Sorry that it has taken a longer amount of time to put something up. As the holidays have come, life has become hectic. I'm hoping to get back
on track with the story and move on to the ascension within the next two chapters.

- The aftermath of the fire storm was immense. A few of the buildings had been damaged beyond repair, Noellyn's home among them. Seven lives were lost in the heat of the battle, as well. Only two of them had been redeemed from the gods. Their bodies had had the least damage done to them. The other five bodies had been scored through with fire to the point of incineration, and had been taken from the school grounds to be prayed over, in hopes the gods would consider ascension. Aylis had gone with his sister's body, grief stamped on his features as he held her limp hand.

Rothvyn had heard of the attack only an hour earlier, and had charged down to the school grounds as swiftly as he could. Every bright red head he'd seen had caused his heart to squeeze until he finally found Terces, her face alight with excitement as she spoke with a pale girl whose hair had been mostly singed off. He barely took note of the girl as he swept his daughter into his arms for a fierce hug, grateful to find her alive, intact, and momentarily safe. Still, he had to ask, "You are fine?"

Terces grabbed hold of her father's wrists when he cupped her cheeks. He gazed into the dual hued eyes, one green and the other blue, love swamping him as he placed a kiss to her forehead. She laughed with embarrassment and answered, "I'm fine, really. Noellyn here helped take down that creature. I thought we were done for when the wings were sprouted, but she did something to it, caused it to bleed I think. It got distracted with her and gave me a chance to spear it through." She didn't notice her father's sudden stiffness, nor how his lips had thinned into a pale line and his eyes had gone blank. Noellyn, however, did. She watched him carefully as he assessed her. While she was used to such stares, she had never seen such fear radiating from someone as from this man.

Rothvyn felt squeezed into place by the girl's stare. She was delicate, her face marred by streaks of ash, and those eyes were a piercing blue that were so like his own. He could see the resemblance in their features, which brought a fist to his stomach. She had his chin, he realized, and his high forehead. Even the way their eyes crinkled was astonishingly alike. The realization made him feel sick enough that he forced a smile and suggested to Terces, "We should leave the girl to rest. She's had a tiring evening. Besides, there's something we need to discuss."

"Father?" She winced at the tension of his hand at her upper arm. There was no pain, it was the terror she saw that caused her to cringe. "Father, are you okay?"

"Yes. By the gods, yes, I am." He dabbed at his suddenly sweat-coated brow. "We must go, however." He barely deigned to nod to Noellyn, and utterly refused to speak to her. The girl, the tainted thing, sat there with wariness as they passed.

"Father, that was rude of you," Terces began, but was cut off as Rothvyn told her, "You must never speak to that girl again, Terces, do you hear me? There are things about her that you don't know, and that you don't want to know. There's something wrong with her. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Her jaw came forward in a mutinous slant. Yes, his daughter truly could be like her mother, and this was one time he wished she would just listen and accept. If she were to ever learn who that girl was, he couldn't begin to know what she, or he, might do. "Terces, please," he wheedled. "I don't do this out of anger our harshness. The girl is ..." he fought for a reason, and finally landed on the truth, though he was loathe to use this form instead of the real objection of his terror. "She uses blood magic, a foul ability that I would worry she might use on you, whether intentional or not."

"Surely that's something that she can't help. Not all people choose such wicked paths." Terces might strive for kindness, but he could see that glimmer of disgust forming already. It wounded him that he had to turn his daughter's heart in such a foul way, and at the same time brought relief so swift that he was left with a sensation of lightheadedness. He merely touched her cheek, sorrowful, and admonished her, "Those who are born in the darkness care rarely ever wander toward the light. You know this, my girl. Best that you devote your time to your studies and practices, and not worry so much about the ... the girl over there."

Much as Terces strived to fight against the ingrained prejudice, it was winning her over. This time, when she looked toward Noellyn, it was with a deep frown that bordered on contempt. Noellyn flushed hot pink. She knew exactly what Terces had been told. With that familiar seep of bitterness, she left father and daughter to their private discussion, and instead sought to help clean away the debris as best as she could.

News of war began to travel the area three days later. Many of the students were now seeking to join in. Only those who were underage were kept behind. At first, the rumors were misconstrued so that no one could make sense of what was going on. The students whispered that the dragons had taken over the whole of Telara, hence the reason for the dark storms that had taken over Port Scion. Then there were rumors that the elven king had been the reason for the dark storms that had begun to spread. Bit by bit, more information leaked in as armies amassed to fight something far worse. Regulos had been freed when the ward had been weakened, and the new King Aedraxis Mathos - the ruler of the Mathosians - had become his physical manifestation. A blight had formed over Port Scion, and now people were battling on Prince Zareph's side against the opening and against Alsbeth, now the second hand to Regulos.

Even the Eth, who had turned their backs on the gods and the Mathosians, were struggling to fight off the Shade. There were rumors that they had found a means to create ascended, something that the gods had been able to do alone. Now it seemed they, too, had the means. It seemed no one truly knew who to attack, and that Port Scion was doomed to be lost to the mad King Aedraxis.

