LILIANA

The battle was as good as theirs, now that all the innumerable dead were on their side. It was always pleasing, the way she could do that. Just when everyone thinks all is lost, in comes the hated death mage to save the day. Nobody ever likes a necromancer, until they have need of one. Of course, that was certainly starting to change, especially now that the Gatewatch and its allies saw her in action. 'Everything is hopeless!' people always lamented, with so many dead things left lying around a battlefield. It was truly pathetic how quickly and easily people were prepared to throw things away. Were there no other necromancers on Lorwyn?

There were so many fresh corpses lying around, and still so much use to them. As Liliana went along, floating on tendrils of black mana, she was shocked that no one else had come along to snatch them up in her stead. Why, hardly any of them were missing any limbs! Sure, most of them had unsightly gashes and a few here and there were missing an eye or had their guts spilling out, but the majority were in near-perfect condition as far as dead things were concerned. What made it all the better, in times of battle, was that there was absolutely no decay!

Of course, not everything she raised had died in battle that day. There were quite a few horribly decayed dead things buried within the vicinity, but she could still make use to them. In times of war, a body was a body, after all, and the more bodies one had to throw at the enemy the greater one's advantage. Much to her delight, there just so happened to be a cemetery nearby—or burial grounds, really, as there didn't appear to be any elaborate headstones to mark the graves. Elves and forest people were always so…uncultured that way. Not that it truly mattered, when it came down to it. She didn't need grave markers to find the dead. All she needed to do was send her magical tendrils out and the dead came to her like loyal dogs eager to greet their masters upon their return. Necromancy was so convenient that way.

Once she had raised enough of the dead, the battle truly turned in their favor. Not that the others weren't doing their fair share, of course, but there certainly was more strength in numbers, and numbers were definitely on their side after the Phyrexians had all but had their way with the locals. Most of the dead were simple creatures, at least until the reinforcements came, but even they could be useful in their own way. Much to her delight, there was even a giant amongst the dead—that was a real treat, and she put it to good use as soon as she had raised it, when she saw that silly she-wolf going up against a hideous eight-legged creature. What was Arlinn thinking, going up against that thing?

It was unfortunate, really, that she couldn't raise the Phyrexian dead among the rest—something about them prevented her from making use of them. That eight-legged man-spider would have been a superb addition to her growing collection. Alas, by now she had already figured out that the Phyrexian dead were of no use to her, and so she had her zombie giant crush the thing before it could do any further damage.

That felt nice.

Then she moved on, smiling when she heard Arlinn howl her praises. You're welcome, She-Wolf.

It was exciting, being back in the game. Truly. Inside, she was filled with glee. Eventually, as the battle wore on, she began to relax into it a bit more. Death magic was an art, after all, and she a master artist. While at first, she entered the battlefield with many of the living natives looking at her warily, by the end of the thing many of them were happy to have her on their side. Some even cheered as she drained the life of their enemies, while commanding her zombies to slaughter the rest.

When it came down to it, her total kills probably far outnumbered everyone else's, because the zombies were only acting on her authority. Not that she felt the need to boast—bragging was beneath her, truly. She knew her power and she relished it, but she also knew it was often best to let power speak for itself. There were times, of course, when some souls needed a reminder or two. But overall, she found it so distasteful and unnecessary to applaud one's own accomplishments.

While the others worked on finishing the last of them, Chandra and Jaya were going around, lighting up the dead Phyrexians so they could not be found useful to their own again, should any come scrounging once the battle was over. And the battle was nearly over, with most of the Phyrexians who had attempted the invasion already dead or near dying. And then, suddenly, a dramatic reversal came upon the would-be victors.

It began with the sounding of a battle horn. That's what it seemed, anyway, but Liliana couldn't see from where it had come. Then everything around them…stopped. The Phyrexians who were left standing fell to the earth, dead before anyone had even had the chance to finish them. For a moment, the survivors—Gatewatch and natives alike—stood looking around in confusion. That seemed too easy. And then there it was—an immense portal that opened near the edge of the forest, destroying all the trees that surrounded it. The Planar Bridge, in all its hideous glory.

