Moonless Nights

My name is [...].

At least, that's what the Outer One told me my name is. Or what it used to be, at least. I have a new name now.

I don't really care for it, but what does it matter what I think?

I came into this existence abruptly. I didn't know why I was here. All I knew was that I wasn't, and then I was. Did I ask to be born? Or does anybody, really?

The first thing I ever felt was pain. As my consciousness abruptly snapped into this reality, I realized I had a body, and my nerves were ablaze with a horrible sensation. What a cruel entrance, wouldn't you say? But for some reason, I had no d.e.s.i.r.e to escape my torment, and somehow, on a very basic level, knew that it was something I had invited upon myself. I NEEDED to suffer.

In addition to feeling pain, I also found myself with a concept of the passage of time. I don't know how long I hurt, but I feel like it was awhile. But finally, the flames of agony extinguished and I fell a long way. I watched the stars twinkle around me, and marveled at all the vibrant colors of the sky. I saw the pine trees towering so high, and then the snow blanketing the ground. That was when I thought my very first thought. "Oh, how beautiful." My first thought was not to curse the way I had come into this world, but to marvel at the beauty of it.

I was a human once.

It makes sense if I was one, because I automatically understood human language, and as I saw more and more things, I remembered what they were called. When I fell to the earth, many people surrounded me, and they praised me as a "God." I didn't know what they meant by that.

But then, I finally understood the meaning of my existence.

A disaster had happened, that killed many of their friends and family. Wailing in despair, they threw themselves upon the ground and prayed for a miracle. So I came to them, because I didn't want them to be sad. I granted their wish and took their suffering away from them, restoring the lives of their loved ones with my power. In return, I sacrificed my body and died three hundred times. But I wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, I was elated.

As I watched them reunite and embrace each other in tears of joy, my pain suddenly became insignificant, and I was overcome by the most awe-inspiring feeling.

Love!

Pure love for these beautiful humans and this beautiful world and this beautiful existence!

I loved them!

To be a God for these wonderful people, to live for others, and give freely of myself… nothing could be a greater happiness! This was love! This was the meaning of existence! My heart was so filled with love I couldn't possibly keep it all to myself. Obviously I was born to share it. I had to teach my children about it.

From that point forward, I knew no matter what, I would be a benevolent God and love the world.

(Excerpt from the Diary of Rirasiru)

-

"The scene is 1516, Oracle Era! The tyrannical Aclarian Empire rules the northern half of the continent with an iron fist! This is where our story begins!"

A bunch of students in cardboard armor rushed the stage, pretend-killing others dressed as peasants with toy swords.

"Death and destruction was rampant! The ruling family Aclar worshiped the dark God of Cruelty himself, Aypos!" cried the narrator.

The magical spotlight focused on another child wearing a white wig.

"I'm Aypos, and I demand blood sacrifices to satisfy my bloodl.u.s.t!" he said, acting badly.

"Amateur hour," muttered Jan in the audience.

"In the Aclarian Empire, there was a decree no one could worship any God but Aypos. Any dissenters were tortured, their hearts ripped out on a bloodstained altar."

"Do you think this is age-appropriate?" whispered Eliza, her eyes growing wide as mock soldiers carried a mock villager to an upturned wagon painted to look like the bloodstained altar in question.

"The other Gods grew jealous of all the power and influence the Aclarians gave Aypos…"

The spotlight turned to a group of students dressed (very shabbily) as the Gods of Gesmaura, Eskana, and Shiuma.

"… So they started plotting amongst themselves their revenge."

"A revolt!" suggested a child dressed as Zagiha, God of Truth and Justice.

"What? We can't revolt," said the actor playing Hattaloi, God of Craftsmanship. "The Upper Circle would surely punish us for interfering with Aypos' success!"

"Then we'll show them Aypos isn't as successful as he seems," said Kaatsche, Goddess of Cats. "His behavior is appawling! We will gather our followers—of whom there are meowny, but in hiding—and compel them to fight the Aclarians. Then we will split control of the region amongst ourselves, meow."

"Why don't we challenge him to a dance-off?" asked the actress playing Erisa, Goddess of Insanity and Idiosyncracies.

"… Nobody listen to Erisa," said Zagiha. "We must incite our followers to revolution, and that's that!"

A chuckle wafted from the back. "He was so straightforward back in those days," said Isaana.

"I did absolutely nothing after that!" said fake-Erisa.

