The man settled into a private area in the Dei governmental library. No one paid the inconspicuous man any mind as it looked like he was writing some long ended business report to the economical department. Wearing a uniform on with lower seniority badges, no one drifted an eye at his tedious task. He stared intently at the holographic screen for an hour, then rubbed his eyes annoyed. That troublesome rebel was such a nuisance to trail when he covered his tracks. This was a game both men toiled with, cat and mouse.
A lady dressed in the same attire sat down next to him and casually watched his progress. She appeared more of his superior checking his work. Marix made no remark at first to address her presence. His mind was focused on cracking the code. The governmental security bypass was a breeze. However, cracking the hacker’s lockout programs was awful! His prey had a password for a password for a password. It was utterly exhausting to unhitch each digital lock.
“Guard has been arguing with the Dei Council. The people are breaking down the political building in rebellion. They’ve also killed council member Toundrie. Any word on where Hydd is?” she inquired blandly, almost in a whisper. No one would guess they weren’t working on the laborious tasks of the department.
The blonde man made a scowl as he finally lifted what he was after. The task had been exhausting but an enjoyable challenge. Soon, security camera footage displayed the Divine Sanction’s guest hallways. The lady stood over him to watch the video images as both studied it carefully. The abductor had disabled the cameras and looped them beforehand. It was obvious the professionalism he used, being ever so aware of each camera placement.
Missing just one in the serving kitchen. The Abductor was seen carrying the delicate form of the Sanction leader in the distant background. He proceeded through the hallway deftly, monitoring each placement of guards all the while. The blonde man silently clicked away a bit at the holographic monitor as the lady commented, “He had this premeditated a long time.”
“Quite obviously,” the man returned as the screen displayed another camera. This time it was recorded access to the transportation center. He scanned the video images looking for something peculiar about the same time it would take if you left from the Council building.
“Left,” the woman murmured in thought. The man made no acknowledgement however studied the spot carefully. The two then matched which trains the Abductor went on by matching train station cameras since he switched them several times until they came to a specific one.
The man groaned slightly as he realized at this point that the footage stopped. On the train prior is when the hacker made his move disabling communications. All camera feeds throughout Dei had fried afterward, not sending anymore data to backup drives he currently was looking in.
Scrunching up his face, he commented at last, “And that’s the end of the trail, heading toward the East wastelands.”
“Do we pursue?” she questioned in thought.
The man shook his head. He knew his prey far too well, “He did not go there for sure. He’s trying to maze his trail. I know he would never do anything but the best for her. If she’s well, he’ll meet up with us. He saw strain in her here.”
The lady laughed abruptly, trying to stop herself, “I’m strained here, and I’m not even being bossed by the Dei bullies.”
He nodded, gently sitting up and saving a backup. Though it was futile to blackmail his annoying enemy with the footage, he still wanted to preserve the evidence of the now chilled case. Other officials hadn’t a clue there was a connection between the hacker and the abduction. He would at least harass Sky from time to time with said information.
Marix went back to his alias’s house. It had been exhausting work since Sky abducted Jynx, and he was drained with little sleep. Sending his better employees away that would heed his warning, he sat in his servantless house with no one to help his endeavors except the other Elite left behind.
Perhaps soon it would all come to naught, everything he created here was going to be destroyed. After all his efforts had been spoiled, he resigned very few in this city were going to repent. Jynx’s ridicule, then abduction had solidified its rotten fate.
He groaned as he received the chemistry work up from the bottom layer’s soil. Sky, before leaving, tipped him off on it. Scanning the data, he frowned hard as a knock on the door alerted him to only one of two people still in the city he concerned himself with. Ruling out Guard as he was at the Capital yet, trying his best to continue the urgency to repent, even arguing into the long night, this person entering had to be Chaos.
She sauntered in after grooming herself and studied the information carefully as she cringed, “Boy does that look bad!”
Marix wiped his face, “Yes it does. The soil below our feet is dry and brittle. The trees aren’t going into autumn like normal. They’re dying. There’s chemical acidity like Hiesu’s sludge accumulating more and more. It’s tainting the soil underground, and the trees are drying up and dying quickly. I think Dei’s destruction is at hand now.”
Chaos nodded grimly, “They won’t repent. They refuse to. Guard still tries so hard to convince them.”
“But they won’t leave their treasures, will they?” Marix maniacally smiled. “We warned them.”
