Posted February 1, 2022. Happy Imbolc!


CHAPTER 19: THE SIMURGH'S BLESSING

On the Matter of the Realm of Persia

Persian fairies were known as peris, creatures who are in-between humanity and God (Ahura Mazda). They lived in a faraway land known as Peristan, which is in Mount Qaf. The most famous of all is Faerie Queen Rudabeh, the daughter of Sindukht, the queen of Peristan, and Mehrab Kaboli, a known descendant of the evil king Zahhāk.

Rudabeh's husband, Zāl, was born albino. Because of this, his parents abandoned him on Mount Alborz. However, the wise Simurgh, a fairy-bird, rescued him. She raised him as one of her own, until it was time for him to return to humanity. His and Rudabeh's son, Rustam, came to be one of the greatest legendary heroes of all time.

Through my travels, I have learned that the fay had to flee Persia. During medieval times, the fay were threatened by conquerors. They soon fled to the realm of India, where they stayed until the fay of India were conquered as well.

– from the Book of Fay


Tehran, Iran

"Woo-hoo!" a shout sounded from outside.

Roxy sighed as she gazed out the window. Layla, Tecna, and Stella were flying through the clouds, laughing and cheering as they soared through the sky, with the Pixies flying by their sides. The remaining four glared at them, their arms crossed.

"What're they doing?" she asked, joining Musa at the window.

"Supposedly scouting," Musa said crossly. "Having fun, more like."

"I wish I could use my magic," Bloom sighed. "It's been just so long. Even being able to levitate something!"

Roxy sighed, shaking her head. Since magic was so new to her, she didn't miss it so much – if anything, she kinda hated hearing the Winx complain about their lack of magic. "What about the prophecy?" she asked, changing the subject.

"What about it?" Bloom responded.

It had been a week since the Winx had left China, coming to explore the realm of Persia. Unfortunately, they hadn't found anything. Roxy frowned, pulling out the paper in which Tune had, in her painstakingly neat cursive, had written down the prophecy. She read aloud the concerning line. "Yin and yang must make a bridge of piety."

"So we're gonna do that by setting the fay free, right?" Bloom answered, not sounding concerned at all. "Everything will be fine once we do that."

But Roxy couldn't help but feel there was something more sinister than that. She swallowed, not looking forward to uncovering it.

Flora, though, was frowning. Musa noticed this, and asked, "Flo, what's up?"

"We haven't heard a thing from the Specialists in this entire time," she said. "Don't you think there's something wrong with that? They said they'd catch up with us. It's already February and nothing has happened."

"They must be on the run," Bloom answered. "It must be hard for them to escape without anyone knowing. They can't even contact us, because the squadrons will be waiting for us to connect with each other. There's a reason why we can barely use the Internet or anything – they can trace all of our searches."

"Correct," Digit said, entering the helicopter. "The Internet has location services on a Global Positioning System, which, although not very advanced and often inaccurate, can lead them to where we are. Therefore, we have to always be on the move. Even though we don't have our phones, they can still track us using radar."

"Did you find anything on your 'scouting' mission?" Roxy asked sarcastically.

"In fact, we did," Tecna said, not at all fazed by Roxy's abrasive tone. "Stella, Layla, come on!"

The two other fairies and six other pixies flew in, reverting back to their civilian forms. The trapdoor shut as soon as they entered, and Tecna gazed down.

"We're flying over Tehran," she said. "Once on the outskirts of the ancient city Rayy, it has now dominated the former city, a home to many people. It is one of the most prestigious cities in the modern world."

"How was Rayy abandoned?" Lockette asked.

"According to the Book of Fay, it was destroyed by the Mongols," Bloom explained. "Before the invasion of the Persian Empire, it was a prosperous city filled with learning and knowledge. It was abandoned after the Mongol conquest of Persia; many of its residents fled to Tehran. Before that, there was an ancient library in Rayy, one filled with incredible knowledge."

"It was destroyed by a Turkic conqueror," Tecna said. "The scrolls were deemed heretical, and he destroyed them as part of a political conquest."

"It's always terrible how empires try to destroy information to censor information," Flora said sadly. "All those treasures are forever gone!"

Roxy couldn't help but agree. Although she didn't know much about history, she hated the idea that a beautiful civilization such as ancient Persia could be forever destroyed. It was the same sadness she felt reading about all the animal species that were now extinct, never to roam the world. And all the fay that are gone, too… She let out a sigh.

