I can hear her singing Prologue

The precarious cliffs of the Gato Grottoes after dark were alarmingly dangerous, especially after nightfall. Indeed, not many came this way at all, even in the daytime, for it was not usually in one's desire to fall to their death upon the stormy waters and jagged rocks below.

There, however, was one exception to this rule. Daena was a monk-soldier with feline blood. Her eyesight in the dark was sharper than it was in the daytime. Her agility was unsurpassed by any of the other protectors of the temple.

Daena had never flaunted these advantages, but when it came to her nightly journeys out here, she was glad of them. No one else would come out here to view the ritual she performed every night.

Daena slid gracefully across a narrow bridge of rock, then climbed down a short, but slippery sandstone wall. She jumped the rest of the way when she could finally see the ground, then walked through an archway, over which a waterfall fell. Finally, she had reached her destination.

This terrace, providing a breathtaking view of the world around them, had evidently been created by a lightning strike. The rocks all around were riddled with long, thin, jagged outcroppings. It was the sort of shape that could be fashioned into a sword, easily. Daena, however, had no such goal. She gazed around. All was well, at her little shrine.

Nailed down to the ground just before a sharp cliff, there was a picture of her dear friend, Matilda. It was a beautiful painting, completed when Matilda was just fifteen years of age. Her beautiful face shone in the moonlight. It was only here that it was immortalized. Matilda's elemental powers, which had enabled her to become the abbess of Gato's Temple, had been stolen from her by a demon at the age of sixteen. Void of Mana energy and her powers, she had begun to age at an alarming rate, rapidly losing strength. She refused to abandon the temple, however, just as much as she refused to gain revenge on the demon that had stolen her powers-she had been in love with him.

Though he had loved her as well, being demonic in nature had already set his destiny. He wished to destroy the world, and was eventually killed trying. The very same day, Matilda had passed away, Daena at her side.

Daena gazed around, at all the bouquets of flowers-she brought them here every night, tying them onto the outcroppings. There were now nearly a hundred bundles, one for each day Matilda had been dead.

"You didn't have to die," Daena whispered, retelling the story to herself. "You could have both gone to live in the Land of the Fairies, immortalized and happy." Daena removed a leather string from her pocket and bound tonight's bouquet to the rocks. "Oh, but Matilda, you had to let Irwin be free to do as he wished… all I wanted was for you to be happy…"

Daena knelt by the cliff, gazing down on the pictures. "And you were happy… but oh, how I wish I could have done something for you both. Done something, so that neither of you would have had to die."

Winds blew across the little terrace, making Daena shiver. She clasped her clawed hands together, and began to whisper a prayer; it had been Matilda's favorite, and a comfort for Daena to fall asleep to as well. She thought she could remember the same words being sung to her as a lullaby, when she was young. Her eyes were closed; she could almost feel Jinn's presence as she prayed to him, for Matilda's happiness, wherever she might be.

As she finished and stood up, another wind blew across the cliffs. It was comforting, somehow, as though the spirits understood her emotional predicament. Silently, she left that place, and made her way back across the cliffs and through the Pathways of Ascetism.

Few lights were on in the windows in town, at this hour. Daena made her way across the roads, and through the town, until she came upon her own stone dwelling. Her home always made her feel comfortable-she had hung wind chimes and bells and ribbons from the roof's overhang, and whenever she returned, she was greeted by the gentle music.

She opened her door and shut it, then immediately lit a tiny candle and curled up on her bed. Ever since Irwin had stolen Matilda's powers ten years ago, her life had felt radically different. Escad had been banished down to the underworld, Irwin had disappeared, and Matilda's aging had begun. Daena, however, had tried to ignore it and treat Matilda as she always did-as her older sister. She had not taken the time to think about and accept what was happening.

Speaking to the wisdoms had not put her at rest. She could not simply just accept things as they did. She was a restless spirit, and needed closure…

And now Matilda had died, and she had still not found peace with herself. It was not only Matilda, either-Irwin had been killed by her friend (whom Daena did not often see anymore) and Escad's death had been at her own hand.

Daena gazed across her bedroom where her flail lay on its shelf. She never wanted to touch it again. How could she fight? The temple would simply need to find a new warrior to protect it. Daena, of course, had not yet discussed this with the temple officials. She'd tell them when she was ready. It was a time of peace, anyway, and soldiers were not needed at this time. There would be plenty of time to train other enthusiastic youths.

And what of a new abbess? They would not simply promote one of the nuns… it didn't work that way. Another family would have to be chosen, one with a daughter who had the gifts. Daena rolled around in bed. She could not imagine anyone but Matilda holding the position. Of course, when she was younger, there had been another, but she hadn't paid much attention to her. Daena had always followed Matilda around, wanting to be the apple of her "big sister's" eye.

Daena shut her eyes and tried to purge these thoughts from her mind. More than anything, she needed to sleep. She placed her fingers delicately on her wall, where likenesses of Jinn and Salamander-the spirits of Wind and Fire, respectively-were carved. Her own mother had carved them there, years ago.

These spirits protect the town, Daena thought, and they provide it a comfort… but they do not provide me a comfort. Perhaps, tomorrow, I shall resign from the temple and being to wander… I shall seek all the rest of the wisdoms, in hope that I may find peace within myself…