Chaos next asked, “How long do we stay then?”
“Until Guard tells us to retreat. We wait apprehensively until then. I’ve prepared as best I could for it,” Marix returned grimly in resignation. All his cards were on the table.
Guard sank into his tub late at night. His head hurt from the constant stress of dealing with these awful snakes. With Ori gone, he tried even harder but was left with their disinterest. This wasn’t about their amusement but to spare them!
Sighing into the calm, soothing nighttime water, he mumbled, “They draw nigh with their tongues, but their hearts are far from the Great One!”
He finished his bath leisurely, then dressed himself in the foreign, loathsome attire of Dei sleepwear. Scrunching on the strange bed, he vowed never to complain about the low cushioned mattresses of Narias again! Staring at the ceiling, he wished himself miles away. Soon, sleep claimed him, exhausted with the never-ending chatting of the day.
The passing of time seemed swift as Guard fell out of bed in a jolt. Panting hard, he knew it was no nightmare but a warning. The Great One wanted them out now! He shot out of the lonely hallway swiftly. There was no time.
Stopping, he cringed while contemplating if he even had time. Shaking his head, he turned to track down that familiar spirit. His conscience couldn’t bear knowing that he hadn’t done everything on his part to at least warn that poor girl.
She was acting as a janitor, cleaning the floors as he stomped toward her. Immediately, she became on edge as she observed the hardened look on his face. She hadn’t a clue what anything about him was about. Had someone told him she betrayed him some way? Tribrinka was full of lies and plots like that. Embarrassingly enough, she toppled her bucket as the water splashed sideways in a mess. She confessed that she didn’t want the appearance of being so clumsy displayed in front of him.
“Run Order, get out as fast as you can!” Guard urged as he came to her. Placing his hands to the sides of her face, he continued, “Do you believe that the Great One is calling for you too? Will you repent?”
Order thought on his words as she felt strange by his affectionate contact. Warmth or kindness was not something she was familiar with. She longed secretly to linger in the moment, but he looked terrifically urgent.
“Yes, I do. I worry about acting too rash in front of Nevar, but I believe your message from the Great One and pray that He helps my sisters,” she spoke sullenly.
“You need to escape now then. This place is going to be destroyed tonight! If you need to buy time with Nevar, explain that you caught a lead from the Soein Sanction Leader that they were going to speak with Hiesu next. I want to see you safely there!”
Guard pleaded as swiftly as he could. He really didn’t have time. In a rushed moment, he kissed her forehead, catching her completely off guard. A warm tingling filled the spot as she rubbed at it in confusion.
Guard blurted out hastily, “It’s a better seal of protection, the highest I could cast in case Nevar tries anything, I hope it helps keep you safe til next we meet.”
Order felt heated as she tried brushing off the incident. They were in peril here. Hearing steps behind her, she knew Raige was coming. Guard met eyes with him as he firmly warned, “Get out and to Hiesu, this is my warning for your safety. Run because your life is really on the line here, everyone’s is! We won’t be here either.”
Raige nodded silently to him as both characters fled swiftly without another word. Guard took the response with relief. Now he had to collect his friends, he had already lost time, he was cutting it close.
Guard storm into the mansion hastily.
“Ready to go your Highness?” Chaos shot out in a nervous laugh. The tremors in the trees made them feel no better.
Guard shot out while catching his breath, “We have to leave, and now!”
Both Marix and Chaos nodded, Guard hadn’t noticed that both Elites already had packs ready to go immediately. They were the best of the best soldiers in Tribrinka, after all. He commended their intuitive and adaptable natures. A rumble from below alerted them of pressing time as Marix studied the elevator. It was feeling hot even at this height. Opening it unleashed an unfathomable heat. There was no going that way whatsoever. He pondered when the tree trunk might collapse into flames. Something this massive was devastating both above and below.
“No taking the elevator. There’s a fire running up from the base layer, I see. Not sure how we’ll get to the trains out on layer two,” Marix paused, a bit concerned for even him.
They sprinted down the unmoving escalators still broken from Nyxx the hacker’s actions a couple of weeks ago. They knew a few trains got running again on layer two, but no one seemed concerned to leave the city. All their wealth was stored here in Dei, along with its enticing promise of prosperity. Most people shrugged off the affair of immobility, greedily awaiting Tribrinka to execute the Nobles exposed for their crimes, then swoop in to be the next Noble on the Council themselves. To leave meant to lose, no one desired to take to trains, no one expected that the Sanction leader’s warning was coming swiftly below their feet.
