Ava hears someone in the corridors calling but can’t make out what they are saying, so she floats closer to the door and stops to listen, “Hey, Pinky.” something bumps into her, and she turns to see what it is, but nothing is there. She sticks her head outside, “Mom?” There is an open field with grass blowing in the wind, and she sees a storm in the distance. The clouds are lighting up, flashing as lightning strikes. “Hey, sleepy. Wake up.” Something physically has a hold of her now, shaking her. Her eyes open, and Kara is over her, shaking her and saying, “Come on, sleepy head, wake up.” Ava flails her arms out, smacking her lips, “I’m awake, I’m awake! What the hells, what time is it?”

Kara picks up Misery, lays it over her shoulder, walks toward the door, and then turns around to look at Ava again. “You coming? This is my favorite time of day. Come on, if you want to follow The Dawn Bringer, you need to feel this.” Ava jumps out of the chair; her legs have fallen asleep, and she stumbles and grabs the bed. The feeling is quickly returning to her legs as she fumbles around, grabbing the journal and dropping it in the bag, then grabbing her maul, only to have it slip from her fingers, then managing to grab it on the second attempt, all the while trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Kara seems to be amused watching the spectacle. Ava whines, “Stop laughing at me.”

As they walk down the hall toward the entrance, Kara keeps looking at Ava out of the corner of her eye. Ava whines again, “I said stop laughing at me, I was tired.” Kara says, “Paladins of The Dawn Bringer, don’t whine. Paladins of Galathor especially don’t whine. Anyway, this is my favorite time of day. I never get to do this on Nexus; I could only do it when I was away on other worlds. You’re going to love this.” They make it out to the front steps. It’s still night, and Ava says, “I thought you said it was morning?” as she turns to Kara, she sees Kara taking up a meditative position with her legs crossed on the ground. Ava hurries and does the same. Kara says, “Face the same direction I am.” Ava turns her body and looks at Kara again; she has placed Misery in her lap and is holding her right fist to her left palm. Ava quickly imitates it. Kara recites the tenets of The Dawn Bringer.

* Lead with mercy, patience, and compassion. Inspire others to unite in fellowship.

* Aid those who are without guidance. Heal those who are without hope.

* Those who are beyond redemption, who revel in slaughter and remorseless evil, must be dispatched with swift justice.

Then she says, “Now you.” Ava repeats the words. She’s heard Kara say them many times on Nexus.

As she says the final word, “Justice,” the first rays of morning strike her, and she feels an incredible sense of warmth, belonging, peace, and more feelings than she can describe. It’s pure love and euphoria. She has never felt anything like this flooding through her. Kara joins her in unison and hears others saying the same thing. She looks around. The acolytes, Noric, and others are all on the temple's steps around her. The tenants are repeated several times, and then they all stop in unison as the sun fully crests over the horizon. Kara stands, holds out a hand to Ava, and helps her up. Ava says, “I’ve never felt anything like that.” Kara replies, “You will from now on, every time you ask The Dawn Bringer for guidance. You used Lay on Hands on yourself yesterday. You called on The Dawn Bringer to do it. When you need to cast a spell, you ask her. If you are capable, The Dawn Bringer will grant you the power. As you grow closer to her, she can channel more power through you. You can pray any time; it feels best in the morning, as the Dawn Bringer brings the new day, hence the name Dawn Bringer. From here on, your life will be changed, and things will look and feel different. It’s hard to describe. To have this calling, something happened in your past. I don’t know everything you went through, and I don’t want you to confess it to me because you interpret what I’m saying now as an order. Whatever it was, is something for you to deal with. The guidance of Elirae will help you. When you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here.”

Ava realizes tears are streaming down her cheeks as memories flood her thoughts; Kara reaches out and pulls her close as they walk to the dining hall. By the time they walk through the door, Ava has mostly calmed down. Kara guides her to a seat, tells her to wait, and then leaves. She returns shortly, with two plates of food, some acolytes sit some mugs on the table, and pour water for them. Kara says nothing, while Ava deals with the memories. When Ava takes her first bite, Kara says, “One time, my brothers and I got surprised by this humongous ooze.” She holds her arms wide, “When it hit me, all of my clothes dissolved, so I was standing there naked as a newborn, and slimy, all of my brothers were just standing there, staring.” Ava nearly spits her food out, laughing. Kara says, “Good now, when your past haunts you, think about something funny.”

Ava pulls the journal out, “In here, you refer to your brother, Gaelan, in the beginning, then you meet your companions, later you start referring to them as brothers, the girls they rescued from the prison as your sisters. Why do you do that?” Kara lays her hand on the journal and opens it to a random page. “Where I was raised, there was almost no blood-related family. I don’t know if my “brother” was really my brother or if some other random seraphin baby was teleported to the village at the same time I was. We considered everyone “Family.” We had the privilege of not knowing war, hate, and all the other things that tear people apart. Of course, that also meant not knowing anything about the outside world. In the journal, I only speak of him as “my brother” because I was raised with and closest to him. We laughed, played, and worked together. But I considered everyone in the village brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles, etc.”

