Aegeus wrapped his hands around the stone mug that Casimir had given him. He tilted his face forward to allow the warm, spicy steam that rose off the beverage inside to fill his lungs. It was soothing in a way that went beyond just the feeling of the steam on his skin. This was a luxury, a reminder of everything that he had been without for so long. When he was in captivity the days without food and drink would stretch long and torturous, and even when he was given these basic necessities, they were miserable and almost worse to consume than to be without. Just to be able to sit with his dearest, oldest friend and breathe in a beverage that they had enjoyed together so many years before was something that held so much more meaning for him now than it ever had before. He knew that he would never take it for granted again. He would never ignore the value of these moments again. Every time that he sat down to eat or to drink, he knew that the significance would impact him, and he would take a few seconds just to savor it.

"What are we going to do next?" Casimir asked. "Now that you're back, how do we proceed?"

"So much has changed since the original plan," Aegeus said. "It's been years. The world is a different place. The threat is more expansive. But the plan is the same. We need to end the power of the Valdicians and ensure that the Key is restored to the Kintani temple. Only then will we be able to end the corruption within the Order and restore balance."

"What came of Martin?"

Aegeus shook his head, tears stinging in his eyes.

"I don't know," he said. "The last time that I saw him, he was in horrible condition. He looked as though he had been through battles and possibly another stint at captivity. He didn't stay with me long, only long enough to leave a package with me. He told me to keep it hidden in the war room until he returned."

"And you don't know what was in it?"

"No. I hid it and was never able to go back for it. I haven't heard from Martin since then and it seems that no one else has either."

"And the man who replaced him? Etan? He died in the crash."

"Before the crash. He was murdered. We don't know by who."

"How could someone have been on the StarCity without detection?"

"I don't know. In the time that Martin was missing, and Etan was chosen to replace him, something happened. Something else. Somehow an intruder managed to get onto the ship that knew what Etan was doing."

"Casimir? Aegeus?"

The sound of the voice from outside brought Aegeus to his feet and he rushed to the mouth of the cavern to look out into the swirling snow. A figure was coming toward them and when it yelled their names again, he recognized the voice as that of Mhavrych. He took a few steps out into the snow and reached for the younger man, grabbing onto him so that he could lead him into the cavern through the blinding ice.

"Mhavrych," he said when they were inside near the fire. "What are you doing?"

Mhavrych turned down the collar of his coat and looked at both men with bright eyes.

"The temple," he said breathlessly. "The people who were brought through the portal in the desert."

"Calm down, Mhavrych. What are you talking about?"

"The section of the temple wall that was found in the desert," he said again. "The group that was excavating it. Several of them disappeared. That's what happened to Angela, Jem's mate, and Jacob, one of the men who remained on Earth. The company they were working for lied about what happened to them. They said that they left and went to other places around the world to participate in other programs and projects. But they didn't. They were cast out throughout the streams. Some died. Some didn't. Casimir, you said that you had seen something moving in the distance out in the snow."

"Yes."

"That was Angela and Jacob. I have just come from when my parents arrived in the last stream Malan explored. This stream. When Angela and Jacob traveled through the portal, they ended up here. I came to the cavern after seeing them, and you were already here, Casimir. I brought you here to protect you, not knowing that I had brought you to the place that those two had come."

"What are you saying, Mhavrych?" Aegeus asked.

"The temple wall is what brought my mother into the streams so that she found my father while he was looking for the stones. They thought that they had finished sealing the wall, but they didn't. They didn't have the key or the final stones, but they didn't know that because of a missing piece. That's why I was given the responsibility of finding the Key and restoring it."

"We know that, Mhavrych. Remember, we have been working with your parents since before you were born."

"I know. But think about it. What are the chances that it was truly a coincidence that those people traveled through a portal and ended up here? And that the people who were responsible for it happening responded the way that they did? Rather than making any effort to actually find out what had happened, they created a cover story."

"They knew," Aegeus said. "They knew what happened."

"But how is that possible?" Casimir asked. "How could they know what happened?"

"I don't know. But it has to do with the Valdicians. It has to."

Aegeus listened while Mhavrych told them of the journey that he had been taking as he followed the guidance of the mysterious woman who called herself his wife. He had learned so much and Aegeus felt pieces falling into place around them.

"You need to find her," Aegeus said. "She was there in the settlement, which means that she got there somehow. But I don't think that she is from that time."

"What do you mean?"

"If she was from the Eteri clan of that time, she would be known. Someone would know who she was. Azrael would know her or would at least know of a woman who had gone missing. You found her somewhere else. Some time else. You need to go back to the beginning. Back to when the Valdicians and Uoria first clashed."

Mhavrych nodded. He felt the urgency rising in him. Time was closing in on him. He could feel it. He needed to get back to Penthos, but he couldn't go without first finding Kendra and understanding the stone she held to her chest.

********

The Denynso healer closed his eyes and Mhavrych could see that it wasn't disgust that was controlling him. Instead, he wanted to fight. He wanted to join the throng of his kind who were now caught in fiery conflict among three other species. These species had never come together, had never faced off against one another, and this man wanted to be a part of it. But he knew that he couldn't. He had to remain where he was and prepare to help those who were injured. A loud, agonized groan from closer to the battlefield ended the healer's pacing and brought Mhavrych stepping out from where he had been concealed in the shadows. A Denynso warrior was coming toward the healer, his arms laden with a massive Eteri man. Blood poured down the man's chest and dripped from the tattered wing that hung limply from his back. Mhavrych’s heart jumped when he saw the Eteri man, the sight of his wings reminding him of Kendra and making him feel that he might be closer to her.

