A Stronger Circle Chapter 2, a song of the lioness fanfic

AN: I wanted to say first before I began this chapter that the four mages are about 18 years old, because in my story, they left Winding Circle at 15, and now three years later they have returned. "The Circle Opens" series has not happened and isn't going to happen, not at this point in time at least, I think.

Disclaimer (need I say it?) : Tamora Pierce and Scholastic, Inc. (c. 1997) own all characters in the story, with a few exceptions. "Raeldro" (introduced in this chapter) is my character, and does not exist in the "Circle of Magic" stories. His name is pronounced "ray-EL-dro."

Thought-speech is underlined, to distinguish it from regular old thoughts, which are italicized.

---

Briar smiled and ran his fingers through the moist soil in the garden. He looked up and around his surroundings. Been so long since I've been here, he thought, remembering. Here I am again, Winding Circle. Just when I thought I escaped you, I'm right back where I started. Which, I might add, isn't as bad a thing as it might seem.

Discipline cottage was not currently lived in my any training mages. Since he had the opportunity and wouldn't be disturbing anyone, Briar decided he might like to visit his old home and see if it was as he'd left it.

The building itself was the same, he noted, but the feel of the place was very different. It was empty. The cottage was not dusty - it was cleaned regularly, particularly by the children at the bunks as a punishment - but it was very barren. The shelves had nothing on them. The rooms upstairs were deserted; none of the children's personal belongings adding a special flare or originality to them. Lark's and Rosethorn's separate bedrooms and workshops had nothing in them either.

Sadly, Briar realized that this place didn't seem like home at all. It's the people that make a home what it is, I guess, thought Briar.

What saddened Briar especially was the fact that Rosethorn's garden was gone. The plants, even though they had seemed to another like an insignificant part of the cottage, had been more like people and friends to Briar. Here at Discipline, without his plants, Briar had nothing to hold on to, nothing that he could catch and remember as something of the house that belonged to him and the girls.

Wait. I can think of something after all.

Briar entered the house, climbed up the stairs to the top floor, and appeared moments later on the roof of the building. If there's anything about this place that does feel like home, it's being right here, he thought with a sigh. The sky looked beautiful from the roof, with the clouds made of an array of whites and the sky as deep as the ocean. Briar leaned back and closed his eyes.

A few moments later, Briar heard a very female voice calling out from below. "Do I see someone on the roof over there?"

"Yeah!" said Briar, shooting up from his place like a bean sprout. "What's it to you?"

The person below - who, in Briar's opinion, looked very small and was hard to see - paused and squinted at him a moment. Then, the person burst out in a very high voice, "Briar Moss! Is that you?"

That voice sounds real familiar! But ain't quite right, he thought. He peered at the girl harder. She was tall and thin, though not overly so. From high on the rooftop, the features of the girl were very unclear. Her hair was light, accented by a light cream dress, which seemed very expensive in his opinion. There was only one person in the entire world who dressed like that - like a Bag - and knew his name. "Sandry?" he asked.

"Briar!" Sandry cried. She promptly ran through the gate, holding up her skirt, while Briar scrambled down from the roof. The clatter of feet on wooden stairs echoed through the house as Briar descended the stairs and Sandry tripped through the kitchen. They met at the bottom of the stairwell in an enthusiastic hug.

"Goodness it's wonderful to see you!" squealed Sandry. From a much closer distance, Briar recognized her immediately. She still looked like Sandry, though an older version of Sandry. Her hair had grown much longer, past her lower back. At least she isn't wearing those ridiculous braided pigtails still! thought Briar with a laugh inside. She'd grown a little taller, too, but not by much.

Briar, on the other hand, had grown about six or seven inches since Sandry had last seen him. "When did you get so cursed tall?" she exclaimed. Briar definitely looks older. More mature, she concluded. She was right. Besides the fact that he now towered over her, his face was much older in appearance and his build did not look as child-like. He still dressed the same, she noted.

"When did you shrink?" he retorted.

"I have not shrunk!" Sandry cried.

"I think you did. I couldn't gotten that tall, really."

Sandry looked down. "Shortness happens in my family. I'm going to have to get used to it." She took a seat at the kitchen table. "Wow! Does it feel good to be back here or what? I've missed this old place, haven't you?"

"Sure have," he said, looking around for the fifth time. "So what have you been doing lately?"

"I've been helping my uncle with a trillion things around his lands, at least recently. Before that I was sitting doing nothing but twiddling my thumbs. I've been weaving and working on that, too," she added, stopping talking abruptly. "But it hasn't been any pleasure weaving recently, not after the earth going astray from its patterns. The thread is... it's as if it's afraid, and running. It doesn't want to be touched. If some one does touch it, it lashes out at you, literally. I saw a woman thrown across a room by scared thread. It needs help, but right now I don't know about how to go about helping it." Sandry looked away, quite saddened.

"I haven't noticed. My clothes ain't been coming undone or nothing."

"Same here, but perhaps its because its all woven together already, and it can't break free. But, well, it's just a guess."

Briar paused. "Noticed anything wrong with the plants that you seen?"

"All I know is all the crops in the farms surrounding Summersea are dying. The farmers are going broke. We are having to draw upon surpluses we've stored away."

"Come outside to look at my shakkan," Briar said simply, motioning to Sandry for her to come outside. She obeyed, following him to the side of the building where the shakkan had been set down by Briar earlier.

The plant was in a huge pot, one that was much larger than the plant itself. Stakes driven into the soil held up the weak plant. It was very dry on the bark, the leaves were dull, and it felt limp. Sandry, who knew little about trees, especially about delicate shakkans, could even tell that it was dying.

Brushing a hand over it, she asked Briar, "What happened?"

"Come look at this," he said, parting the dirt under the shakkan. Sandry could see and smell how the roots had grown large and swelled, oozing liquid. "It's why it's in such a big pot, so that the roots will fit in it. The old pot broke when the roots pushed it so hard. I had to replant it. But it still won't stay up too well on its own, so them stakes are holding it up."

"That's horrible."

"Yeah, and at the lab all the potted plants did the same thing. The pots exploded when the roots pushed through. And they still are cleaning up the mess that was made."

Sandry shook her head. "I'm glad I wasn't there!" she said. Looking away, she asked, "Can we please not talk about it, not just yet? I'm glad to be back. Let's not ruin it with talk of swollen shakkans and murderous threads."

"Sure. Want to go for a walk, see what's going on here?" Briar asked her. Sandry smiled and nodded, and they went on their way.

---

She threw another stone into the water, the small pebble making a splashing noise as the rock contacted the water. While waiting to meet Niko at the Hub in an hour, Tris read a book to pass the time, not knowing what else to do. She had found this little niche on the way from the Hub back to Discipline one day, years ago, and had decided to come back if she needed alone time. It was
in a patch of trees, near the edge if the woods, by a stream. It was not her spot alone, though; the temple dedicates had set up this spot as a place for relaxation and meditation and had put a bench here for others to use, so sometimes when Tris had come she'd found it occupied.

Now, it was all hers, and tossing another pebble into the stream, she continued her reading.