Today was February 1. The first day of spring, according to the Celtic calendar, they were nearly halfway through their mission to find the six eyes of the Black Circle. With any luck, they would finish by the spring equinox. Musa looked up. "So, where are we going?"

"We need to find more information about the Wizards of the White Circle," Tecna said. "I think it's worth checking the Library of Rayy to find the information we need.

"Then how about this?" Bloom asked. "Stella, Musa, and I will search for the next jewel. Flora, Layla, Tecna, Roxy, and Pixies, you guys should go to the Library of Rayy and find the information."

"You're forgetting one thing, Bloom," Musa said. "If we have the Black Circle, how are they going to be able to access the Library of Rayy? They need the Black Circle to provide them with the Sight."

"I haven't forgotten that," Bloom said with a smile. "It turns out that they don't need the Sight. Roxy is an Earth fairy, after all."

"What does this have to do with me?" Roxy asked defensively.

"You have the power to give yourself and provide others with the Sight," Bloom said. "You can use your magic to allow them to See the Library as it once was. Here." She handed Roxy the Book. "Take it with you."

"So you're basically giving it to me to figure out how to use it, and not telling me anything?" Roxy snapped. This is worse than school.

"You have to find out for yourself, Roxy," Bloom said. "When all of us started at Alfea, there was so much we had to figure out on our own. Now it's your turn."

Roxy sighed, shaking her head. "All right." Tecna got the hot-air balloon ready for Musa, Bloom, and Stella.

"Go on, guys," she said. With one last glance at Roxy, Musa hopped into the balloon. They flew out of the helicopter, out of sight.


Musa gazed over at the beautiful desert that lay before them. It was a wonderful land, one that she admired greatly for its spirit of resilience and courage.

"Persia was a great empire," she said, remembering what she'd read from the Book of Fay the previous night. "The ancient Zoroastrian fire-temples were symbols of truth and wisdom, and were places where humanity and fay congregated as one."

"Then what happened?" Stella asked.

"The Wizards attacked," Bloom whispered. "And we have to find out how to return this civilization back to its former glory again."

"So, where do we go, exactly?" Stella asked.

Musa saw Bloom frown. "If only I hadn't given the Book of Fay to Roxy," she muttered. "We could use it now."

Musa sighed. She knew exactly how Bloom probably felt about ancient Persian civilization, how saddening it was that something so important had been lost. Domino, after all, had been lost for several years; she could understand why Musa didn't want anything like that to happen ever again.

"Look!" Stella broke Musa out of her thoughts. The Solarian princess pointed to the temple ahead of them, her eyes wide. Musa let out a gasp.


Roxy sighed as the helicopter landed in Rayy. The women climbed out, gazing around at the ruins before them.

The ruins expanded in front of them, a set of ancient buildings and arches. She couldn't make out what they'd once been, or what the importance of this place even was. She turned towards the other women and the Pixies, all of whom looked confused.

"So… how do we see this place as it once was?" Layla asked.

"We have to have Roxy do something," Flora said. "Roxy, you are an Earth fairy – you need to grant us the power of Sight."

"Yeah," Roxy muttered. "And if someone could tell me how to do that, that'd be awesome."

She opened the Book of Fay, sighing as she reached the page about the Sight. According to the Book, it was a power granted by the fay. But how do I… As far as the book was concerned, several complex enchantments were required to teach them how to utilize this power.

But there was another way. According to the book, a stone bored through the center through natural means could also work. And natural includes the power of the fay. She picked up a large stone at random, focusing her power on it.

"What're you doing?" Lockette asked.

She ignored her, focusing on the tiny area in the stone's epicenter. Come on… She had never cast a spell with such precision before, and wasn't sure if she could do it. The wind focused into that tiny point, pressurizing.

Eventually, something broke. She watched as a rough, misshapen hole appeared in the center of the stone. At least it's something… Holding it to her eyes, she let out a gasp.

She could see a thriving, beautiful city ahead of her. The ruins of a castle and a fire-temple had transformed into beautiful centers of life. She thought she could sense magic in the area, something that filled this city with excitement. It's true – the fay are here –

"Roxy, that was great!" Flora smiled. "You did it!"

"Nice going!" Layla cheered.

"Good work!" Tecna added. Artu woofed his assent.

"All right," Roxy said, pointing to the west. "The Library is that way."