Raoin had finally healed, and almost immediately joined in the battle with a renewed determination. Noellyn had seen him off in silence, watching as he'd walked down the pathway to Quicksilver College, where he would join the others in heading to Port Scion. She had seen Recht off, too, with a final cry of farewell, and a plea for forgiveness. He'd been softer in his farewells, and had hugged her relentlessly before he'd finally been called off. Afterward, she'd returned back to her new hut, and had cried until her throat ached and was overtaken by exhaustion.

Not even a week later, the destruction of Port Scion happened. It was Noellyn's seventeenth birthday. She had listened to the news with grief as even more of her fellow students joined in to head to war. So far, she had hesitated. The madness of what was happening was becoming more prominent in the opening of portals all over. Not a day passed that something dire wasn't happening. Even now, with Regulos freed again, death tried to lay claim of the land to the point that some areas had been scored black. Trees now listed, leafless and bent, warped by the dragon's touch. Food was scarce, and hunting was difficult with the legions of zealots stomping through the area.

Noellyn fought when expected. She hunted as needed. There was no longer a shred of normalcy in the encampments, not when they continuously saw the stretch of battle around them. Blood had stained the brick a disgusting brown and now no one dared walk alone around the academy. They had learned the treachery of that when seven students had been kidnapped ten yards away from the dining hall. By the end of the year, there were seven students and two instructors left. Destruction had torn down the remainder of the academy until only two buildings were left behind. The whole academy was being moved to the Quicksilver College, where the protection of the wards there would hold stronger than these set in nature. The day's trip was one of arduous treachery, as they were attacked three times on the way down the narrow path. By the time they actually reached the college, they'd lost two more people, and had been direly injured that those remaining had been rushed off to be tended to, Noellyn among them.

It took two weeks of recuperation before she was allowed from her bed. When she was instated in one of the dorms, it came with the surprise of Lord Unth. He seemed to have aged in the few years since she had last seen him, but his detached air was the same. He barely nodded before he was rising, hands clasped behind him. "I have kept watch on your health," he stated without even a perfunctory hello. "In my opinion, it is time that you join in the battle."

"M-my lord?"

She gaped at him as her scattered thoughts tried to fall clear. Of all the reasons for his visit, she should have expected this. However, she'd thought he'd finally washed his hands of her, so why would she expect he would anticipate her joining an army?

"You are seventeen now, you are adept enough to go into battle. You know enough intricacies of your abilities to be useful. You have a duty to the gods, Noellyn."

She didn't know why she said it, but the words were out of her mouth before she realized they were even there - "I don't have a choice, do I? This is the whole reason you raised me, was to use me." As soon as they'd come out ,she regretted them. She expected to be struck out at, and cringed in reaction. Instead, she merely got a cool, "Yes." When she raised her head again, Matteson was smirking.

"There has never been another reason to keep you, if truth be told. We knew for some time that the cracks in the ward were spreading. We had seen the decay set by the dragons years ago. The return of their followers creating havoc had only begun to grow when your heathen mother took to joining them. You have always been a tool in the making. Now that you have reached the age, it is time that the tool be used as anticipated." He took in her stunned silence, head canted. "What more did you expect? You may have buried your head deep into your miserable world, longing for some form of rescue from your pathetic life. Now you are grown enough to realize that life is a series of duties, and your time has come to do your duty."

She flew at him, all rage, fists raised. She had always taken him for stoic, even cold-hearted. How was it she could still be this shocked by him, even after all those years of being told of her duty to the gods? Her fists were caught and held back. His mouth curled and his eyes blazed with hatred as he pushed her away, then wiped his palms clean along the front of his vest. He took the time to adjust his garments before addressing her again. "Let me put this in a clearer meaning - you have already been chosen for duty. You leave tomorrow. But have no fear, dear girl, you won't go alone. You will have a familiar companion, one of my choosing. I am not as cold as to think of your comforts, after all."

He withdrew a letter from his pocket to place on her bedside. "This will be farewell. I have no interest in seeing you again, nor do I anticipate that I will. Go with the Vigil, Noellyn, and know that they have your best interest in heart." With that cruel smile still in place, he left her to read the letter, knowing her curiosity would get the best of her.

Dear Noellyn,

I requested this letter be given to you on your eighteenth birthday. Should you receive it before then, it is because I've died or because it was necessary to be given to you before your eighteenth birthday. You will have questions as to why you were never raised by your parents. Your mother could not - she was quite ill, both mentally and physically. Your father had not the means to raise you. You should show compassion in your heart for them, for they did have your best interests in heart, and saw that you were raised under the care of Lord Matteson Unth. You are now a young woman. You have dealt with your affliction for these long years, and now it's time to prove you are a gift of the gods. You may have been touched by the cold hand of Akylios, but he does not possess you. It's wise that you remember this as you go forth in life. You can be the greatest tool the gods have possession of, be their hand instead.

Sincerely,
The Watcher of Stormfall

The Watcher of Stormfall? She read the whole of the letter a fifth time through, none of it making sense to her, and at the same time making far too much sense. She would almost believe Lord Unth of writing such drivel. However, the tone was too kind to be of his making. She folded the letter up to tuck into her pocket, and sat there, trying to understand what she'd just been thrust into. As before, she had stopped understanding her life.