"And so they convinced their followers to fight for them," said the narrator, "but the revolutionaries were so unorganized they were crushed by the Aclarian army again and again. The long and bloody war was fought for sixty years, until one day a new Goddess ascended in Gesmaura."

"This is the best part," interrupted Isaana again.

A girl dressed as Isaana was lowered down on a rope.

"This ceaseless fighting must be brought to an end!" said actress-Isaana. "Follow me and I'll end this war once and for all!"

"She kept her word," said the narrator. "The Goddess Isaana organized the revolutionaries and assumed command as their general, and under her guidance they finally defeated the evil Aclarians… but at what price?"

The spotlight focused on the Gods again.

"Realizing the death and destruction that occurred due to their hubris, the Gods felt deeply ashamed of themselves. So instead of taking the spoils of war, they, along with every other God on Earth, vowed to never largely interfere in human affairs again and instead serve as their protectors. The humans decided to split up the Aclarian territory into three countries—Shiuma of the West, Eskana of the East, and Gesmaura of the North. Additionally, they and the Gods established total religious freedom in the land so no God would ever have a monopoly over the others again. Finally, the three countries signed a treaty declaring peace and abolished the military. It is said this treaty was ratified on the first new moon of December 1567, so that is why we celebrate the Illunis Festival on the darkest night of the year, memorializing the peace the Gods have ensured for us ever since."

The spotlight shone on another kid for the last time, struggling to change costumes. He smoothed it down, and cheeks red as beets, stuttered his next line. "You were all such fools. I'm the Outer One, and those steps the Gods took aren't enough to prevent this tragedy from happening again. How dare you defile my beautiful creation! I'll force you to get along whether you like it or not! Therefore, if humanity is ever to have another war, you'll be punished. I will send down my servant, the False One, and have them destroy you all."

"And we heeded its words. To this day, the world hasn't known war and strife since. The end."

The children bowed and the curtain closed, to mixed applause. Most people got up, cramming the doors as they tried to leave the assembly room with their parents.

"Mom!" w.h.i.n.ed Silvio, tugging at her sleeve. "Let's get up already! I don't wanna miss Eleora's Aurora Borealis!"

"It'll be there for awhile, Silvio," said Eliza, looking worn out, "can't you be patient?"

"No!"

"Let it go, Eliza," said Téodor Sabatka, father of the twins and chief of the Caershira police department. "We used to be this excited for the Illunis Festival, too."

"Téo!"

"Dad, can you go to my booth first?" asked Hana.

"That's right! You made special desserts for us, didn't you? Wouldn't want them to get cold, now would we?"

"All right," Eliza sighed, "you two go on ahead. But we're going to wait until the crowds thin out… isn't that right, Téo?"

"Hana, let's check the midterm results first," said Silvio, "they should be posted by now!"

"Huh? Uh, okay…"

But she didn't really have any say in the matter, as Silvio dragged her by the arm, half-jogging, half-stumbling to the commons where the student rankings were posted. Beneath the list were the students' grades, each shoved in an envelope with the individual's name written on it placed neatly on a desk. Many children were crowded around the list. Silvio, unfortunately, was on the shorter side, so he couldn't see above the heads in front of him.

"How'd you do?" he asked Jan as the boy came wheeling from the front of the crowd.

"I placed fifth," he said. Jan rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I know I said I wanted to rank in the top five… but what I really meant was I wanted to be first."

"Did you see where I am?"

Jan shook his head.

"Fifth? Lucky!" Lydia approached them. "I got twelfth."

"That's still pretty good!" said Hana.

"Says the girl who ranked second."

"I ranked second?" Hana's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yep! Ya killed it!"

"Congrats, Hana!" said Silvio. "What did I rank?"

Lydia shrugged. "I only got two seconds to look before getting trampled."

Silvio sighed, and brute-forced his way to the front of the throng. At last, he got close enough to read the list. 1-10… no, he wasn't there. Darn. Oh well, top twenty is pretty average, and… oh. Where was he? Silvio craned his neck. 30… 31… 32…

36.

There was his name, right by the number 36.

What?

That couldn't be right. His stomach twisting in anxious knots, he swiped his grade envelope and pulled away from the group, ripping it open. His ranking couldn't be right and…

It was.

A flurry of C's and D's awaited him, with a few B's and only one A to soothe the burn.

"What's with that look on your face?" asked Jan. "You look like you've… ohhh, shit," he said, taking a peek at the paper.

