Zafira grinned all the way back to the Cove where she left her children. Clambered in her arms and that of her sisters were enough Amber Hearts for her to complete her mission and transform Gaia and then she could take to reforming the Alseid and bringing them align with her methods. The Elders weren't going to fight her and with Lefaljac dead, she'd further cemented their position in Pilamo.

In just a matter of minutes, she could open the portal to Gaia and hopefully keep any curious nymphs at bay long enough to cover her trails.

A shame, she thought to herself of the young nymph Kirilamei. The girl reminded her so much of herself and her strength would have been of great benefit on the other side. Zafira glanced over her shoulder and looked out past her sisters trailing behind her. She hoped that Kiri enjoyed her time with Johann and that she'd find the peace Zafira craved.

"It took you long enough," a voice whispered in her ear. Zafira spun around, in search of the owner but quickly gave up as she recognized the Godess' work at display. Everyone else froze in time, while Zafira was free to move and talk. "It's not polite to keep a woman waiting."

Zafira raised the bag of Hearts she carried with her. "You should be glad anybody listens to you. Must be a sad existence to have me as your only companion."

"Don't push your luck," Eris said, taking on the form of a beautiful woman contained within a tight smoky black dress. "Without me, you'd still be locked away as a pleasure servant to Greek heroes."

She dropped the bag of Amber Hearts at her feet and folded her arms under her chest. Only a single Heart remained tucked away at her side. One would have been enough to go through and save Gaia, but she still needed the rest for her divine guest. "I upheld my end of the bargain. Where's the seed?"

Eris took graceful steps, revealing her long legs as she approached the dryad. She took a moment to inspect the contents and smiled. "You've done well. A little late, but delivered none the less."

With a whisk of her hand the bag vanished in thin air along with the Amber Hearts and in its place an oval seed, the size of a fist appeared. The seed appeared almost rock like, with it's hard jaded coat and rough edges.

"A pleasure doing business with you," Eris said, a grin spreading across her vivid red lips. "Remember what I warned you about last time. I'd hate to see you make the same mistake twice."

"Please," Zafira said, barking out a laugh. She bent over and picked up the jade seed. "Nothing will stop me from correcting the mistakes of my youth. I've seen and learned enough over the past thousand years to prepare myself for anything."

In an instant the world around her shifted back into motion and her sisters all paused to look back at her.

"Is something the matter? Are we being followed?" Tibane asked, readying her hand on the grip of her sword. Her eyes fixed on the crest of the hill Eris no longer stood at. They realized the Hearts they were carrying were missing and knitted their brows. "She was here again, wasn't she?"

Zafira slowly turned around and relaxed. "It's nothing but we should get going before we give the Aseid any time to change their mind."

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

As much as she despised Eris, Zafira knew that she owed much of her strength the goddess. Giving away most of the Amber Hearts was a small price to pay to get her revenge and go down in history as a savior. No longer would she be known as the Warden that failed.

Nilos rushed forward from the foliage with a towel and bowed his head as he held it out to her. His youthful expression hid the fact that he was over three hundred years old. "Mother, it's good to have you back. We were worried about you."

"There's no need to worry, I'm fine. Let's get out of the rain before you catch a cold." Zafira took the towel and joined the Children of the Dawn under the canopy. The rain began to settle down for a brief respite but the journey completely drenched her. After so many years of waiting, she didn't have the patience to wait around but felt the eagerness in her muscles urging her onward.

"We have what we need," Tibane said to the children. A quick burst of excitement rang through the ranks as they speculated what Gaia would be like. None of them remembered the harshness she went through having born them there, only to flee to Amazon when given the chance. "Quiet down now. Gaia is different to the world you've come to know and love. There are many dangers there that will be new to you. Be careful and stay safe."

"That's right," Zafira said, moving in next to Tibane and Hestia. "Gaia may be our home but we won't be welcomed there with open arms. Before we can settle in and restore the planet, we will have to rid it of the humans that seek to destroy it. I fear for each and every one of you and will do what I can to keep all our children safe once we make it to the other side."

Hestia smiled reassuringly at the children and turned to Zafira. "There's no coming back once we go through the portal. I've done what I can to prepare the children but I still think they'll be safer here."

Zafira squeezed her sister's shoulder. "You'll have to trust me on this one. If we leave them behind, we might never see them again. I can't go and risk never seeing them again."

"Then call off the attack and make peace with the Alseid," Hestia said, keeping her voice low. She held her hand out in the direction they came from. "My heart aches every time we travel there, just as much as yours but we're risking our families, everyone we care about."

"Things only turned out this way because I was weak before. If we don't act now, matters will only get worse and all hope of change would have been lost." Zafira sighed, looking into the faces of her sisters for reassurance. She bargained and sacrificed too much to simply let it slide. "No one else is willing to do the necessary. You can either join me or stay behind and grow as soft and useless as the Alseid."

A moment of silence passed between them. Tibane was the first to speak up. "There's never been a doubt in my mind!"

"I won't leave my sisters alone," Hestia added.

"Then it's settled," Zafira said and gazed up. The sun broke through the cloud sand beams of light shone down on the cove. "We must act decisively and recreate the paradise we lost."

It might very well be the last time she saw Amazon. Zafira may have been born and raised there but her heart belonged far away. She entered the cove until the water came up to her thighs and spread her arms out at her sides. After years of traveling between worlds, the act of opening a portal became second nature to her. She pictured her destination, pinpointing the image with her geographical knowledge and sending out a stream of her bio-ethereal energy.

Bubbles emerged around her as the energy level continued to grow until the portal burst open in front of her feet and sent out a powerful gust of wind that nearly threatened to push her back. The water gave wave at her feet and shifted aside, allowing her full access to the portal.

Zafira turned around and signaled the others to join her. They only had a few minutes before the energy would be consumed and the portal become passive. Not closed, but on stand-by for the rest of the day. It gave her the opportunity to pull back to Amazon in case of emergency. She smiled at each of the children as they passed her and leapt into the portal brimming with vibrant energy.

Tibane and Hestia were the last and joined her along the verge. They all locked hands with each other and leapt through together. For the first time in thousands of years, the Erythrai would be taking responsibility for Gaia once more.