“He’s been severely injured,” the warrior said as he looked up at the healer. “Two of the Valdicians attacked him. I barely got him out.” The healer didn't respond. He didn't move. He continued to stare at the injured man and the warrior seemed to lose patience. “Fallon!”

The angry yell brought the healer back into the moment and he went to work, crouching down to pull items out of his bags and start working on the creature. Mhavrych crept closer, hoping not to be noticed. Even from the distance, he could see the unsure look in the healer's eyes as he worked on the man and Mhavrych realized that this was the first time that this Denynso had seen an Eteri. He didn't know what he was doing and likely just hoping that he was going to be able to save this man who was now his ally. The warrior ran back into the battle with a chilling cry, his blade raised above his head as he prepared to seek further vengeance on the Valdicians who had invaded the planet. The Eteri man gasped and coughed, his body shuddering as it landed back on the ground. Fallon soothed him and continued to work, applying the ointments and plants that he had crafted and wrapping them tightly.

Now that the man’s wounds had been dressed, Fallon positioned his hands over the Eteri man's stomach, preparing to perform the healing. The man's body writhed and arched in response to the powerful energy that was flowing from the healer into him and Mhavrych felt a moment of awe toward him. He had seen this happen before. He had witnessed the incredible ability of the healers to bring someone back from the very brink of death and to preserve them when it seemed that they were only a breath away from being gone. Now he was watching as the Denynso went beyond anything that he had ever done to try to extend this healing to a species he had never encountered. It was courageous and risky, with neither knowing if it would actually work.

“What’s your name?” Fallon asked the man, but the Eteri only groaned in response. “What’s your name?” he demanded.

“Ashton,” the man responded.

The name sounded familiar. It was something that Mhavrych had heard before, but he couldn't remember when. He continued to listen to the conversation, stepping slightly further out of the shadows to listen more closely.

“Ashton, I need you to concentrate,” the healer said. “I need you to trust that I can heal you.”

“Can you?” Ashton asked through gritted teeth, the fear evident in his tone.

“I have healed men on more occasions than I can count,” Fallon told him.

The healer brought his hands up to the center of Ashton's chest so that he could direct the healing energy into his heart. The Eteri man groaned and his hands tightened against the ground beside him.

“Denynso men?” Ashton asked.

“Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean that it can’t be,” he said. “I am a healer. This is what I was meant to do. Your kind is allies with the Irisa, and they are allies with the Denynso, which means that you are my ally. You are a member of my clan. I will do whatever I can for you.”

The healer's words settled over Mhavrych, sinking into him until they felt as though they were running through his veins. Just because something hasn’t been done before doesn’t mean that it can’t be. You are a member of my clan. I will do whatever I can for you.

The Eteri man closed his eyes and Fallon pressed harder with his hands as if he was trying to force the energy through the man, demanding the healing to work.

“Yes, Ashton,” he said, a smile finally starting to form on his lips. “Keep breathing. Just keep breathing.”

Mhavrych knew that the healing was taking. He could see it in the relief on the healer's face. Just as he began to relax, another Eteri man rushed toward them.

“You need to get him somewhere safe,” Fallon insisted. “He might sleep for several more hours and he will be completely vulnerable during that time. If he’s going to survive, you need to get him to shelter.”

The second Eteri man scooped Ashton off the ground and supported him on his back. Mhavrych suddenly realized why he had heard the name before. He tensed as the Eteri man started to run, but then turned back to look at Fallon.

“Thank you,” he said.

Mhavrych took off running after the Eteri men, needing to catch up with them. As he did he saw Fallon reach down and pick up the weapon that Ashton had left behind. He let out an animal-like battle cry and ran into the clash, refusing to wait even a moment longer to do his part alongside his brothers.

Mhavrych was gasping for breath when he reached the Eteri man's side. The man looked down at him suspiciously, the look in his eyes intense, burning as if he was prepared to kill him in an instant.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm a friend," Mhavrych said. "I can help you."

"A friend?"

Mhavrych looked at Ashton and noticed that he was beginning to slide from the other man's back. A wound on the second man's wing was making it harder for him to carry him. He reached up and took one of Ashton's arms, taking it onto his own shoulder to take on some of his weight.

"I will help you bring Ashton back to the village," he said. "Kendra will be able to help him."

Using her name felt strange, like he was telling a secret that he had wanted to keep to himself, but it had the effect that he had hoped for. The man's eyes widened only slightly, just enough to tell Mhavrych that he recognized it. Mhavrych had remembered the name from what felt like so long ago, during a walk that he had taken with Kendra, and one of the few times that she had spoken to him in what didn't sound like riddles. She had talked about her family and mentioned a brother who she was very close to, a brother named Ashton.

By the time that they got back to the village and Ashton was resting, Mhavrych felt like the anticipation was going to make his heart come out of his chest. He knew that he was in the right place. He had finally found Kendra, though now he realized that their places had reversed. Now he knew who she was, but she didn't know him.

He didn't have time to think about her reaction or to worry about what to say. He had barely turned away from the side of the bed when the door to the room opened and Kendra stepped inside. His heart leapt, and a smile came to his lips. Her eyes locked on him and he saw her lips curve slightly. Mhavrych took a step toward her, trying to come up with the words to say to her.