"What's wrong?" asked Hana.

Silvio crumpled up the paper. "I ranked 36th," he said.

"36 isn't so bad…"

"Hana, there's only forty people in our class!"

"What went wrong?" asked Hana.

"Well, the good news is… we got an A on the project, Jan. But I flunked the practical parts of our classes…"

"Divination? It was divination that got you, wasn't it?"

"No! I got a 78!"

"That's nothing to brag about!" Hana shook her head. "Silvio, Mom and Dad are gonna kill you! Did you get any F's?"

"No…"

"How about A's?"

"One."

"What subject?"

"Maths."

Hana facepalmed. "Everyone knows maths is useless!"

Silvio wrung his hands. "Oh, man, what if this means I can't get an apprenticeship after we graduate? I won't be able to get a job!"

"Chill!" Jan hissed. "You can bring your average up next semester!"

"Yeah, but not up enough!"

"All right," said Lydia, "I'm incredibly uncomfortable. Hana, we're gonna be late to our presentation."

"Oh… right."

"Silvio, are you gonna wipe that frown off your face and enjoy your last moments of life before your parents flay you, or are you gonna mope?"

"Lydia, lay off it…" snapped Jan.

"Girl, we've got five minutes! Come on!"

As usual, Hana couldn't muster up the courage to protest. Before she could say another word, the more aggressive girl whisked her away.

Silvio shook his head and threw the paper in the bin, staring sullenly at it as it lay in the garbage. Of COURSE Hana succeeded and he failed. What else was new? Shoving his hands in his pockets, he walked away.

"Where are you going?" asked Jan.

"Dorm," said Silvio.

"But you'll miss the Festival!"

"Who cares about the stupid Festival?"

"Gods…" Jan grabbed his shirt. "You're lucky I can't feel my legs, or else I'd be kicking your a.s.s right now! We've got to do our presentation, but you know what's more important? Having fun! This is the biggest holiday of the year! You can't let this ruin your whole break. C'mon. You're with me."

He had a lot of upper body strength, not that Silvio had the willpower to break away. Jan purposefully wheeled himself outside, with Silvio in tow.

The school's courtyard was truly beautiful. The trees were dr.a.p.ed in tapestries and tinsel, and delicate tea candles lined the pathways. Some people played with ornate kites, shaped like fish, birds, and stars. Colorful booths hawking food, trinkets, and games were set up in a circle around a large bonfire in the center of the yard, cooking a whole moose on a spit.

(Silvio never understood why the traditional Illunis dinner was moose, but he digressed.)

At the end of the night, this fire would be extinguished and a few daredevils would dance on the hot coals. Not that he'd ever tried before. There were many things he'd never tried, and probably never would when his parents saw his grades…

His breath froze against the cold December air. Despite himself, he had to admit the courtyard looked almost dreamlike.

"Let's get some food," said Jan, but his sentence stopped and instead he pointed to the sky. "Look at that!"

The aurora borealis rolled across the sky, shades of bright pink, green, and blue rippling below the stars like a silken dress in the breeze. It was magical and magnificent, lighting up the stark northern night. It looked even prettier than it did when they were in Hakalai Pass. Eleora must've gone all out for the occasion.

Silvio squinted. It was hard to see much without the moon to illuminate things, but at the very front of the borealis he thought he saw a small figure, unraveling her masterpiece as she flew through the sky.

"We made it just in time, huh?" said Jan.

"But you see it all the time up north," said Silvio.

"This is different," he replied.

"How so?"

"I've never been to an Illunis Festival celebration before. At least, I didn't go after my parents died…"

Silvio was silent, watching the borealis undulate above him.

"Can I tell you something?" asked Jan.

"What?"

"I didn't want to come to school. My aunt forced me to go. And you know, at first it s.u.c.k.e.d—but now I'm happy I came. I'm really glad I met you, Silvio. I used to hate everything, but you showed me life has a lot of good things going for it. You've never made me feel like a burden. It's like I can be a person again and not just a cripple, y'know? You're my first friend."

Silvio didn't say anything. Then he smirked a long, satisfied smirk, clapping Jan across the back. "You admitted it!" he said gleefully.

"Admitted what?"

"That we're friends! You finally said it!" Silvio beamed.

