Rouya woke up in a soft bed and felt the warm light caress her cheek and for the first time in a long while felt well rested. Last night was all but a nightmare caused by the recent stress.

What she needed was to eat a nice meal and start taking care of herself more. She stretched herself in bed and began noticing the differences. At first it was just the bed curtains but soon after it was the desk and chair and even the window. None of it was hers. She moved to the edge and tried to get out only to tumble to the ground. She couldn't feel or use her legs anymore but the door was only a few feet away and so she began to crawl.

The door swung open in front of Rouya and a young woman in blue robes stepped in. She looked at Rouya with a sense of bewilderment before turning her gaze back to the bed.

"Oh, you're awake. You should have just rung the bell if you needed some help. Let me get you up," the woman said, offering to help Rouya get into a nearby chair. "I know you're used to better, but it's all I could muster on such short notice.

"Th-thank you," Rouya mumbled, realizing that it hadn't all been a dream but reality and she still couldn't walk. She didn't sense any immediate danger from the woman but noticed she was a mage. Rouya closed her eyes, trying to recall what happened but could only recollect shadows and screams after arriving on Ryhad. "Sorry for asking but who are you?"

"You don't recognize me, do you? I don't blame you. We were both only teens when my father was overthrown and Justinian brought me out in front of all his followers, gave me a new name and wanted to make me his Arch Mage." She took a seat next to Rouya and folded her hands over her lap. "How rude of me. My name's Helen and I suppose you know just as well as I do of the burdens a child can sometimes inherit."

Rouya's memory slowly returned, reaching back five years to when the war against the magi and the Pashwa Empire just ended and celebrations echoed across the Inner Realm. "You're the Shah's daughter aren't you? Why am I still alive?"

"You're alive because of the fierce daeva accompanying you. She routed the entire army and captured Djarius. I released him to his people, they'll judge him more harshly than I would. The daeva saved us all and I'm grateful for her support." Helen raised her hand, bowing her head to kiss her thumb in respect.

The images of Aequilla being torn apart and Adelaxia plummeting to her death resurfaced, stabbing her with renewed guilt. "They all died because of me. I couldn't protect them," Rouya said in a soft voice.

"The Battle Maidens are stronger than we imagined and carry a deadly potential," Helen said. She stood up and removed the brakes from the wheels and began pushing Rouya out into the corridor. "I'm sure you did everything you could, but it's nothing that can be taken lightly. You still have one of the relics and as long as another summoner can sense the presence of the relic, you and the people around you will be in danger."

Rouya clutched the Nazar in her hands. "I can't just toss it away."

"No, but there are other ways you might find helpful. Sealing the power of the relics away would make it untraceable and give you the time you need to recover from your injuries."

"Seal the Nazar away? How long are you talking about?" Rouya thought of Markus and Adelaxia. The other relics were still out there and she realized how dangerous it could be if she continued pursuing them. What happened on Aequilla could happen on any other number of worlds as well.

Helen pushed her chair out onto the balcony overlooking the city. On the one side there was an ocean with a river flowing into it with a long stretch of dried plains on the other. Ryhad wound along the banks of the river on either side, following it upstream. Small nests of vegetation popped up here and there but, unlike on Aequilla, Rouya couldn't make out the farms that were needed to keep such cities alive. Either supplies were brought in from a more distant place or transported from off-world.

"It could take months," Helen finally said. "Maybe even years but you need to know that you saved thousands of lives yesterday and the people here won't forget you for that. You're more than welcome to stay here as our guest until you've fully recovered."

Rouya felt her heart sink at the thought of not seeing Evelyn for such a long time. She'd become much more to her than just a servant. Evelyn deserved to have a life as much as she did. What Helen said made sense and Rouya wasn't in any condition to continue the fight or certain if she intended to at all. "I need some time to think matters over."

"Of course," Helen said, placing a bell into Rouya's hand. "Just ring if you need anything. We'll be nearby dealing with the repairs."

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Rouya sat for hours contemplating on whether or not to do as the High Mage suggested. She failed numerous times to try to get up — to force her legs back into action. In the end it left her feeling more lonesome than she ever had before in her life.

She didn't need to stay in Ryhad. There were plenty of worlds out there where she could go into hiding as Markus suggested from the beginning. Desolate worlds where she would be amongst herself but she needed to heal and walk again for which she needed the magi.

Rouya clenched her hand, reaching out and pulling back in before finally deciding to draw a summoning spell. Her heart pounded against her chest the entire time but went through with the spell.

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The crimson haired maiden appeared in a crouch on the balcony railing. Her eyes fluttered open and met Rouya's gaze. A smile curled across her lips. "I'm glad to see you're up again. You passed out during the battle and I wasn't sure you were all right."

"I'm glad to see you as well," Rouya said, lowering her gaze to the floor. She didn't know how to convey what was going on inside of her in the right way or put it in words Evelyn could easily understand. The exhaustion drowning her every day and the worries plaguing every waking moment. "I think I needed the rest but Helen's already told me it's going to take a long time before I can walk again."

The smile faded from Evelyn's lips. She must have realized how serious Rouya was acting. "There's no rush. We have all the time we need and can figure out how we want to proceed."

"A million people on Aequilla are dead because of me. I don't know how much more of it I can take. At what point do I stop because I realize I'm doing more harm than good?"

