Thayer had offered to guide them through the rest of the path that morning, he knew the way like the back of his hand by now. At first Banu wasn't happy, he was hoping they'd leave Thayer in the morning. He became even more annoyed when Elora refused to tell him what they were talking about when he awoke that morning. She vaguely mentioned the path and discussing what Thayer did most days, but Banu could see she was lying, why he wasn't sure.

They had started at a good pace that morning, Thayer led the way with all his weapons strapped to his body and bow and arrow over his shoulder. The weather had turned dark the further they walked, the mist became a light drizzle of rain. Elora kept wiping her eyes against the light rain, thankful for her heavy boots as she stepped through a large puddle. As she walked, she thought about Thayer's words earlier. Now she at least had something to go on when they got to Alzoh. It would probably be best to try and find a library first, there might be some information available there. She could also try talk to one of Banu's magic teachers, hopefully, they would know about transference magic.

The hours seemed to drag on as they travelled together. Every once and while Thayer would stop and point at something, explaining what it was. She had long stopped trying to remember all the names of the strange mythical creatures hidden in the path. Her life was so different then what she thought it would be. Just last week she had been getting excited about the end of season celebrations. In the prison the guards would lead everyone out into the dinning hall where the table were pushed together to form a small stage. There would be a few men playing the fiddles and drums, lots of traditional Northern folk songs were sung. The guards sat around watching the prisoners dance and drink till midnight. It was the only time music was played in the prison and it was Elora's favourite time there. She wondered what was happening back home, would they still have their celebrations and if Virion still thought about her. In an odd way she missed him, she had grown up with him watching her, acting as her protector and sometimes friend.

She watched Banu as he walked alongside her, did he have a close friend at home that he missed or perhaps a girl he loved. While she did wonder, she was too shy to ask such intimate questions. In the prison she often thought about what it would be like to kiss a boy or to even get married, to her this had always been an impossible dream. Now that she was out, she wondered if she would now have her chance. She blushed thinking about what it would be like to kiss Banu, to run her hands through his midnight hair. 

While Elora imagined her new life in the Southern Realm, Thayer had slowed down as he prepared for what was ahead. He had only escorted a few people through this path, each time it was different. He glanced at his two companions, the tall sour boy and the small trusting girl, he hoped they were strong enough. From experience he knew the path would descend steeply until they reached the bottom. Elora and Banu stopped walking when they caught up to him.

"What now?" Banu asked exasperated, always expecting the worse.

"This next part is the last stretch until the end of the path. I must warn you guys, especially you Elora, the magic here is strong and unpredictable. It may cause you to see or hear things, ignore them and keep moving. Banu keep your wards up. If you can."

"Of course I can." He replied annoyed that Thayer thought he wasn't strong enough.

With that, they descended the path.

The path dropped steeply until it became a staircase made from dark weathered stones. An eerie silence had settled around them, covering them like a thick blanket. The sun had become blocked by the heavy fog floating through the air. Elora kept her head down, watching her steps down the slippery staircase, not wanting to go tumbling down the bottom. Her heart had beaten furiously in her chest at the mystery of what could be waiting for them down below. Thayer, who led in front, was tense, his shoulders and neck stiffened. His one hand never moved from the knife strapped to his thigh. Banu brought up the rear, for once he was silent, she could feel the apprehension rolling off of him. With each step-down, her knees were jolted awake, reminding her to tread carefully.

She wasn't sure how close they were to the bottom of the staircase when a warm breeze blew through the fog, trying to pull her hair out of its braid. The breeze danced around them, carrying the scent of something bitter and hot. Blood. She recognised the smell from her dreams. Confused, she looked around trying to find out where it had been coming from. Thayer clenched his teeth and wrapped his other hand around the bow on his back. The three of them slowed their steps, each one squinted through the fog, waiting for something to jump out at them.

In the distance, Elora heard a new sound. She strained her ears to listen. It started off faint, like the tinkling of a small bell and grew louder which each step. The sound reminded her of the fight against Virion, the clanging of sword against sword. The noise grew louder and the fog had begun to lift. She held her breath as her vision cleared and gasped in fright.

They had emerged within the middle of a battleground. A war raged on around them, the thunderous crashes of swords and spears being swung assaulted their senses. Behind a row of archers were something Elora had only read about in banned books, giants. They stood tall with massive feet, swinging axes below their knees that sent a group of men hurtling through the air. Nearby she cringed at the sound of a sword tearing through flesh, the sounds overwhelmed her. An arrow was hurled in her direction, barely skimming past her head. She jumped back, bumping into Thayer's chest. His hands curled around her forearms. "Woah there. They can't hurt you. See." He pumped his arm through the air, and she stared amazed as his hand went through a soldier that had been fighting next to him. A ripple ran through the soldiers body as Thayer retracted his hand.

"Are they ghosts?"

"No. They're real, they're just trapped. We're in the Spectres Playground now." Thayer explained, guiding them across the battleground. Elora still couldn't help herself from flinching when an axe came crashing down above her head. Banu spoke from behind her. "This is the Nmerion War isn't it?"

