I'm so happy that I'm able to keep a good pace for Book II of "Both are Infinite" – I think it's much easier for myself and the readers when there aren't huge gaps in between the chapters! It's good to keep busy. A huge THANK YOU to those who left wonderful reviews – the story could not have been possible without you! I truly appreciate the compliments you've showered me with, and hope that at the end of this story, you will be left with a feeling as beautiful as the one your words have given me!

Note: Before reading this chapter, I suggest a re-reading of the last little bit of "Interlude II: The Fire Scroll," which has the diary entry of Persephone - that will touch up on her background.

V. Incarnation of Snow

I flash and glow on Being's Brow, and my snow-cold
Ooze is Love's life-blood,
And I wander over the Waves of Time, where the
World-wrack drifts in my Silver Flood.

From Sanskrit text, "Incarnation of Snow."

The world became red through Valorick's eyes. He lay chest-down on the sandy soil mixed with rocks and dried grass. Blood began dyeing the ground beneath him, and all appeared crimson. Thoughts of the sunset suddenly came to him, and he trembled, as if the end was gazing at him with its starry eyes and robe of black. He tried to push himself up but his arms failed him, and he felt his legs collapse and grind against the rough earth.

From the periphery of his failing vision, he could see the sunpillar retreating and leaving behind a female figure with a winged horse. Her face was blurred yet her entire being shone, like a fire in the dark grove. She settled her steed on the verdant grass and approached Valorick cautiously, with the grace of one who receives the untimely dead. He at once yearned for her to come close yet feared her. But he had no choice; as she came closer, he could smell a fragrance that wafted from her and eddied about his dying body like a promise of heaven. The last connection he felt he had with the living was the sight of Endymion sliding down the dusty hill, shouting his name.

"Val! Val!" Endymion slipped over and over again on his rapid slide down the steep hill, but he ran on, and collapsed, and got up and eventually crawled to the side of his friend. "Oh, for Fanelia's sake, tell me you're all right, Val! Can you hear me? Please move just a little, so I know you're fine. I'll call for help, we'll get you back to Palladium within the day! Don't you worry, Val!" Endymion shook his friend frantically, but Valorick did not react to the tremors. He fell limp in the arms of his weeping friend. Endymion placed his ear against Valorick's chest; but there was no sound.

After a few moments of catatonic sadness, Endymion let go of the body and collapsed onto the ground himself, letting his friend's blood stain his pale cheeks. He looked straight into Valorick's passive visage. "Your eyes are closed....I was hoping you'd just be asleep." He laid a hand on Valorick's shoulder and caressed it, then began dusting the dirt off Valorick's clothes. "But I supposed it's better this way. They say those who die with closed eyes have no regrets."

Endymion curled up and wept. All this time, he had not noticed the young girl who knelt beside him, curiously observing his behavior. She frowned like a child then slowly tucked on Endymion's shirt.

He jumped up in shock. "Val?" He looked up and saw her, "Who are you?" She tilted her head and gazed at him blankly. He scrutinized her otherworldly appearance and glanced at her strange winged horse. "What are you?"

She frowned at him. "What a rude way to address a complete stranger! Have you no courtesy on this Gaea of yours?"

Endymion sighed. "What do you want from me? As you can see, this is not exactly a time for social interaction."

"I am simply curious: why do you weep?"

"What..." Endymion looked at her incredulously and gasped. "What can you mean by that? Ma'am, I don't mean to be rude, but that is a mindless thing to say!" He paused for a second, then corrected his angry tone. "No, I'm sorry if I appear too rash. Really, I am not normally like this. But Val....he was my dearest friend. We grew up together, we went on so many adventures together. But just now, we were racing, and he....it's all my fault! I should have protected him, I promised his father! What would they do? What would I do? My best friend in the whole world is dead! Where would I ever find him again?"

The girl looked at him compassionately, and wiped the blood off his face. "Death...yes, I've recently learned about that. It brings such sadness. I never understood it before, and I wish I never did. But I suppose if someone is taken away by a Firean, you can find him or her in a world of the dead. I'm certain that such a place exists."

Endymion blinked and gazed at her with confusion. "What do you mean? You've never known death until recently? And how do you know about the Fireans?"

"In my world, they are the agents of the dead, for death came when they arrived on Serenus. That's where I'm from, Serenus."

