By the time dusk had fallen, Aurora felt like his somewhat pitiful condition had begun to improve. He still felt dizzy upon standing and the first time he attempted walking had resulting in him fainting after a few steps but the pain in his head had lessened. It was a weakness that would pass, he told himself, and after drinking a broth Wren had given him, what had happened would fade into memory.

He’d been watching her, wondering how a blind healer functioned but finding that even without her sight, she was able to do far more than he expected. However, he supposed that her hearing and impeccable sense of smell did play some part in it. But even with the heightened senses he lacked, the fact she was blind didn’t keep her from her duties.

No other faeloren had come once Len had left them and Aurora assumed it had something to do with orders from Shaah. No one was to lay a claw on him of face the wrath of the one faeloren capable of healing their wounds, caring for them when they needed it. Aurora supposed that while Wren wasn’t the most threatening, it wasn’t a risk many were willing to take.

“They have begun to travel.”

Aurora sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes as her ears perked forward. “Travel?”

“The clan,” she answered, rising to her feet from where she sat on the other cot. “Do you feel strong enough to walk? I can lend you my stag if you need.”

She padded over to the other side of the hut, rummaging for something behind the shelf with her tail flicking behind her. Aurora frowned, swinging his legs over the side of his cot. “I don’t think I’ll need that.”

He pushed himself up on both arms, head spinning the moment his feet rested on the ground. Muttering curses, he opened his eyes to see Wren standing in the doorway with a walking staff almost as tall as herself in hand. “This way.”

Aurora pulled one of the furs over his shoulders, shivering against the cold as he turned to follow her. He hadn’t gone outside yet and he stopped the moment his eyes fell over the gathering of huts around them. The open space, the distance between him and the trees felt far too odd to be real.

“Wren,” he called, unsure of what else to say.

“I will wait,” she declared, stopping a few paces ahead.

He swallowed, reaching down to clasp a hand around the compass resting against his chest before carefully pulling it over his head. The chain was short enough to tug at his hair whenever he tried taking it off. Fighting for the memory of those lost was the one thing still keeping him alive and the compass was the one tangible thing he had left to remind him.

“Are you in pain?”

“No, this is just strange.”

The compass was slipped back over his head as he followed, boots crunching over the snow with a sound that something he hadn’t heard in a long time. He blinked, gazing up at the sky above him as Wren raised her head.

“Can you see them?”

Aurora frowned. “The stars?”

“No.”

“What do you-“

“They have left without us. We will join them. Have you seen the lights in the sky?” she asked, ears flicking back towards him.

“I saw them when I was with the Dravara. Sleeping was rather difficult for me.”

Aurora was silent as they moved off into the trees, trailing just behind her and shivering despite the weight of the fur draped over him. He reached up to adjust the position of his hat, hand grabbing at empty air before he realized it was gone. It had been gone for months and yet the habit hadn’t disappeared completely. He never thought he’d miss something so mundane as much as he did.

“You are not pleased to be here, are you?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to be here, I’m just troubled.”

Wren didn’t answer right away, continuing on several paces before she spoke. “Would you rather have died in that cell?”

He swallowed his initial answer, staring down at the ground.

“The good hearted do not deserve death. You are good even if you don’t believe that. I can think of few who would stand for truth in the face of death. Remember that.”

Aurora only breathed out a sigh. “What was the name of the other Dravara that allied with the faeloren?”

The healer stayed quiet as the two continued on through the trees. Aurora followed clumsily, tripping over his own boots as she glided along through the snow.

“Allikeo was his name. He offered help to one of my kind and this became something much more than he intended.”

“Why sort of a name is Allikeo?” he chuckled, pausing to lean against a tree.

“I don’t believe you may joke about another’s false name.”

“Was it false?” Aurora asked, cursing how out of breath he sounded.

Wren nodded, tapping her staff into the snow. “We are not far. Will you be able to make it there?”

Aurora waved a hand dismissively. “I will be fine. I’m just a little winded.”

“I didn’t expect you to be moving around so soon. You are strong,” Wren added in a purr, tail swinging lazily behind her.

He pushed off, following once more as the two headed along a narrow pathway through the evergreens. There was no light, no torches to go by, aside from what moonlight dripped through the canopy above them. While Wren had no trouble navigating, Aurora stuck close in fear of getting lost. Ever since he’d arrived at the stronghold, he was warned against what lurked in the trees after dark.