"It's you," she murmured. "You came in a dream when I was younger."

Mhavrych didn't know when that would be or what he had done, but he knew, deep within his soul, that this was the moment he had waited for his entire life. Whenever the time came, he would go to her and whisper the knowledge of him in her ear. She would always know that he was there, that he would come. He shook his head as he walked toward her.

"It wasn't a dream," he whispered.

Their lips touched, and he felt the love for her ignite, washing over his entire body, filling his spirit. His hands rested to her back and he pulled her closer to him. Her heart pounded through her chest toward him and he felt like they were speaking to each other through the rhythm. Their mouths opened, and their kiss deepened. He sought her in the kiss. He sought himself. He would have searched forever. He would have run through the stars for the rest of his life if he knew that he could sometimes find this kiss, if he could find his rest in her.

When the kiss ended, Mhavrych took a step back and looked into Kendra's eyes. She looked thrilled, but there was a veil of confusion over her eyes.

"What do you mean that it wasn't a dream?" She asked. "It had to have been a dream."

Mhavrych shook his head, understanding that she would have difficulty following what he was telling her, but also wanting to reassure her.

"No," he said. "It wasn't a dream. I was there. I was there with you. I was there every time that you saw me in a dream."

Kendra shook her head, mirroring his movement, even though it was clear that she was confused, and he didn't know what was going through her mind, she didn't step away from him. She seemed to want to be as close to him as he did to her. She felt the same draw that he did. She felt the same level of connection that had finally bloomed within him and that he now found undeniable. It was strange to be standing here in this moment, their positions suddenly reversed. He still remembered the first time that she appeared to him on Uoria. In that moment he didn't know who she was. Everything that have been happening around him and all that he had experienced had suppressed those memories and he felt like he had never seen her before. It had taken time, but finally he remembered. Finally, the memories rushed back, and he realized that that was not the first time that he had seen her. In fact, the first time that he saw Kendra was many years before when he was still young.

That day Vyker brought Mhavrych into the village of the Eteri and remained silent as he let his son watch the actions of the unusual but beautiful creatures. These were beings that he didn't know, that he had never encountered and never even heard about despite his travels. They were strong and intimidating, but also ethereal and alluring. Mhavrych was immediately drawn to the shimmer that surrounded each of the creatures. Each had their own color and though he wasn't able to detect the exact meaning, it seems that the color corresponded with something about them, something about their personality or their standing within the Village. Looking back, Mhavrych now wondered if each of the Eteri was born with the color that surrounded them, or if it was something that they developed as they got older and grew into the personality and role that would define them. During that first visit, however, he was simply drawn to it. He found himself looking at each of the people who would passed him, taking in the color that surrounded them, sometimes reaching out his hands to try to catch the fine glitter that fell from their wings.

Mhavrych didn't know how long he and his father stood there, seemingly barely noticed by those who passed by them, going about their day without any regard to the strangers who were among their midst. It didn't occur to him as they stood there that perhaps they weren't strangers at all. It wasn't until later that he realized the Eteri even knew that they were there. Vyker had led him away from the houses and through the forest that surrounded the village. The trees and plants here were entrancing. They were thick and lush, glistening with dew. They almost looked unreal, like he was creating them in his mind so that they would be lovely enough to suit the Eteri. They walked through the trees for a long time, but Mhavrych didn't mind. He was enraptured by what he was seeing, fascinated by every new flower, every new leaf. The only time that he remembered ever seeing land this alluring was during his brief visit to Cassiopeia. He would have roamed that forest for as long as his father led him.

They stepped up to the door and Vyker paused. He looked around, seeming to wait for a moment as though making sure that nothing happened. When all remained still and calm, he reached for the handle on the door and opened it. The inside of the house was dark and hot, the air thick as though it had been closed up within the building for many years. When they had gotten through the first two rooms, however, Mhavrych knew that wasn't the case. They stepped through a door so small his father had to lower down nearly to his knees and into what looked like a bedroom. Two of the winged people were sitting on small round chairs beside a fireplace that was roaring despite the heat in the room. Mhavrych remembered that for years after that first visit he wondered why he hadn't been able to see any smoke coming from the chimney.

"Vyker," one of the people, a man with leathery wings that looked worn and scarred, said as he stood from the chair where he sat. "Thank you for coming."

"I hope you're well."

"I am."

"This is my son, Mhavrych."

The man nodded toward him and Mhavrych didn't know what to say or to do. He felt the expectation building in the air around him, as though there was something that he was supposed to do, but he didn't know what it was. Finally, his father took a step closer to the man and then looked at Mhavrych, saying nothing but telling him with his eyes that they were safe and that this was something that they weren't to talk about to anyone else. It was that look that might have caused him to push the memories away, to compartmentalize them somewhere in the back of his mind because he didn't think that they were important, didn't think that they really had any impact on anything that he would do. He had been so wrong about that, and he could only be grateful that those memories did flood back to him right when he needed them.

The girl was on her stomach with her head rested on her folded arms and Mhavrych was transfixed by her. She was very young, but beautiful, like she had been sculpted. Her long eyelashes rested on her soft cheeks and her pink lips were curved into a slight smile as she dreamed. He wanted to get close to her and as he adjusted his position on the shelf, a book sitting on the top of the shelves moved. The scraping sound made the girl's eyes open and she looked at him. She didn't look afraid, more curious. Her eyes stayed open for only a few seconds before they drifted closed again and Mhavrych hurried down the shelf so that he wouldn't disturb her again.