"Oh...." Endymion did not know what say, concluding in his mind that she must have come with the pillar of light. He turned his focus back to his deceased friend and buried his face upon Valorick's back.

"Please do not weep. See, in my world, before the Fireans came, there was no death, because we could revive the dead...or, only some of us could. Then we suddenly lost that power. But perhaps I could perform it here, on your friend. We could try and see if it works."

Endymion looked up with hope. "Revive the dead? Do you mean resurrection? Will he come back to life and be living forever?" He gripped her by the shoulders and searched her face for hope.

She gently pushed Endymion's hands off. "Yes, if that is how you wish to see it, though immortality is different issue altogether. But please, give me some room so I can breathe better and concentrate."

Endymion quickly fell back, and leaned against a withered trunk. He hugged his legs anxiously and repeated in his mind every prayer he had gathered from every corner of his little world. He closed his eyes in faith, and when he opened them again, he witnessed the young girl kneeling over Valorick, her hand cupped above his heart.

A light began emanating outwards from her palms. The luminous orb soon expanded into a great globe that enveloped both herself and Valorick. Very soon, Endymion could barely look upon the scene, for the light had become blinding, a radiant white tinged with golden sparks. He shielded his eyes and tries to make out her movement. From the play between shadows and light beams, it seemed that she was dancing inside the orb, dancing around the dead body like a butterfly, with her skirt held up like gossamer wings.

Suddenly, the light retreated. The girl sat exhaustedly on the grass. Before Endymion could crawl back to his friend's side, he realized that the withered tree he sat beneath had suddenly begun growing leaves. Birdsong became more pronounced in the greener grove, and fawns pranced on the sun- dappled knoll. Life seemed abundant.

Endymion hurriedly went to Valorick's side. In joy, he realized that his friend was breathing once again, his wounds completely healed. Endymion cried with gratitude and thanked the young girl repeatedly. She merely ignored him and bent over Valorick once again, as if wanting to be the first one whom he lays his renewed eyes upon.

Time had stopped for Valorick. In his mind, just one minute again, he was upon the meadows racing with Endymion. It troubled him that as he now gradually regained consciousness, he could feel the hard ground beneath his back. But there was no pain anywhere in his body. In fact, he felt better than ever.

He quickly opened his eyes, but the first thing he saw was the strange girl staring at him with her diamond-like eyes. She gazed deep into his green eyes and tried to touch his face, but he screamed and quickly got up.

He went to Endymion's side. "Endy! If you weren't here, I would surely consider myself dead! Who is she? Looking upon her, I thought I was in the world of the dead!"

Endymion hugged Valorick tightly. "You were dead! You fell down the hill! But this girl, this saint, she saved you with such miraculous and unknown powers that I really don't know how to begin thanking her! But I'm just glad you're back, Val! I really gave up, you know? I was resolved to go back to Palladium and tell your parents that I had watched you die."

Valorick squeezed his eyes repeatedly. "I died? How can I have no memory of that? I slipped..." he looked around and saw the trail of his fall, and his horse lying limp a few feet away. "But I...So she revived me?" Endymion nodded. Valorick turned to the girl who sat straightening her glittering hair. "You saved me? By what means? Are you some sort of angelic being?"

She looked up at him with a sharp glance and stood up next to him. "Why do you look at me that way? Your green eyes, they show such disbelief. Am I so strange to you?"

Valorick fell back a few steps. "No...I didn't mean that, but the power to revive the dead...I thought it was only legendary. But thank you in any case. I feel obliged to show my gratitude. My name is Valorick, and this is Endymion. Please, is there something we can do for you?"

"I am Persephone of Serenus." She suddenly turned her nose up haughtily at Valorick. "And yes, there is something you can do for me. You may take me to see King Van of Fanelia."

Valorick and Endymion quickly looked at each other. "King Van?" Valorick asked. "What business do you have with our king?"

"That is between him and me. I cannot reveal the matter to outsiders, especially not to commoners; it will only alarm your simple minds. I trust the palace cannot be far off, so please take me there, seeing as how I have just saved your life."

Endymion scoffed at her sudden change of attitude but still bowed to her politely and said, "We are most happy to guide you to the palace." He then gestured her towards his horse standing at the top of the hill.