Everyone gasped as another Phyrexian horde, this one larger and more fearsome than the first, began to emerge from the portal. In perfectly ordered rows they aligned themselves, as more and more emerged to stand behind them. Not a single one of their kind moved to attack. Once the masses of Phyrexian elites had come through the Planar Bridge, all at once the portal collapased in on itself with a flash. And out of the flash stepped forth the most hated man in recent history—certainly in Jace and Liliana's history.

Only now, Tezzeret the artificer could hardly be called a man, for he was more artifact than he was human. His right arm had been replaced by etherium in his youth, and this began his gradual transformation away from manhood. And now, little but a head sporting his familiar white dreadlocks was left of what had once been the man. The Planar Bridge, Tezzeret's pride and joy, was no longer an independent artifact but was as much a part of him as was his etherium arm. Set into his chest, it glowed an unnatural color and almost seemed to pulse like the beating of his heart. Except that he had no heart, as far as Liliana was concerned. If he'd ever had one, she surmised he had lost it long before his chest and lower torso were infused with the same etherium by which his false arm had been formed.

Tezzeret paced at the head of the Phyrexian horde, laughing wickedly. Then he stopped for a dramatic bow, as if he was on stage and the show everyone thought had ended had only just begun. For, surely, that was what had happened on Lorwyn that day. True to form, Tezzeret wanted everyone still standing to know that what they had faced was only the beginning.

"Ah, the Gatewatch has come to save the day," he mocked. "Did you like my little pre-show entertainment? I had it specially planned just for you.

Jace… Liliana called out to him in her mind, wondering where he was. She realized she hadn't seen him since the battle began.

I'm here, Lili, he replied much to her relief. Then he appeared, standing across the way.

She met his gaze across the battlefield. He knew we were coming…?

It seems so…

"Do I receive no applause?" Tezzeret spat. "Nothing for my efforts? Such an ungrateful brood!" Then he laughed slowly and started pacing again. "You know, I was so eager to see you all again. How long has it been since the last time we met? Ah yes, Ravnica. The War of the Spark. Of course, for you, Zarek, it hasn't been quite so long as that. Did you miss me?"

Liliana searched their allies for Ral Zarek. She hadn't seen him arrive, but then she spotted him standing on a ledge not far from where Jace was standing. The storm mage raised his head in defiance but said nothing in response. Liliana didn't know the details, but she knew it was Ral who had been charged by Niv-Mizzet to execute Tezzeret, the way Kaya had been charged with her own assassination, but that he had also failed—few were strong enough to stand against Tezzeret. Even the Gatewatch had failed to destroy him when they faced him together on Kaladesh. Surprisingly, unlike her own would-be assassin, Ral did not lie about his grueling defeat—so Jace had explained—and Tezzeret was all too eager to rub his failure in his face.

"Have you nothing to say to me, Zarek? All this time, and not even a perfunctory salutation? Is that the thanks I get for letting you live, when I could have so easily dispatched you the last time we met?"

Finally, Ral decided to speak. "If you think you're going to coerce me into starting another battle, Tezzeret, you're sorely mistaken."

Tezzeret smirked. "I'm not surprised you're afraid to face me again, after the last time. I give you credit for being smart."

"Get to the point, Tezzeret," said Ral, finally losing patience. "You're here now, at the head of a Phyrexian horde. Clearly, you did not come for a pleasant chat."

"Ah, Zarek, you do me a disservice. I'm enjoying our little chit-chat, as we have so much catching up to do."

What is he doing? Liliana asked, watching Tezzeret warily. Why isn't he attacking? Why is he engaging in this pointless chatter?

I'm not sure yet, Jace replied. He's never been a patient man, so whatever he is doing has been fully calculated.

Then she heard him send a message out to Ral, because he had left the channel between them open. Ral, go with it. Draw him out as long as you can. Keep him talking.

"All right, Tezzeret," said Ral, pretending to take the bait. "Let's chat. Although, I'm afraid not much has happened in my world since last I saw you, there have been a few things of interest. After I returned to Ravnica with your first etherium arm, I told the Living Guildpact the truth about your survival and, despite my failure, he let me keep my position at the head of the Izzet League. And, after facing you, I came to realize how short life can be. So, once I was fully healed, I asked my lover to marry me. He said yes. We were married in a quiet ceremony attended by members of our guilds, and we've been happily married ever since. Other than that, I would have to say my life has been pretty quiet. What about you?"