"Tris?" asked a voice behind her. "That you?" Tris looked up to see a tall male figure advancing out of the shadows. She blinked at him. His hair was very dark, his skin a tan color. His bright green eyes flashed out from the dark shadow which the trees cast on him. His shirt was cotton, with a brown vest over it and brown pants and sandals.

She blinked at him again behind her glasses and shook her head. "You can't possibly be who I think you are."

"I bet you a silver astrel I sure am," he replied, smiling at her.

"You look older, Briar," she said quietly, a faint smile on her cheeks.

"Well, hope so. I don't want to look like I'm 10 years old forever," laughed Briar. "I would say the same about you, Coppercurls."

"And I thought you might have forgotten that name," she smiled.

"No, you can't rid me of that easily," he said. "It's fun to tease you."

"Tris!" cried a loud voice, much louder than the first voice. Behind the male appeared a much shorter figure, one that was definitely female. Blinking hard twice, Tris wondered who it was. Then she recognized the light hair and eyes, the fancy dress, and the bubbly attitude.

"Well, if it isn't the Bag of us," said Tris with a smirk.

"So you do recognize me! Briar didn't, not at first, anyway," laughed the young woman. Sandry came right up to Tris and embraced her in a large hug, causing Tris to drop the book she had been holding. Giggling, Sandry released her and blushed.

"Can you tell I am excited to see you?" she grinned.

"Most definitely," she said, smiling as well.

"I missed you. How was Growing Circle?" asked Sandry.

"It doesn't feel as much like home as this place does, but it's nice." She leaned back and smiled. "Have you seen Daja?"

"No," replied Briar. "I only got here about an hour ago."

"Neither have I. I'm sure she's on her way, though," added Sandry. She fiddled with her long hair, braiding a strand of it very rapidly. "Um, Tris? Have you noticed..."

"Yes. The storms run and flee," said Tris, answering the unasked question. She looked away. "Have you ever felt nature be afraid?" Before anyone could answer, she put in, "I did. When I woke up in the middle of the night, the storms were running away from something. Where they went, I don't know, but they were running, and they were scared. I could smell the fear in them." She closed her eyes. "One of them fell to the earth, maybe it tripped on a stray wind, I don't know. Anyhow, it fell to the ground, and exploded. And I don't think that's a normal thing, either. I've never, ever seen a cloud fall, or heard of it." She shuddered again.

"Tris, I'm sorry," whispered a sober Sandry.

"I don't need sympathy," she grumbled coldly. "I just need to do something. We have to talk to Niko about this and find out a plan to fix this as soon as possible." She sat up abruptly. "What time is it?"

"Not time to go to the Hub for at least half an hour," Briar responded.

Sitting back impatiently, Tris ran a hand through her messy hair. "Well, then, we have time to spare." She peered at Briar. "How was the experimenting?"

"Interesting," he said, nodding. "You've never seen so many plants in one building."

"Building?" asked Sandry.

Briar put in, "It was a greenhouse."

Tris smirked. "Rosie knows?"

"Yeah," Briar grinned back. "But I think that she wasn't happy when I wrote her that."

"So what was so interesting about it?" she asked.

Briar paused. Then he briefly told her about his experiments, and more lengthily described his experience with the swelled plant roots. Tris shook her head the whole time, muttering about the foreboding death of whoever was doing this. Briar promised to show her the shakkan when they got to Discipline.

Tris peered at Sandry over her glasses. "I assume you've had your troubles," she said dryly. Sandry nodded with a grim smile and told her story as well. She also put the long periods of boredom, her uncle's chores for her, and Adrienna into her tale. Tris sighed and leaned back after hearing the stories.

"Trouble's brewing," she said with her eyes closed, letting cool wind brush over her.

"We'll face it later… today is lovely, isn't it? There's nothing we can do until we see Niko." Trying to change the subject quickly, she asked Tris, "Can you show me a spell you learned? Please?"

Tris smiled faintly. "Sure, watch this," she said. Taking one hand - her left - over her head, palm up, she mumbled something. Briar and Sandry could feel a surge of power in the air above them. Suddenly, a flash of lightning screeched down from the blue sky. Quickly, Tris turned her left hand so the palm faced the palm of her other hand, which was now also raised over her head. She brought down her hands in front of her. She held a lightning bolt between her palms, a large one, which jumped and fizzled between her fingers as well. It was much larger than any lightning bolt she could have handled in the past.

"Nice," whispered Sandry.

"Very nice," said Briar in agreement, "but what are you going to do with it? It's no good to just hold lightning." Briar grinned at her, not sounding mean, but even Sandry could see he was implying it.

Glaring at his mocking tone, Tris raised her hands over her head again. In a lightning-quick motion, she threw her hands in front of her. The bolt flew from her hands and struck the ground in front of her, leaving a huge circle of glass in front of her. The dirt had heated and solidified. She smiled sweetly and brushed her hands against each other. "That," she replied in answer to his question.

"Damn," he muttered, awe-struck.

"Briar!" cried Sandry. "Didn't you grow out of that street-talking?"

Briar rolled his eyes, and Sandry made a play punch at him.

Tris was playing with a ball of wind in her hand while her companions argued. Briar interrupted her game with a "Hey!" Tris looked up, releasing the wind.

"What?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Daja said you were spying on me! And I just remembered, with you doing magic and all, and I wanted to say..."

"Would you quiet? I never did spy on you or Daja, only Sandry. Once I got your warning letter, I backed off with the spying altogether!" cried Tris. "So don't accuse."

She sniffed angrily.

Sandry sighed. Briar has to argue with everyone, she thought with some resent. But I suppose it's one of his perks. After all, don't we all have them? I get stubborn always, which can be good but can also be bad. I'm also very noble-minded. Tris gets grumpy and sarcastic and blows people off whenever she doesn't want to talk. Daja is touchy about race. She acts sometimes like Traders are superior, but I know she doesn't really mean it. And Briar, along with arguing, is disobedient.

She fiddled with her hair. We all have imperfections. It's something I've realized over the years. But I think everyone's imperfections outweigh their good sides. And they wouldn't be themselves without them. I wouldn't be Lady Sandreliene fa Toren if I wasn't a stubborn mule!

Sandry looked up to realize that Briar had asked her a question. "What?" she asked him.

"I said, daydreamer, want to head to the Hub and get there a early? Better that than to be late. Niko sure isn't appreciative of lateness," Briar said with a grin.

"Oh, good idea," she said with a smile back at him. The three made their way to the curved trail that gave Winding Circle its name.

---

Daja Kisubo, who now considered herself to be against the concept of doors, walked tiredly along the trail that led to the Hub. She had been working on the doors of Hajra since moments before she left the city, but finally, they were done. Daja had only gotten a glance of the whole, complete doors before she had to go. She really didn't care anymore, though. The doors had been more of a hassle since the world turned sick than they had been fun. She didn't want to even touch them anymore.

In a sense, Daja had been through the worst struggles since the four had left Winding Circle. Sandry had been either bored or weaving. Briar had been doing neat experiments and growing plants. Tris had been studying interesting spells. Daja, on the other hand, had been slaving over a hot fire for three years, pounding metals, using as much of her magic as possible day by day to make giant doors for a city. She was physically and magically spent.

