four years before
It was risky to stay in one place in the Omega Dimension, but perhaps riskier to move around. Nevertheless, if she was going to start testing out her idea Tecna needed elemita crystals.
She would attempt to stay close to her shelter. She was working on some better protection wards, but it was a slow process, and she didn't need anyone discovering it by mistake. She was confident she would be able to find some nearby anyway, considering they were known to be in abundance on Omega.
They tended to grow in the dark, so she flew along the undersides of outcroppings, landing whenever she could so she wasn't in the air and vulnerable. She wasn't sure exactly what she was expecting—man or beast—but neither was good. She was more certain about her odds against a mortal criminal, though. Of course, anyone sentenced to Omega must have done something awful, and that meant they were dangerous. But some of them had been imprisoned for decades without resources.
She headed lower after not finding any dark enough niches close to the hidden mouth of her shelter.
I wish my friends were here.
It was a surprisingly shocking feeling, being alone. Things got difficult pretty often, but she had never been entirely by herself through such a bad situation, with no one else to rely on and stand beside.
She didn't really wish her friends were here, of course, but it felt like they could do anything when they were together. They looked out for one another. Here she was the only one looking out for herself. And she was scared.
She could not let that affect her actions. That was how mistakes were made, and she couldn't afford them.
The mouth of her shelter was now only in the corner of her eye as she peered into another dark crevice. Finally, there were elemita crystals—but so small they were barely more than shards. She would have to find at least six (hopefully more in case any accidents happened) medium-sized ones, approximately the size of her palm.
Tecna searched for a little while longer before she found what she was looking for. Growing upside down underneath an outcropping of rock, hemmed in on all sides by snow, a cluster of the grey-blue crystals were gleaming, and she started snapping them off. If every other part of her plan proceeded this smoothly (though she did not anticipate that, for practicality's sake), she would have solved this problem within weeks at the most. And then she would be home and with everyone again—
"I just heard something!"
The voice came out of nowhere—and she had not heard a voice from anything other than her handheld for all this time—and she startled and almost flew into the rocks in front of her. As she heard the sound of crunching footsteps in the hard, frozen snow which covered the ground underneath the cavern, she fumbled for a second in a blind panic before inspiration came to her and she shrunk herself for the first time. She had nearly forgotten she could do that as an Enchantix fairy, and the feeling was strange for a moment, like her whole skin was prickling. Now she could easily obscure herself in the crystal-lined crevice of rock, flying behind one of the lower hanging formations and looking cautiously out from underneath it.
Below her, four figures stalked as one across the hardened snow, although the group did not appear to be without discord. They were all outfitted so warmly that their dark coats, masks, and hats completely obscured their appearances for the most part.
"It came from up there!" One of the convicts, wearing some sort of reddish fur around his head, gestured vaguely in her direction. Tecna was reasonably sure they couldn't see her, at least the small version, from their distance, but she still held her breath, watching the group. They each carried a makeshift type of weapon: massive, splintered spears, what looked to be a rough hewn axe.
"There aren't any tracks," said one of the others, the tallest one. He was speaking loudly. "The area's barren now, Eradd. There hasn't been anything for weeks."
A third member of the party, standing at the head of the expedition, turned. "You may go back alone if you wish. You can explain it to the boss."
The tall one grumbled. "The others sighted some of those big birds over past the crater yesterday. I say we look there. I want to eat."
As they continued on, their words grew fainter from her hearing, and eventually they were gone.
Tecna waited for approximately three minutes before returning to normal. She finished placing the crystals into the bag she had conjured for the occasion and flew back to her shelter as quickly as she could. Once there she only felt slightly more at ease.
She pulled up her display, looking at her projected model, before swiping it away listlessly. That was not the most pressing issue of the moment.
The almost-encounter with the group of convicts told her two things. The first was encouraging: most of the prisoners trapped down here must have either lost their powers or had none in the first place. Otherwise they would not have to hunt for food—making it by magic wasn't so difficult, and she was sure anyone could figure it out eventually given enough motivation and hunger.
But she had assumed that being violent criminals, any attempt to create a meaningful group would end in failure. She had been incorrect in that assumption. Here it seemed that even the worst of the Magic Dimension had come to realize that survival depended on not being alone.
And that was exactly what she was.
VALTOR OF GRIM DEATH CONFIRMED BY MAGIX AUTHORITIES: AS IT HAPPENS
by Laric of Magix
7:00AM The office of the Governor of Magix released an official statement only one hour ago formally confirming that the wizard Valtor of Grim, former member of the Ancestral coven whose escape from the Omega Dimension and subsequent acts or terror prompted widespread outrage, was found to be dead early this morning at the Cloudtower School for Witches, which he had taken hostage some months before. Updates to follow as they occur.
8:30AM It has been confirmed that the three other escaped Omega Dimension convicts and revivers of the Ancestral coven were taken alive into custody.
10:18AM An inside source present for the statements made by the heads of the three schools in Magix alleges that Headmistress Griffin of Cloudtower was the one to inform the other headmasters of Valtor's death, at which point forces from the Redfountain school and the Omega Dimension moved to restrain the remaining Trix coven from escaping. Widespread speculation is that the Trix witches fell out with their wizard ally and caused his death.
2:43PM Reporters on the ground are saying Icy of Grim, Ancestral-descended coven leader and ally of Valtor, is dead at 21 years of age, following the capture of her and her coven at Cloudtower school.
4:12PM Previous reports indicating the death of Icy of Grim are false. Icy of Grim is in critical condition at a Lighthaven Prison Hospital, allegedly following a suicide attempt upon her capture. Coven member Stormy of Grim confirmed dead at 20 years of age after critically injuring Omega Dimension forces sent to capture her alive.
6:57PM Icy of Grim confirmed dead at 21 years of age. Upon her capture by Omega Dimension forces, she conjured, then intentionally impaled herself on, a shard of ice. Unknown at this time if the Trix coven was responsible for the death of Valtor of Grim.
7:13PM Students from multiple Magix schools may have been present at Cloudtower at the time of Valtor's defeat, casting doubt on the idea that his death was the result of a disagreement between coconspirators. Among those possibly there were the princesses of Solaria and Andros, whose planets have been disproportionately affected by Valtor's attacks, and close friends Flora of Linphea, Bloom of Earth, Musa of Melody, and Tecna of Zenith.
7:34PM Correction: Tecna of Zenith has been missing for the past five days.
9:16PM Alfea students credited with heroic actions two years ago during the siege of Magix by the Trix coven confirmed to be responsible for Valtor's defeat and the capture of the Trix. Headmistress Faragonda provided no comment.
thanks for everyone's continued support for this story! life has been crazy. i am really looking forward to continuing this, though, especially since the (present day) plot is now kind of picking up in earnest.