Tezzeret laughed. "Aww, isn't that sweet? Who doesn't love a romantic story that ends well? I'm afraid I do not have such a touching story with which to captivate you, Zarek, but I'd say my story is even better." He paused and turned back to face the rest of them, holding out his arms and proclaiming, "I am the unquestioned ruler of New Phyrexia. I answer only to the Ineffable himself."

"Yawgmoth is dead!" shouted Teferi, stepping forward from within the crowd. Karn and Chandra were standing near him, and all of them glared at Tezzeret with equal ferocity.

"Is he now?" Tezzeret asked with a snakelike grin. Then he narrowed his gaze at the time mage, and spat, "Yawgmoth is unstoppable! He IS Phyrexia, and Phyrexia cannot be defeated!"

Now it was Liliana's turn to do the mocking. She laughed aloud, making sure to draw his attention toward her, and said, "Always a tyrant's handmaid, Tezzeret. When will you learn to play by yourself?"

Tezzeret sneered, "Liliana Vess." He paused, hate in his gaze. Then he smiled. "Looking good for an ancient death mage. And here I thought breaking the terms of your contract would leave you finally looking your age. Yet, here you are looking as fresh as a newborn fawn. Tell us, what's your secret?"

She smirked and stood poised with her hands on her hips. "I have no secrets these days, Tezzeret. I have no need for them. And unlike you, I have no master!"

"Truly?" he asked. Then he smiled. "Because last I heard, you've been staying on Ravnica under permanent house arrest. It seems you've taken on a new master, only now you call him 'husband'."

Her lips parted and, for once, she didn't know what to say. Jace was not her master. And yet, had she not let him force her to stay in virtual house-arrest since returning to Ravnica? But it was for her own good, she reminded herself. He was only trying to protect her…wasn't he? Grappling with this, although she knew Tezzeret was only trying to weaken her, she turned her gaze to Jace, just as Tezzeret did the same.

"And Jace Beleren, mind-mage extraordinaire," Tezzeret continued. "Finally married the old witch, even after all the torment she put you through! When I heard the good news, I wondered if you had lost your memory again, to allow her to get her hooks back into you so easily. I mean, marriage? Really, Beleren? Even if she hadn't lied to and betrayed you, why would you want to tie yourself down to a woman who is old enough to be your great-grandmother twice removed?"

He laughed, but now Liliana was fuming. She heard Jace in her head, My love, don't let him get to you. He wants us to make the first move. Don't give him the satisfaction.

Despite Jace's warning, Liliana refused to submit to his mocking. "Is there a point to all this, Tezzeret? Are you truly so pathetic, so starved for attention, that you feel the need to pick at everybody else's scabs?"

Tezzeret turned on her again with a wicked grin. "Ah, Vess, you always did have a mouth on you. Too bad you never put it to good use when you served me."

"I never served you," she spat.

"That's right, you were too busy serving your demons—and I've heard that's where your mouth was put to good use."

"Go to hell," she said through gritted teeth, as the rage continued to build inside her.

Liliana, don't fall into his trap, Jace warned her again.

Don't worry, Jace. I've got this.

I don't think you do. He's getting to you.

No, he's not! Get out of my head!

Tezzeret snickered as he continued. "Tell me, Vess, how does your little telepath compare to all the demons you've been with? After them, I can't imagine you'd find any pleasure in being with a simple, little man."

Despite all the rage that filled her at being reminded of the repulsive things some of her demons had forced her to do in service to them, Liliana believed she had it under control and that she would not succumb to Tezzeret's taunting. Forcing a smirk, she said, "Jace is not little or simple. There is more worth in his little finger than there is in every part of you, and all the demons of all the hells in the Multiverse combined."

"That's quite a formidable, if idealistic, boast. You must really love him, after all, to see him in such a tragically distorted light. Too bad he couldn't even father a child with you. Not even your 'great love' was enough to save your precious unborn child."

Liliana's entire resolve failed her then. Her eyes grew wide, and her lips parted. Jace…? How does he know?

She looked across the battlefield and could see the tension in Jace's features. He didn't answer, but his eyes held a faint bluish glow. Then he sent out the message to everyone in their party, to Liliana and to all the other planeswalkers who were there with them that day: That's his plan—to get us at our most vulnerable places and drive a wedge between us, to weaken our defense. We must remain strong in our resolve and not let him get to us. If he can provoke us into making the first move out of emotional distress, he will gain the upper hand.