At least I'm probably in better shape than all of them, she thought, looking at her arms. They were well-toned from lifting heavy hammers to bang metal with. She figured carrying her light staff wasn't the cause!

Looking back to a loud giggle, she saw a threesome coming towards her from behind. They were all her age, or near to it. The first was a young man, with bronze skin and bright eyes, who was about as tall as she was. His stance made him look as if he deserved esteem. He was giving a quizzical look to a blondish girl to his right, who was giggling insanely. She was short under his height, but her rich attire made her seem worthy of respect as well. Next to her, also giving her a strange look, was a redhead with large spectacles, her plain mauve dress making her hair appear brighter. Daja smiled. Older they were, but they were still definitely her friends.

"Sandry! Briar! Tris!" cried Daja waving to them frantically.

The middle girl, Sandry, popped her head up, freezing in place. Daja supposed Sandry was identifying her. In Sandry's view, the person was definitely familiar; her overall appearance was not delicate and frail, as court ladies were expected to be. But she was not ugly; rather, her beauty was in the strength of her appearance. Immediately, having come to this realization, Sandry knew the final member of the group had been discovered.

With a grin Sandry popped into the air and bounded over to Daja, leaving Tris peering at the newcomer between her spectacles and Briar looking as well, shielding the sun from his eyes with his hand in order to see better.

Daja was smothered by Sandry's hugging arms. "Daja! It's so nice to see you again!" sniffled Sandry, who was getting weepy from all the emotional roller coasters the day had brought. Looking up into Daja's face, she said, "And look! You're taller than me, too! No fair!"

Daja laughed. "I didn't plan it out that way, sorry," she said. Her voice had gotten deeper but still was very feminine. She tugged on a loose braid that had fallen from her ponytail and asked, "How have you been? And how is the Duke?"

"I've been bored out of my mind, thank you," laughed Sandry. She shook her head. "Seriously, I'm alright. Duke Vedris is also well."

By this point, Tris and Briar had caught up to Daja. Tris hugged her, saying, "Welcome home, Daja." The words sounded funny to Daja and Tris. Discipline and Winding Circle were home, but why then did Daja feel so out of place here? I have grown out of Winding Circle, then? she thought with a cry inside her mind. Never!

Briar and Daja then embraced. "Glad you're back," he said as they hugged. "Did you like my hometown, Daj'?" he asked with a laugh.

"Not at all," she said, smiling at him. "Did I tell you that one of your mates stole a hammer from our workshop?"

"You never mentioned it to me," he said, grinning.

Sandry gasped. Daja turned to her, wondering what had caused her to do so. Sandry touched the end of Daja's staff. The metal cap was gone.

"What happened?" Tris whispered, also seeing this.

Daja looked down. She explained her experience in the workshop that one day, when all the workable metals in the place had became soft and melted down. The cap on her staff had become nothing more than a messy blob, the Kisubo markings gone from it. She shook her head, rubbing the now-bare end of the walking staff.

"I hope to get it replaced, sometime, but currently if I replaced it, I feel it would simply melt back down again, with everything how it is," she sighed. Then Sandry, Briar, and Tris, in turn, shared their stories of the corrupted natural elements as they walked on the path to the Hub.

"A conspiracy against us all, against the earth in itself!" muttered Daja angrily as they
reached the tall tower. The bell of two o'clock began to ring as they got to the front door of the Hub. The four were about to enter when the door was opened by some person on the other side of it. From the open door emerged a well-dressed dark-haired mage.

"Niko!" cried the four, and he was smothered in hugs and kisses.

Niklaren Goldeye led the group up a stairwell as he told them of his last three years. He claimed nothing exciting had happened, but in the last year he had basically been observing the changes going on in nature. The crazed storms, disobedient fibers, sick plants, and weak metals, he said, were definitely part of something much bigger. At this point, the four mages backed up his story, informing him in detail about their mishaps with sick nature. He also said complaints had come from other mages about weakness in nature. Stones that once were strong began to crumble. Stars in the sky were dimmer than usual, due to the cloudy atmosphere. Making pottery and glass was so difficult, as clay and the substances used in glass had grown very hard and stiff. Carpenters found that wood broke; even the largest pieces had to be handled with care.

"The world really will break apart if this keeps up!" cried Sandry, thinking how unbalanced the earth seemed now.

"I know," said Niko. They settled into a stairwell, a stairwell where they had practiced one of their first meditation sessions years ago. He continued, "It's only a matter of time."

Tris felt a strong chill go down her back. She disliked the thought of her world, her home, everything she knew, and even herself dying before their time was up! "What can we do?" she asked Niko.

"That's what we have been trying to find out, and, with your assistance, we will attempt any sort of remedies. I have contacted many great mages from around the lands, trying to get them to see if they could do anything to stop the earth's destruction. If they have spells, ideas, etcetera. So far, few have ideas. Only Raeldro Earthkin has replied, and he will be visiting us in the next week to share his plans. I trust you have all heard of Raeldro."

The four nodded. Raeldro Earthkin was a great mage who had only recently discovered his magic in the last two or three years, but his power had grown so rapidly that now, even only in his early twenties, he had reached and surpassed the level of many older and more experienced mages. He had been given the name "Earthkin" by the mage council because his power was so great, it seemed he was one with the power of the earth and with the earth itself.

Briar, Sandry, and Daja felt relief that he was on their side, but Tris still felt uneasy. "Even with Raeldro, have we much reason to hope? No disrespect to him, but Raeldro's only a man, not a god! He can't do everything," Tris asked Niko.

"I don't know, Tris," he said shaking his head, "if we should hope, but you know that I am going to put up a fight to the last. And I understand your lack of trust in Raeldro. He is not a god, like you said, but his power is close enough to that of one that I have reason to think he could help us a great deal."

Tris sighed. "If you say so, Niko." Her master had never before let her down, and she doubted it was a habit he'd start now.

Niko turned from Tris to the whole group. "Now, Raeldro's main idea of what must be done is not complicated, but let me explain a few things to you to start. First of all, nature has three parts. There is the physical part of nature, the part which is the trees and the water and the mountains and the creatures all are part of. There is also the magical part of nature, which can be divided in to 2 sections, which are surely very familiar to you. The life-force, which is a type of magic of the earth, is what keeps it alive. It is what makes the plants live, the water clear. The earth-magic itself is what makes the plants grow, the animals reproduce, the rivers from stopping. The life-force and earth-magic, just like yours, replenish each other when one gets low.

"Now that we have that knowledge under our belts, we reason whether the physical part of the earth is being harmed, the life-force, or the earth-magic. If the earth is, like you have said, 'scared' of something, it must fear of being in some way harmed. Nature, as we all know, is not afraid of physical harm. Mankind has already done things such as cutting down trees and damaging metal and breaking up stones, but nature's life-force always able to replenish the earth. Nature is self-sufficient, after all.

"So, thus, having ruled out physical harm, we come to magical harm. If we look at the earth, we see the problem is not lack of things growing and producing. Water is not low, plants still do reproduce. But they are dying, a sign that the life-force of the earth is damaged. Somewhere, some stupid mage is trying to harm the earth itself through destroying its base. And though usually the earth-magic is able to replenish the life-force, but this is not the case this time. The life-force of the earth must be so damaged that the earth-magic can't replace it itself.

