Following their interaction with Madame Alizeh in the monastery's south wing, Makaela and Karin made their way to the east wing to meet up with Ismael and a few other monks who the woman picked out to accompany them on their search for Lumi's tower.

Madame Alizeh assured them that they would be aided by her finest magicians. Ismael was one of her close confidants; a calm, quiet man with a natural affinity for weather magic and lightningweaving. He was also a master botanist; Makaela could've figured that much.

Who else could find a ghostweed in the wild?

She had met the man a few times around Tenzin. He was always cordial. Not entirely friendly, but not rude either. Then again, most of the monks tended to not express any kind of emotion toward her. Karin and Madame Alizeh seemed to be the only people in the compound with a personality.

As Makaela walked alongside Karin, she couldn't help but wonder what they would encounter on their journey. Dread and anxiety hung over her like a heavy thundercloud, ready to unleash torrents of rain upon her head.

They would be traveling straight into the storms that likely surrounded the tower. Not only that, but they would also have to scale and climb up snowy mountains. She wasn't looking forward to catching frostbite. Before they left, she would take a trip to the library to read up on spells that could keep her warm. They would come in hand when they began their ascent into the sky.

There was also a chance they would come across a Shade or two. With Thorian searching for the tower, a collision between the two groups was surely inevitable. If she had to face the man again, she would have to be ready.

She was ready this time.

Even with her limited training with the monks of House Vaya, she already felt leagues stronger than she had a few weeks prior. A duel between herself and Thorian would've been a lot closer now than before.

Still, she would have to be at the top of her game if she wanted to stand even the slightest chance against him. He had the power of Mauvorin and his ring—the Obscurio—on his side. She might have had an Eldenarian artifact in her possession too, but she didn't have a literal god whispering in her ear and feeding her power.

She shook her head.

Dwelling on a potential fight was never good for her mental state. For the time being, she decided to focus on the task at hand: finding Lumi's tower.

She glanced at Karin, whose eyes were practically attached to the glass orb in her hands. Her gaze hadn't left it since they left Madame Alizeh's secret room, almost as if it would shatter to pieces if her gaze moved for one second. An awestricken expression had been stuck on her face for the past few minutes.

"If you keep your mouth open any longer, you'll swallow a fly," Makaela joked.

Karin gave her a sarcastic laugh. "Very funny." She caressed the side of the Andhis as if it were a pet. "I can feel its power inside. It's like standing in the middle of a hurricane. You can see the power—the destruction—but you're perfectly safe as it rages around you."

"Interesting..." Makaela ran her thumb over her ring's golden gemstone. She felt the magic tickle her fingertip. A faint warmth spread across her hand as the gem pulsed momentarily. The feeling she got from the Illumio wasn't quite what Karin described with the Andhis.

The ring flooded her with feelings of hope. When she closed her eyes, she saw the morning sun rising into a blue sky. She felt its warm rays against her dark cheeks, illuminating her body and dispelling the darkness around her.

She wouldn't let Thorian take it. He would have to rip it from her cold, dead body.

If he did try to kill her, she would be sure to take him with her into the bottomless pits of Nordor.

"Who is Madame Alizeh sending with us?" She and Karin were nearing the room Madame Alizeh told them to meet Ismael and their other companions in.

"Their names are Han and Yama," Karin answered. "Yama is a lightningweaver. One of the best in the monastery."

"What about Han?"

"He's a weathermaster. Pretty ordinary if you ask me. But he is a good tracker and he might prove to be useful while we're trekking through the Himalayas."

Makaela nodded. Lightningweaving was a discipline she wasn't all too familiar with. The techniques were much different than regular spellcasting. Instead of complex hand symbols, the caster's entire body was required to generate the lightning needed for an attack. She had practiced it a few times, but it was clear she wasn't meant for it.

Lightweaving was more her speed.

"What about Ismael?" she asked. "Madame Alizeh seems to like him."

"He's been one of her top advisors for years," Karin told her. "He's been around for as long as I can remember. Had she not chosen me to be her successor, it totally would've been him."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Makaela said. "Why did she pick you? And why so early? I mean, you're the same age as me."