"Is that you I feel poking around inside my head, Beleren?" Tezzeret asked suddenly. Then he clicked his teeth. "Naughty, naughty—trespassing in the darkest corners of others' minds. Is that how you convinced Vess to give up all her freedom and power to you? You know, I could still use a man of your talents. You are already an impressive telepath, even as a mere man; imagine what you could be if you joined me as a Phyrexian."

"You're not a Phyrexian," said Jace, finally engaging him.

Tezzeret paused, momentarily perplexed. Then he said, "I am the leader of the Phyrexian praetors—everything they do is at my command!"

"Yes, but you are still not one of them," Jace observed, maintaining his cool. "If Phyrexian completion is so advantageous, as you suggest, why are you not compleated? You have your etherium core and the Planar Bridge to bolster you, but beneath all that you are still just a weak little man."

"I AM NOT WEAK!" Tezzeret roared. He clenched his fists and his eyes turned red, with the veins at his temples bulging.

Liliana smiled. Jace was turning his own tactic back on him—and it was working.

"Sure, you are," said Jace, touching his fingertips together as he began to pace thoughtfully. "You can't even commit to being a Phyrexian. I mean, what are you so afraid of? Losing yourself and becoming just another slave to your new master?"

While Jace continued to maintain a calm, seemingly neutral demeanor, Tezzeret glared at Jace with all his fury. Finally, having been pushed too far, Tezzeret said, "Slaves do not lead armies, Beleren. I will show you just how far my strength extends!"

Then all at once, the second onslaught began and Tezzeret disappeared in a flash. Damn him.

Don't follow him! It's sure to be a trap! Jace commanded them all telepathically, after likely picking up on the overwhelming desire most of his companions had to chase after the bastard. At any rate, there was too much happening right in front of them now for any one of them to go chasing after the one man who was most to blame.

Leave it to him to sic his dogs on us and 'walk away like the true coward he is! Liliana sent back to Jace, while turning her attentions to the horde that was moving on them at an alarming rate.

Infuriated at Tezzeret's escape and still enraged by all the things he'd said, Liliana directed all her indignation into a furious onslaught that swept over the first several lines of the horde in a massive killing wave. The front-most lines were decimated by her fury, but as the wave continued through the endless rows it was less effective and the majority of the Phyrexians were left unscathed.

Now was the moment the real battle began. There was no time to enjoy it—there was only time to act and hope for the best. While all the others fell into their own particular methods, Liliana did what she had always done best, and all the dead were moved at her command. Jace disappeared, as usual. Then suddenly she heard him shouting, "Liliana, watch out! On your right!"

Having come straight to her after disappearing, now he was just to her left, maneuvering around her and casting a sheen of confusion at a wave of Phyrexians that were heading straight for her to her right. The group of them fell into madness, unable to proceed with their attack. She hadn't seen them coming.

"Thanks, Jace," she called to him, calling a force of elite zombie warriors to surround her as bodyguards.

Meanwhile, Jace vanished again and sent out several illusory doubles to keep the enemies busy, but she heard his voice in her head. I'm right near you, Liliana. I won't leave your side.

"You don't need to protect me, Cloak Boy!" she shouted, too busy to bother with telepathy. "I've got this!"

He didn't respond, but she could feel his presence and, secretly, she was grateful that he was so keen on looking out for her. She only hoped he wasn't doing so to the detriment of everyone else. But then, he was always good at being in many places at once, at least mentally. She smirked. A master juggler, that one, always keeping the plates in the air and managing not to break them…most of the time.

I heard that.

She sniffed in amusement but maintained her focus on the task at hand.

It was tiresome and Liliana was certain she was not the only one feeling it. They had been fighting for hours, seemingly locked in perpetual dusk as the second wave of battle carried on. There was, thankfully, a large amount of mana free for the taking on this plane; nevertheless, the exertion was draining on both the land and those using it. At one point, Liliana felt a negative shift in the plane's resources—it was subtle but noticeable, even to her. She could only imagine what Nissa had felt at that moment.

Suddenly, she remembered seeing the elf back amongst them and she searched the chaos, spotting her engaged in combat with a particularly heinous creature. If she was affected by the shift in the plane's leylines, Nissa didn't show any signs of it. The elf moved deftly, swiftly dodging the creature's attacks and returning them in force, her sword-staff leaving a light trail of green in its wake as she lunged and parried and made a successful counterattack that left the creature bleeding from the left side of its torso.