The women and Pixies followed in Roxy's direction, gazing around. In front of her, she could see a beautiful building, one that shined with the wisdom and power of ancient Iran. She entered, motioning for the others to follow her, and frowned as they stared in confusion. "What?" she snapped.

"We can't see anything," Layla said. "I think you need to make more stones."

Roxy groaned. Making one was hard enough… She picked up a few stones, focusing on blowing apart their epicenter. To her extreme frustration, she ended up creating cracks along the radius of the stones, causing them to fall apart.

"You have to focus your magic on a specific spot," Tecna said. "Don't let it get away from you."

Roxy growled in frustration. "I know!" she snapped. At that, she completely blew apart a stone, watching as it fell to the ground.

"What's eating you up?" Layla asked bluntly.

Roxy growled. "Just let me be, okay?" She stormed into the library, pulling the door open and motioning for the others to follow.

She couldn't stop thinking about Krithi. Though she had seen the Wizards quite recently, it'd been over a month since Krithi had shown her face. She growled in frustration, wondering why she was so worried about her.

Why do I care? Krithi was just another girl, one who was her enemy. She didn't deserve anything from her. She sighed, lowering her head in anger and shame –

"Roxy!" Tecna tapped her on the shoulder. "Can I have the stone, please?"

Roxy sighed, relinquishing the stone to Tecna as she gazed around. Immediately, the fantastic library disappeared, and Tecna gazed around. "This is amazing," she breathed, staring around.

It had been a beautiful library, filled with red carpets and thousands of shelves. Scrolls were lined carefully in the library, each one overlapping the other. A few plants were set up in the corner of the room, and there were even tables and chairs set up, presumably for the scholars. Tecna stared, clearly very awed.

"It looks very similar to the Library of Alexandria," she said.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Flora asked.

"For clues," Layla said, taking the stone. "We need to find clues as to where to go next."

"I'm sure that'll be very easy, with only ten-thousand scrolls to look through," Roxy said sarcastically.

"It'd be quicker if you could make more stones, like we asked you to," Layla responded, equally irritably. "That way we could all search through the scrolls, not just one of us."

"You think it's easy?" Roxy exploded. "You think this fairy business comes naturally to me? You think I even like" –

"Hey, guys!" Flora called. "Tec and I found something!"

Grumbling, Roxy stomped towards Flora and Tecna, who seemed to be holding something in their hands. Flora handed Roxy the stone and she stared through it, making it out.

It was a scroll, written in ancient Persian. She stared as Tecna, with her translator, read it out loud.

"Zahhāk, son of Angra Mainyu and king of serpents, was the king of the Persian empire. A tyrant, his people lived in fear of him for many, many years. He was defeated by the boy Fereydun, who imprisoned him in his castle. There, he shall remain until the end of the time."

"So?" she said grumpily. "How does this help us?"

"Zahhāk has a castle," Tecna said, pointing to a part of the scroll with a map. "We can use this to go and investigate his castle!"

"And why would we do that?" Roxy wanted to know.

"If he's still imprisoned, we might get an idea of the kind of person he was," Flora answered. "He's also a human during the war on the fay, meaning he might have an idea of what happened to them."

"Wouldn't he be dead by now?" Digit pointed out.

Flora shook her head. "I mean, he may be. It may be one of his descendants that we speak to. But I don't think so. The same way the phoenix, Sphinx, and dragon were still alive, he may be, too."

"All right then," Layla declared.

Roxy sighed. "Fine, we can go," she said, though reluctantly. "Let's just get out of here."


Bloom gazed at the white temple, admiring the arcades and the columns that stood ahead in front of her. A pool of water stood in front of the temple, clean and pristine. Fruit trees surrounded the temple; on the front of the building, there was a carved winged deity of Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord. The temple was very simple, but beautiful as well.

The complete opposite of Domino. On her birth-planet, particularly in the palace, everything was ostentatious. To make it worse, she had to also learn Eraklyonese politics; as she was engaged to the heir to the Eraklyonese throne, she would have to divide her time between both kingdoms.

For the time being, she was thankful to be on Earth. This was what felt right, going on missions with her friends and defeating evil. This was what she wanted to do, who she wanted to be. Lifting the Black Circle to her eyes, she let out a gasp.

There was no temple. It had suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye, replaced by a beautiful oasis. She stared, dumbfounded, at the world before her.

"What is it?" Bloom stared at Musa in puzzlement.