However, even if he was fearful of what could be stalking just beyond their path, his curiosity about the Dravara traitor was something more interesting to focus on.

“Allikeo was killed, wasn’t he?”

Wren was quiet, pausing briefly and glancing back at her. “Rowena is a vile creature.”

“Did she kill him?”

“You will have to ask Bantrem if you wish to know more. He was there but all I know is that Allikeo started something far beyond what he could understand. There was an attack on the stronghold and Allikeo was crushed beneath his horse. We waited for him to return but he never did,” she said, continuing on the moment she stopped speaking. “Rowena would not allow someone like him to live.”

Aurora followed, stumbling after her. “Then what will stop her from coming for me?”

Silence.

He squinted, seeing the land slope downward ahead of them. Aurora stopped at the tree line, looking down at the gathered clan far below them. But their eyes were all turned away, staring upward at the sky and well beyond the branches of the tree in front of them. Silver, unlike the dark of the evergreens around them, and far beyond simply dead.

But it hadn’t fallen as a dead tree should have, a skeletal behemoth standing alone where no others grew.

Beside it was a river, shining with the light of the stars far above their heads. But while Aurora gawked at the sight of the silver tree and the star-studded river running along through the clearing, the faeloren were focused on something else entirely.

“Can you see them?”

Aurora’s eyes rose to the sky, peering beyond the stars into the rivers of color dancing, twisting and flowing, above. He had seen them before but something was different, more vibrant and something well beyond simply beautiful. Blues, purples and greens raced and pirouetted through the darkness, chasing endlessly across the blackness.

“I see them.”

“Do you know what we call the lights?”

“You told me,” he answered, eyes still staring upward.

Wren’s expression fell into an open mounted smile. “They are signals of change to my kind. Their strength has been fading for many winters. My eyes may fail but I sense they are stronger than ever now. You claim not to be named for the lights but where does your name come from?”

“A friend,” he answered, glancing down for the first time.

“You have lost many, haven’t you?” she asked.

Aurora only smiled bitterly. “I have lost all of them in one way or another. But it doesn’t matter now, does it?”

Wren reached over to place a paw on his shoulder. “The past still deserves to be remembered. I too have lost many…we all have. I have Bantrem and the clan is still strong. We are family, lost but never forgotten while we have each other. My clan is my family and the bonds I have with them are stronger than any others.”

He looked down across the faeloren again, peeling his attention away from the skies.

“Who is that?” he asked, staring down at the faeloren that sat away from the rest of the clan at the base of the tree.

“Is she alone?”

“Yes.”

“Scry,” Wren answered simply. “She is the seer, the one to watch the skies.”

Aurora shook his head. “Why is she away from the rest of them?”

“Forgiving yourself is difficult for many. She has made mistakes and while we don’t blame her, she finds it hard not to blame herself. My place is not to explain.”

Aurora nodded, brushing his hand over the back of the compass as he stared up at the sky once more. Wren’s ears flicked forward in interest. “What is that?”

He turned it over in his palm, a smile playing on his lips as it dropped back against his chest again.

Wren nodded, blind eyes turning to the sky. “Change is coming, Aurora. My only hope is that you and all of my clan is ready for it.”

“Me too.”

~ ~ ~ ~

There was a knock at the door.

He looked up, eyes squinting in confusion at the sound. Visitors were something that rarely came to his door and the fact it had been dark for what felt like ages made it all the more suspicious. For a while he waited, unsure if it was the lack of sleep that left his mind hearing things that had never really been there in the first place. He shook his head, staring back towards the fire again with a yawn.

The knocking came again.

“Coming,” he called, getting to his feet and shuffling across the floor.

Daniel reached up to rub at the back of his neck tiredly, hands fumbling at the doorknob as soon as he was able to reach it. The knocking was cut off as he threw the door open, yawning again.

“What? What could you possibly n-“

“Officer Norton.”

He stopped, staring down as she removed the hood draped neatly over her head. Even in the dim light, he could make out the earnestness in her gaze, something he couldn’t bring himself to meet, and the scowl where a smile should have been.

