The front gates stood tall, ominous, and looming over the lone spy, echoing her fear and doubt into her heart. The security sentries above shone two beaming lights on Etana, nearly blinding her, and making her presence known to all of Ilom. There was definitely no turning back now; the girl had to stand her ground and, at the very least, appear brave.

"On your knees and put your hands behind your head, Etana!" someone commanded from one of the towers. They remembered my name? she thought as she obeyed the orders from above. What an honor for me…

The mammoth doors swung outward, and a very important-looking armor-clad man walked out with a platoon of soldiers behind him. They marched forward in unison, the bright lights still illuminating the girl on the ground. The steps of the men were the only source of sound in the world, it seemed; the air was still, no one spoke, and Etana was only barely breathing.

When they stopped just three feet from where Etana knelt, there was absolute silence. The girl felt each pulse as a strike of thunder, and wondered if the others could hear it, too. Then, the silence was broken.

"Etana," spoke the man in front, staring down at her with his arms behind his back.

"Uncle Rahim." She shivered from the cold, but held her voice steady.

"You're still alive."

"I guess so," Etana sassed back, still kneeling.

"Be wary of your tongue, whelp," Rahim threatened as he took a step toward the girl. "You're a failure, and you should be counting your lucky stars that you're still here.

"Am I a failure?" she responded with a devious smile.

Rahim's grimace disappeared immediately. "What do you have?"

"Take me inside and I'll show you."

"You're bluffing," he convinced himself, but still had a hint of curiosity and disbelief in his eyes.

Etana raised an eyebrow, holding her smile. "Am I?"

The man let out a low growl and checked his surroundings for anyone else who might be watching. With a quick step, he grabbed Etana by the wrist and pulled her to her feet and into the fortress, guards following close behind and the doors slamming shut immediately after.

As soon as they were inside, Etana wrenched her wrist free from her uncle's grasp and stumbled back into a guard, whose comrades formed a restrictive circle around her. Suddenly, she felt herself revert completely to a young, pre-adolescent Etana, freezing and choking up against her will…

Get UP, Etana! Try again!" Rahim barked as he paced back and forth. The little girl on her hands and knees on the floor shook and breathed heavily.

"I can't! I can't do it!" she began to cry.

"You must! If you can master this magic, you can be my greatest tool in this war…"

"Where's mommy?!" she begged, still reluctant to rise to her feet.

"I'll take you to her if you do as I say," he persuaded through gritted teeth. "Now, again! Etana, get up! Etana!"

"Etana!" her uncle called, causing the paralyzed girl to startle and flinch. "Do you have it or not?"

"I… I…" Etana stammered before reaching to her chest and revealing the stone dangling around her neck. Rahim's eyes grew wide in disbelief as he snatched the stone from Etana's grasp, ripping the twine against her, and held it tightly in his own.

"How did you…" he twirled the stone in his palm, and Etana saw the same thing that happened to her occur in her uncle. She saw his gaze gravitate toward it, she saw the possibilities of its power ignite a passion in his eyes, and she saw a fixation upon it that could only be broken by the opportunity to use it.

Without a word, Rahim turned on his heel and began walking toward a door deeper inside the fortress of Ilom, his guards following closely behind. Remembering her mission, Etana regained her original mental state and followed, too.

"Finally…" she heard him whisper to himself, and picked up the pace to discover what had him so excited. What could this rock possibly be used for? Why was this so important?

"Uncle, what-" Etana began before her uncle placed a calloused finger roughly on her lips.

"Hush, little girl, and look." She did, and over the railing of the high second-story on which she stood, what Etana saw robbed her completely of her breath.

"Behold, child. My army… of shadow."