"There was no temple," Musa breathed. "Back in the time of the fay, this temple didn't exist."

Bloom saw an inscription in English, reading it aloud. "'Built 1934, in the style of the Achaemenid Empire.' This temple is really new."

"But there's fire inside of here," Stella whispered. "This place is still somehow sacred. How?"

And then Bloom realized. This oasis – it must've been a site where the fay used to live! They must've gathered here in numbers. But that still doesn't explain the fire – why was it –

"Look!" Stella pointed to another plaque, written in Farsi and English. "Can you decipher that, Bloom?"

Bloom headed over to the plaque, reading. Her eyes widened, and she turned to her friends.

"This place houses the Atash Behram, the highest grade of eternal flames that the Zoroastrians used," she gasped. "It is the oldest of nine Atash Behrams that exist in the world, and the only one that exists outside of India. We need to protect it!"

"I don't understand," Musa frowned. "What's so special about this fire?"

"I guess we'll find out," Bloom answered. "Let's go in!"

The three women entered inside the temple. The interior seemed as simple as the exterior, though with an amber-tinted glass wall ahead of them. Frowning, Bloom gazed into the glass sanctum, taking it all in.

The inner sanctum was very simply decorated, with three doors connecting inside. A goblet sat in the center, with a flame burning. Bloom stared at the fire, her eyes wide.

She had never seen such a beautiful flame. Burning both red and blue, it stood before her, eternally blazing through all of time. She took it all in, gasping in amazement.

"Uh, Bloom?" Musa's voice cut through the air. "I hate to be the downer, but we kinda got a problem."

"What?" Bloom said, rather abruptly.

"Isn't it odd that we haven't come across any humans?" Musa pointed out. "There was nobody here when we entered in the temple. Doesn't that sound kinda odd?"

"Maybe they just stepped out for a bit," Stella said, not sounding too concerned. "This is where we're supposed to be, right? I mean, it'll be fine."

"How do we get into the inner-sanctum?" Bloom asked.

In response, Musa marched forward. Heading down the corridor, she pushed open a door, which was, mysteriously, unlocked. "There we go," she said, entering inside.

Bloom followed her, heading into the door. She let out a gasp, staring as she saw what was above them.

A golden bird was flying down from the ceiling, her eyes bright. With the head of a dog, the wings of a peacock, and claws of a lion, she encircled the flame, burning brightly. She hovered above the flame. Gazing at the three women, her wise eyes pierced straight through Bloom. The fire princess couldn't help it; she bowed straight back.

"Come," the bird said. "I have been waiting for you."


The four women, Pixies, and Artu walked over the landscape. Roxy stared up at the ruins ahead of them, taking them in slowly.

It consisted of a single tower made of stone. The stone tower looked cold and unwelcoming; even after Zahhāk's time, it still carried a formidable aura. It was built on a sharp ravine; the cliffs overlooking the castle were no joke.

"Wouldn't like to fall down there," Chatta said, her teeth chattering.

"Thanks Chatta, for once again, saying what everyone's thinking but no one wants to hear," Digit said sarcastically.

"No problem," Chatta responded, equally sarcastic.

"Guys," Tecna chided them. "Please, be nice." She passed the seeing stone to Roxy, who stared through it, her eyes wide.

Through the stone, the castle was much larger. It was definitely formidable now; snakes crawled around the castle, and the towers were sharp and jagged. She swallowed, entering in through the front.

"Careful, Artu," she said, holding his leash tightly. In response, Artu barked, looking nervous. Cherie sat on Roxy's shoulder, clinging tightly.

Roxy didn't want to enter. There was nothing about this castle that made her feel safe; nor did she feel empowered, no matter what the others said about her powers. She looked back at the others, seeing that they had their weapons drawn; Flora was holding her healing cauldron in her hands.

They reached the Great Hall. Roxy continued to peer through the stone, staring at the beauty of the hall around her. Everything was embroidered in red. Snake designs were all on the walls, taking up everything. What's with all these snakes? She glanced to the end of the hall, and then she froze.

The throne, adorned with gold, had someone seated atop. Specifically, a brown-haired someone. His leer was enough to make Roxy run out of the room and never come back. Artu barked at him furiously, the Pixies gasped in horror. Anagan smiled.

"Welcome to my humble abode," he said.


Musa stared at the golden bird, taking her appearance in slowly. "Um - who are you?"