Jan blushed. "Shut up…"

"I'm glad I met you too, Jan! I understand now! You were my rival, who inspired me to study hard. When I was on the verge of quitting school, you were the one who encouraged me to keep going! I get it! With you, we can get through anything!"

"And I'm not going to let you flunk. You helped me, so next semester, I'm going to help you. That's a friend thing, right? Come on. Let's have some fun already."

And under the banner of the stars, they went to enjoy the holiday.

The first booth they visited was Hana's and Lydia's. They gave them an extra sweet. "Sympathy cake," as Lydia put it. It was delicious, moist, and robust. It had just the right amount of frosting on it, and the sides were decorated with slightly bitter raspberries, perfectly offsetting the rich sweetness of the chocolate.

And then, because on holidays you're allowed to have dessert before dinner, they lined up and got a heaping serving of roast moose, plates piled high with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and lingonberries. They scarfed their food down, eating until they felt the buttons on their shirts would burst—and then they washed it down with a cup of hot cocoa.

Most people would want to sleep after all that, but children are filled with boundless energy after all, so they went to play games. They played ring toss, but neither of them succeeded at it, so after Jan declared it rigged, they tried other games, such as marbles and cards. Silvio won a stuffed animal, and half tongue-in-cheek gave it to the other boy. Jan grumbled and groused that he was too big to play with soft toys, but in the end they decided that it would be given to Hana instead, who would actually appreciate such things. Jan got his revenge by winning a game of kubb, which Silvio was unsure how he managed to do considering how terrible he was at ring toss. Jan presented him with the sparkliest, pinkest, girliest handbag on the prize rack, but instead of humiliating him, Silvio accepted it and wore it with pride.

They visited with some of their classmates and watched their presentations, but finals left them wiped, so they weren't in the mood for academia, instead choosing to browse the shopping stalls. Silvio and Jan compared traditional wooden masks. Before the sun rose on Illunis Day, people would don them and go on a marching parade through the town, banging drums and singing carols to usher in another year of peace. They admired handmade chess sets and papercrafts, talismans and rabbit-fur mittens, buying a few small, cheap trinkets to gift their friends. Silvio purchased a wooden Samoyed keychain. Mica would love it, wouldn't he? Next time he saw him, he'd give it to him and confess. He could do it!

The end of their journey found them on a tall hill overlooking the festival. Jan and Silvio watched the borealis slowly fade away. A loud bell rang three times, reverberating throughout the courtyard.

"It's time for the fireworks show," said Jan.

"Let's dazzle 'em!" said Silvio.

"Remember, you control that weird powder, and I control where the fireworks go. Oh Gods of the Land and Sky, hear my prayer and bestow upon me your blessings: Levitatia inviolabilesu!" His staff glowed red.

Silvio lit a match, positioning one of the fireworks he had spent weeks making into an air launcher he had also spent weeks making. "Three… two… one… blastoff!"

The firework rocketed into the sky and exploded in a fantastic array of color. Jan used his magic to guide them, making them shimmer and dance in the pitch black. Pompoms, waterfalls, and even animals… his orc.h.e.s.trations were not unlike the demonstration Isaana gave a month ago.

Down below, the people gave off shouts of joy and encouragement, enraptured by the beautiful display above them.

"They really like it!" cried Silvio.

"C'mon, there's a ton more."

"Remember, those are for the finale."

Silvio continued lighting the fireworks and launching them, mere seconds before they exploded.

If the teachers had any idea how dangerous this project actually was, no way they would've approved it. But it was going perfectly!

"Okay! Let's roll out the big boy!" Silvio pulled out the biggest firework so far, piece de resistance for the finale, and set it alight, shoving it into the air launcher. "Three… two… one…!"

He pulled the trigger.

Click.

Nothing happened.

Silvio gasped, and he felt the first pangs of panic start to set in.

Click, click, click.

No… oh no… no, no, no!

It was stuck.

"What's the hold up?" asked Jan. "We have to do the finale. If you won't launch it, I will!" And with that, he grabbed the launcher from Silvio.

"Jan, NO!"

His cries weren't heard over the deafening explosion.

A burst of light, brighter than even the sun, engulfed them, fire and shrapnel flying every which-way. At first, Silvio felt nothing, but then the pain hit him like a brick as the flames seared his clothes and the shards of raw material embedded themselves in him. Instinctively, he threw his hands up over his eyes to protect them, only to get a piece of wood through the wrist. Silvio fell to the ground, screaming in agony, rolling around to extinguish the fire.

