."

"Then why do you know it?" Andrea asked.

"I'm... I'm not sure. I just know it. From somewhere. I don't know."

Andrea's eyebrows shot up before she could stop herself. "You don't know? I've never seen you not know anything, let alone not knowing about how you know what you know!"

Cascade paused for a second to decipher what Andrea had said. It wasn't a successful attempt. "Can you please repeat that?"

"I don't think I could if I tried, Cascade."

Cascade grinned. Even Andrea hadn't understood what she had said, even though she had been the one who said it.

Cascade turned to talk to Concord and Omar. "So, what have you found out so far?" she asked.

"Well, we know everybody is ordered alphabetically. Once you know how to find someone, it's not as hard as you think. We found our histories. Well, I did. Omar's, for some reason, doesn't exist."

"What do you mean 'doesn't exist'? It has to exist. I mean, he's here."

"We think it may have been moved."

"Oh."

"Do you think you could find Cascade and my histories?" Andrea changed topics, glaring down the "C" aisle.

"Sure." Concord said. "Which aisle do you want to go to?"

"Cascade's."

Cascade was about to object when she realized that there must be something in particular that Andrea was looking for.
"Do you give her permission to do so?" Omar asked.

"Yes. I do." Cascade said.

Once more, Andrea was surprised. Cascade kept allowing her to do things that might jeopardize her secret. Of what she had done to Andrea. A twinge of doubt assailed her. What if I remembered it wrong? What if Cascade hasn't done anything at all? Andrea needed to make sure.

Concord and Andrea sped down the aisle "C", and it took a lot less time than Andrea had expected to reach Cascade's book.

Andrea tore it off the shelf and began to read it. She scanned every page, but couldn't find what she was looking for. She knew that the books would be telling the truth.

Andrea sat there for a long while, reading through the book as fast as she could. But as she finished the book and closed it, she realized that Cascade hadn't done anything at all. She was in the clear. It did raise the question of who had really been in her house that day when she had been picked up by the orphanage. The question of who had killed her brother. It hadn't been Cascade. And now that her mind was clearer, Andrea realized that the strange figure in the night had been tall, and older than her by definitely a few years or more. Cascade was her age.

Now, tiny details came back to Andrea. A long scar on the left hand of the figure. Cascade didn't have that. The figure hadn't used any water against Andrea, though she distinctly remembered there being many fountains and other large basins of water that had been available while she had been running. The figure hadn't been Cascade.

Now that her mind was no longer clouded by what she had thought she had seen, a false image, she realized that deep inside she had known Cascade was never lying. Cascade had always been telling the truth. Even without the evidence, Andrea knew that Cascade hadn't done anything to try and cause Andrea harm.

Andrea gave a deep sigh. My emotions got the best of me. They told me one thing, something that wasn't true, and I believed it. She berated herself for being so gullible. She hoped that she would be able to make it up to Cascade, someday. Andrea stood and put the book back on the shelf. "Thank you, Concord, for taking me here."

"No problem. I am wondering why you checked that book, though."

"It doesn't matter anymore. The reason doesn't exist."

Andrea and Concord sped back on the earth slab, Andrea contemplating what she would say to Cascade. She decided that she would decide when the time came. In the meantime, she enjoyed the breeze that blew through her hair as they sped through the aisle.

You. Are. Worthless. Omar woke. He sighed, listening to his companions breathing quietly on the ground near him. He sat up. Will they accept me for who I am? A blind boy who can only create a slight breeze with his powers? They think I must be powerful, but I'm not. Omar stood silently, walking away from the others. He shivered in the cold night air, but continued nevertheless. The newcomers have accepted Concord, and it makes sense; he's amazing. I could only dream of being like him. He moved to the well, sitting down on its cold, damp edge. He let out another sigh. Where should I go? Should I leave, so that I don't have to bear any more humiliation? Or should I stay, and wait for my fate to arrive? Omar suddenly became overwhelmed with worry. Concord almost always ignores me now, as if I don't exist. Plus, I doubt the newcomers would like me. Nobody else has. Not even my family did. At this, a single tear fell down his cheek. I've been searching for my family my whole life. And now I know they never loved me.

"Omar?" A whisper came from behind him. It took him a moment to realize who it was - Cascade.

Omar gasped quietly, caught off guard. "Yes?" he replied. He heard Cascade walk towards him, and almost felt her sit down on the well next to him. He turned away.

"Are you all right?" Cascade walked around to face Omar before he could move away, and wiped a tear off his cheek.