After they stopped visiting, Mhavrych tried not to think about her. There was no reason to. She lived in a time far separated from his own and they had no reason to interact or to ever be near each other. Eventually the thoughts of her went from the front of his mind to the back, becoming memories and then just the occasional flash when something reminded him of those nights when he would travel with his father. Many years passed before he had the chance to travel to the village again. In the years since he had been there he had begun to wonder if those memories were even real. They were from so long before and were hazy, defined only by what he could remember rather than anything that his father had ever told him. He still never asked what they had been doing there and as time passed it was easy to wonder if he had crafted it all. He wondered if somehow, he had taken something that had happened in a dream when he was a child and turned it over and over in his mind until he had convinced himself that it was true.

It looked the same. There were a few new houses, but the years had been gentle on the first section of the village. He traveled through the thick plants that grew up from the ground in the forest, weaving among the trees. The memories of the visits that he had made with his father led him, but he still felt as though he wasn't sure where he was or if he would ever reach his destination. There were moments when he nearly turned back, not wanting to go any further and risk getting lost. But the thought of never seeing that girl again and never being able to confirm to himself that she was real was enough to keep him going.

Finally, he stepped out from the trees and into the smaller village. It was just as quiet and still as it had been when he was a child. The houses looked as though they were slowly being reclaimed by the plants around them, the walls crawling with vines and the roof thick with plush green moss. It wasn't frightening to him anymore. It no longer had the ominous sense of danger that it had when he was young. Instead, it seemed peaceful. This area seemed not as though it had been put aside by those in the other village, but that it had come first. This space held the memories and energy of years and lives, moments that he now realized were so precious that they were enshrined in the buildings, left there so that the Eteri could continue on and create another village close by, but far enough that the early buildings could remain honored and preserved.

This made him wonder exactly when he had arrived. Though he had intended to get to the Village the same number of years from the last time he had visited that he had lived in his own stream, wouldn't necessarily be what had happened. Instead, he might have arrived many more years ahead of then and would have no way of knowing where he should go. Though he doubted he would find anything helpful there, he went to the house that he had visited with his father. It looked somehow newer than the other houses, though still sleepy and worn. He stepped up to the door and hesitated. His father had never knocked on the door during their visits, but Mhavrych could only imagine that the Eteri who were there expected them. Now he was there without announcement, not even really knowing what his purpose was for being there. He didn't know what he would say if the people opened the door.

Holding the light orb up ahead of him, he stepped into the room and turned slowly to illuminate everything around him. It was exactly as he remembered it. It looked as though nothing had been touched or moved since the last time that he and his father had been at the house. The only thing that was different was that the air was no longer swirling around him and the room was just as dark as the rest of the house. He held the light up so that he could look into the corner where the sling had been hung from the corner of the wall. It was still there. It hung loose and still, and for the first time Mhavrych realized just how small it actually was. The weight of the years that had passed and the changes that must have come over her pressed down on him. He wondered what she looked like and what her life had been like in the time since he had last seen her sleep.

Some glanced his way as they scurried by, seemingly caught up in the tasks of their early morning. Others barely made any notice of him. He knew now that they knew his kind, if only in that they had seen his father and possibly his grandfather before and had no reason to be afraid. He made his way through the village, looking at the small houses and noting how different some of them looked from the houses in the other section. The basic structure of them seemed to be largely the same, but there were different details, new additions, and even decorative details that were a testament to the passing of time. He watched as the women brought a fire to life in front of a larger building that Mhavrych imagined might be a shop or a bakery. Others brought baskets out of the houses and dipped into other buildings, presumably to buy supplies for their families for the day.

He had been walking through the village for some time when a flicker of pink caught his eye. Mhavrych looked toward it and noticed a young woman walk around the corner of one of the buildings. He rushed toward it, but when he turned the corner and there was no one there. He rushed ahead of him to another building with an open arch rather than a door. He glanced inside and noticed that the building was filled with people. They seemed to be at some sort of ceremony or gathering. He tucked himself behind the wall, not wanting to seem as though he were intruding, and scanned the people inside. Finally, he saw a woman standing in a cluster of others, the glow around her a combination of soft pink with hints of lavender. He knew that it was her. She glanced up as if she could feel that he was looking at her, but several people stepped in between them in just that moment and when they parted, she was no longer there.

Mhavrych finished telling Kendra the story and saw her gazing back at him with a faint veil of tears in her eyes.

"I didn't know if you even saw me that day," he said.

"I saw you," she said. "Just for a second. When I looked back at the door, you were gone. I thought that I had imagined you. I thought that the dream that I had as a little girl had come back. I never stopped thinking about you. Why didn't you ever come back?"

"Right after that, I went into service for my parents. I was going through so much I put thoughts of you into the very back of my mind."

"You forgot about me," she said, the hurt obvious in her voice.

"I didn't forget you," he said. "I protected you. If I had you there in my thoughts, I wouldn't have been able to stay away from you. I would have put you and everything else in so much danger. I had to not think about you. I had to convince myself that I had never been there and had never seen you so that I could do everything that I needed to do. My mind might not have remembered you when I saw you in the Mikana kingdom for the first time, but my heart did."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "What is the Mikana kingdom?"