Elora's head spun. The Nmerion Wars! This was madness. It felt unreal to be standing in the middle of it, all around them were shouts, cries and roars from creatures she had never seen before or believed even existed.

"Yeah" Thayer grunted over his shoulder at Banu.

"The Nmerion Wars...I thought the battle had ended when the South stopped fighting?" She asked Thayer, confused.

"No, the war is still happening, look around," He gestured towards the soldiers. "The South didn't just stop fighting, nor the North, they're still here."

Sensing her confusion, he guided her up a small hill with Banu following close behind. What greeted her at the top frightened her. Thousands of men lay dead in the fields and another thousand fighting. The smell of blood was thick in the air now, suffocating her. She took a small step back, not wanting to watch any longer.

A shrill shriek pierced through the air, the sound so sharp it felt like it was ripping through her body. Banu muttered a curse as he gazed up into the sky. A creature flew towards them. It's body covered in long tattered robes that floated in the air around it. From beneath its robes, long limbs twisted out. Their arms were like skinny weathered tree branches, long and pale. The fingers stretched out like pine needles reaching for the ground. The robed creature shrieked again as it stopped in front of them, it's long fingers reaching for them. Elora screamed and fell backwards upon seeing the horrific creature. The inside of the hooded robe was empty, there was no face, just darkness. She was terrified.

Banu kneeled beside her, ignoring the creature that was shrieking at them, "Elora hey, Elora!" he shook her shoulders and forced her to look at him.

"It's okay, they can't hurt you."

She let out a shaky breath and looked at the creature, watching as it floated in the air above them.

"It's a wraith," Banu told her, now sitting down cross-legged beside her. She studied the creature as Thayer began to explain what was happening.

"The North and South never stopped fighting, that was just a story told to the people. The war is still happening." Thayer sat down on the other side of her, twirling a bead of grass between his fingers. "When the East was defeated, the Southern realm became worried. They did not have the weapons that the North did, as you know the Northern realm bought their weapons from Nazabay. So the rulers of the South visited the House of Aruer."

Banu looked up, curious, at the mention of this.

"Ah I see you've heard about them. Elora, the House of Aruer is found at the most Eastern point in the Southern Realm. The rulers made a deal with the witches there, ensuring they would create an army of fire demons. Powerful monsters which would have defeated the Northern Realm. The rulers in the North had found out through spies and made a deal with the Warlocks who then created an army of wraiths."

Thayer dropped the grass and gazed into the distance as he carried on talking. "At the time a few of us did not agree with the decision to help the North. If the fire demons and wraiths had fought in the battle it wouldn't just wipe out the army, it would destroy the entire continent, we couldn't let that happen."

"Why would the Warlocks agree to help, what was in it for them?" From all that she had heard, Elora knew there had to be something for them in return.

"Their souls." Banu answered, his expression thoughtful.

"Wraiths are creatures created for one thing; they steal souls. The Warlocks created the wraiths to suck the souls from the soldiers and they would receive power from the spirit left behind. Making them dangerously more powerful." Thayer gave a mirthless chuckle.

"What they didn't mention to the King of the North was the darkness that would settle over the realms, a deep depression that would drive the people mad, that North and South could never really win the war. They had to be stopped." Elora watched a pained and almost wistful expression settle over Thayer's face.

"What did you do?"

He glanced at her, his eyes reliving the pain.

"There were three of us who didn't agree. It was too late to stop the wraiths," He nodded his head at the curious wraith near them, "so we went to the witches in Aruer and struck another deal of our own. They agreed not to create the fire demons and placed a spell on the battle, trapping them in an altered realm, one they could never leave so the destruction could never spill out into the rest of Kophian. In return the three of us transferred our powers to them, making them the strongest witches in the continent. Stronger than the Warlocks."

"You gave up your power!" She was shocked, the idea of a warlock voluntarily giving up their power for good was unbelievable.

He nodded. "When the others had found out what we had done, they were furious. We were banished to spend eternity here, the other two had died shortly after we had arrived." He stood up abruptly, signalling the end of the conversation

Following his lead Elora and Banu stood, trailing behind him. They carefully climbed down a rocky slope before returning to the flat grasslands. As they walked amongst the fighting, she began to notice a number of wraiths flying above their heads. Their screeches were getting louder, Banu looked up confused at the small group of wraiths that had begun following them. More came flying up, the long fingers reaching down.

They're not real. They're not real. They're not real. Elora repeated over and over in her head, struggling to clear her head. The wraiths had gathered above her, their fingers long and ghostlike. She barely made out Banu at her side telling her it was okay over the rushing in her ears. One of the wraiths had dropped down to eye level, she stood frozen staring into the dark abyss. It reached out it's finger and touched her.

An ice-cold pain struck her stomach, they were real. She backed away screaming, ignoring Banu and ripping herself from Thayer's grip, she ran.