Not far from where Nissa was under attack, Chandra was fighting her own battle, staying ever near her lover while sending fiery blasts against the Phyrexians surrounding them. Liliana smiled. She was pleased to see Nissa and Chandra working together to protect each other, and the elf back to her useful self, no longer suffering the effects of her apparent head wound.

Behind you! Damn it, Lili, pay attention! She suddenly heard Jace's voice in her head. Just as he said this, she whirled around to see a massive griffin swoop right by her in time to thwart what might have become a fatal attack. She felt the wind of its wings as it went by, scooping up the Phyrexian monster that had been about to impale her with an arm like a lance after taking out several of her undead bodyguards. Trapped in the griffin's mighty beak, the creature squirmed desperately, trying to free itself, until the griffin crunched down and swallowed it whole.

Breathless and heart pounding in her ears from the near miss, she raised her fallen bodyguards again as she projected back a quick thank you and returned her focus to her own vicinity. There was plenty going on around her, after all, and she couldn't afford to get distracted.

The battle waged on for hours, just like the first one, but eventually the Gatewatch and their allies were able to persevere without substantial losses on their side. When the last Phyrexian was brought down, being run through by the glistening sword of an elf warrior sitting astride a horse, a collective sigh of relief washed over the survivors. Many fell to their knees from exhaustion, while others cheered. It was over—for now. But the Gatewatch knew the invasion was far from over. This was still only the beginning.

Almost immediately, those who were strong enough began combing the battlefield for survivors amongst the fallen. Releasing her bodyguards from their service, Liliana decided to put her particular expertise to good use by advising them which ones were truly dead and which ones were only injured. One of the elves, a tall, slender fellow wearing a richly embroidered tunic—rare among these savages, really—approached her with a suspicious gaze, to ask, "How do you know, when they are not moving, just by looking at them?"

She smiled. "Necromancy, dear. I know the dead better than I know the living."

The grandly dressed elf recoiled from her, as usual. "You're a practitioner of dark magic?"

With a sigh, she indicated some of the zombies she had assigned to help collect some of the injured from the battlefield, and said, "Where do you think all these came from?"

The elf looked closer at these helpers, seeming for the first time to realize they were not among the living. Meanwhile, Liliana continued, "Zombies don't just manifest themselves, you know. Somebody has to make them. And they do like to be helpful in any way they can."

He looked to be about to object, until one of his own kind approached. "It's all right, General. She's on our side. This is no time for prejudice and outdated superstitions."

"Oh, I like you," said Liliana. Then she turned to the elf general, and said, "See, she has sense. Perhaps you should be serving her, instead."

Then she walked on, heading for where Jace and the other members of the Gatewatch had begun to assemble, but on her way to the gathering, she noticed a small girl—an elf child—lying flat against a large bolder. She was unmoving and, by all appearances seemed to be dead. She must have been there when the invasion first began, amongst the crowd of curious onlookers who had come to witness the conclave. Whatever the case, while others might have passed her by, Liliana knew the moment she saw her that the girl was definitely not dead. She looked to her friends, torn between joining them to discuss their next move and stopping to help the injured child.

That pesky maternal tug won out, however, and so she stopped to kneel on the muddied ground beside the child. She looked her over to determine where and what were her injuries, and if she even had a chance for survival. At this point, it seemed unlikely; she had lain there for hours. And yet, as Liliana gazed upon the child's sweet face—dirty and a bit cut up, but not too worse for wear—she knew she had to try to save the child. Better to have tried and failed than to not try at all.

Liliana touched the child's face, gently stroking it. What little life was left in her seemed worth saving, for whatever reason. The child's parents were likely dead, after all. They had probably served in the zombie army, although the civilian zombies seldom lasted as long in battle as the warriors and soldiers did. Perhaps they were now lying amongst the truly dead. Would it then be a cruelty that the child lived if her parents were slain? But if she had survived this long, despite everything that had happened around her…Gideon would have said it was fate…that they had a duty to save her.

"Help me, Beef Slab," she whispered to the ethers. "I don't know what I'm doing."