"There's something that we can do, however. We simply need to replace the life-force this mage
has destroyed. We must have some mages try to heal the earth by supplying our own magics to it, by feeding our magics into it to soothe and heal it little by little. We cannot do it quickly. This sort of thing has not been done before, and so this undertaking is an experiment. To do it quickly might be a waste of power, might cause more trouble within the earth, might cause us to miss some
important observations. But hopefully, gods will it, this will fill up the empty patches in the earth's life-force. It's a very long and very tedious job, but we're praying to the gods that it might work."

"But that requires so much power!" Daja responded.

"And we all have power, but we haven't got that much of it," Briar informed Niko.

"You have more power than you think, Briar and Daja," Niko replied. "You have enough power to heal entirely all the plants in an entire large country, Briar. And Daja could harden up all the metals in the same country as well."

"Poppycock!" squealed Sandry.

"Not at all," Niko told her. "You all can do that, but you yet do not know how. You have not reached the full extent of your power. That's why you have come now. For the next week, you all and I will be working on making your power swell to unimaginable proportions that you never have dreamed of. Raeldro himself told me the method he used to gain more power, and asked that I teach it to you."

"Niko," Briar protested. "I'm not so sure about even this here method. But even if it does work, you don't expect us to do it all!"

"I understand, and trust me that it's taken care of. Mages in all the nearby temples of the Living Circle are working on taking on the same task as you. It helps - tremendously - to have your powers working with us, too. Absolutely we aren't solely relying on you four."

"Good. I'm not against responsibility, but there's only so much weight a person can bear," stated Tris.

Sandry immediately had a vision of the four of them holding up the planet in their hands. They were standing on a ground made of stars, but still seemingly floating in the air. They stood in a circle, in the same positions as their knots were in her thread-circle. The earth rested in their linked hands. The three girls and Briar stood straining against the weight, their muscles tight. It was a quite a sight to see, but the most interesting thing about it was that they were actually succeeding in their job. She blinked and the vision was gone.

Sandry froze and felt like she could hardly breathe. She held on to the vision in her mind, feeling that it was important. A message? her mind questioned. From whom? She got a shiver up her spine, thinking maybe some heavenly incarnation had sent her the vision, and made the gods-circle on her chest as quickly as she could, before anyone could notice.

If the gods had sent her such a vision, a premonition they could do this, then Sandry was quite willing to try her hardest.

Niko leaned back on the stairwell. "Here. Tomorrow at nine sharp. Since Discipline is empty now, and the guest rooms are all full with visiting mages helping us in this crisis, you'll have to take your old rooms up at Discipline," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Fantastic!" giggled Sandry. "My old room," breathed Daja. "It will be nice to see it again."

Tris simply smiled inwardly. Yes, she thought, it's good to be home.

---

After fetching their bags from the main office of the temple city, the four settled back into their rooms once again, just as they had eight years ago when they first arrived at Discipline.

Sandry sighed and opened her window, letting fresh wind blow in. She set her small trunk at the foot of her bed. She did not unpack and place things in the drawers. She didn't think she would be staying that long, but she didn't know how wrong she would be.

Briar across the hall shoved his bag in a corner, not really caring. He smiled at the mat on the floor. He had insisted years ago on losing the bed frame, having only been used to sleeping on the floor. He then set off to a few of the shops to get essentials for their stay, such as toilet paper for the privy, an icebox to put cold food in, a small amount of food for at least a few days, cloths for dusting and cleaning, buckets to carry water from the nearby pump, and clean sheets for the beds, plus more. He dragged Sandry along to help him carry it all, but they still ended up having to make a few trips to get it all back to Discipline.

Daja set up her statues on her bed stand, put her treasured survival box next to them (she still carried her suraku everywhere), and leaned her broken staff in the corner. But something's missing still! she thought. She then remembered what - rather, who - that was. Her adopted mothers, Rosie and Lark. I wish Rosethorn and Lark were staying with us, so it really felt like home, she thought regretfully. Yet inside she knew it to be a near-impossible wish. Lark and Rosie had other things to
attend to, besides her!

Tris spent no time unpacking, but immediately went up the stairs onto the roof to sit and watch the clouds go by her. She smiled and felt cool breeze wash over her. Peering over the edge of the roof, she watched Briar and Sandry carrying back some food and blankets, laughing over something that was probably not even funny.

She smiled. I should probably go help them, she thought, but I think I won't. A moment later, her conscience took over, and she scrambled down the staircase to assist her companions.

A barking noise hit Tris' ears as she descended the stairs. Grinning, she hurriedly skidded through the kitchen on the wooden floors in order to get outside faster. She burst through the door to see a large dog jump up on her. She fell to her knees and hugged Little Bear around his torso. Looking up, she saw the dog's escorts.

"Lark! Rosethorn!" Tris cried, hugging both the dedicates at once. They returned the gesture, Lark weeping unashamedly.

Two calls from behind the threesome turned their heads. Sandry and Briar, after setting down their burdens, rushed to greet Lark and Rosethorn as well. Soon a large hugging circle had formed between them all, and in a moment, Daja emerged from her room upstairs to join upon hearing all the ruckus.

The six entered the kitchen on Discipline and sat together, discussing their past three years, their recent adventures, and the prospects the future brought. Little Bear followed, snuggling against their feet under the table.

"The future looks grim," Rosethorn informed the group. "Hope is scarce among the other dedicates, though they are spending their hearts out in the effort." But then she smiled.

"But you know what?" Lark put in. "I'm not even worrying about tomorrow, 'cause it'll come when it comes. You're here. I have faith in my gods. The day is beautiful – why should I worry? Tomorrow will come. But – later." Her eyes were wet.

Sandry covered Lark's hand with her own. "You're one of the bravest people I know," said Sandry, her eyes filling with tears. "It's no good to see you cry."

"Sandry, dear daughter, you don't understand. Some things are meant to be," Lark explained softly. The tears ran down her face, but she did not care.

"You're right," Sandry said, shaking her head. "I don't understand. Maybe someday I will." She left it at that.

Daja, Briar, and Tris peered at each other at the table. All their eyes were dry, but inside, their hearts wept loudly and mournfully.

---

Nothing compares to sliding into a bed at night and knowing you belong. It was a sensation that Tris was fond of, and a sensation she got to experience for the first time in a while. Surely Growing Circle was a home, but only a temporary one, and slipping into a bed there was not nearly as fulfilling.

Gazing around her upstairs room, she remembered everything was in the same place it had been years before when she first entered the room. Dresser in the corner, nightstand next to her bed, window framing the beautiful night sky, stars glimmering.

The only reminder that things were not as they should be was that the stars glowed much more faintly than usual. Tris had not noticed it before while looking at the sky, but now that Niko had mentioned it, their dullness was apparent.

Even though she felt like she was at home, Tris couldn't sleep. It was one of those times that, as much as she liked sleep, she knew she had more important things to do. Specifically, in her mind, she wanted to talk to her companions about, frankly, everything.