“Let’s just get down there and see what we’re working with, I might be able to help us a bit too with the Great One’s guidance,” Guard panted. These two were difficult to keep up with. They’d spent years honing their bodies for physical strain. Evacuating with precision, they displayed no issues, even with packs.
Marix nodded as Chaos smirked, “We’re good for winging things, Great One, give us help!”
After a few layers, Guard attempted to call a warning in the still night but was shouted at several times to keep quiet. They refused to listen to his noise. Their layers were yet untouched and tranquil. The heat and smoke would soon get to them. By the sixth floor, evidence was swiftly appearing, however.
A heavy smog laced the area, though sealed houses remained unbothered in their climate control structures. The residents of these homes yet slumbered.
The Elites shoved a respirator on Guard. He was ever thankful they thought so painstakingly about his survival with dutiful devotion. He’d do everything on his part to ensure their safety, too. A sudden crack set them all on edge, however, as they ran as fast as they could to layer two.
Flames rose high from below. Sirens were warning all to evacuate. Many were too late, the smoke took them in their sleep, and others suffocated, trying to leave.
Marix assessed the structural integrity of the tree as he hollered, “We can’t use the train lines here. It’s too late! In about twenty minutes, I think the trunks are going to collapse. If we were a half hour sooner, we might have gone on the last train, but no good now. That’s as good as sealed our fate.”
He tapped and paced nervously, trying everything to think of a safe route out. The cracks and groans shuddered into the trees. Guard flinched as he looked above to see three or four trees wriggle and adjust their weight unstably.
“Over here!” Marix shouted out, grabbing the two swiftly to the ground.
They watched helplessly as four hundred feet in the distance a giant tree clashed violently to the ground, the impact shook them up into the air by two feet like a trampoline jump. Debris came at them like a tornado as they braced carefully to block their faces. Soon, the ground lit up and greedily engulfed the dry corpse like a tasty morsel. Guard immediately placed a cooling spell on them, the heat rose to deadly levels around them.
Almost like gasoline, the fire was all the more rueful, ready to gather more bodies of the trees and its inhabitants. Thousands of thousands of screams began filling the air, fright and horror surrounded them. Running the opposite way, they came across a station but to no avail.
“That train was never repaired. I don’t think we’re going to get out honestly, there’s no way out,” Marix inferred using the loudest command voice he could over his muffled respirator and the screams and wails of the dying citizens of Dei.
Chaos frowned while looking at him. If Marix the genius was stumped, what could they do? Guard shook his head as he ordered, “Can you un-attach that end one? I’ll shove it out of here with casting. It’s better we at least try now than wait. The worst thing that could happen is we die. We definitely are going to if this tree falls on us here. We can’t outrun it!”
Marix was already on it as Guard had spoken. The hot metal was intense, but he smashed the latch with a fury. Chaos assisted as Guard protected against fallen debris. Glancing below, a sea of lava and flames tried to grab at them, and he casted all he could to cool everything down. Guard prayed the Beamline light-rails still kept in somewhat working order to get them out.
More agonal groans came from overhead as the branches were quivering. The three shoved inside the cart heedlessly as Guard immediately casted both front protection to clear the lines as they traveled and backward propulsion. Their cart slid unsteadily along the Beamline, but instead of laser, they followed Guard’s casting instead.
Like a Hydyn thrill coaster, it shot off in a shrieking speed as all three held on for dear life. Even though going the insane speed that they were, the looming tree started to quake and tumble. In their minds their were calculating ever so carefully if they’d traveled fast enough to reach past its girth. In appeared slow motion, all held their breath. Even the stone-faced Marix looked extremely peaked.
They breathed as they just barely cleared the branches. The impact shoved them faster as the flames licked the back of the cart. The speed blew the flames outward to lash at everything nearby. With the great tree downed, other of its brethren came with it. It seemed like all of them wanted to collapse now as Guard pleaded out, “Great One help us!”
The cart continued on, narrowly missing each path of fallen tree. Behind them, the group noticed even the ground sunk into the depths of the earth. An ocean of red lava burst forth for miles beyond what they could see, spewing and spitting violently, eating anything that was once above relentlessly. The smoke made it like night, whereas by now, the morning light should have been. The disaster was complete, the City of Dei was no more.