She didn't know how to draw white mana from the land. It wasn't natural to her, and so she did the only thing she knew how to do—find another life-form to latch onto and use it to fuel the healing of another, just as she had done for Nissa. Only, the child was so far gone that she realized she needed something more than a tree or a cat. It needed to be something that was relatively her equivalent.

Then she heard it—the subtle moan of an injured soldier. He was lying on the ground nearby and seemed to be waking from unconsciousness. She got up and stood over him. Looking down at him, she asked herself if his life was worth any more of less than the child's? He was a soldier, after all. He could fight, and probably well. Would it be a disservice to their cause, then, to take his life to save the life of an orphan who may never amount to anything at all?

The soldier opened his eyes, blinking a few times before his gaze settled upon her. Then he pulled himself to sit, his expression twisted in hate. "You—I saw you…during the battle." His voice was raspy and barely above a whisper, as he spat, "Get away from me with your cursed magic! You'll not turn me into one of your minions!"

Now, she smiled darkly, and hummed, "You'll do." And without another thought, she reached out with the hand of death, draining his lifeforce. Once she had culled enough from him, she reached out her other hand toward the child, half expecting it not to work. To her surprise and relief, she saw the golden glow extend from her outstretched hand to settle over the child, and the girl's once ashen flesh began to take on the color of life.

Having taken every drop of life from the soldier, Liliana moved to kneel over the child, using both hands now to send the healing magic into her tiny form. Soon afterward, the girl began to stir and that was when Liliana heard the gasps and became aware of others standing behind her. She stopped and turned around, and then climbed quickly to her feet, as there was a whole group of elves standing behind her. She thought they must have seen what she had done to the soldier and were there to kill her, and she was prepared to defend herself at all costs, raising zombies anew, when suddenly the elf general pressed through the crowd and gasped.

"Aya!"

"Papa!" came a small voice behind her, and Liliana stepped back as the elf general ran to embrace the child, kissing her cheek and sobbing as he looked her over in disbelief.

The elf turned to her then, unabashed by the tears running down his cheeks, and said, "Thank you! I don't know how I can ever repay you. You are a savior!"

Liliana suddenly didn't know what to do with the praise. Her lips parted and she thought about fleeing, but then she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and found it was Jace coming over to see what all the fuss was about.

Without thinking, she turned and fell into his embrace, burying her face in his cloak to hide her confusion and embarrassment. She was used to being feared and hated. That she could live with. She was even used to being accepted and applauded begrudgingly. But real, genuine praise and gratitude from a stranger was something she knew nothing about. She could barely handle it coming from friends.

Jace wrapped his cloaked arms around her and rested his face against her head, soothing her with his touch, while demanding of the elf, "What has happened here?"

It was clear he was afraid that Liliana had gotten into some sort of trouble, as was so often the case, as there was a touch of defensiveness in his tone.

"Your death mage saved my daughter's life," the elf said. "Aya's all I have left. Her mother died when she was born, and I have never taken another to wife. I thought I'd lost her early in the battle. All this time I've been hating myself for letting her join me here, blaming myself for not being firmer with her. But this woman has brought her back to life. And she's alive—truly!"

He kissed her again and looked at her, as if to be sure she was really alive. Then he rose to his feet, lifting his daughter and continuing to hold her close as she clung to him with her arms around his neck. "Thank you. Truly. I don't know how you did it, and I'd hardly believe it, had I not seen it with my own eyes."

Liliana looked at the elf, and then at the girl in his arms, who watched her with a mixture of fear and curiosity. She offered the girl a faint smile, and the girl smiled back only to turn her face to hide within her father's tunic. But then she peered at Liliana discreetly, as Liliana looked back up at her father, her smile changed into a proud smirk. "Not so bad to have a death mage around, after all, is it?"

She could feel Jace's inner sigh, his disappointment evident, but then the elf general said, "You are not merely a death mage; you are also a healer and a mage of life. That is a gift that must come from the gods themselves. We are blessed to have met you."

Liliana stifled a laugh and hid her amusement with a ladylike curtsey. Then as the elves began returning to their own kind, she turned to Jace, and said, "Well, I've never heard that before in all my two hundred and sixty-four years."

"Then it's long overdue," he replied with a grin.

Tilting her head, she said, "Don't flatter me. You know I detest flattery."

"Not when it's true, though."

"On the contrary; that's when it's worst of all!"