Persephone began walking away. "There is no need for me to ride on your horse, for I have my own ride." She found her winged steed and began caressing it.

Valorick and Endymion circled the strange creature curiously. It exuded radiance as beautiful as Persephone's own, and its great white vans sparkled against its smooth ivory back. "This is no ordinary horse," Valorick said, "It has wings."

"It isn't a horse," she announced as she got on its bare white back. "It is a Pegasus. It can fly between worlds. But of course, since you are to guide me, I will ride it like a regular horse, and conceal its wings."

The two young men confusedly acknowledged her explanation, then found a detour up the hill and to Endymion's horse. Thus their journey to Palladium continued. They did not stop riding for the rest of the day, yet Persephone never seemed to tire. She always kept a perfect posture upon the shining back of her white steed and she constantly gazed deep into the path forward, never once turning to talk to the riders beside her.

After nightfall, Endymion was tired and they stopped for a brief break. They made a fire near a large oak, and prepared bedding out of dry leaves and sweet scented grass. Valorick picked berries for them to eat. As he sat cleaning the fruit with water, he sensed that Persephone had been looking at him. When he dashed a glance at her, she quickly averted her gaze and lay down upon to rest near her Pegasus.

Persephone covered herself with a blanket and tried to sleep. But in her mind, there was a loud unrest, incessantly hammering in the caves of memory. His green eyes look so familiar somehow, as if she had once gazed deep into them. But that cannot be, she thought to herself, for she scarcely looked at him for more than a few seconds at a time. She shuffled uncomfortably, and then began humming a tune to herself. Corsaire, her childhood companion, had often sang it to her when they went out to watch the moonlings...She missed him, and fell asleep imagining that they can meet again on the verdant meadows of Vale Cordium.

Endymion came up to Valorick sitting by the fire, and told him of the occurrences of the day, including the sunpillar that brought Persephone and her astounding power to bring back the dead.

"A sunpillar?" Valorick gasped and dropped the cup he was holding. "That's just like in the stories our parents have told us."

"Exactly my thought! Except none of us have ever seen a real sunpillar, until today that is."

"That is strange...I wonder how such a phenomenon is caused in nature." He began whispering, "But she's not from Earth, not like my mother."

"No, she said she is from a world called Serenus."

"Serenus...that is certainly not in our knowledge of the universe. But there is no doubt that she is not of this world. That winged steed hers could not possibly exist on Gaea. And her powers...only shamans in legendary places, or angels and gods, have been known to revive the dead. But she is living and breathing. I can't understand it." He sighed.

"This can only mean that she is a new kind of being, one we have never seen before. She said that where she comes from, resurrecting the dead is an ordinary power. That is, they had the power till the Fireans came – yes, I forgot to tell you, she knows of the Fireans!"

"What?" Valorick nearly shouted.

"She...she said they attacked her world and brought death with them."

"Fireans...do you supposed she means the same race of fierce Atlantean warriors that our parents once battled? But I thought..." Valorick lay down and covered his eyes in weariness. "I thought all those were just stories..."

"So did I, but we have no way of knowing for certain until we return to Palladium. Perhaps what they have told us all these years has been the truth, and only Hermione has believed them."

"Yes...that is what I fear." With that, the two young men fell asleep uneasily, letting the fire die into the moist night.

In the morning, they set out early. The trees beside their path gradually became sparser, indicating that they were nearing the edge of the forest. When they finally emerged into the open fields that outline Fidell, they once again felt the singeing heat of the intolerable sun. While Valorick and Endymion perspired and panted in the sun, Persephone sat poised and relaxed. The heat seemed to have no effect on her; she stayed, as it were, in an invisible globe of snow and wind all her own, so that whatever crimson sand flew around in the outside world, she remained cool and glistening in her blue-white orb.

They took an indirect route through Fidell to Palladium, so as to not attract attention from the citizens. Valorick had not revealed his identity to her and plan not to do so until they have reached the castle. It was well pass noon when they finally arrived, exhausted and famished from their ride. Persephone said nothing and proceeded by herself up the steps to the palace gate. Valorick and Endymion followed her behind.

When she has almost reached the top of the stairs, she turned abruptly to Valorick and glared at him. "Why are you following me? You have led me to the palace, and for that, I thank you. Now you may leave. I'm sure you have chores to attend to."