Mhavrych's heart clenched. In his happiness of seeing her, of finally finding her after chasing her through the stars and time, and of telling her about the true first time that he saw her, he had forgotten that they still didn't have a shared past. What he had seen and done, she hadn't. Not yet. There was still so much that they had to do. He took her hands and held them over his heart.

"We'll get there," he promised. "For now, there's more to do. There is something that I've been thinking about and I think you can help me figure it out. Are you willing to go with me?"

"I have been waiting for you my whole life," she said. "I will go anywhere with you."

"Why are we here?" Kendra asked. "I don't understand."

"You aren't where you think you are," Mhavrych whispered back.

"Of course, I am," Kendra said defensively. "I've lived in the village my entire life. I've traveled to visit with the Irisa countless times. I know this place as well as I know them. We are just outside of the Irisa grounds, just on the other side of the ridge."

"Yes," Mhavrych said. "But we are also somewhere else."

"I don't understand."

"I know. But just watch. Trust me. Please. I've learned so much from you, or there will be a time when I will have learned so much from you. Now I need you to let me show you what I think no one else has ever connected. If this is true, it could change everything. But I'll need you to confirm it to me. I'll need you to explain some of the things that I don't understand."
Kendra nodded.

"I will," she said.

Mhavrych smiled and kissed her, then hunkered down lower at the base of the trees where they were hiding. They felt exposed, but they couldn't go any further away. If they did, they might miss the important moment that he believed that he was about to witness. It a moment that, if he was correct, twisted time and place in such a radical way that it put the course of events into place that brought him back to this moment. If he was right, he might have truly begun to unravel the Valdicians and their unbalanced love for Uoria and hatred for all those who lived there, with the only exception of the Covra.

"They're coming," he said, hearing the muffled sound of voices coming across the rocky ledge toward them. "Watch."

A group of Denynso warriors walked into view and looked around curiously. None of them looked certain as to what they were seeing. Mhavrych knew that they had been traveling along a hard, difficult journey through a miserable terrain that made the lush, fertile ground that now surrounded them seem impossible. Everything around them was quiet and Mhavrych worked to control his breathing so that they wouldn't think that there was anyone around. The warriors stepped carefully over the rocks that led down onto a ledge of soft grass and into a waterfall that spilled over into a glistening purple lake beneath. As soon as they saw the water some of the warriors ran forward. Mhavrych knew the urge for the water that they were feeling. He could remember long stretches of time when he felt trapped on Penthos before he became familiar with the network that allowed him to move comfortably and easily around the planet and beyond. For so long there was nothing that he could do but walk through the sand and search the tunnels that were built beneath the ground.

"See him?" he whispered to Kendra, pointing to the warrior.

She nodded.

"Who is that?"

"That is a Denynso warrior named Micah. He is very young here. They have just started exploring Uoria. At this time, the Denynso still inhabited only one compound and were spreading out. Watch what's about to happen. At least, what I think is about to happen."

Mhavrych waited. He had heard legends about this moment. It was one of the mysteries that his kind still whispered about, but that was used to describe how the events leading to the Valdician war unfolded. It was often spoken of as folklore, and Mhavrych had believed that for most of his life. Until he thought of the water. Until he started to think about what it all meant. Then he knew that he needed to follow them. He needed to see Micah and what he would do now and after.

Micah looked as though he wanted to join them, but there was a look of discomfort on his face and he didn't seem sure if he could bring himself to go in. He was walking gradually along the edge of the water when there was a scream of terror that shattered the peaceful contentment that had settled around them. Danyea, the King of the Denynso clan, reached for the weapon at his hip and Micah looked spurred to action.

“Get out of the water!”

Kendra's eyes snapped to the sound of the woman's terrified shouting, a different voice than the scream, and Mhavrych watched as the warriors scrambled out of the water as fast as they could and dressed again. Micah took off running toward the screaming and when he reached the edge of the river, he leapt over the waterfall. Mhavrych immediately got a flash of Jem and the horrifying but breathtaking moment that he sacrificed himself to the sky to destroy the Klimnu in the reflected realm.

From their angle, Mhavrych and Kendra could see Micah disappear, but could only hear when he hit the water below. Mhavrych grabbed her by the hand and pulled her along with him so that they scrambled down toward the land below where they would be able to see what was happening. They watched as Micah surfaced and tossed the bag that he had been wearing up onto the grass of the bank. The warrior opened his eyes and looked around. Mhavrych could see that the water he was in now was far darker in shade than the light purple of the river that flowed above. There was no longer any screaming, but the silence that had been ushered in when it stopped was far more eerie than it was comforting. Several moments passed before they heard the woman shouting again.

“What are you doing? Get out of the water!”

"Look!" Mhavrych hissed, squeezing Kendra's hand as he pointed to the bank of the water.

Micah looked in her direction at the same moment that Kendra did. The woman on her knees by the edge of the water was startlingly beautiful and unusual looking, but at the same moment, her long, thick silver hair was familiar. Mhavrych glanced at Kendra, waiting for her to realize what she was looking at. But Kendra seemed just as Micah was, transfixed with her concern for the warrior who had let out the brutal cry. The warrior didn't heed the warning of the woman who was now reaching for him. Instead, he dipped beneath the water.

"Where did he go?" Kendra asked?

