Endrah, Wanda, and Brooke made their way along a dirt road. They held their cloaks closed tightly and walked quickly. The Drifters kept their eyes and ears sharp. Brooke in particular was on edge. Water was hard to come by here, even though there was plenty of green to show there was water somewhere. Wanda took the lead, keeping a hand out of her cloak so that she could light their way. Endrah’s golden hair peaked out of the hood, and his eyes glowed in the little bit of light. They followed a back road toward a small town in Toloc. For all they knew, they were walking into a trap.

Suddenly, the familiar pull of a Calling pulled Endrah off the path. It was the strongest he had ever felt. He stopped and turned to his left. Endrah felt himself fade away, almost like he was falling asleep.He felt himself push the hood of his cloak down and free his arms from its embrace. It was as if the Elikre magic within him took hold of his body. The magic started gathering the wind, helping him push a way through the brush. He faintly heard Brooke and Wanda call out to him. But he couldn’t respond. He felt his body move with the wind. He felt his wings flare open. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his wings changing color, orange, blue, brown, and back to orange. The Calling and magic kept him moving. He felt the other two come after him. Wanda’s shell was thin enough to burn her cloak. Brooke’s scales mimicked Endra’s wings, but added gray in after brown. The three marched forward, blind and deaf to the world except for the Calling. Endrah led the way, watching himself guide the wind to part the brush and clear the debris. They came to a stop when Endrah saw a crater in their shared path.

He stood at the edge, and the other two joined him. The Calling urged them to join hands. Their common magic and the bond between them as Drifters surged in strength. Endrah couldn’t tell who started it or if it was really them, but a spell started to form. They had to make something visible. They had to bring something back from somewhere. Brooke summoned her vinres to her hand and spun it between her fingers. Wanda summoned a dancing flame to the center of the crater. Endrah whispered in a language he couldn’t understand. His wings and Brooke’s scales stopped changing color and settled on their natural colors. The three Drifters poured all the magic they could into the flame Wanda had summoned. Endrah felt fatigue settle into his bones as though he hadn’t slept in several days. His hair tore free of its braid as the spell completed itself.

Inside the crater an illusion showed three of the four previous Drifters. Alirah wore the Earth Drifter’s robes. Vishri and Eshar wore the fire and water Drifter robes respectively. The old trio were running from something. Eshar raised his hands and summoned a wall of fire to bar their persuer’s path. Alirah moved a boulder, throwing it through the wall of flames. Vishri cried out as a black smoke settled around the three of them.

A very large man in the familiar black and yellow clothes, patterned with the Tolocian crown in a circle, surrounded by burning wings and fish skeletons, walked through the smoke and fire wall. Alirah charged at him, her steps leaving small craters in the earth beneath her. The man raised an arm and the smoke leapt out to defend him, suddenly becoming as solid as the Drifter. Vishri froze where they were, midstep, The fear on the old Drifters’ faces was plain to see. Eshar summoned daggers made of fire to his hands and tried to charge the man as well. The man simply turned his head, and suddenly the black smoke turned to tar around Eshar. The man drew the three Drifters together, forcing them to kneel to him. The man raised his hands again, and the black smoke swallowed the old Drifters whole. The man smirked and turned away from the now oozing mass of black tar. As the man walked away, the tar turned to stone, and then dirt. The Drifters looked as though they had been dead for weeks.

Endrah, Brooke, and Wanda shook themselves free of the spell. Endrah fell backwards and flat onto his back. Brooke and Wanda each sank to her knees. Endrah struggled to get his breath back. It was nearly sundown by the time the Drifters were able to stand. Not a word was shared, just glances that said too much to tell. Somehow, they knew exactly who the man was and why their predecessors had been so afraid. They didn’t waste any time heading back. Brooke grabbed her companions and reached for her magic. Endrah closed his eyes as Brooke carried them back to Current.

Once they were steady on their feet back in the Drifter’s cabin, the three sat down in their favorite seats. Endrah curled up on the couch, tugging on his hair. Brooke curled up in the whicker chair under the window, shedding her robes. Wanda threw herself into her rocker. Endrah was the one to break the silence.

“We need to stop him,” Endrah said.

“We need to find him first,” Brooke growled. “Drag him out of the cave he is hiding in.”