She slipped out of her bed and straightened her nightshirt. Tris quickly slid on some sandals and made her way to the stairwell. In the dark, she walked slowly afraid she might hit something. She was almost to the stairs when she walked into something. The something said, "Well, hello, Tris."

Tris smiled at Daja through the darkness. "Guess we think more alike than we thought," Tris whispered.

They descended the stairs quietly. Tris fumbled around the room, in search of a candle or lantern, when a bright light shone from behind her, illuminating the whole room. Both Sandry and Briar sat at the table, and Sandry had drawn out her light-crystal. Tris and Daja smiled.

"Great minds think alike," Sandry laughed.

Tris slid onto the bench next to her, across from Daja, who had seated herself next to Briar.

"Who woke up who?" Tris asked, leaning her elbows on the table.

"No one woke anyone up," Briar said. "I came down here and I could have sworn I felt I wasn't alone, and when I got closer to the table I saw Sandry, and she was fumbling in her pouch for something. I sat down, and by the time she'd gotten that crystal out, you were here."

"Well, then," Daja said, crossing her arms on the table and then laying her head on them. "I think we all know why we came down here. The reason is obvious."

"To discuss..." Sandry began.

"Everything," Daja concluded in unison with her friend. She flashed her teeth in a smile, the white against the night. Sandry chuckled.

Sandry went on, "Thank you, yes. Precisely we must discuss everything, starting from where?"

"From the beginning," Briar said. "What are all you thinking about this whole plan of Niko's or Raeldro's or whoever's it is?" He ran a hand through his mussed hair.

"I think the first half sounds logical, but I'm not sure about the second half," Tris offered. "The whole idea about the reasoning that the earth fears magical harm to itself is sensible, but I wonder how this plan of replacing the magic will work. If this is a sorcerer's doing, then whoever plans on harming the earth will simply eradicate from it the power we supply it. We then would keep supplying power only to have it taken away by this mage. Eventually, we'd run out of power to give, and then where would we be?"

"I think that if the plan doesn't work, we'll stop and change tactics. Niko's smart, and he'd figure it out if the sorcerer kept draining the energy," Daja said.

"Besides, we don't know who this mage is. It might be some stupid young mage, but still a powerful one, who made a big mistake and accidentally harmed the earth," Sandry added. "They might not still be harming the earth."

"But, Sandry, think about that option. If it was a young mage who made a mistake, the effect would have worn off by now. It's been an entire year in which the earth has been acting strangely. And no mage could have made one accident that caused the earth to tear itself apart for a year," Tris explained. "This is something continuous we're dealing with."

"That's right," Briar said. "This ain't Tris trying to put magic into a rock," he said, glancing at her and chuckling. Tris looked down. She remembered that time - she had tried to put the power of the tides into a rock. The rock had exploded and knocked Tris out. Trying to tame the earth wasn't something she would try to do again!

"This is something big, and something that isn't stopping and doesn't look like it'll stop soon," Briar went on after the laughing ceased.

"Did Niko say they'd been looking for a culprit?" Daja asked.

"He never mentioned it, but maybe there is a search going on. However, whoever is doing it surely knows they shouldn't be doing this. He or she is probably in hiding somewhere," Tris said.

"I wonder about this person," Sandry said. "What are their intentions? And why would they want to hurt the earth? It's stupid to do that. The earth obviously never did anything to them but help them and house them. And especially knowing the earth will kill them if it falls apart, they should stop if they've got any sense!"

"But maybe they aren't wanting to hurt the earth," Briar suggested.

"What do you mean?" Sandry asked him.

"Well, maybe they're just trying to get something from the earth and they're doing everything they can to try and get it. They aren't meaning to hurt the earth in the process, but they don't care as long as they get what they want from the earth," Briar pondered. "Make sense?"

"I know what you're saying, but I don't think it's sensible still," Sandry said.

"Well, that's because it's stupid no matter what, because they still ought to care if they die trying to get what they want. If they die they won't have it anymore, anyway!" Daja sighed. "How much you want to bet that we're against a crazy mage?"

"I know it. A crazy or else extremely stupid one. But there aren't any dumb mages in existence. All people blessed with magic but not with sense end up destroying themselves," Tris muttered.

"Power just makes people crazy, I guess," Daja groaned. "So, do we want to at least try Niko and Raeldro's plan? I know we sort of said yes to Niko's plan just by coming, but I'm just checking."

"Yeah, why not?" Briar said. "Better than doing nothing."

"I agree," Sandry said.

"I guess we can try it. But I ... I just kind of wish it was just Niko working with us. I'm never one for strangers, especially very important ones," Tris confused.

"Aw, Coppercurls, you being shy?" Briar teased.

"No, not shy," snapped Tris. "Just uncomfortable."

"I can see where you're coming from, Tris," Sandry consoled. "I personally don't like meeting strangers, particularly at a time like this. But we're just going to have to brush that fact aside, pretend we don't care, and get on with our lives."

"But you're used to it, Sandry. You've spent most of your life in a noble court, being introduced to nobility, doing all the formalities. The rest of us aren't so accustomed to it," Daja said. "But your idea is right. We just have to listen to this Raeldro Earthkin's instructions and then do our work and pretend he's not there."

"Well, as long as he doesn't disturb us while we're working!" Tris said. "That's been a peeve of mine."

---

When Daja awoke the next morning, she rubbed her eyes and desperately wanted to go to sleep again. It probably wasn't a good idea for us to stay up last night as late as we did, Daja thought, remembering the hours they had stayed up talking on topics from the past to the future. But I do think we needed that talk.

When she sat up, she changed her mind. We should have done that earlier, though, and gotten to bed before the middle of the morning. Niko won't be happy to have a bunch of tired students! Slipping into a pair of fresh clothes, Daja hummed a little tune and tried to blink the sleepiness out of her mind.

She yawned as she descended down the stairs. Expecting to see no one in the room, she reached the kitchen. When she entered, Sandry, Briar, and Tris all were there cooking breakfast. She snorted with disgust at herself. Daja was normally never the last one up!

"Good morning, sunshine," Sandry said cheerily, setting the table.

"How are you so happy in the morning?" Daja asked her.

"How are you so grumpy?" Sandry retorted.

Tris set down a basket of toasted bread. Daja reached out hungrily to snatch a piece, but Tris slapped her hand away.

"You didn't cook. You eat last, or at least wait for the rest of us," Tris scolded.

Daja grumbled something.

In five minutes, the table was laid out with bread, fresh milk, and a large jar of warm oatmeal, along with glasses, bowls, spoons, butter knives, and honey and cream for the oatmeal. They held hands, and Sandry led a prayer, thanking the gods for their food and praying for help in this time of crisis. They had just started on their meal when a knock was heard at the front door. Briar rose to his feet and dashed to the door, sliding in his sandals across the wood.

"Good morning, Lark," Briar said, surprised by the visit.

"And same to you, Briar," their guest answered, her eyes smiling. "I thought I might come over to help you with breakfast, but I'd forgotten."

"Forgotten what?" the young man asked.

"Forgotten you children are grown up now and you don't need me to help you walk, or cook, for that matter," Lark laughed.