Valorick chuckled slightly. "Milady, I am most certainly not following you! And might I suggest that you show a little sincerity when you express your gratitude. I know for myself that I do not have one drop of dishonesty towards you for your having saved my life."

"Well," she tried to compose herself. "I do not mean to be ungrateful. I merely feel that I have exhausted your company."

"Is that so? Well, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I happen to live here. So you see, I am not following you, I am merely trying to return to my own room." He walked pass her and approached the door.

She gaped. "You live here? Who are you? The king?"

He turned and looked at her. "No, but I am his son." Endymion chuckled slightly at the sight of Persephone's shocked face.

She ran after him incredulously, only in time to hear the royal guards address him.

"Prince Valorick, we welcome your return! The Queen has been waiting to see you." The guard gestured towards Persephone. "And this lady is..."

"Oh yes, she is here to see my father. Please show her in."

"Most certainly, Your Highness." After that, Valorick picked up his bag and casually walked across the palace yard. Endymion ran after him, and they both turned to look at Persephone staring at them, red and frustrated, stomping after the guard into the palace. The two boys laughed and roamed through the royal garden before going up to the living quarters.

Valorick ran into the library and found his mother standing on a ladder, reaching for a book. When Hitomi saw him, she quickly came down and embraced him.

"Val! I'm so happy to see you back!" She made him turn around in a circle. "Oh good, you don't look hurt at all! I was so worried, especially after what has happened in Aleph, I was worried that something bad was going to happen to you. It wasn't a vision of anything, just a mother's anxiety. Your father kept telling me to relax, but I just couldn't help it. I remember when I was little, and my grandmother..."

Valorick cut her off and hugged her. "Mom! Relax! I'm fine and I'm back home. However, there is something I must tell you. Here, you should sit down..." He then went on to tell her of his journey.

When Hitomi heard of his encounter with death, she wept and wanted to go tell Van immediately, before Valorick pulled her back and told her of Persephone. Hitomi sat back down and pondered solemnly. "She's from Serenus? We've never met anyone who could revive the dead when we were on Serenus. Though it is true that they had no knowledge of death. But the Fireans came, she said? And the pillar of light...this does not bode well, I don't have a good feeling. Quick, go tell your father to meet me in the throne room; I suspect she is waiting for us there. Your father is in the arboretum I believe." Hitomi swiftly cleaned her workspace then pushed Valorick out the door before walking briskly down the hall herself.

Valorick watched his mother's shadow retreat. Anxiety suddenly filled him. He became aware of the possibility that his miraculous resurrection may be prelude to something greater than death. He knew that his mother felt the same fear.

After informing his father of the situation, Valorick went to his own quarters and took a shower. Down in the music room, a plaintive song was playing. Valorick followed the melody and found Hermione at the piano, with Endymion beside her, turning the pages. King Allen had commissioned the building of the music room upon the reconstruction of the Fanelian castle some fifteen years ago. It bears an Asturian design, with a large stained glass window, luxurious couches, rich carpets from Etolia, and Hermione's much-cherished screen decked with diamonds. The grand piano rests on the opposite of the entrance, next to a relaxing sitting area, with bookcases. By the large doors that lead to the balcony, there is a great harp, the gold of its arch glistening in the setting sun.

Valorick walked in slowly and saw that Amadis had remained behind in Fanelia while his parents have returned home. Amadis rolled his eyes at Valorick and continued to read his book. After finishing the song, Hermione began to whine.

"It is past dinner time! When are they ever going to call us in for dinner?" She pouted and slammed the piano shut.

"Why aren't we at dinner?" Valorick asked.

"It is because your parents are still speaking to Persephone," Endymion explained. "My father is in there as well. I don't think we are supposed to dine without them."

Hermione grunted. "I don't care! They can just eat afterwards when they are done! I am going to find something to eat!" Immediately, she ran off to the kitchen. Endymion reluctantly followed her. Valorick remained in thought, and sat down by the piano. Amadis sneered at him.

"So," Amadis said, "Endy tells me that you've met a girl on the way. Is she attractive? Tell me the truth...you know how plain these Fanelian girls are, I can't afford to be this lonely for too long!"