"Under the water," Mhavrych told her. "He's looking for the lost warrior."

"The lost warrior?" she asked. "The one who's screaming? What happened to him?"

"His name is Ellwyn. He's under the water."

"How do you know that?"

"Because this happened long before I was born. I've heard about it my entire life. Look at the woman again, Kendra. Tell me what you see."

Kendra looked toward the woman.

"She is Irisa," she said. "Just like I told you."

Mhavrych nodded, smiling.

"Remember that," he said.

There was another scream and Micah broke through the purple surface of the water. He looked around frantically and saw Ellwyn struggling against the water around him. He was gasping for breath, the look of terror on his face one of the most raw, unfiltered expressions that Mhavrych had ever seen. The warrior swam for the side of the pond and reached for the bank. His hands reached out for the grass and seemed to dig into the ground, clawing at it to help to pull him up to the dry ground. Within seconds, however, he screamed out again as something latched onto him and yanked him harshly back down into the water. His hands left deep trenches in the ground where he dug into it, refusing to release himself willing.

The surface of the water darkened slightly and Mhavrych knew that it was the creature that was lurking beneath, his thick tentacle now wrapped tightly around Ellwyn. The creature pulled down on Ellwyn, sinking deeper into the water as it went. Micah suddenly resurfaced and headed directly for where he had tossed his bag. The Irisa woman on the bank continued to beg him to get out of the water, but he wouldn't. He was focused, his eyes locked on the bag as he dug through it. Finally, he came up with a long, fearsome-looking blade that he tucked between his teeth before dropping back beneath the water.

There was thrashing in the water and Mhavrych felt Kendra's hand tighten even harder around his.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"The creature in the water," he said. "It has Ellwyn. It's trying to drag him down to his lair beneath the water."

"Creature in the water?" Kendra asked. "What do you mean? There are no creatures in the water near the Irisa."

"Watch," Mhavrych told her. "Micah is beneath the water, fighting the creature. He's trying to save the other warrior. This is the way of the Denynso. All warriors are brothers. They are all linked, bound to one another in their shared duty and responsibility to the clan, but also to any others who need help. That's extremely important to realize. They are vicious and powerful warriors, but they are also protectors. They don't leave Uoria. They rarely interact with any others. They have no reason to fight for other species or other planets beyond their call to protect and help those who need it."

Finally, the impossibly thick tentacles of the creature broke through the surface. The multiple legs were each broader than a man and indescribably strong. The entirety of the water in the pond was churning and had gotten even darker as the black body of the creature thrashed with its fight against Micah. It was screaming now, the screech slicing through the air. Mhavrych could see the creature's blood rising in the water and spraying through the air. Suddenly Micah's body flew into the air, flung by the creature's tentacle, and smashed to the grass of the bank.

Kendra's hand clamped over her mouth to muffle her scream and Mhavrych wrapped his arm around her shoulders to comfort her.

"Come on," he said. "There's somewhere else we need to go.

"But…" Kendra started.

Mhavrych shook his head.

"Soon," he said, knowing what she was asking, knowing the fears that were coursing through her. "Soon you'll know. But there's more that I need to show you. It hasn't happened yet, but you showed me so much. You taught me so much. Maybe it's because I showed you so much first. This is something that we need to know. If I'm right, there is more danger than we could have ever imagined. But there is also so much more hope."

“What do we do now?” one of the men that was gathered in the snow staring up at the cruel man who paced in front of them asked.

"Why are we in the snow?" Kendra asked. "What is this?"

"This is what happened after the battle," he said.

"The battle?" Kendra asked. "We're back in my time?"

"Yes," he said. "You weren't near the battlefield. You don't remember how cold it was. The first time that I was there, I thought it was so strange. I know that the weather on Uoria is incredibly variable and that it can change drastically, but I had never heard anyone talk of cold like that. Then just a few steps away there is snow like this. I would guess that if we were to travel back to the time that I have been living on in the planet, we wouldn't find any snow. There might be cold temperatures, but nothing like this."

"I don't understand."

"Keep watching." He pointed to the vicious-looking man ahead of them. "That's Boraz," he said.

"The head of the Valdicians," Kendra said.

Mhavrych nodded.

"Yes. What you don't know is that this group is not from your time. They are from many generations before. This, though, is the first time that the Valdicians were able to manipulate time enough that they could travel here. Valdin was never able to do that. He could move through the most basic of the streams, but even his power and ruthlessness wasn't enough to allow him to spread through the Universe the way that he wanted to. He could go into the streams and was even able to damage many of them, but that was his limitation. He didn't live long enough to master the time barriers. No one knows why. He was powerful enough that he should have been able to do it, but something weakened him. Something stopped him. Others had to step into his role after his death and each of them made changes to the army and to the way that they fought. Boraz reclaimed the idea of the star stones, but used them in an even crueler way than Valdin."

Boraz swept his eyes over the men who were gathered in front of him. The battle was finally over, but they had been beaten, and beaten far worse than they could have imagined. The confusion and disorientation that they were all feeling was highlighted in the question that the man had just asked.

What do we do now?

“We wait,” Boraz finally answered.

“Wait?” another of the soldiers asked. “You promised us. You promised that we would come here and find the Denynso vulnerable to our taking. It was going to be easy to overcome them and then the planet would be ours. Now look what happened.”