"Well, if you'd like to join us, come and sit at the table and we'll get out another bowl for you to have something to eat," Daja offered.

"No, thank you. I already ate." Lark grinned. "I've some chores to run. See you at the Hub in a few hours."

"You mean you're coming, too?" Sandry asked.

"Yes, indeed," Lark replied.

"Not that we don't enjoy every second of your company, but why? I thought Niko had already started on the dedicates and had them performing the strengthening exercises. That's how it sounded to me, at least," Sandry said.

"I have started them, and so have all the other dedicates. Niko just wants me there for moral support," she laughed.

Tris chuckled. "Well, see you at nine o'clock sharp, then, Lark."

"Yes, bye for now."

---

At about ten minutes after nine o'clock, the four rushed over to the Hub. They were slightly late, due to the fact that they had been doing chores back at Discipline and had lost track of the time. Now they ran.

They all ran differently. Briar ran with his arms pumping, his stride long, so he took fewer steps. He looked like he was leaping as he ran, his legs going out and then he barely hit ground before he went again. His pants swished as he legs brushed each other.

Tris held up her skirt, and her feet underneath took little tiny steps as she ran. She gave the appearance of being in more of a hurry than the others, due to how fast her legs moved. Sandry's run was bouncy, her hair and her dress going up and down as she went.

Daja's stride was long like Briar's, but her legs came up higher, so she looked like a speedy jogger. Because she wore pants, she was able to keep up faster with Briar, leaving Tris and Sandry at the back of the group.

When they got to the Hub, Niko was pacing outside while Lark flicked imaginary lint off her habit and rolled her eyes at Niko.

Niko's eyes shot up as the approached. "You're late," he said to them in a tight, clipped voice.

"We're sorry, but we had to finish chores and forgot what time it was," Sandry said sincerely, looking down. Her breath was ragged.

"And we aren't that late, not really," said Tris, taking some deep breaths.

"Yes, but remember, we are in a situation in which time management is not only important but vital," Lark reminded them. "Don't take time lightly. You all should know the essence of time most of all."

"What do you mean?" Daja asked, wiping her forehead with her scarf.

"Do you remember when there was that earthquake?" Niko asked the four. They all nodded, their eyes wide. Trapped in a tunnel during an earthquake, the tunnel had nearly caved in on them. They had used their magic to stop the tunnel from collapsing. It had been a very unpleasant and frightening experience.

"Well, you remember how every moment mattered. If you hadn't put up your magical protections when you did, the cave might have fallen on you. You know how important time is from that experience, as well from the pirates attacked, from when the fires began in Emelan, and when the plague nearly took Rosethorn's life."

Daja blinked. "Niko?" she asked him, "What if that sort of thing happened with the earth? What if we couldn't heal it and it started to fall apart?"

Niko informed her, "That sort of thing shouldn't happen. We should hopefully be able to heal the earth before anything like that began happening. but if it did, every moment would matter again, and we would have to work as quickly as possible to stop the earth from ... from dying," Niko said.

Tris shuddered. She didn't like the thought of the earth dying.

Briar saw her worried eyes. "But remember, Coppercurls. That isn't a likely thing to happen, because we're going to try and fix everything before any crisis happens. So stop looking so worried."

Tris scowled. "I'm not worried. I was just thinking," she replied. Briar smiled at her knowingly.

Niko nodded. "Glad that's cleared up. Shall we begin with our exercises?"

" I want to start as soon as possible as get this fixed!" Sandry said, nodding her head vigorously. The vision of the previous day had impacted her deeply.

The six ascended the stairs of the Hub, meeting where they had the previous day. They did not need to ward the room to keep magic from leaking out, since the Hub was already covered by strong wards for each room, and so they immediately began to meditate. They breathed in to a count of seven, held their breaths for a count of seven, and then exhaled to a count of seven, as they'd always been taught.

Niko was very pleased as he watched them, seeing their strength in them as the meditated. Through the three years that he had not seen them, all four of the young mages had not only grown stronger, but they had perfected themselves in many ways, reaching a level of power that was untouched by older mages. Niko knew also that his "children," as he'd always thought them to be, would surpass him someday in strength, and that day might be soon after they started to train.

After long minutes of mediating, Lark joining them, Niko began to guide them through the exercise that Raeldro Earthkin had recommended. "Relax, and find yourself," said Niko. "Search and feel your life-force pulsing through you."

As all people do and did, all the teenagers had a life-force, which was different from their magic. Their life-forces were what made them alive. It was like a magic that ran through their veins, a flowing liquid force that gave them life. It was a powerful force and a very big part of what made them themselves. The life force was exactly as the name stated - it was life, vitality, in their bodies.

Briar felt his to be a soft pulsing light, greenish in hue, but more white. Tris' was the same, hers a bluer-white, while Daja's was red-white and Sandry's a tan-white. Lark's was a greenish-yellow-white. But the feeling was the same - it was one of power.

"Now," Niko said, "your magical selves are not within your life force, but they coexist and live on each other. Your life force strengthens itself on your magic, whereas your magic strengthens itself on your life force. The exercise we are about to begin relies on this principle."

Niko took a breath. "See your magical power. Imagine it as something that is familiar to you." Briar saw it as a vine; Tris envisioned a storm cloud; Daja envisioned hot metal in her hands. Sandry saw a cloth. Lark saw a loom.

"Now, take this object and imagine a similar but smaller object as your life force." Briar saw a different type of vine, one with flowers. Tris saw a normal white cloud. Daja saw a smaller piece of hot copper. Sandry and Lark both saw a thread.

"Now, feed your life force into your magical self," Niko instructed.

"What?" cried Sandry. Her eyes shot open to gaze widely into Niko's eyes. The image in her mind was gone. Her sudden noise also jolted the others out of their meditation.

"Sandry!" scolded Lark. "What was that for?"

"Niko," Sandry snapped, ignoring Lark, "are you crazy? Are you trying to get us killed? You and I both know as well as each and every person here that if we devote our life forces to our magical selves, our magic will consume us and kill us!" Her eyes were fiery with anger, her chin out straight, and her face flushed pink.

Niko was furious, and his voice showed it. "The life force is a special thing, Sandry. Time, rest, and nourishment will replenish any lost life force. Only when too much is lost at once will a person be unable to replenish themselves. Eventually as one ages, their life force becomes less able to heal itself, and when they totally are unable to heal themselves, they will eventually die. However, we are all at an age in which losing a little life force is not dangerous. After all, our magic feeds our life forces anyway and replenishes it. However, we are coaxing this process alone by slowing feeding in our life forces to our magical selves. The process is, yes, tedious, but in time our magics will be stronger and our life forces will learn to heal themselves more quickly. Raeldro assures me that this is a harmless process that he's used for years, and he would never let me use it on you unless he was certain of this."

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Now, Lady Sandreliene, if you will let me continue, we can get started," Niko said tersely.

Shamefaced, Sandry rocked back on her seat bones and closed her eyes. "Forgive me, Niko. We can go on," she said quietly.

Don't fret, Sandry. You merely spoke your concerns, Daja assured her through their thought-speech. During the course of the previous night, they had realized that they were once again able to speak through each other's minds.