"I am the Simurgh," the bird answered. "I am one of the fay that you seek. I raised the legendary hero Zāl from childbirth, and helped him save his wife, the Faerie Queen of Persia, during childbirth. For the fast fifteen-hundred and thirty-four years, I have protected the Eternal Flame, the Atash Behram, so it will burn until the end of time."

"You're the guardian of the Persian jewel," Bloom breathed. "Will you help us seek the fourth eye of the Black Circle?"

"That depends," the Simurgh answered, "on you and your skills." She frowned. "I am sensing some hesitation from you, fire princess."

Bloom? Musa stared at Bloom, who looked taken aback. Stella stepped forward.

"My girl Bloom isn't hesitant about anything," she said. "She's the one who wanted us to come in the first place. She'll help us through this!"

"Are you sure?" the Simurgh answered. "How, when you have so many insecurities about your own world, will you be able to help ours?"

Musa watched Bloom's eyes widen as she stared at the Simurgh. Stella looked at Bloom in concern. "What's going on?"

"I don't have a great relationship with my birth parents," she admitted. "They keep on insisting that I need to learn all the royal traditions, especially since I wasn't - well, I wasn't raised to be a queen. Then Sky's parents put a lot of pressure on me as well. I don't really know how to get better at being a queen."

Musa could sympathize with Bloom. After all, her father was supposed to be the king of Melody; instead, he'd abdicated his throne to marry Musa's mother. To her surprise, Stella shook her head.

"I get it, Bloom," she said. "As someone who was born a princess, let me tell you: it ain't no walk in the park. It gets easier after time, though sometimes ya do feel like buying an entire mall after it."

Bloom smiled. "I know, Stell," she said, "but I don't know what to do. I just don't feel like I fit in well with the royal persona."

"That's what Zāl said, too," the Simurgh murmured. "Born a prince, his parents abandoned him on Mount Alborz because he was an albino. For the longest time, he stayed with me on Mount Alborz. He didn't want to leave - he kept insisting that he wanted to stay with me. Eventually, I had to push him out of the nest."

"And what did he do?" Musa asked.

"He succeeded," the Simurgh answered. "Far more than he could've ever imagined. Not only did he regain his kingdom back from his father, he also improved relationships between humanity and the fay by marrying the Fairy Princess Rudabeh. Their love for each other changed the world."

The same way I love Sky, Bloom thought, remembering how he'd saved her from the Ancestral Witches and Mandragora, killing them with Oritel's sword. She stared at the Simurgh, whose expression still remained as grave as ever.

"Tell me, princess of Domino," she said, "why should I give you the fourth eye of the Black Circle, when you are so unsure of your position in your home world? If you are that unsure there, then surely you'll be unsure here. Why should I help you?"

A bang suddenly sounded behind them. Musa gasped as she fell to the ground, at first not understanding what had happened. She hit the floor fast, falling on her right leg. Staring at the leg, she let out a gasp.

Blood was welling from it. She stared at the bullet hole, intense pain welling up inside. The harsh, mocking sound of laughter sounded from outside.

Three boys were standing in the inner sanctum, guns drawn and masks worn. They held a can of fire-extinguisher in their hands. The tallest of the boys stepped forward, grabbing Musa by the arms.

In response, Musa slugged him in the stomach. He yelled, dropping her instantly. She tried to pull herself up to a standing-position, but she couldn't; her right leg was completely gone. One of the other boys stepped forward, a fire-extinguisher in his arms. He pointed it directly at the flame.

She stared as the fire struggled against the extinguisher. The Simurgh circled over it, desperately trying to fight the humans' efforts to put it out. The flame flickered once, it glow weakening.

And then it went out.

To Musa's horror, the Simurgh collapsed against the floor. The boys hooted with laughter, their malicious eyes gleaming. Immediately, they charged towards the other women, their eyes bright.


"You're Zahhāk?" Tecna gasped in horror.

"Correct," Anagan smiled, revealing sharp white teeth. "I am Zahhāk the Great, King of Serpents. I had Persia under my control for quite some time. That is, until the boy Fereydun locked me up." His lip curled.

"We thought you - Zahhāk - were still imprisoned!" Layla looked as if she'd swallowed bile.

"I was," Anagan answered, "until my liege saved me." He glared down at the women. "No matter. I will erase you now!" Lifting a ball of flame in his hands, he shot it directly at Artu.