Karin snorted. "She just knows greatness when she sees it."

"Aren't Vayan monks supposed to be modest and humble?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not quite like other Vayan monks."

"Yeah, no kidding."

The two girls approached a set of brass, double doors at the end of the hall.

"But seriously?" Makaela continued. She faced the girl. "Why'd she pick you? There has to be a reason."

Karin kept her face forward. "You really want to know?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

Sighing, the silver-haired girl wrung her hands. "We don't have children here at the monastery. Sex is seen as a distraction to our studies, so it's forbidden here. My parents were two monks who...let's just say they broke the rules. They had me here in Tenzin; I was the first child born here in who knows how long. Madame Alizeh wasn't happy. She banished my parents and kept me here to help raise me. Ever since I was a child, she's been grooming and preparing me to take her place here."

Madame Alizeh banished her parents?

She couldn't imagine her doing something like that. It seemed cruel. Inhumane even. Banished for having a child? She didn't know Tenzin operated under a totalitarian-styled government.

Perhaps Madame Alizeh wasn't the woman she thought she was.

Then again, most people never lived up to the image she had of them in her mind.

Shaking her head, Makaela gave Karin a bewildered look. "How could you forgive her for doing something that?"

"Didn't you join forces with the man who murdered your parents?"

Pursing her lips, Makaela turned her head away from her companion.

"Sorry," Karin quickly said. A sigh left her lips. "It's not like she killed them. Look, they broke the rules. Actions have consequences. I learned that very quickly." She shrugged. "Besides, I get to see them every now and then whenever Madame Alizeh lets me leave the monastery. They moved back to India after they were exiled."

Makaela knew the Vayan monks weren't born in Tenzin. They came from all over the globe—usually from countries in Asia—to be taught by the legendary leader of House Vaya. Under the woman's tutelage, they would aspire to become expert lightnightweavers and weathermasters.

Still, she couldn't believe Madame Alizeh banished Karin's parents for having a child.

She was glad her own house didn't have such rules.

Frowning, she realized there was almost no one to carry on the legacy of her house if she, Remy, or Olivier died. If they didn't survive the war, that would be the end of House Lumai. Her heart stopped. How could a whole house just go extinct? She thought about it often, the purge of her house. A bloody and tragic event that spanned a decade while Thorian attempted to hunt her down.

She scowled.

She couldn't believe she ever was on his side.

That was over now, though. Now it was up to her to bring him to justice. Before she could do that, she had to complete her search.

"Come on," she told Karin as she pushed the brass doors open. "Let's meet our traveling partners."

#

Ismael, Yama, and Han were convened around a table stacked high with camping supplies, food, lanterns, terrain maps of the Himalayas, and winter gear. As Makaela joined them at the supply site, she arched an eyebrow at the mound of stuff.

"We're magicians. Do we seriously need all of this stuff?"

Han—a short, young man with close-cropped hair and dark brown eyes—smiled and nodded. "Can never be too careful. Mountain climbing on its own can be dangerous, even as a magician. But searching for Lumi's tower?" He picked up one of the lanterns. "We want to be prepared."

"The storms that surround the tower are said to drive anyone insane," Yama added. She was stood next to Han, her hands tying her black hair into a ponytail. She was considerably taller than Han. Her skin was the color of butterscotch and her eyes were gray just like Karin's.

Karin greeted both of her fellow Vayan magicians with a bow. They returned the gesture. Blushing with embarrassment, Makaela did the same. Despite being in Tenzin for nearly a month, she still hadn't got used to their customs and rituals.

She wasn't sure if she would ever get used to them.

Glancing at Ismael, she noticed he was staring down at one of the maps with his index finger pressed against his square chin. He was mumbling to himself, his eyes moving across the weathered page like silver pinballs.

Makaela gestured at the Andhis in Karin's hands. "Your house's artifact has an abstract map that leads straight to the tower. The starting point is in a town in Nepal. Madame Alizeh suggested we begin there."

Ismael smiled gratefully. "Thank you." He picked up his map, rolled it up, and stuffed it into a small, dark green bag. Instead of sticking out of the cloth satchel, it disappeared completely.