“I’m sorry but I’m retired-“

“You were retired,” Rowena said simply. “But retirement at only thirty years of age seems rather young, does it not?”
“I-“

“I have a proposition for you, Norton. Of course, whether you choose to accept or not is entirely up to you.” Her smile returned, white of her teeth flashing in the moonlight. “I have missed you being around.”

“Rowena, listen,” he paused, shaking his head and letting his eyes drop to the floor unsurely, “I’m not interested in a job. I have…some people now I can’t leave behind. I can’t afford to lose that.”

She nodded, eyes narrowing despite how her smile brightened. “I understand. It warms my heart to hear you’ve adjusted so well. I would love to be able to congratulate-“

Daniel cleared his throat. “It’s great seeing you again but I can’t.”

Rowena was silent for a moment before she turned and started off. “And the same to you, Norton.”

Nodding, he pushed against the door only to stop when she turned to face him once more. “It’s a shame you were unable to help me. It’s about your dearest Aurora.”

Daniel stiffened, letting go and allowing the door to swing open.

“He escape from prison a few weeks ago. We believe he fled east but…there were no witnesses considering each and every one of the men at the outpost was murdered. It’s unclear what happened but I do believe we both can draw conclusions of our own,” she added, voice sounding uncomfortably close to a purr.

He swallowed harshly. “Aurora is no longer my problem. I’m not responsible for what he’s done…not anymore-“

“I need someone he trusts therefore, I need you to retrieve him from over the Rift. As you know, Aurora doesn’t have many friends, Norton, and you are the only one I can turn to. I will reward you handsomely. Imagine, a decorated officer of the Dravara returning for one final brave act,” she replied, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. “I can assure you that you won’t regret this.”

Daniel didn’t answer, still staring downward. His heart was thudding in his chest, blood pulsing in his ears while his hands moved to rub gently at his wrists.

“Well?”

“Do I need to leave now?”

Rowena shook her head. “There is no rush. Come when you are ready.”

“M-my daughter, you see-“

Something of a cough stirred in the air and Daniel stopped, glancing up to the frantic beating of her lashes.

“Your daughter?”

His eyes flashed down again. “Oh, no, she’s not actually mine. My cousin’s daughter actually but I’m looking after her. It’s just that her mother is very ill and Sarafina is turning six soon-“
“I wouldn’t ask you to leave before then. I’m sorry to hear about your cousin. I do hope she gets better soon,” Rowena cut in suddenly. “You may come when it’s convenient for you. Aurora will be captured and brought back again no matter what.”

He nodded. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Wonderful to see you again, Daniel.”

She turned then, climbing onto her horse and riding off without another word. Daniel closed the door with a click, leaning his head against it as a sigh escaped him.

“Papa?”

“Fina, why are you still awake?”

The girl stepped closer, clutching a stuffed toy in her arms. Her nightdress dragged on the floor as she shuffled along, rubbing a tired eye and pushing her hair back from her face with the other. She could have been his, he thought, but her hair was lighter than his, her eyes far too blue, much like her mother’s, and her face too round.

Her smile was something that could solve the most serious arguments, her frown able to melt even the coldest of hearts. But she was far too young to have lived the life she did and far too innocent to ever know the life he lived. She stopped then, raising her arms as he scooped her from the ground.

“Who was that, papa?”

“Just…just a friend. She’s with the Dravara. Do you remember me telling you about them? It’s nothing to worry about.”

Sarafina wrapped her arms around his neck and he stiffened, a reflex, as the two made their way across the room to her door. He set her down then, kneeling down on the ground beside her. “Goodnight, Fina. Please, try to sleep.”

She nodded, reaching over to hug him once again before she moved off into her room and the door was shut behind her. Daniel rose then, rubbing at the back of his neck as he headed back towards the couch again.

“Vex it all, Aurora.”

Shaking his head, Daniel sat down heavily to lean his head back tiredly.

Part of him dreaded leaving but something about the Dravara was enthralling, the offer appealing in a way he couldn’t explain. After spending ten years in that place, he didn’t remember how to survive in a world on the outside. However, things became normal again soon enough with Sarafina and Anna. Leaving Sarafina wasn’t the ideal situation but Daniel felt drawn to the east for one last time.

He had to put an end to an issue and finally put an end to it for good.

Next Chapter: Chapter 30