Though they were almost out of the forest, these outside trees would soon be fated to follow a burning death along with the rest as the fire reached farther out. There was nothing to protect these stationary little giants. Every tree would be decimated.
Finally, after a couple hours, Guard lost steam as the track seemed to reach some tree cleared area three hundred feet wide.
Marix pointed to go on with a frown, “This is probably Tyrk’s sanctuary land on his estate. He did what I thought to do as well. Any Dei citizens willing to flee were welcomed here to take refuge. Though I loathe it, we’ll need his resources and sanctuary for a bit. He did good to clear the land in case of forest fires. He’s been busy indeed with his hired hands.”
Guard slumped down as he nodded. They had barely survived that cataclysm. The trauma of the people’s screams still filled his head. He really hoped Order made it safely. The Elites watched the fainted hero carefully. They owed their lives to that man and would not forget the debt.
Sky sat in a chair near Orionna in Nova’s private quarters. His nerves were always in jitters after dealing with those strange gate keepers of the unknown, but now to hear of this recent account of Nevar’s malevolent past and Orionna’s past confrontations of the horrid being were really setting him off fierce. This supernatural setting was far beyond the simple means he knew to protect her. He hated this.
“Sky,” Orionna spoke while meeting her forehead to his.
He was thinking so hard on foreseeing what to plan about, and he merely couldn’t do that. She wished to console his being. He closed his eyes with a sigh as he lingered in her warmth and attention. Oh, how he loved her so deeply! She could even detect his unease and tried calming him unrelentingly. She was in far more strain. She had by now watched his interaction with the entity and knew its words.
“We’re fine, Ori,” he consoled, backing away from the intimacy. It killed him to set such unnatural distance, but it was for the best for her.
She took it in stride lately but silently discontent. Thinking some while waiting in silence, she finally uttered, “Sky, do you still love me?”
Sky looked down in a wincing smile as he replied, “I’ve cared and will care for you more than any other being in my life, Great One aside. I devote my life to you now and forever.”
“Do you love me as a soulmate like the fiery gatekeeper said?” Orionna bent down to stare him seriously in the face. “I love you like that and want to devote my life to you alone as well.”
Sky looked at her with real resolve. He swallowed hard and nodded, “Yes I do, but that does not mean we get to be together in the sense you’re hoping. I don’t care for it myself, but it is the reality of it. I am not one that can marry and take you as a bride.”
Orionna didn’t lose a bit of steam as she interrogated next, “Why do you think such things?”
Taken aback by the firm side of her he had never witnessed before, he responded dutifully, “You are a leader to guide the people. My reputation is not very well liked by the people and will not be tolerated beside you in such a way. It would be in the best interests of you to align yourself with someone of like caliber. I’m a farmer’s son turned soldier, I have no noble blood or good standing anywhere. I can protect you, but that’s all. No diplomat would take me serious.”
“Then who do you suggest I take as my husband?” she inquired with a stoic expression. He was having a difficult time reconciling this authoritative side. She would make an excellent and fair ruler in the future as patient and kind as she was.
He gulped unhappily, “Guard? I really don’t want to think of these things. I merely plan on observing whoever seemed interested, and if he didn’t seem like he had awful intentions, stepping away peaceable. I truly just want your happiness always.”
She nodded with down-turned eyes while shaking her head in thought as she backed away. Looking out the window at the setting sun, she breathed in the sweet wood smell of some tropical incense.
“I see Guard as a brother. A marriage would never happen between us. There is no connection like that. I also have no desire for the people that you mention either. Their connection to power is exactly what I loathe. If I use the wisdom of the Great One, blessed are the weak and the humble. If I follow your advice, I guess I have no choice but to marry no one at all.
I will live a simple life leading people to the Great One peacefully, but I see I will still also have the comfort knowing you’re going to remain at my side for as long as the Great One allows. Either one of us could die in this great battle against the wickedness. Sky, you might watch my death whether you like it or not. You say you’re going to be the first to die, but the Great One has instilled in me the heavy chances of my life being taken if the wicked won’t repent. Arialysis is a perfect example of this. I won’t pressure you about this stupid topic of marriage or pretending there is a rosy future. I can guarantee that even if the people will repent, there will be so much toil placed on rebuilding the disrepair.”