Artu immediately dodged, growling in rage. Roxy glared at Anagan, nothing but fury and rage in her heart. "You dare attack Artu?" she snarled.

"Pick on someone your own size!" Chatta hollered. "Closed mouth!" She shot the spell at Anagan, who merely dodged. With his extreme speed in his legs, he ran up to Flora, knocking her down. He pinned her to the wall, and she stared around at everyone with fear.

Immediately, Layla and Tecna transformed. They held threatening spells at Anagan, but before they could move, Anagan had his hand to Flora's throat.

"Stop," he ordered. "Cease your arms, or this fairy dies." Flora gasped, choking out in fear.

How dare he? Fury built up in Roxy's eyes. She grabbed the stone in her pocket, and, without quite meaning to, chucked it straight at Anagan's head.

"Roxy!" Layla squealed in horror.

The stone hit Anagan directly in the cranium. He gasped, presumably shocked at Roxy's action, probably because of how stupid it was. But before he could move, Roxy ran at Anagan.

She lifted her hands, feeling the magic within. I'm not gonna let him take us down... She pointed her hands directly at Anagan, shooting a blue spell at him.

That moment was all Flora needed. Shoving Anagan's hand off her throat, she pushed him down, knocking him to the ground. He gasped, stumbling and looking up in shock.

Layla, Tecna, Roxy, and all the Pixies held threatening spells in their hands. Artu growled menacingly. Anagan's eyes widened in fear, before narrowing to hatred.

"I'll be back," he snarled. Disappearing into white shadows, he left them there, in the ruins of his own castle.


Immediately, Bloom drew her Sword, and Stella her Stone. Heart full of rage, Bloom ran at the one who'd shot Musa in the leg, knocking the gun out of his hands.

"Who do you think you are?" she demanded. "How could you destroy the flame?"

"Let's just say someone paid us well," the boy smirked back. "Besides, we'll be getting plenty of money from you lot, anyways. Once we turn you over to the police, we'll be as rich as kings!"

"You're the ones who made sure there was no one at this site!" Bloom shouted.

"Smart, are we?" the tall boy sneered. "We're gonna take you down, and then turn you over to the police!"

"Not if I can help it!" Stella transformed. The boys stared at her in shock, their eyes wide with alarm.

"She's - she's" - one of them stuttered. Stella wielded a ball of flame in her hands.

"Right you are!" she shouted, pointing the fire straight at them. In horror, the boys turned around, vanishing out the door.

The fire hit the glass sanctum, obliterating it into thousands of tiny pieces. In horror, Stella turned to Bloom, who was staring around with a stricken face. Musa still lay on the ground, having clearly fainted. Stella ran up to her friend, grabbing her by the arm.

"Musa!" she shouted. "Please, wake up!"

Still Musa remained silent. Turning towards the ground, Bloom stared at the Simurgh, who was lying still on the ground. She lifted her to her lap, staring at her.

It's because she spent so much time protecting the flame. Realization came to her mind. She protected it so long, she became part of the flame! And now it's gone!

"What are we going to do?" Stella asked frantically.

Bloom couldn't answer. She stared at the mess around them, at the eternal flame that had just gone out. Tears came to her eyes.

"I don't know," she sobbed. "I just don't know what to do!"

The only time she'd felt this powerless was back in freshman year, when she'd lost her powers. But that was must shorter-lasting. Her powers had been gone for months now. She sobbed, hating how there was nothing to be done.

"We need Flora to heal Musa, immediately," Stella whispered. "She's losing a lot of blood!" Musa lay on the ground, whiter than Bloom had ever seen her.

Bloom stared at the goblet in distress. It looked so bare and colorless without its fire; she wished there was something she could do. Cradling the Simurgh in her arms, she placed her onto the goblet.

She watched in confusion as one of the Simurgh's feathers shed. Holding it in her hands, she stared at the bright hue of it. It was the only thing that gleamed in the room; everything else was dull and dark.

Suddenly, she remembered the story of how Zāl had saved his wife Rudabeh from bleeding out in childhood. He'd had the Simurgh's help in performing a C-section, the first one that humanity learned. In order to summon her, though, he'd had three of her feathers in his possession. And he'd burned them.

Bloom turned towards Stella, her eyes blazing. "Get me two rocks," she said.

"Bloom," Stella said in confusion, "are you sure you're" -

"Just trust me!" Bloom insisted. Leaving Musa on the ground, Stella ran out to the field.