Valorick glared at Amadis then walked out the door, hearing his shouts from behind. The further away he walked from the music room, the quieter it became. When he arrived at the throne room, it was silence from behind the doors. He slowly entered and felt the icy air breathe upon him. It was Persephone's presence.

The throne room was the single largest space in the palace. It consists of a long rectangular hall supported by thirty marble pillars. The throne sits upon a platform, at the opposite end from the entrance, and on either side are chairs for royalty and council. On the right side of the room is a row of large windows, specially requested by Van to let in more light. Opposite the windows there runs an interior stream that is channelled from the brook in the garden.

When Valorick entered the room, all he could hear was the trickling of the little river. He walked closer to the throne, and saw that his father was slouched upon it, his face buried in his hands. Orion sat on the ground next to the throne, gazing upon the young girl who knelt crying on the ground. Hitomi knelt beside her, comforting her, combing her hair. No one seemed to acknowledge Valorick's entrance. He noiselessly sat down on one of the council's chairs and awaited a word.

After a long while, Van heaved a loud sigh and cleared his throat. "Persephone," he sounded hoarse and old. "We understand your pain. Believe me, we do. We've all lost our parents as well. Your father was a great friend to us, and had he not given you that ring, you might never have found your way here. You have been courageous and greathearted, as our dear Cyprus Varon was before you. But you must realize that....I cannot teach you the art of war as you have requested!"

She convulsed and wept tremulously. "Oh but King Van, I beg of you! You must teach me the means of defending my homeland! On Serenus, we know nothing of such defence. To use violence against violence...that is inconceivable to us!"

"That is precisely why I cannot teach you to fight, Persephone! I simply cannot hand you a sword and tell you to kill, that would ruin everything that you are!" Van shook his head and walked towards the window.

Orion approached Persephone and patted her on the shoulder. "You must understand that we have struggled hard to rid ourselves of war. I tell ya, if you've seen the blood shed on battlefields, you'd know what I mean! Whew....gives you nightmares for years and years! It's all just too messy, so trust me, you don't want to deal with it!"

"But I have already seen the blood, the blood of my people dying! Our valley is gone, the valley that you've lived in, King Van. It is no longer green and beautiful. All the creatures have gone, and the draconians have left, I don't know why. They didn't defend us...and the Numen has been lost for a long time, even before the Fireans came..." she sobbed in Hitomi's arms.

Orion sighed. "Yes, well, the Numen is never there when you need him!"

Van let out a small yell. "For Gaea's sake! Why is this happening? Persephone, you do know that even if you learn how to fight, your homeland is probably going to be destroyed in any case! And then you are going to wander the world, consumed by revenge, but helpless against fate!"

Orion tried to appease Van. "Ok, let's not go down that memory lane. I know what you're feeling right now, Van," he whispered. "Perhaps we should just deal with this slowly. Let her stay, let her learn what fighting is like, then perhaps she'll change her mind of her own accord."

Van sighed then nodded. He walked to Persephone's side. "The Fireans are a fierce group, even I might not stand a chance against them. But I know how you feel, Persephone, I too once lost my home and my family. So, I am going to let you stay in Fanelia for a short while. Everyday, Orion practices with the soldiers, we all practice, for security's sake. You are free to watch; perhaps then you will understand why I do not wish for anymore battles."

Persephone smiled through her tears. "Thank you, thank you, King Van. I will learn, even if just by watching. I'm half-draconian too, so I know I can attain what I have journeyed so far to learn."

"Yes, well, we will wait and see how the situation develops. Trillius!" Van called in Nestor's nephew. "Please show this lady to the guest quarters, and give her every convenience she requires."

The young royal advisor swiftly came over and helped Persephone up from the ground, and escorted her from the hall. Valorick felt it incumbent upon him to follow and look after her, but his father asked him to stay.

Van slumped down on the throne. "I fear that the unsettling incident with the soothsayer at Aleph is but the catalyst in a series of...increasingly mysterious events."

"Yes..." Hitomi sat down beside him. "And it would seem that the past is returning."

"Vannius," Van murmured the name to himself then he turned to Valorick, who was still staring at the closed gate, as if Persephone still stood there. "Val, you do know that those stories we told you about Escaflowne are not fiction?"