Shaking from the pain, he crawled to where his staff lay, grabbing it. He didn't even have the strength to pick it up. "Gods… bless… me… Caelum extinctium…" The stones glowed, and the fire began to extinguish, but not all the way. Small embers still burned around them.

Rolling into a sitting position, he grabbed his wrist and trembled.

"Jan…" he m.o.a.n.e.d.

No reply.

"Jan… Jan… ?"

He opened his eyes.

In front of him lay Jan, or the parts that used to be Jan…

"Jan!" he screamed, staggering to him. He covered his mouth in horror. Jan's torso lay in a bloody heap, both his legs and one of his arms blown clean off. Shrapnel from his wheelchair stabbed him all over, and his clothes partially melted into his skin.

He bled from the mouth.

Silvio collapsed to his knees, picking up Jan's mangled body and laying it in his l.a.p.

Jan opened his eyes partway.

"Sil… vi… o?" he choked.

"Jan! You're still alive!" Filled with a newfound strength, Silvio picked up his staff once more. "You'll be okay, you'll be okay, you'll be okay… magic can heal you… I'll just…" He cast a healing spell, but the wounds just opened up again, saturating his tunic in blood. He cast it again. And again, and—

"Seriously?" Jan forced a smile at him. His face grew more ashen by the second as his blood pooled around him. "Lay off it, Silvio."

"I won't!" he shrieked. "I won't let you die!"

"I… don't… want to… die…" Jan's smile faltered, and tears rolled down his ruined cheeks. "I don't want to… not yet…"

He closed his eyes.

"No!" Silvio screamed. "Don't close them! If you close your eyes, you'll die! You'll definitely die!"

"It's so cold," said Jan, weak voice barely registering above a whisper. "Silvio…"

"What is it? What can I do?"

"Hold my hand… don't let me die alone. Don't leave me alone like Mom and Dad did."

"You're not going to die." Tears rolled down his cheeks, but still, he grasped his hand. "Stop being stupid. That's my job…"

"Your hand…" said Jan. "It's warm."

He didn't speak again after that.

Silvio wanted to sob. He wanted to scream and cry and curse the world, but his body was too weak. He cast another healing spell. And another one, and another, and another, and another, draining the mana from the enchanted stones and his already broken body. Just one more, he thought. Just one more, and Jan will be good as new…!

"Silvio Sabatka!"

Isaana's voice boomed through the air. A pale yellow circle made of arcane symbols he couldn't recognize appeared around him.

Silvio looked up.

Isaana flew above him in full Goddess form. Crowe, Ffion, and a few other teachers floated around her on their staffs.

Crowe and Ffion landed and dismounted. At the sight of Jan's body, Ffion screamed and passed out. Crowe caught her, lowering her unconscious form onto the ground.

"Silvio," he gasped, "what's going on…?"

"Silvio Sabatka!" cried Isaana again. "The Laws of Impossibility! One: you cannot alter the way the universe works. Two: any transmutation done to a living thing is not permanent. Three: do not overstep your bounds by transmuting too many things at once. Four: you are forbidden from doing that which even the Gods can't do. And most of all, above all other things, YOU CANNOT USE MAGIC TO KILL!"

The circle glowed brighter.

"He's not dead!" screamed Silvio. "He isn't dead!"

"Silvio…" stammered Crowe.

A sound like a whip cracking broke the tension, and Hana stumbled onto the scene, having teleported.

"Silvio!" she cried.

"Do you understand the consequences of breaking these most sacred Laws?" Isaana bellowed. She summoned her bow, and notching an arrow to it, aimed it right at his c.h.e.s.t.

"Your Holiness!" wailed Crowe. "Have mercy on him! It was clearly an accident!"

"Accident or not, there are no exceptions! This is the duty I must perform, even if it means hurting others."

"But…"

Catching sight of the projectile aimed at her brother, Hana steeled her resolve and stood in front of him, spreading her arms out as wide as they would go. "If you turn my brother into an Unforgivable, you'll have to turn me into one, too!" she shouted.

"Ignatius Crowe!" commanded Isaana. "Restrain the girl!"

"But…"

"You will listen to me, NOW!"

Briefly, Crowe's eyes glazed over, but nobody was paying any attention to that. "… Yes, ma'am," he said quietly. Knocking her staff out of her hand, he grabbed Hana and pulled her back.

