An icy breeze chills the night air as our party ventures outside of the forest's thick canopy. Already making his way to the decaying fortress nestled between the frozen mountains looming ahead is our guide, a half-dwarf my traveling companions call 'Aydunth'. He has only recently joined our party, blinding its members with tales of a decrepit castle that holds the key to immortality. I, though the most rational of the group, have also found myself enamored with his promises of eternal life.

Only recently had I been given the title of 'Lady Grimmoire', a gift only bestowed upon a young wizardess who had mastered all known runes. A great accomplishment that was soon overshadowed by my mentor's sudden illness. In vain I preformed every spell I knew, traced each rune I had mastered upon his skin in hopes of bringing him healing. For all my knowledge, I was of no assistance to my master's plight. In the end, the only thing I could give to him was the Sleep of Death, the most powerful spell I had learned that would preserve him for a full cycle of the moon while I searched for a cure to his ailment. In this state he would be perceived as dead, frozen in time with the assistance of my twin brother, Sir Chronnos.

He was not a gifted sorcerer, but he still possessed the ability to wield the magykks of his associated element, the passage of time. With this power he was a most skilled knight, destroying his enemies before he had even lifted a finger against them, and many feared him for it. For we were not ferocious as the were-children, or swift as the vampire, and not even as skilled with tools as the dwarfs and the elven. But we were rare and proficient with magic, able to cast simple spells and wield our elements before we had the strength to walk.

All of this ability had been bestowed upon us by our mother, a fair veela maiden who had taken a young prince as her mate. And though he did not desire her as she had wished, he truly loved her, and she loved him. This union begot us to them, and her race had given us both the fair hair and pale skin of the veela. This also gave us the powers of persuasion and seduction that all veela could use on those attracted to their sex, but that wasn't very detrimental to either of us. We were persuasive enough without magical assistance.

This reflection had caused my pace to slow, and my brother was at my side in an instant, his cape billowing out behind him, as a crimson wave. His gaze was quizzical, his eyes that shone the color of his cape were clouded with confusion.

"Are you alright, fair sister? Your thoughts seem to be elsewhere." He whispered, not wanting to break the silence of the moor we now traversed. My violet gaze met his, and I knew that he was worried I had suffered another troubling vision of what was to come. They often came at night, and I would be unable to speak except in tongues, which frightened him. But I was never fearful, for they gave me clairvoyance that I relied on to protect our party. I rested my hand on his shoulder, my palm chilled by the frigid metal. He must be cold, what with his armor collecting frost as it was.

"No, I was merely reminiscing…" I assure him. He relaxes, taking my hand and keeping pace with me. As we walk, my cloak billows behind me, a violet swathe of silk that makes a slight swooshing noise as it skims the ground. I notice that the moon is half-full, and I shiver despite the cloak's warmth. I only have another half of the moon's cycle before my teacher is lost to death. I hope that Aydunth will keep his word, even though I know from a previous vision that he has the means to bestow immortality upon us. But that does not mean that he will give us what he possesses.

This thought troubles me, so I occupy myself with observing our party in the pale moonlight. There are seven of us in all, myself and my brother included. Aydunth is up ahead, beckoning us forward with sharp, jerking motions that direct us toward the ruins. Following closely behind are the two elf brothers, Rowan and Thanos. Rowan is the elder of the two, with light blonde hair like honey that flows over his shoulders in braids. Thanos, the younger, wears his hair in braids as well, but his locks are the color of fire. He and Rowan are the same height and stature, a few inches taller than Sir Chronnos, who is in turn a little taller than I am.

Following close behind is Sir Chronnos' 'page', a young fae princess escaping from an arranged marriage. We found her hiding under our table at a local tavern, the Furthest Ring. Our eldest cousin, Roxanne, is the owner of the tavern. She is also part-veela, and has dominion over the element of void, or nothingness. Though I have always seen it as a very unfortunate element to use, she is able to remove the absence from existence, causing objects to form out of thin air. With this power, she is also able to cloak the tavern itself in obscurity, hiding herself and all of her patrons from danger and the occasional bounty hunter. So it was to our great surprise that we found a young fae heiress curled up under our table. How she was able to enter without Roxanne's knowledge is still perplexing.

She asked us to help her run away from her betrothed, a siren prince whom she did not have feelings for. I was skeptical, but I had a vision that showed me that she meant us no harm. So I implored my brother to disguise her as his page and take her with us on our quest. She was very grateful, and in turn told us her most guarded secret: her name, Feferi. It was such a rare honor to learn a fae's name, for speaking it would transport them to your side to protect you. Only my brother and I were told this secret, and we had vowed never to repeat it, so as to not put her in danger.