He chuckled and put his arm around her as they began walking together toward their group. A few of the others had already walked over to meet them, and it was Kaya who first spoke to them, saying, "Liliana, Mage of Life."

Then she started laughing and Liliana rolled her eyes, while they all started walking together to meet up with the rest of their party. "Oh, stop it. That is the worst title in the history of titles."

"I don't know," said Teferi with a mischievous grin. "I think it's got a nice ring to it."

"It's definitely unique," added Chandra.

Liliana squinted her eyes at all of them, and said, "Keep it up and I'll dub each of you with a new nickname that I promise you won't like."

"Oh no, I'm trembling in my boots!" Teferi joked.

"All right, guys," said Jace, "knock it off. I think we all get the idea."

"You have to admit, it was pretty funny," said Chandra.

"He was trying to show his gratitude," Jace replied. "We don't need to mock him."

"But we're not mocking him," said Kaya. "Only the title."

By then, they had reached the rest of their group, and they put all joking aside. There were several things they needed to discuss, not least of which was the relief that everyone of their party had survived and had only a few minor injuries that did not need immediate attention. It was quickly established that the war was not over yet, and that it had only just begun, but after the reunion with Tezzeret it became apparent that something was amiss back on Ravnica.

It was Jace who said it best, when he observed, "All this time, we thought we were spying on them, they've been spying on us. It's the only way they could have known exactly when and where to spring the attack, and that we were coming. Not to mention the other things Tezzeret couldn't have known anything about."

"The fool has revealed his hand," remarked Teferi.

"Exactly," Jace agreed. "So, before we go any farther, we need to find out how Tezzeret has been getting his information—more precisely, who has been feeding it to him from right under our noses."

"I suspect your grumpy old watch dog," Liliana put in with a smirk.

"Lavinia is not my watch dog," said Jace.

"And yet, you knew exactly who I was referring to," she answered with a shrug. She smirked when she noticed some of the others trying to hide their own amusement.

Jace rolled his eyes to the side, and said, "Right, well, at any rate I trust Lavinia beyond a shadow of doubt. Therefore, it must be somebody else who has gained access to my house—and likely a bit more recently." He sighed. "This is why I don't normally hire a staff."

"I told you, we should just use zombies instead."

"We are not using zombies, Liliana," he said, clearly exhausted.

"I'm just saying, it would have saved us a lot of trouble."

"We're not using zombies," he repeated, as if to put an end to it. Then, with another sigh, he said, "It could be one of the three staff members we hired on in the past year, or it could be one of our aides in the Gatewatch."

"So, how are we going to root them out?" asked Ajani.

"We can always take them aside and apply 'pressure'," Liliana suggested.

"We cannot torture them!" growled Ajani. "Many of them have been working alongside us for years. They did not gain our trust easily and torturing them would be a betrayal—not to mention unjust."

Liliana tipped her head and raised her eyes but said nothing.

Then Jace said, "Ajani is right. We will have to use discretion on this matter. Besides, if the agent knows we are onto them, they may have time to slip away. We need them to be as unsuspecting as we were before Tezzeret unwittingly revealed their presence. We must return to Ravnica as though we are none-the-wiser and root them out through cunning, not brutality."

Suddenly, Nissa stepped in and cut the air with her hand. "No! We cannot leave Lorwyn. Not now—not when it may yet come under attack. We made a promise to the people here and we cannot back out now. I am not leaving until this plane is safe—I will not make the same mistake twice. If you want to go, then go. But I am staying here. This spy can wait. These people need us here, now."

This began a time of infighting, with everybody splitting into factions over what they should do. Finally, it was Ral who stepped into the mess, to say, "Some of us need to return to Ravnica, if only for a short time, to check in with our guilds and make sure they are running smoothly."

"I agree," said the snaky-haired Golgari whose name Liliana refused to use. She was still thinking of the perfect nickname. "We left too quickly. We were not prepared to be gone from Ravnica for a long period of time."

"Then let it be settled," said Kaya. "Those of us with guilds to manage will leave long enough to get our affairs in order. And Jace and Liliana should do the same—after all, it is their house that may very well be infiltrated by Tezzeret's agents. They have good reason to go check it out, and maybe the rest of us can help them figure it out once we've got through our guild affairs."