“We were wrong,” Boraz said evenly. Though he sounded calm and controlled, Mhavrych knew that that was only an indication that he was getting more dangerous. “We allowed ourselves to be too arrogant. We are strong and powerful, but that doesn’t mean that there is nothing that can defeat us. We came to Uoria thinking that the only thing that we had to worry about was the Denynso. Anything else that might live on the planet would only be an obstacle that we could easily push aside.”

“And instead they beat us down,” the man said.

“No, Roab,” Boraz snapped. “They taught us. They showed us that what we want has to be worth fighting for. If it was simply handed to us, we would be deprived of the fulfillment of truly taking it. I want nothing handed to me. I want to tear it from the hands of those who once held it and know that they will never again be able to hold it.”

"I don't understand," Kendra said as they rushed across the open space. "You said that the Warriors going to the river happened before you were born, but then you said that they did that at the same time as the battle with the Valdicians on Uoria."

"Yes," Mhavrych said. "That's right."

Kendra shook her head.

"It can't be," she said. "That doesn't make any sense. This is my time. My timeline. This is all happening during my lifetime, and you've already told me that you come from a time long before now. How is it possible that something that happens during my time happened before you were born when you were born so long before me."

"I don't understand," Kendra said. "What does that even mean? How can they not exist? I can see them. I know that they're there. I know that the battle happened."

"Yes, that's true. All of that is true. But the Valdicians that we just saw in the snow were not on Uoria. Much of that battle didn't even happen on the planet, though no one that was fighting it realized it. There was a flux in the streams, they overlapped. That's the same thing that happened at the river with the Warriors. They weren't really on Uoria anymore. No one who has ever been in the year that river has been, but none of them knew that. That's what I mean by what we witnessed happen with that creature actually happened long before I was born. But it also happened right now in your timeline. I know that you were wondering what happened after, and I'm going to show you now. You need to pay attention and be able to tell me what you see and what you hear. If we learn enough, we might be able to figure out how this all happened and the very moment when the Valdicians were weakened. There might be something more that we can do."

For now, that meant watching what was happening beneath her and trying to remember every detail that she saw so that she could share them with Mhavrych when she left. She couldn't let it cross her mind that it was possible that at any moment one of the Warriors could look up and notice her. She didn't know what she would do if they did. She shuddered to think what they might do. This moment was before the battle that involved the Warriors and her kind and the Irisa. In it the man she had learned was the Healer of the clan, a man named Fallon, was working too heal the injuries that Ellwyn had suffered when he was attacked by the creature beneath the purple water. Micah's efforts had saved his life, but it was obvious that the Healer was not completely confident. There was still concern etched across his face, but he continued on. She watched as Fallon poured a small amount of a mixture into Ellwyn’s mouth, then lifted the warrior’s chin to make sure that all the medicine got down his throat and into his body.

“What’s that?” Danyea asked from the door to the room.

“A sedative,” Fallon told him. “The healing hasn’t worked completely yet, and he needs his rest. This will help his body relax so that he can start to recover. I’ll try another healing in a few hours.”

“Do you think that he’s going to survive?”

Kendra felt like she was holding her breath waiting for the answer. Though she had already seen the uncertainty on his face and heard him muttering to himself almost as though he were trying to convince himself that everything is going to be alright, part of her hoped that something, anything had happened that might have changed what he thought. Unfortunately, it seemed as though Fallon couldn't even bring himself to reassure his King.

“I honestly don’t know,” he said. “He went through a lot of trauma when he was under the water. Whatever dragged him down there broke his bones, caused internal injuries, and nearly drowned him. At this point, though it is almost as if it is his mind that is resisting the healing. It’s like it hasn’t figured out yet that he’s safe now and not struggling against that thing anymore. I’m hoping that getting some sleep will allow his mind to quiet as well.” Kendra could see that they were preparing to leave the room and she braced herself for the dangerous maneuver of getting herself out as well. She crept along the top of the room and slipped out, passing just above the king. There was a pause and she worried that they might have noticed her, but soon they stepped out of the room. “Do you have any idea what that creature was?” he asked Danyea.

Outside of the bedroom, the ceilings were much higher, and Kendra was able to rise up further above them so that she felt more concealed. She watched as a young man stepped up behind them and spoke.

“It was the Sirrata.”

“What?” Fallon asked, turning toward him.

“Sirrata,” the man repeated. “It’s a creature that lives in the greatest depths of the lake. It comes out only rarely, but there is no way to know when it will, and if it does, it will seek anything it can to eat. Your friend is extremely lucky to have gotten out of the lake alive. Both of them.”

The men looked horrified by what they were being told, and Kendra could understand the feeling. She had never heard of this creature, had never thought that there was anything in the beautiful water that she had seen so many times before. What had been said about that water weighed heavily on the back of her mind. He had said that no one who had ever seen that water was on Uoria when they saw it. She tried to think of all the times that she had heard about the water and all the times that she had visited it. It occurred to her that they were very few of her Irisa friends that had ever mentioned the water and now she wondered if that was because others had never seen it. The thought was dizzying, confusing, and yet it also seemed to be bringing pieces together.

“We are more appreciative of your hospitality than we could ever express,” Danyea told the young man.

“Alliances are important to the Irisa,” the man responded. “We will help you in whatever way we can for as long as you need to be with us. For now, Ensley wishes to speak to you.”