Valorick turned around suddenly and hesitated for a bit. "To be quite frank, dad, I've always had my suspicions, but the recent occurrences have moved me to belief. It's every child's dream to have parents who have endured great and strange adventures...Hermione certainly believes you. But I did not want to appear like a conventional child, so I did not believe."

Van laughed. "That is a rather bizarre logic! But yes....all those things are truths. Escaflowne once existed, so did Atlantis, and the Mystic Moon, Aleph, the Fireans, Serenus, some still exist."

Orion suddenly whistled. "That Persephone! Icy cold for a shepherdess, won't you agree? Was her mother that bad? I don't recall ever meeting her."

"Seraphine was very beautiful," Hitomi said, remembering how Seraphine was once the lover of Vannius.

Valorick was dumbfounded. "Seraphine? Wasn't she the draconian whom you encountered on Serenus? She's Persephone's mother?"

"Yes. We find it hard to believe too," Hitomi said. "We thought that after Seraphine saw us on Gaea for the last time, she returned to Athlon as she said she would. She wanted to die there...but I guess somehow she ended up on Serenus, and married Cyprus Varon. Then she passed away, and Persephone grew up with her father."

Valorick continued. "Then the Fireans came and destroyed her homeland. She is an orphan now...and she journeyed all this way with the hope of finding help."

"But we cannot give her the help she needs!" Van clamoured. "I feel compassion for her just as you do, but I cannot teach her the art of war! Have you looked at her closely? Have you looked into her eyes? It would be like teaching Hermione how to use a sword, I just can't!"

Valorick was silent. He knew exactly what his father meant. He had looked into her gleaming eyes, and he saw there, something impeachable and singular, like the last member of a dying race that must be protected at all costs.

Van went on. "And the Fireans! I thought we had gotten rid of them! The people of Serenus do not stand a chance against them! Orion, you know it as well as I do!"

"Yes, I know!" Orion yelled back. "All I was trying to say is that perhaps we shouldn't be too quick to send her back with empty hands. She's obviously connected to us somehow, for who else but us has had a history with the Fireans? Besides, her father gave you hospitality, so it is only fair that you return that favor and take care of his daughter for a while."

"Let's not forget," Van said. "The return of the Fireans means the return of Branimir. Persephone said she has only heard of him, but no one has ever seen him. Where is he?"

The room died into silence. Hitomi trembled, but Van remained nonchalant. As soon as he heard the name Vannius uttered by the soothsayer in Aleph, he knew Branimir has returned.

Orion yawned and broke the deathly stillness. "Ah well...Val, you should entertain this Persephone during her stay here. After all, she did save your life. All the more reason that we should let her stay, right, Van?" Orion smirked.

Van sat up and looked at Valorick. "That's right! She revived you from death! I had nearly forgotten," Van gulped. "It's just...what happened?"

"She appeared out of the pillar of light just as I fell down the cliff. Then I was unconscious. The exact process of the resurrection was unclear to me, but Endy described it as a great globe of light that came out from her hands and embraced me. When the light receded, I was alive again. He was certain that I was dead before."

"Oh Val," Hitomi sighed. "If it hadn't been for her...I don't want to imagine what would have happened."

"The important thing is that you are now alive and well!" Van closed his eyes for a second. "But this power..."

Valorick interrupted. "Oh yes, she not only reanimated me, but seems to have made me even more healthy, because look," he pulled down his shirt. "The scar on my shoulder is gone, the scar that Griffon gave me."

Hitomi looked at Van, then he sighed. "Great Gaea, this reminds me that we were supposed to visit Griffon tomorrow. Perhaps we should postpone it until anxiety over Persephone's situation has abated?" Hitomi nodded. "Val, why don't you go tell Nestor to change the schedule for us?"

Valorick nodded then headed for the door. As soon as he left, Van whispered to Hitomi and Orion. "This mysterious power to revive the dead, what do you know about it?"

Hitomi pondered for a bit. "On Earth, it is a miracle recorded in religious texts. Some people claim to have returned from the land of the dead, though such accounts are suspicious. It is generally believed that only those endowed with divine or magical powers can oppose the scythe of death."

"What about on Gaea?" Van asked.

"Well," Orion scratched his head. "I have heard that certain tribes in Etolia are able to perform resurrection rites, but I think they mean that spiritually or metaphorically."