"That's something only you can answer but you didn't kill them, the other summoners did."

"So I go on over to Halemsum and destroy their world. Would that set matters straight?" Rouya let her shoulders slump and tapped her head against the wall in search of an easy answer. "I don't want more innocent people to die but on the other hand the separatists need to be served justice and held accountable."

"Stealth operations are a possibility. Seizing them in their sleep and bringing them to you might take a while but it could be a clean solution."

"It sounds wrong, all of it. I'm beginning to think there is no right answer and the only way to win is by not allowing the others to collect all the relics."

"What you're saying is--"

"Helen said she could perform a spell which would seal you away and mask your presence. This would allow us to operate undetected by any of their scouts searching for you. Keeping you out of Markus' and the separatists' hands might be the only good thing I can do right now."

Evelyn took a step back, shifting into her armor. "There you have your answer. I'm just a daeva in your service, free to command and do with as you please. You don't need my permission."

"But I do… need you."

Silence passed between them in which Rouya forced herself to hold back tears welling in her eyes and quench the emotional war raging inside of her.

"I can be and do many things but you'll be my master." Evelyn brushed her out of her face and looked out over the city, her form beginning to fade. "If sealing me away is what it takes, then so be it. Wouldn't be the first time and it probably won't be the last."

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A spire loomed over the entire grounds of the Mage's Guild. It served as a berthing space for the magi dwelling in Ryhad with the main complex being for studies and services offered to the public. What Rouya didn't realize was that the guild kept a secret chamber in the tower's basement.

Helen pushed Rouya onto the lift and sealed the gate, allowing for the servants to lower them into the basement. Barriers reinforced the stone walls and even though they were cast years ago, Rouya could still feel the strength emanating from them. Shelves lined the wall, filled with trinkets and dusty tomes no one had bothered with in ages. Perhaps the barrier itself served to mask the Nazar’s magical radiation and hide it from other summoners. Deep down, she wished it were so that way she could still frequently visit Evelyn.

They stopped in the center of the room where an empty pedestal stood.

Helen picked out a jewelry box from the shelf and returned to Rouya. "You're doing a noble deed here. Most summoners would never give up the power you have but let themselves be corrupted by it."

"Please don't speak that way about Evelyn. She's dear to me and not some corruption. I'm only going along with this until I can walk again and won't be a threat to the people here." Rouya's voice trembled, and she found herself repeating the same phrase she told herself a hundred times before as if it would justify her actions.

"Of course not. I'm grateful for what you and Evelyn did in saving Ryhad." Helen set the box down on the pedestal and moved to a bookshelf, sliding her finger over the dusty titles until she stopped and let out a gleeful sigh. She pulled the book out and flipped it open. "Technically summoners are magi and were so for many centuries. It wasn't until legends of the Battle Maidens were discovered that they were expelled and persecuted by my great-grandfather."

Helen held out the open book for Rouya to see the illustrations of summoners together with other schools of magic.

"I didn’t know that," Rouya said, but it made sense considering both magi and summoners could reach into the Shadow Realm for magic. "Is this part of the ritual?"

"Nope." Helen shut the book and held it to her chest. "As leader of the Mage's Guild here on the Frontier, I'd like to extend an invitation for you to be the first summoner amongst our ranks in the past hundred years. It's not easy but we devote ourselves to obtaining knowledge helping advance society."

Rouya froze with her mouth open and unsure whether she should laugh or cry at what the High Mage offered her. Becoming a member of the Mage's Guild was a step down from being queen but a queen without a world was nothing but an empty title to begin with. "Are you trying to get me to give up Evelyn by joining?"

"I'm not going to force you to give up the Nazar in order to join but we can't support you if you decide to continue your fight against the other summoners. We need to work on establishing peace, not deepening the conflict between parties."

"It's for the best of we seal the Nazar but I made a promise and I intend on keeping it."

Helen set the book aside, opening the jewel box and holding it out for Rouya.

The sight of the empty inside made her heart sink. Rouya's fingers fumbled with the Nazar and she could still sense Evelyn's presence inside the relic as she lifted it over her head. The black and blue glass reflected the torchlight as it twirled in the air before her. The evil eye glared back at her. A simple amulet meant to protect the bearer from ill will. It fitted Evelyn's role as a warden.

With the relic inside the box, Helen shut it and sealed the lock but these were physical barriers and wouldn't prevent someone searching for the relics from discovering them. Helen set the box on the pedestal and took a step back.

Rouya bit down on her lip, holding herself back from reaching out and taking Evelyn but the thought of more innocent people losing their lives plagued her.

Helen glanced at Rouya before beginning to cast the spell. Each segment she drew bristled with magic and even as she conjured up the final aspect of the spell and it snapped shut, the Nazar appeared to fight back. The spell pulsed in the air with a vibrant hum, jolts of energy flaring as the spell expanded and retracted appearing as if it might burst at any moment.

"The Nazar is more powerful than I thought," Helen shouted, holding her arms off to the side to form a barrier.

Rouya tightened her grip on the chair's arms. Even with the barrier in place she felt the power press against her chest. She squinted her eyes, trying to peer through the whips of magic rushing through the air.

Resistance cut off as the spell dispersed and Rouya could no longer sense the contents of the inconspicuous box.