That was why they had always gone into the Old Village, the original settlement of the Eteri when they were going to meet with the representatives of the Kintani. When she was very young, she'd often thought about this. Many of their kind had come to visit them over the years and had moved throughout them barely noticed, never causing any problems. But when these two, Mhavrych and his father, came, Kendra and her parents shrank away and met them only in secrecy. They were never allowed to talk about the fact that they were there, and her parents made sure that the meetings happened long after she fell asleep. She never even knew what they talked about, now it seemed, she may only be on the brink of finally understanding.

The young man guided the two Denynso into the meeting hall and Ensley rushed for the king.

“Danyea, thank you for coming.”

“What is it, Ensley?”

“We’ve received communication from another ally. The Eteri. Do you know of them?”

The King shook his head.

“No. I haven’t seen any mention of them in the notes the ancient kings took.”

“They live in the far corner of Uoria. They are another warrior race but have been largely peaceful since a war a few generations ago before they settled here. It seems that they’ve encountered possible invaders on the planet. They’ve already engaged in combat with them and staved them off for now, but they are sure that there will be an attack imminently. The planet is at risk. They’ve asked for our help, and now I’m asking for yours. I know that we have only just revived our alliance, but---“

“Of course, we’ll help you,” Danyea interjected. “My clan is committed to yours. You welcomed us into your village and have helped us care for my warriors without a second thought. I am honored to extend the same to you. Tell me what you need us to do.”

"You just witnessed the moment when the Denynso became involved in this war with the Valdicians on Uoria," Mhavrych said. "That is how Aida and Fayat encountered each other."

Kendra felt like her mind was spinning. She was trying with everything in her to follow everything that Mhavrych had been telling her as they moved from time to time, place to place. She had lost track of where they were and even if they were back where they had begun. Never in her life had she felt so incredibly distanced from everything and everyone that she knew.

"They fell in love," she said, recounting what he had told her to make sure that she was clear.

"Yes," he said. "They fell in love and Fayat broke away from Boraz, even though he was his trusted advisor. The power of his love for Aida enabled him to free himself from the bondage of his service. That proves to me that Boraz's strength wasn't anything close to what he, and everyone who followed him, thought that it was. Just like Valdin before him, something made him weaker than he thought. No one realized it, though, until the control that he had over them was questioned. But Fayat found the strength to pull away, and because he did that, he created the hatred that the Valdicians have for the Mikana and fueled the hatred that they already had for the Denynso."

"Already had?" Kendra asked.

Mhavrych nodded.

"Generations ago, the Denynso were called upon by my kind to help them when the Valdicians first split from the rest of their own kind. The warriors decimated the early Valdicians, reducing their numbers to only a very few. They also helped the rest of the Travetori to relocate so that they couldn't be destroyed. Since then, the Valdicians have hated the Denynso. They swore their revenge on them. That was what brought Boraz here to Uoria. But he didn't choose this time accidentally. He chose it very precisely."

"Why?"

"Micah and the Irisa woman," Kendra said softly.

Mhavrych nodded.

"Together they would have a child, a son named Gaia who would grow up to be King of their compound. He ruled with strength, fairness, and devotion, and he crafted a tight alliance with the Kintani after they revealed to him that it had been his father who had stepped through to Cassiopeia, discovering a portal that had never been known, and destroyed something that had struck tremendous fear into them. He knew of their struggles, of the pain that had been caused by the Travetori that the Kintani had tried to help. The alliance was one of respect, but one day the king would be called to send the most powerful of his kind to suppress a rebellion."

"The war with the Valdicians," Kendra whispered.

Mhavrych felt a smile curve his lips and he nodded. Though the realizations were bitter and brutal, he was relieved that he was knitting them together, and that she not only understood, but believed him and was ready to follow wherever he knew that they were being led.

"Their timelines crashed."

"Exactly. Existence began to tear right then. It was too much, the knots tied in the streams too tight. Now all we can do is hope that we are able to stitch it all back together."

"How do we do that?" Kendra asked.

"There are two star stones that are missing. They are critical. We need to find them and restore the Key in the temple. Once that's done, the temple will be sealed permanently. My kind will finally be able to rest. Sealing the portals will heal the tears in the Universe and prevent the collapse. When that is done, the portals, tunnels, and time barriers that were misused to create those tears will be eliminated so that they can't be used again. All that has happened will have happened and be etched into time, becoming set moments. The reality that we have all created will become the only reality that will ever be. This is the beginning of my kind being forgotten, but it is exactly what needs to be done."

"This means that I have to leave my family," Kendra said. "I have to leave my time and everything that I know."

"I know that this is so much to ask of you," he said. "It's more than I should ever expect. But I know more clearly and more confidently than anything else I have ever known that you are who I was meant to be with, and that my life will not ever be complete without you in it. I also know that you hold within you something indescribably valuable, and that is a destiny to fulfill. You are a part of this, even if you don't realize it. You have been from the time that you were born. It isn't a coincidence that my father went to visit your parents when we were younger. They knew something. They were part of something. Now we have to continue it. I'm asking you to be more courageous than you have ever been and to walk with me into this. Marry me, Kendra. Marry me and come with me into the time that I have been living. Help me."

Kendra stared back at him through tears that held so many emotions Mhavrych couldn't decipher them all. Finally, she nodded, grasping his hands tightly.

"I will," she said. "I will marry you. I will follow you anywhere. I love you, Mhavrych."

"I love you."