Van leaned back and crossed his arm. "Well, I'll tell you what I know. It has been documented that a select group of Atlanteans had such powers. They garnered the energy of the pendant's crystal and used it to animate dead beings. However, not every Atlantean had this power, I suspect only what we know as Aeons have this power. Or maybe only pure-blooded Atlanteans."

"Hmm...intriguing," Orion said. "You and I are half-draconians, and we certainly can't revive the dead!

"Cyprus wasn't draconian, was he?" Hitomi asked.

"No," Van confirmed. "This can only mean that Persephone cannot possibly be his child. If her mother is Seraphine, that would mean her real father would have to be an Atlantean as well in order for her to have such powers."

"I don't think she knows," Hitomi said. "Somehow, when she was explaining her ability, she seemed to think that others on Serenus had the same power too. She knows so little of death...She said others had the power too, she must have meant the draconians, probably Aleph himself."

"Oh yes, where is that wrinkly old man?" Orion asked.

Van sighed. "I pray that Aleph has nothing to do with this. Every time he appears, something odd happens. But you're right, I don't think Persephone has a clue. She is not lying. She simply does not know that Cyprus is not her father. We must observe her for a while, perhaps we will find an answer eventually."

"Oh!" Orion suddenly exclaimed. "Let's not forget! Who else is Seraphine's child?"

Van and Hitomi looked at each other in silence for while. "Amadis..." Van said. "He is Branimir's son." Van became sullen.

"But we don't know that for certain," Hitomi held his hand. "Come now, Van, we've watched Amadis grow up. No doubt he is a menace at times, but Allen and Millerna love him and whatever dark blood he might have had was certainly transformed by their love. If he is indeed Seraphine's son, then remember her kindness, perhaps he has that within him as well."

Van turned away. "There is no certainty in such matters. Orion, do you think that Amadis is really the reincarnated son of Branimir and Seraphine?"

"Well...with all these people reincarnating all over the place, there's definitely a possibility. Besides, him having landed in Fanelia can't be just coincidence. When has a pillar of light ever been coincidence? Perhaps there is a reason that he was brought to us, we just don't know that reason yet."

Van shrugged and began to walk towards the door. "So he is potentially Persephone's half sibling. I suppose I should write to Allen and inform him of the situation. Though of course," he turned to face Orion. "I won't tell him about Amadis's past. It is not time yet."

The meeting being over, Orion ran to the dining hall, leaving Van and Hitomi alone in the darkening throne chamber. Van put his arm around her, and they slowly walked towards the door.

"Van...Do you think everything will be as they used to be? I mean...like during the Destiny War?"

"My love, I really don't know, and I don't really want to think about it either. Somehow I knew that the whole conflict with Branimir was never over. I've been expecting to hear his name again. I just did not think that it would be from a girl who came all the way from Serenus."

"Why do you think the Fireans attacked Serenus?"

"That's what troubles me...Serenus is a peaceful world, the inhabitants hardly qualify as fighters, the Fireans would not have found them to be worthy opponents. This means...they must have had a special purpose. Or maybe there was someone on Serenus that Branimir wanted."

Hitomi winced. "Could that someone be Persephone?"

"What would he want with her? Well, she is Seraphine's daughter...or maybe she is his as well, just like Amadis..." Van sighed and pushed open the heavy door of the throne room.

"There is always a possibility. As we have learned, it seems that the whole universe is filled with inconceivable possibilities."

Van kissed Hitomi and ruffled her hair. "Let's forget about this matter for just a few hours. What do you say we go to the woods and explore nature a bit?" he winked at her.

Hitomi laughed. "You silly boy! You're never going to grow up! You're a father! What if Val runs into us?"

"Yes, I am a father, but that does not mean I cease to be a man, now does it? Besides, Val is growing up, he's not so childish as we would like to pretend."

Hitomi pushed him away playfully and ran down the stairs. Van chased after her, laughing and stumbling, until they came upon the Nipponese garden he built for her, a memory of Earth seated on the Fanelian soil. The trees swayed in the high wind, and beyond the susurrus was the quiet movement of gathering clouds. Yet meanwhile, on the soft verdure of the dell, the two beautiful beings intermingled in a joy that seemed to know no sublunary transience. But the moon affects everything, and even the greatest of tides must give way to its haunting influence

End of Part V