"I can go, too," said Chandra. "We need to have as many of us who are normally there, as possible, or else it will look suspicious. Kaya, you're there often enough, but if we have Ral and Vraska sticking around it might give Tezzeret's agent a clue that we're onto them."

"I agree," said Jace. "So then that settles it—a few of us will return to Ravnica, only long enough to take care of business and uncover Tezzeret's agents, while the rest of you will remain to keep an eye on things here."

"The twins should also join us," said Liliana. "I don't think they should stay on a hostile plane without us."

"This isn't a hostile plane!" Nissa protested.

Liliana indicated the carnage left over from the battle they had only just won. "This isn't hostile? What is it, then—a tea party?"

Nissa glared at Liliana and seemed ready to either attack her or say something hostile, when Chandra stepped between them, and said, "She doesn't mean it that way, Nissa. But she's right—I mean, another attack could happen at any moment. It may be a naturally peaceful plane, but right now with the Phyrexians trying to invade, it's a pretty hostile environment."

Nissa rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. Then she and Chandra stepped aside and started having their own private discussion, bickering about Nissa wanting to stay behind and Chandra wanting her to come with them. Liliana chose not to listen too closely, however, and maintained her focus on the main discussion.

Finally establishing who was staying and who was going, Liliana clapped her hands together, and said, "All right, so Jace, Ajani, Chandra, and I will go with Kaya, Ral, and the other one." That 'other' one being the gorgon, who looked at her with scorn, while Liliana continued, "And the twins will come with us…"

"Actually," said Will, stepping up to speak, "Ro and I have discussed it ourselves and…we would like to stay."

At first, Liliana was shocked. Did they just disagree with her? Then she simply said, "No," as if that was the end of it. And as they began to protest, she said, "Absolutely not. I will not let you stay."

"You can't make us go," said Rowan, folding her arms and standing defiantly. "Our minds are made up. We're staying with Nissa and the rest of our group."

Stepping closer to them and lowering her voice, she said, "You would be fools to put yourselves in danger without us here to protect you. I said no. You cannot stay—I forbid it."

Now, the three of them began to bicker, with Jace trying to assert himself. He was no help, though, because he seemed undecided on the matter and understood the reasoning on both sides of the argument such that he had little to offer. Finally, it was Teferi who put an end to it.

"Liliana, were you not the one to bring these two talented youths to us, speaking of how powerful and capable they were, and saying they would be an asset to the Gatewatch?"

"Yes, but I didn't mean they should be left alone on a foreign plane to die."

"But it's not a foreign plane," said Rowan. "Nissa knows this place better than we know Arcavios, yet you had no objection to leaving us there."

"Arcavios was fairly peaceful, especially at the university, where you were safely surrounded by some of the finest mages in the entire Multiverse."

"There are finer mages here on Lorwyn, fighting alongside us," Rowan insisted. "We will not be alone here anymore than we were alone there, and if you truly have faith in us, it's time you show it by letting us make our own decisions and trusting that we'll be okay."

Liliana continued to hesitate, but then she finally capitulated. Then everyone walked to the nearby encampment to get food and rest until they were recovered enough to 'walk to Ravnica. Before leaving the plane, Liliana made one last attempt to convince the twins to come back to Ravnica with her and Jace, but they remained firm in their resolve, and she finally let it go. Then, as she and the others went into the forest to 'walk unseen, Liliana was approached by Jaya, who walked alongside her.

"Don't worry about the twins," the old pyromancer assured her. "They're damn good at what they do. You were right to have so much faith in them. But I see how you care for them, as if they were your own children. And I promise we will keep an eye on them."

Liliana inhaled deeply and took the old woman's hand. "Thank you, Jaya."

Jaya smiled warmly, and said, "Take care on Ravnica, and try not to worry about what's happening here. We'll be fine. You just do what you need to do, and we'll soon be united once again to stand against the might of Phyrexia. I'd say we fared pretty well going in, and I have the utmost confidence we will see this through to the bitter end."

Suddenly, Liliana felt compelled to embrace Jaya and for once she didn't hold back. The old pyromancer was, at first, taken aback. But then she settled into the embrace and squeezed the necromancer tightly. Her embrace was warm and strong, and somehow it gave Liliana the strength to carry on, despite all her anxieties. And that comforting embrace was the last thing Liliana felt before stepping aside to follow Jace and the others back to Ravnica.