"I'm fine," Omar said, a little harsher than he had intended. "Don't worry about me." He stood and walked away from Cascade.

Cascade's brow furrowed with concern. "No, you're not fine." Her voice was heavy with concern. He's been avoiding us as much as he can. It's as if he doesn't want to know us. And yesterday I saw him sitting on the floor in between two of the rows of shelves, his head in his hands. Something's wrong. "Please. Whatever it is, you can tell me."

Omar didn't reply. I saw Cascade practicing with her water abilities yesterday, and what her expectations are. She's practically perfect; and that's what she expects to be. There's no reason she wouldn't expect that of others. And I don't meet that bar, not by a long shot.

Cascade put a hand on Omar's shoulder. "Omar, I'm your friend. You can talk to me. You'll feel better. I promise."

"It doesn't concern you." Omar brushed Cascade's hand off his shoulder and took a step away. But she wants to help. Maybe we could be friends, Omar thought. But what if I tell her what's bothering me, and she just reminds me of how weak I am? She would shove me away, just like the others. I don't need that.

Cascade let out a small sigh and shook her head. Why won't he tell me what's wrong?

Omar paused, then spoke. "You wouldn't like me if you knew," Omar told her. "I'm not like you. Not that perfect."

"Because you're blind?"

Omar nodded quietly.

"Omar, I don't care about that. None of us do."

Omar spoke again, encouraged by Cascade's words. "That's... not all."

"What else assails you?"

"I-" Omar hesitated. Then he released his thoughts in a torrent. "My powers are useless. All I can do is make a slight breeze. And I'm blind as well. Just pathetic overall. I don't fit in with you and the others."

"No, Omar. You're not weak, or useless. Don't let anybody think that you are. Take this trek into the desert, for example. It's an impressive feat just to make it this far, blind or not. By the stars, I nearly collapsed halfway here!" Cascade laughed quietly. She saw Omar smile faintly. She continued. "You fit in perfectly with us. We're all different, and we celebrate it. All of us are going to learn how to use our powers better and find out what to do next, together. We're not going to leave you." Cascade took Omar's hands in hers. "I promise."

Omar froze for a moment, not expecting Cascade's response. She's being so kind to me. I thought she'd hate me. He finally choked out a few words. "Th-thank you." He nodded in Cascade's direction and gave a faint smile.

"You're welcome." Cascade smiled, took Omar's hand, and led him back towards Concord and Andrea, still sleeping on the ground. "Let's go back to sleep. We all have a lot to do in the morning."

As Omar lay down once more, and Cascade fell back into slumber, he smiled. He thought about what Cascade had told him, and he could feel a weight lift off his shoulders. Maybe I won't always be alone this way, after all. Maybe I'm finally with the people who accept me - truly accept me - for who I really am. Omar fell asleep to the thought.

"Forbidden knowledge. That's what there is behind that wall," Cascade said definitively.

"What kind of forbidden knowledge?" Andrea asked.

"Knowledge that could probably potentially destroy Zenaria."

Andrea, who's face had previously worn a mischievous grin, fell. "Oh. Then maybe..."

"Yes. Maybe you shouldn't break in there and just steal all the knowledge and use it for a means of ruling the world."

Andrea wondered how Cascade knew what she had been thinking.

"You'll never know."

Andrea wondered how Cascade knew what she had been wondering.

"But maybe we could use it as a means of research." Andrea heard Cascade say.

"Good idea!" Andrea said. It earned her strange looks. "What?"
"You just suddenly said 'Good Idea!' excitedly," Omar said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh." I must've heard Cascade's thoughts. That's a little creepy, honestly.

It certainly is. Cascade's thoughts spoke in Andrea's head once again.

What's going on? Andrea looked at Cascade.

Andrea resisted the temptation to slap her forehead with her hand. "Let's enter. Do you see a door?"

Concord shoved a section of the wall out, which he then put to the side. "There's your door," he said.

Andrea sighed and shook her head. That was a good method. Wonder why I didn't think of that. Cascade's careful thinking must be affecting me.

Cascade tried to contain her laughter at Andrea's thoughts, once more, unsuccessfully, earning her more strange looks. Then they all entered the room.

It was dark inside the room. Andrea put her hand palm up in front of her, and after a few seconds a flame burst forth in her palm. She was getting better at creating fires. She split the flame into many different ones and spread them around the room. Conveniently, there were torches on the walls that she could light.

As the room became illuminated with the light of the many torches, the four friends gasped. For there, in the center of the immense room, lay, asleep, in stacks of glowing books, the guardian of the temple: A colossal, silvery-grey drake.