"Uncle Crowe, what are you doing?" she shrieked. Hana thrashed and fought, but Crowe was too strong for her to break free.

Silvio clenched his teeth.

"Fine," he said. "Isaana! You can make me an Unforgivable, but before you do, let me break the Laws, just one more time. Please, I don't care what happens to me. Just let me save Jan…!"

He was silenced as the arrow pierced his c.h.e.s.t. Silvio fell to the ground, but no pain or blood seeped from where the arrow hit.

Isaana lowered herself to the ground, approaching Silvio. "As long as my arrows are enchanted, they will cause you no injury," she said. "You know I don't want to do this, Boy Sabatka. But I must." She took a deep breath. "By the Divine power invested in me, I, Isaana, Goddess of Balance, punish thee! Divine Judgment!"

Another wave of pain, more intense from the last, shot through his entire body. Silvio writhed and contorted as the mark of the Unforgivable branded itself on every finger, every limb, every last bit of v.i.r.g.i.n skin it could reach. Isaana pulled the arrow out of him. A golden aura swirled around the head. Notching it one last time, she fired it into the sky, the golden aura dissipating into dust.

"I've taken your magic away and returned it to the environment," said Isaana. "Silvio, from now on, you and all your descendants are cursed to live as Unforgivables. May the Outer One have mercy on you."

"No!" screamed Hana. "Silvio, don't listen to her! You're not cursed! I don't care if you're an Unforgivable. I love you, no matter what. Mom, and Dad, and Uncle Crowe, too! We love you…!"

"But," said Isaana, unsheathing a dagger from her boot, "I'm not so cruel as to force you to live like this. Rest with your friend…"

"You've done quite enough, Isaana," said a new voice. Snowflakes flurried around them. "Subzero."

A wall of ice shot out from the ground, separating Silvio from everyone else. Other walls shot up around him and enclosed over him like a prison. He shivered, ragged breath coming out in clouds.

"I'm so glad I found you in time, Silvio." Forcing himself to look up, he saw her through bleary vision. A short, young woman, wearing a silken dress that shimmered and sparkled like the borealis she sewed.

"You're…" said Silvio.

"My name is Eleora." She took his chin in her hands. Her face was beautiful, but her eyes were cold. "Blessing of the Borealis." A cool, calming wave enveloped him, and the shrapnel in his body froze up, shattering into a million little pieces. His wounds closed themselves, and his burns soothed. "There. That should have at least prevented any permanent damage."

"Eleora-sa…" Silvio croaked. "Please, I beg you, use your powers to heal Jan! He worshiped you."

"Jan has gone with his parents to wait for reincarnation," she said. "I can't bring someone back to life."

The tears froze to his cheeks.

"Why…?" he asked. "It all changed in one second. He's gone, and it's all my fault…"

"Don't lose hope," she said.

"How can I not? I killed him… I killed him!"

"Silvio, there is one thing you can do."

"And what's that?"

"Rirasiru." Her pink eyes narrowed. "Silvio, you must find Rirasiru the wayward God and tell him your plight. He can make it so none of this never happened."

"But he hasn't been heard from in years!"

"Rirasiru is out there, probably hiding in plain sight. You can find him, Silvio, I believe in you."

Silvio wiped his tears away. "Yes," he said. "You're right. I'll find him, and I'll save Jan! Even if I have to lay down my life for it, I'll save him."

"Good." Eleora pulled out a baton, jeweled with thousands of enchanted gems. "Silvio, Isaana wants you dead. I disagree with killing you. Run, and make sure she doesn't find you."

"… Why does she want to kill me?"

"And one last thing."

"What?"

"Never, ever give in to your rage. Lanua lanuesu."

Eleora's magical aura, a delicate, icy blue, enveloped Silvio and teleported him away.

Isaana's fist broke through the ice and the walls collapsed, turning back into snowflakes. "Eleora!" she hissed. "What did you do? Where is the boy?"

"I've sent him far, far away."

"Damn you!" she screamed. "Eleora, do you know what you've done?"

"You'll understand my methods eventually. Thank you for the invitation, Isaana, but I must be taking my leave now." Summoning a flail, Eleora ripped open a portal and disappeared into it. Isaana lunged after her, but it closed before she grabbed her.

"You've killed us all!" Isaana shouted.

Crowe loosened his hold on Hana, dropping her into the snow.

Except for a few muffled sobs in the distance, everything was quiet on this cold, moonless night.