Ha! I merely acted rudely, angered Niko, and disrupted our meditation, Sandry protested.

Look, it's no big deal. We all mess up. But then we just don't do it again, Briar argued.

They're right, Tris put in, though she was mildly vexed at Sandry's outburst. Mistakes happen.

"Stop doing that," Lark said calmly.

"Doing what?" Daja asked.

"Thought-speaking. Can't you see we're trying to do this exercise?" Lark scolded gently.

"How'd you know we were thought-speaking?" Briar questioned.

"I can see magic, too, remember? And I can see it happening between you three when you thought-speak," Lark replied.

"Oh," Sandry said.

"Can't we get on with this?" Niko pleaded abruptly.

"Yes, Niko," said Lark with a blush.

---

Back at the house, as the children began to make lunch, the young mages had a few questions for Niko.

"Are you in search for a suspect?" Sandry asked Niko while chopping up some carrots.

"Well, we're on the lookout for one, yes, but more importantly, the idea is to stop this problem soon before it gets out of hand. It would be nice to find this man or woman or group and stop them at the source, but we can't waste time looking - if we do, and we don't find them, by that point we'll all be gone. We have to work with the earth now."

Sandry continued chopping carrots. "We'd been reasoning that this mage or group of mages wants power from the earth, but why would they need power?"

"We don't know. But we know they want pure power. You see, the life-force is what this mage is stealing. The life-force, once renamed, is just pure power, power that can be manipulated for a number of life-giving functions," Niko said. He sipped from a glass of juice that Tris placed in front of him.

"Renamed?" Daja asked, pouring a few more glasses of juice.

"Yes," Niko said. "When a person takes the magic of another, or unnamed magic - loose magic that belongs to anyone, which is rare...."

"...The magic becomes theirs. It is renamed to be their magic, and it can't be taken by another person unless the mage who tries to take it from them is very powerful. Renaming magic is very important, because it gives a person the ability to claim and keep magic very easily," Tris interrupted quietly, taking dishes from the cupboards.

All eyes turned to her, and she looked at the floor.

"That's one thing I learned at Growing Circle," she said.

"Ah, you're correct," Niko said, smiling. "Tris is right about this renaming. So, this mage has been taking the earth's life-force and renaming it to be theirs. The earth, however, is unable to take back its magic again, because the one who took its magic is too strong and will not give it up."

"That's really horrible," said Sandry, putting the chopped carrots into a bowl.

"It is," said Niko.

"But why aren't they taking the earth-magic, the magic that makes things grow?" Tris asked.

"They must not need that type of magic. Even if the mage renames the earth-magic to be theirs, they can still only use it to grow things or manipulate things that nature has already created, whether it is theirs or no. This mage must not need that type of power, and needs just pure power that they can manipulate for a number of things," Niko explained. "That is why they need life-force-magic."

"Niko," gasped Daja. She swallowed, stopping mid-pour and setting down the juice jug. "That's what we do."

"What do we do?" Tris asked Daja, hand on her hip.

"We - Briar, Sandry, myself, and Tris - all grow things or manipulate products of nature . And you just said that is what earth-magic does, too. Does that mean we steal and rename the earth's power for ourselves?"

"You are exceptional, little mages. You do rename the earth-magic, but it works through you," Niko said.

"What?" Briar asked, putting on a pot of water in the hearth to boil.

"You four are a part of the earth. When you work magic, you access and rename earth-magic for yourselves. But unconsciously, the earth allows you to do that, because it knows you work for a good cause to help it. It does good things for you, and you do good things for it," Niko said.

Briar stood and paused, hands folded in front of him. "You make us sound like we're important," he said finally.

"Well, you are," said Lark, setting the table. She folded a napkin and placed a fork on top of it. "You're important because you are children of earth."

"I like the sound of that," said Sandry, placing the bowl of carrots in the hearth between the coals to warm them. "Children of earth."

They all stood there for a moment, eyes transfixed on nothing, staring off. Children of earth! What a honor to have such a name. It was like a dream, realizing the importance that the earth had to them, and them to the earth. And the idea that the earth would trust them enough to let them use its power was overwhelming.

Sandry felt a warm excitement at this idea. Maybe she and her friends would succeed after all. Hope welled up like an overflowing dam. The vision from the previous day consumed her, making her a believer.

Niko interrupted. "Did I mention we have another meeting at the same time tomorrow?" he said. "And this will continue for as long as we need to meet."

"I suppose then that we'll be here for another month," said Daja, snapping out of her trance.

"Another month?" laughed Lark. "According to Raeldro Earthkin and the rest of the Mage Council, this process could take up to 6 months, if not more."

"I didn't think we had that much time," said Tris.

"You're right. At this rate, we don't. But if we can make a little bit of process in the time from now to then, that date may be pressed farther and farther away - hopefully so far away that we won't remember it," Niko explained.

Sandry shook her head. "This is all so complicated!"

"Didn't we tell you a million times that magic is very complicated?" Lark scolded gently.

"Yes," said Briar, rolling his eyes, "you definitely told us."

---

The next day, meditation and the exercises progressed very slowly. The exercises were hard and tedious. In order to feed their life-force into their magic, the mages had to do the process very, very slowly.

In the days that followed, the mages worked harder at this process. They could certainly feel their powers growing, but it wasn't by much, and they knew that, too. It was all the more depressing. In a certain sense, the four has expected fireworks and glory in trying a technique used by Raeldro Earthkin. It was so dull and lifeless a technique that it made them want to drop off to sleep. Aside from this, their life-forces, having used them sufficiently during the last few days, were drained slightly, leaving them even more tired and sluggish. In response to this, their days began to start later, and their evenings became cut shorter as they turned in to bed earlier.

Not to mention that chores in the day were really beginning to add up. The house was in need of some fix-ups, since it had not been used in quite a while. The renovations on Discipline, as well as regular daily chores, were taking their toll. Time was wasted on these activities, making weary the four young mages.

The appearance of the young mages showed their tired state. After a week, all four had dark circles under their eyes, were walking very sluggishly, and due to their lack of rest, were unable to even concentrate on their meditations. Niko excused them from their exercises. The teenagers begged and pleaded to let them keep practicing, but he insisted that they rest. The four felt they could not sleep while the world was in danger, but Niko insisted one day's rest would help much more than a practice without progress. That day, the children slept through and continued to sleep well into the night. The much-needed rest contributed to a better performance the next day.

Niko was expecting Raeldro Earthkin to soon be arriving at Winding Circle, though travel was difficult. Since some plates in the earth had shifted, hills and mountains had as well shifted, causing the bridges between them to fall and causing Raeldro to have to detour around to find another way
to Winding Circle.

And so, Winding Circle waited patiently.

---

It was three weeks later. And Raeldro was coming.

The four young mages eagerly rushed around the house, trying to prepare. The plan was that Raeldro would come and take his supper at Discipline and discuss the next steps with Niko and the young mages before their ideas were passed on to Moonstream and the rest of Winding Circle's dedicates.