Sky looked at her in discontent. He didn’t think of the old tale connected with her future. He merely wanted her happy.
“Sky, there is one thing I wish to do now. I have peace in this regardless of a world filled with uncertainty. I vow before the Great One here and now that my private heart will always love and devote itself only to you here and now til death do we part. I live for the people and the Great One, but my heart is devoted to loving only you. That part of me will always do that. You’re just too special to fill that in with any other man. I just can’t do that, and I won’t. This is my vow I set before the Great One and you as well,” she declared firmly as she turned to stare him in the eyes solemnly.
Sky nodded succinctly as he vowed in return, “I, Sky Teteren declare before the Great One to devote myself, heart, soul, and body solely to you Orionna Strence til death do we part. My life and my love are yours as well.”
He hugged her tightly as they melted together. It was a serious and solemn moment, but the promise felt right even if no one else might witness the event but the Great One. For all they knew, it might only last for a few weeks to days even. Death badgered them each toiled step. Even so, it felt right to affirm each other’s devotion.
Clapping from behind alerted the two someone else had been watching, two in fact. Nova had a devious smirk on his face as he strolled in. “I’d say those couldn’t be more beautiful wedding vows ever spoken. I’ll even endorse it being leader of Lyria and marry folks all the time as priest. You did vow it to the Great One, after all. You clearly both declared to only devote yourselves to each other til death do you part. You can’t jump out of it anymore.”
Sky shot him a flustered, venomous look as Nova bat it away, unperturbed. “Don’t give me that. You vowed it, and it took place in my private quarters. Of course, I have every right to hear it here. My turf, after all.”
Nova sat down, taking a parchment, and wrote on it. He absently talked as he worked, “You both said it yourself. You might not live all that long anyway. You only have so much time in life, and you might as well enjoy the good times when you can together.
If you need to do it secretly, keep your vow secret from everyone else if you feel the need. Your vow shouldn’t affect your work in any way publicly. You’ll still be Judge and Divine Sanction leader, and you Sir, her protector.”
Nova paused to laugh and reflect on his choice of using the word ‘protector’, then continued, “Private lives are your own private matter to both me and everyone else. Do enjoy it, it should be just great and dandy. Now sign here on your marriage document. You did vow before the Great One already, and may I remind you.”
Sky and Orionna looked at each other, surprised how caught they were. Sky took the pen with a sigh. He felt beat but then again, didn’t feel like he should treat such precious vows so grudgingly. As he signed, he bent to kiss Orionna on the cheek with a caring smile. In the end, he certainly wasn’t losing but gaining something pivotal to his existence. She perked up and looked lovingly into his eyes as she then turned to sign her name as well.
“Starr, you’re witness, come and sign here to make it final,” Nova drawled. He was thoroughly amused. Starr signed silently with eyes wide, and Nova swiftly filed the contract away. He sat with his hands folded like a cat, ready to pounce.
“May I make my congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Teteren. Orionna, you couldn’t have picked a more dependable man,” he nodded, “I may or may not have had a premonition of this event dictated from the Great One.”
The two were wordless to the turn of events that befell them only in a short span of time. The last they knew, they were waiting to explain other things and now they were bride and groom.
“Well, with that important step out of the way, let’s celebrate!” Nova laughed as the siblings prepared a quiet meal for the other two guests. Starr listened to the tale of the deep fires with horror as she tried to take it all in. To realize the fake leader of Tribrinka was so atrocious and caused so many bad things to happen. It was frightening!
After a good meal, Nova stood and grabbed the pair. He sweetly whispered, “You two have a wonderful honeymoon now,” as he chased them out the door.
Both looked at each other quite ashamedly. At first, they couldn’t fathom what to say of it. Sky offered his arm as they strolled out on the streets silently. The lazy night seemed calm as the torches burned brightly. Heading to the resort, Sky dropped the key several times trying to get in the room. He was obviously nervous as his heart beat faster than a workout session.
Looking to both rooms, neither knew what to decide. Eventually, after looking out the window blankly, Sky mumbled out while slumping down on the guest couch, “I really have no idea what to do about this. I confess, this is beyond me. I trained in military tactics, not what I need to do if I have a bride. I did nothing with the hard-cold Tribrinkian girls, and I don’t know how to take care of a beautiful lady like you either.”