She returned back with two rocks. Holding them over the feather, Bloom struck the rocks together, watching as a small spark appeared. She placed it on the feather.

Immediately, it began to burn. Grabbing onto the end of the feather, she placed it on the goblet, right underneath the Simurgh. Flames flickered around her, forming a canopy.

She stared, amazed, as the Simurgh rose into the air, held up by the flames. And slowly, the color came back to her. She was revived. Her eyes blinking, the Simurgh awoke, golden sparkles shining atop her.

The sparkles reached out to Bloom, who stared in confusion. A blinding white flash came over her, and she blinked her eyes.

Immediately, a red cocoon came over her. She watched as red sparkles covered her naked body, and then receded to create a blue tunic and feathery leggings. A blue headdress covered her head, and a red jewel appeared at her breast and forehead. Brilliant blue wings, in the shape of a peacock's, appeared on her back. The cocoon faded, and she stared around.

She saw Musa waking up, the Simurgh tending to her; she'd been fully healed. The glass sanctum was now healed, Stella sobbing in relief. The goblet in the center burned brightly, the Atash Behram gleaming brighter than ever before.

"You did it!" Stella cheered. "Bloom, you got your Etherix!" She gave Bloom a giant hug.

"You did very well," the Simurgh said, smiling. "You resurrected the Eternal Flame, and you brought me back to life." She flew up to the flame, focusing her energy.

A green emerald rose out of the fire, gleaming brilliantly. Bloom watched as it flew into the fourth spot on the Black Circle; the entire Circle gleaming green. There it shined, just as brightly as the flame itself.

"Thank you," she breathed.

"You are very welcome," the Simurgh answered. "I pray that more heroes like you rise, Bloom of Domino. You rival the great Rustam and Sohrab. I see now that it matters not your sense of duty; your heart is in the right place."

"Awesome!" Stella cheered, rather inopportunely. "Halfway there! Four down, three more to go!"

Bloom smiled, feeling the energy she'd once felt before rushing through her veins. I'm so thankful I did my part to save Earth. She held the Black Circle to her chest, feeling its power amid all.


Roxy stood at the helicopter, feeling exhausted. That was some tough fighting there. Cherie gently placed her hand on Roxy's shoulder, and she smiled briefly, cradling Artu in her arms.

"There they are!" Layla's shout filled the air.

Roxy looked up. The hot-air balloon was flying towards them, with Musa, Bloom, and Stella in it. She grinned instantly, waving.

The others, though, were looking somber. Roxy noticed this, saying, "What's going on?" She watched as Bloom lifted Musa out of the balloon, and stared in horror.

Blood was running down her leg. Immediately, Flora ran forward with a bottled potion, pouring it into the Cauldron of Dagda. Mixing it with water, she poured it onto Musa's wound.

Immediately, the bullet was expunged from the leg. Adding more potion, Flora healed the wound, watching as it turned pink. Musa let out a sigh of relief.

"Three boys did this to me," she said, her voice shaking with anger. "They hurt me pretty badly." She shook her head.

"We met with the ancient villain Zahhāk," Layla said, deflating the balloon so it would fit in the helicopter. "He's none other than Anagan."

"Um - who is this Zahhāk exactly?" Stella asked in confusion.

"The one who locked up the Persian fay." This time it was Roxy's turn to speak. "He took them all down."

"Hold on." Tecna frowned. "Don't you see some kind of pattern here? First we have Duman, who's Apep - he wields the element of earth. Then there's Gantlos, an emperor of China - he wields the element of water. And now there's Anagan, the king Zahhāk - he has the power of fire. Therefore Ogron" -

"Has the element of air," Bloom finished for her.

"But we have those elements, too," Flora pointed out. "Stella and Bloom have the powers of a Salamander, Tecna has the power of a Gnome, and Layla has the powers of an Undine. And then there's three of us who haven't transformed yet."

"We'll find a way," Musa promised. Roxy gazed forward, her eyes flashing.

"You know what?" she said. "I think I'll enjoy it when those Wizards are locked up. I'm looking forward to rescuing the fay and bringing them out of Paradise. I won't rest until my people are freed!"

"Yes!" Chatta cheered, pumping her fist. "We've got this!"

Roxy stared out at the sunset, her eyes determined. I'm going to take the Wizards down. She headed into the helicopter, her heart racing.

And free my people from evil.


Next chapter:

Krithi goes through the Test of Water.

Riven talks to his doctor.