During our journey we learned that she was a water faery, a rare type that could dissolve into water and did not need air to breathe, like most. She also revealed that she did not want to marry the siren prince, Eridan was what she called him, because he was very violent, and looked down on creatures who did not call the water their home. So she left her forest and set out to find a husband so that she would no longer be bound to him.

Unfortunately for her, the elf twins knew of her search for a husband and were often vying for her affections, and mine as well, much to our chagrin. Though they were both handsome, we knew of the fickleness of elves and decided to remain eligible for the time being. Sometimes we wished that we had not agreed to allow them to travel with us, but their quick-thinking and deadly accuracy with a bow had saved our party more than once.

Our last party member walked between myself and Feferi, my pupil Viceroy Bubbles von Salamancer. This budding sorcerer was a lizard that I had partly transformed into a young boy when I had first begun my training ten years ago, and according to my only being thirteen I had of course given him a silly name. Now he was ten, and I twenty-three. Since his transformation I had become very fond of him, and treated him as I would my own child. The transformation was very well-done, but he still had a tail, a slightly yellow complexion, and a tendency to blow bubbles when nervous. Any bystander would be perplexed to find that the smallest hooded figure had a steady stream of bubbles emanating from his hood as we neared the fortress. I noticed his anxiousness and released my brother's hand, quickening my pace so that I walked beside him. He turned to me, his dark eyes large and afraid.

"Milady Roselyn," he whispered, clutching his staff anxiously as another bubble escaped his lips. "I fear for our safety. How do we know that this dwarf is trustworthy?" I smile and wrap my arm around him, using my cloak as a blanket about him.

"I had a vision of what he promised us, would you like to see it?" I ask him, taking a wand from a pocket of my dress and meeting his gaze, expectant. He nods, and I trace a rune upon my forehead that resembles an open eye. When I finish, I turn to him and mark his forehead with the same rune. Replacing my wand in its pocket, I think back to my vision. Images and sounds bombard me as I recall every detail. When I finish, I open my eyes. The Viceroy's face has paled, and he grips my hand tightly.

"Are you troubled, Viceroy?" I ask, pulling him closer when I notice his shivering.

"How are you so certain of his innocence?" he whispers, his voice trembling slightly. I realize that he is afraid, very afraid. A wave of guilt passes over me, and I want to turn back and take him home, where he will be safe. But I know that no one will be there to protect him, and I will not risk losing him. He is too precious to me, and I know that I would rather die than know that I caused him harm. I pause in my walk and bend down so that I am at eye level with him.

"Is it not what he promised us? Immortality?" I soothe.

"Yes, Milady, but what a dangerous way to go about it!" He stammers, nervously blowing a bubble that floats past my ear. I envelop him in my arms and hum quietly to calm him. The party has stopped, and are watching me curiously. I can feel the Viceroy shaking in my arms, so I wait until he has regained his composure to let go. Before I stand, I kiss him lightly on the forehead. I look into his eyes, taking his hand.

"I will protect you. No matter what happens, do not be afraid. Stay beside me and Sir Chronnos if you can. Trust me, no harm will come to you." I say determinedly, raising myself up to my full height. I know that he is calm now, but I continue to hold his hand, trying to offer him comfort. I nod to Aydunth, who waits patiently ahead of our group, and the trek resumes.

We are at the drawbridge, I realize. I had not noticed how near we were to the fortress. Sir Chronnos approaches the bridge and, with the help of Thanos and Rowan, they lower the bridge over the moat. I can see that the bridge is very old and will not hold us, so I approach it cautiously, leading the Viceroy to the edge of it. Upon closer inspection I see that the boards are rotted in certain places along the bridge, and burrowing insects have taken their toll on the few places the rot has not reached. I turn to the Viceroy.

"This bridge seems to need a strength rune. Would you like to do the honors?" I ask, trying to take his mind off of what lies beyond it. Instantly his face brightens, and he nods excitedly. He releases my hand and begins to use the edge of his staff to draw it on the beams nearest to him. When he is finished, the rune appears to be a howling wolf with bars crossing above it.

"Well done." I praise him, turning to the rest of the group and beckoning them closer. He smiles at me, and takes my hand again as we step onto the bridge. Sir Chronnos is the first to step onto the bridge with us and the three of us turn to the rest of our party.

"Be wary!" my brother and I shout in unison. "For what you desire may not come in the form that you wished, and your reward may come with a price." After we finish speaking Aydunth steps onto the bridge and hurries to the door of the fortress. We turn toward the ruins once again, and when he opens the door with a loud groan, we follow him inside.