Orionna sat next to him as she nodded, “I don’t have experience in this either, no worries. I do think that it’s not something one can ‘train’ for, though. I think we just work out what we want in our marriage. I love you, and I want to stand beside you as we live. I think that’s a good start.”
She gave a little kiss on his cheek delicately as he closed his eyes on the contact. Tapping his thumbs nervously, she inquired about it, “I don’t want to make you unhappy. Do I need to go away? Is this whole thing upsetting?”
Sky snapped out, “No, no, you’re fine. I’m the problem. Since that time on the beach, I can hardly keep myself in line in front of you. I really am having a hard time, I guess, and I have never had this issue before. Let’s just say I desire you a lot, and you being as nice as you are is making it difficult to control myself.”
Orionna cupped the sides of his face as she studied it with concern. She hugged him as she consoled, “We’re a team, Mr. Teteren. Let’s work together on this.”
She smooshed his face playfully while sitting on his lap as he pouted teasingly. She carefully bent over and kissed him on the lips tenderly.
“I don’t think I can behave myself,” Sky warned carefully, trying his best to distract his mind elsewhere.
Orionna firmly spoke, “We are man and wife now. You’re not misbehaving. This is what we naturally do now that we vowed to each other. We have these desires for each other. I exist to please you, and you, me. I’ll admit I am a little, tiny bit nervous being our first time, but it’s okay. I want you to relax, it’s completely normal, and what the Great One gave us our marriage for. Let’s relieve these modest desires."
Sky groaned in apprehension as Orionna passionately kissed him.
“I don’t want to hurt you, or worse, you hate me,” Sky pleaded nervously.
Orionna chuckled as she kissed his collarbone, “There is nothing that would make me hate you. Besides, I can’t seem to forget that moment on the beach either.”
She grinned a sheepish grin as both of them laughed. He kissed her gently on the forehead, “You tell me if there’s anything, anytime you don’t like that I do, even if I snore or sing out of tune in public.” She nodded as they drifted off to one bedroom together.
The morning light lingered a long while before either stirred to meet it. Their eyes met at the same time as they studied each other in sunlit wonder. Sky drifted into reverie as he recalled the most amazing night. He could hardly believe this beauty smiled back at him in adoration as well. She had chosen him out of all the many men of the world. She had her pick he admitted, swirling around the lavish citizens of Dei, renown men of their time. Yet she selected him, an old soldier boy with poor roots. He didn’t even think he looked all that flashy compared to some of the striking characters of the nobility. All he felt he had to show was his mere love, yet every time he’d distance a step, she’d make another step to follow him. He would cherish her for all his life. He could reason having a wife was a very nice thing, but having her was the missing part in his existence.
Not being able to contain himself, he shifted over to embrace that warm being beside him and kissed her forehead very intently. She melted in the contact contently. Neither wished to get up for the day, yet it was unreasonable to stay where they were. Both spouses stomach’s were grumbling for food.
After a rather long time of snuggling, both finally relented to go eat something. Standing out of bed, both nervously glanced at each other while thinking things out.
At the same time, they both shouted, “I think we should go back and check on the others now.”
A paused filled the air as they stared at each other in surprise, then they burst out in laughter. Even though they hadn’t been married long, they were thinking in unison.
After catching his breath, Sky hugged Orionna tight and whispered, “For now we’ll have to behave ourselves with the others. Too much is going on, and the world will despise our arrangement. It’s for your safety, please, I don’t do this for any other reason.”
Ori kissed his cheek tenderly as she purred, “It’s what we’ll have to do. We both knew that. Only,” she giggled, “Every so often let’s sneak a midnight tryst. I enjoy sleeping next to you when I can.”
Sky chuckled as he pointed a finger on her nose, “That I might be able to do. I may be super experienced in espionage and slinking around. Marix will be a big pain, but if I say it’s to check on you…” He shrugged demurely with the most fake innocent look on his face.
“After all we’re partners in crime now,” Orionna shrugged.
Sky nodded, “And I intend us to be together through all this. Let’s go see where our friends are.”
The honeymoon had been pleasantly spent, and now it was time to get back to duty. Since the train system had been repaired as quickly as it could, the pair began their inconspicuous travels back to Dei. Orionna worried how the others were fairing, especially Guard. Now that she had rested, she had a new energy to tackle the great trial ahead. The Great One gave her an urging what words she ought to say now, and she felt a feisty power in her.