“And I think I know where to start,” Wanda clenched her fists. “We need to interrogate the prisoners Acarad took when his brother’s life. We need to know what we are dealing with before getting to him.”

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“It sounds like we are going to Glade in full regalia. We need to talk to Acarad before confronting them,” Endrah said. “He has already interrogated them in reference to his brother’s assassination. That information would prove useful.”

“I need a soak before we go anywhere,” Brooke groaned as she dragged herself up again.

“We need to eat too,” Wanda sighed.

“And sleep,” Endrah nodded.

“Then we leave at dawn,” Brooke marched out the door.

“Are you alright Wanda,” Endrah asked.

“Just rattled,” Wanda said. “That set of spells just….They weren’t us.”

“First Wind and her sibs must have held us for it,” Endrah combed his hair with his fingers.

“The Parental Elementals always hold us,” Wanda said. “We are their Drifters.”

“This was a different hold,” Endrah shuddered. “It was like the old stories.”

“What old stories,” Wanda asked.

“My people still tell stories about the old days, before First Wind and her sibs made this world,” Endrah tugged his robes tighter around himself. “There are stories that tell us about how we fell. In the old wars, the eight clans were each either conquered or swallowed by their magic. They didn’t stop building the spells they were working on or tried to do a spell larger than they could handle, and it killed them.”

“Do you think it’s happened since,” Wanda’s flame brightened in her shell for a moment before cooling to a deep orange.

“It has,” Endrah said. “It happened to my uncle. Healers were able to save him but his wings were burnt off. He was cast down to the forgotten.”

“I am sorry,” Wanda said.

“I was actually named after him. My mother was really close with him. She used to hope that I wouldn’t follow his path,” Endrah closed his eyes and tapped his thumb to his forehead and then collar bone. “He threw himself off a cliff when I was four years old.”

“I think he would be proud of you,” Wanda said.

“I would like to think that,” Endrah smiled sadly. “I suppose I am following his path in a way. Uncle Endrah always wanted to be a Drifter. He met Drifter Atilk when he was young and referred him to a teacher.”

“Then take comfort in it and remember him,” Wanda stood and came to Endrah’s side. “I will see you in the morning.”

“Thank you Wanda,” Endrah briefly squeezed her hand before she walked out of the room, and down to her room.

Endrah slowly peeled himself from the couch and made the trek to his room. He peeled his clothes off and slid under his blankets. If the spells hadn’t taken so much out of him, he wouldn’t have fallen asleep. But, as he was, sleep swallowed him whole before the bed was warm.

The pink and gray light of false dawn woke Endrah. He groaned as he peeled his blankets off. He quickly washed himself and dressed in his formal clothes, draping a clean set of Drifter’s robes over his shoulders. He walked out to the kitchen. Wanda was already there, warming something for breakfast. Her shell was thicker than he had ever seen it. It was so thick that it seemed she was made of burned wood. Her hands shook a little bit as she stirred whatever she had in the pot. Endrah gently rapped his knuckles against the table to draw her out of her reverie.

“The vresi is almost done,” Wanda turned slightly toward Endrah. “I haven’t seen Brooke yet, but I did hear a bit of splashing in the creek.”

“Are the packs ready yet,” Endrah asked.

“Mine and Brooke’s are done,” Wanda answered. “I couldn’t find yours, I think we may have left it behind.”

“I have a back up in my room. I did not have anything valuable to me in the other,” Endrah began braiding his hair over his left shoulder. “I will start packing.”

“Eat first Endrah,” Wanda used her motherly tone to stop him in his tracks. “You haven’t eaten since you came back from meeting Atilk’s informants.”

“I will be fine,” Endrah attempted to protest.

“Sit at the table and eat,” Wanda used her wooden spoon to point at the chair closest to her. “Or I will fetch your mother from Aviary to drag you to her table by the ear.”

Endrah meekly did as Wanda had ordered while she served him a small bowl of vresi and two slices of bread with cheese on them. She turned away for a moment and rummaged for a spoon in one of the drawers before handing him one. As he began eating, Wanda served herself a bowl of vresi, bread, and cheese, setting the rest aside for Brooke. Wanda joined Endrah at the table and they ate in silence.