Sandry rushed through the kitchen, flipping through recipe books to try and make a fantastic meal for Raeldro. Tris was a cleaning wizard, flying through the house with a mop and a dusting rag. Briar worked outside in the newly-planted gardens, trying to squeeze in some magic to help his little plants grow. Daja was trying to repair the loose, rusted door hinges around the house, hoping a squeaking noise could be avoided when anyone walked through the entranceways.

Niko saw them rushing around and shook his head at them. They were so worked up! Laughing, he exited Discipline, headed to see Moonstream. Glares penetrated his back from four insulted young mages.

An hour later, Niko returned with the dullest look on his face as he watched Sandry add some potatoes to the fire.

"Sandry, he's not coming. Save your fanciful dinner!"

Sandry's eyes grew wide. "He's not coming?" she whispered. Her mind screamed in frustration. Three other came in a stampede from various other places in the house: Briar from his room, where he'd been tending the shakkan; Daja from Tris's room, where she'd been fixing the door hinges; and Tris from just outside, having just returned from the baths.

"What's happening?" Briar asked as he broke through his door.

I heard you screaming, he said to her in his mind. He did not want to bring up Sandry's reaction in Niko's presence - Sandry was acting calmly, and Briar suspected she wanted Niko to continue to feel she was collected. After her outbreak in the meditation, he knew Sandry was trying to keep herself in check.

Daja and Tris entered at once, their voices clashing and demanding to both be heard. "I heard that someone's not coming," Daja cried, her eyes confused but worried.

"Something's wrong?" Tris asked, pushing through the door.

It squeaked, causing Daja to get a bitter expression on her face. After all the time she'd worked on it!

Raeldro's not coming, is he? Tris asked Sandry, looking at her friend's troubled eyes.

No, she said dully, staring at her potatoes. And we all worked so hard!

We worked all day, you're right! Daja whined, fiddling with the end of her staff. That's not right of him to desert!

And your meal, Sandry – I don't want it to go to waste, said Tris to her friend.

Well, what should we do with it, then? Briar remarked sarcastically.

Shut up, muttered Tris to him.

Sandry sighed inside their minds. That's awful and horrible he can't be here! These are some good potatoes he'll be missing! She laughed then, trying to lighten up.

Why isn't he here? Daja asked for the first time. All four blinked and turned to a stunned Niko.

"Why do you do that?" he asked them.

"Habit," mumbled Tris. "Where is Raeldro, then?"

"More delays. A bridge collapsed right in front of Raeldro, a minute before he was about to step on it. He had to detour," explained Niko.

"Gods! Why doesn't the man just build some invisible bridge or carry himself over the gaps, if he's some great mage?" cried Tris angrily.

"Maybe he's trying to not waste energy. It's a large task for anyone to carry himself, whatever baggage he has and his escorts across mountains!" Sandry said logically.

"I think you must be right," said Niko.

Tris shook her head in disgust.

Niko gave her a sideways glance, but then returned her attention to Sandry again. "I suppose we'll have to eat what you've started with the meal," he said. "You shouldn't have to throw it out."

Sandry nodded her approval.

"I agree. When are we going to start?" Briar chimed in.

---

"C'mon, Briar!" said Daja, tapping her foot impatiently at his door. "We're going to be late forour meditations today!" She banged her staff against his door. "Let's go!"

"Give me a second!" he wailed from inside.

"What are you doing in there anyways?" Tris called, knocking loudly on the door. "How long does it take you to get ready?" She began to pace a second, the black of her dress brushing the tops of her shoes.

Briar muttered something. The door flew open, and before the girls could even get a look at him, he rushed past them and out the front door. Tris and Daja shrugged and went out after him.

Sandry was waiting outside for them. When Briar ran out, followed by Tris and Daja, she started ahead to the Hub. A vague sniffling noise came from behind her.

Sandry whirled, coming face to face with Briar, her skirts swishing around her. She sighed abruptly. "Oh, Briar, it's that shakkan again, isn't it?"

He looked up; now the tears were apparent in his eyes. "It's not your business!" he snapped, trying to walk by her.

"It's my business! Very much so!" she said nobly. She reached out an arm to grab his wrist.

"What's going on here?" Daja asked, coming up from behind.

Briar turned to face her and Tris, a menace in his eyes. "I don't want to talk about it!" he said, tears stinging in his green eyes.

"Maybe it will help," said Sandry.

"You can't make me talk about it!" he said, raising his voice. "There's nothing wrong!"

"You're crying," said Tris bluntly.

Briar got quiet a second, and his eyes welled up. He wiped the tears away quickly. He would not - he could not! - allow himself to get so emotional. "It's my shakkan," he said quietly, trying to remain calm.

"Getting worse?" said Daja.

"Yes," said Briar. "It's got so many poles around it to hold it up now. Looks and feels real sad."

"Nothing you can do?" Sandry asked.

"Nothing."

"Maybe when Raeldro gets here..." Sandry asked.

"It's the first thing I'm going to do. I'll ask him," Briar said determinedly. He would love to see his shakkan healthy again. And if anyone could save his shakkan, Raeldro would be that person.

Sandry lazily tossed an arm around Briar. "Good. Now, stop moping about. We've got to meditate now."

"I am not moping!" said Briar, in denial. "So don't you tell anyone that I was!"

"Sure, now," said Sandry, dragging him along.

As the four walked to the Hub, Sandry squinted, looking into the distance. Leaning against the wall of the Hub were two people, not one. The first person, she noted, was obviously Niko - she could tell from his salt-and-pepper hair and how he was talking with his hands, gesturing with his fingers.

The other figure Sandry did not know, but he was young - a few years older than them - and his hair was midnight black, almost with a blue-sheen.

"Is that another person I see?" Sandry asked herself aloud.

"Who?" Daja asked, looking in the direction Sandry was peering at.

"Niko's talking with some man. Don't you see? They're standing by the wall of the Hub," Sandry said. When Daja failed to see, Sandry pointed to them.

"Oh, that man? I don't know who he is either. He's dressed quite richly," Daja said. She nudged Sandry. "Perhaps Niko's trying to marry you off to a Bag's son, Lady Sandry."

As they neared - and by now Tris and Briar had noted the men as well - Sandry could see the man indeed wore a beautiful robe. The robe itself was black, itself a simple cut and style. However, his sash was a dark gray and very silky, fringed in gold. His robe itself, too, was trimmed in the bright yellowish color. It gleamed around his collar, wrists, and at the lowest hem of the cloth. His single earring also glittered in the sun.

"He looks like a noble's son, indeed," Sandry agreed.

Tris rolled her eyes. "Well, isn't it obvious who he is?"

"How about you let us in on the secret, Coppercurls?" Briar asked.

"Think!" she snapped. "And look at that man over there. He's wearing a fancy suit, wouldn't you say? And wouldn't the most powerful mage in the land at this time be able to afford such garb? Who else would be able to, besides him?"

"Mages never dress that fancy. You don't dress in that much gold if you're a mage. That's Bags' clothing right there," Briar protested.

"Didn't Niko say he'd bring Raeldro soon to us, though? He said we'd get to meet him and exercise with him, meditate with him. He'd said Raeldro was delayed, and that was a while ago, so it's obvious he is to arrive soon - or that he is here right now?"

---

AN: This is all that has been edited. Don't read any more, because I'm going to change it a lot.