Makaela had seen one of them before—an infinity container. They were quite rare, as the crafting process for them had been lost throughout the years. Usually taking the appearance of something lightweight, infinity containers could hold tons of luggage within their enchanted walls. They were perfect for expeditions like the one they would be embarking on.

"I've got to get one of those."

Ismael patted his bag after slinging it over his shoulder. "They're incredibly handy." He opened it again and began dumping everything stacked on the table inside. They all dropped into the bag, vanishing into the void. He turned to everyone after closing his infinity container. "Everyone ready?"

Han and Yama nodded. They picked up their jackets from the table and pulled them on. Two more were laid out on the polished wood.

"You're gonna want to wear one of those," Han told Makaela and Karin. "Our robes might be enchanted, but you'll start to feel the cold eventually."

"Don't want you getting frostbite," Yama added jokingly. At least, Makaela hoped she was joking.

Nodding, the two girls grabbed their winter coats and tugged them on. Once they were dressed and ready to go, they joined their companions at the brass doors on the other side of the room.

The five of them made their way out of the monastery and back outside. House Vaya's portal gate was in the center of the compound near the meditation circle. Makaela flinched as the memory of her last time in a portal gate invaded her head.

She had almost died. If it hadn't been for—

Her breath caught in her chest as she thought of Dorian. He had given his life for her. She tried not to think about it; every time she did, an inescapable feeling of guilt pressed against her until she couldn't breathe. It squeezed her ribcage, forcing all the air from her screaming lungs. Tears sprung in her eyes as she saw his bloodied body on the floor of the portal gate with Thorian standing above him.

Sneering, she seethed at the image in her head.

She would avenge Dorian. She would avenge everyone he killed.

He would soon know pain the same way she did.

Within a few minutes of walking down the stone path winding throughout Tenzin, the group arrived at the portal. It was a tall, stone structure built within a set of quartz pillars that failed the test of time. Most had either cracked off in some areas while others had toppled completely, white pieces of stone strewn about the grass nearby.

"Why don't you guys fix these?" Makaela lightly grazed her fingers along a piece of a fallen pillar.

"It is history," Ismael replied stoically. "We do not erase history. We embrace it. We learn from it. To fix our flaws would mean to ignore them; to act like they do not exist."

"But shouldn't you work to get rid of your flaws?"

Ismael smiled. "No one is perfect, Makaela. Here in Tenzin, we embrace our flaws. They make us who we are."

"Unless they go against the rules right?" She rolled her eyes. "I heard about what Madame Alizeh did to Karin's parents. That doesn't sound a whole lot like 'embracing your flaws' to me."

Beside her, Karin hid her reddening face with her hands. Han and Yama both shot her scathing glares. She ignored them.

She wouldn't award House Vaya the luxury of deeming themselves holier than the other magicians of the world. Their teachings might have worked in Tenzin, but the real world—the world outside of their hidden, protected city—was a lot colder. A lot more deadly.

Perhaps that was the real reason they hadn't come to House Lumai's aid.

Sighing, Makaela shook her head. She was being too harsh. It would take her a while to get over the fact that they failed to help her people when they needed it most. But they were helping now. And that's what mattered.

"I'm sorry about her," Karin said. "She doesn't know when to stop talking."

Makaela made a face at her. The girl replied with a grin.

Ismael journeyed over to the podium in the center of the portal gate. A block of white eldricite sat on top of it. Once he placed his hands on the magical element, a light grew from within its core. Across from them between two of the more stable pillars, a portal swirled into existence. Snowflakes flew from the rift, mingling with the light layer of snow falling from the afternoon sky above.

Wherever they were going, it was just as cold there as it was in Tenzin.

Makaela shivered. She was not looking forward to it.

"In you go," Ismael said. "I'll be right behind you."

Makaela turned to Karin. "You ready?"

She tucked the Andhis into a bag one of the monks had given her before they left for the portal gate. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The two girls nodded at each other.

Makaela took one last deep breath before walking into the portal.

Thus, beginning the search for Lumi's tower.