“When I knew I could trust Valas, Whelp, Donjo, and Thomas, I considered them brothers too because they had become my family.” Ava asks, “What about Malachi? You called him brother a few times, then stopped?”

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Kara looks down at her food, “Malachi, I thought I could trust at one time, but then,, well, he would try to murder anyone I tried to redeem. He even tried to murder me once. I never redeemed him; I hope he has found peace. I don’t know if he’s alive or dead. I’m afraid that if I did come across him now, I would have to enforce the third tenant. I still consider him a friend; I want to say I’ve forgiven him, but I may have no choice if he has not changed. Then it will come down to only one of us will walk away. As for my sisters, well, they endured the same hell I did. They were close on an entirely different level. We instantly became friends as I counseled them to help them deal with what happened, so yes. They are my sisters. That is why Alhindri and I were so close. She endured a hell imposed on her by Azura, too. I consider her my sister; her daughter is like a daughter to me.”

“Now, your turn, without dwelling on or confessing anything. I remember going to a world overrun with undead and bringing you back years ago.” Ava thinks for a little while as she eats, “My world was being overrun with the undead. Something happened. I was too young to understand.” She pauses for a long time; Kara sees her eyes begin to tear up, “Remember what I said, I was naked and slimy.” Ava smiles, “See, I told you it works. Let’s eat, and you can tell me when you are ready to talk about it.” Ava says, “Thank you.”

Persi and Aran walk over and sit down with plates piled high. Aran looks at Ava, “So now that you are a Paladin of The Dawn Bringer, does that mean you have to be celibate or something?” Everyone stops and looks at him. Kara says, “I’m pregnant; I have three other children; what do you think.” Aran seems confused, “I didn’t know. I figured I’d ask.” Everyone starts laughing. Aran joins in a few seconds later when it dawns on him.

Kara starts talking about some of the things she remembers about Everwind and warns them about a few places to stay away from unless they want trouble, “I think we need another horse for the wagon and a riding horse. Once we are well away, we’ll stop, and I’ll summon Chomasuke and Fearless; I’ll ride Fearless, Ava; you can ride Chomasuke, that will leave you with the third horse, Aran. I would put you on Chomasuke, but she is kind of partial to the people who control her being followers of Elirae. That leaves you with the wagon and supplies, Persi. We’ll take the first few days easy; none of you are used to hard riding. I need you to be able to walk at the end of the day.”

Aran asks, “Can I at least try Chomasuke?” Kara replies, “You want to “try” 3000lbs of teeth and claws on a marrowfang stalker that can eat your face?” She smiles at him, showing teeth, “Okay, we’ll see what happens. Ava needs to practice her Lay on Hands.” Aran says, “The horse sounds good.” Kara tells Aran, “Chomasuke will allow Ava to ride her because Ava is now a Paladin of The Dawn Bringer, like me. I have never gotten her to allow someone who isn’t a follower of Elirae to control her. The few times she allowed it was because I was in danger. You haven’t spent much time on mounts. None of you have. So, we’ll start you on a riding horse, then later, you may end up with a War Triceratops.” Aran asks, “What is a triceratops.?” Kara says, “Probably the most fun you’ll ever have unless someone else is on it. Then it will be the least fun you’ll ever have.” Kara looks at Ava, “Ava is going to have her hands and her butt full of getting used to riding a marrowfang stalker. They move smoother than a horse, but their stride is long, and your upper body tends to sway more. It’s going to make you sore, very sore, until you get used to how she moves. You may even get sick. We’ll have to wait and see. Me, I get to ride in luxury, on Fearless, since he floats over the ground, it’s like riding on air.” Kara smiles as she dips a piece of pancake into melted butter and stuffs it into her mouth.

Ava finishes her plate, “I need to get cleaned up if we’re going into the city. I’m still wearing, yuck, what I was wearing yesterday.” She quickly leaves, inspecting her clothes.

Aran says, “I will double-check our gear and see what we need. I’ll be in our room.” He puts a hand on Persi’s shoulder and walks off, turning in the opposite direction Ava went.

Persi watches him leave, “I thought the two of them had a thing. I figured we may have to talk to them.” Kara dips another chunk of pancake into the melted butter, puts it in her mouth, and swallows, “If they do, leave them be. This is going to be a difficult journey. Yes, they are young, but if they are old enough to fight and die for a cause, I think they are old enough to love. Plus, I don’t think there’s as much there as you think.” Persi pushes his plate to the side, “How are you so nonchalant about this trip? How are you so confident anyone from Nexus is alive?” He realizes what he said, “I’m sorry.”

Kara swallows another bite of pancake, “I’ve watched thousands die, most of them I killed while under the control of a devil, hells, I’ve died a few times myself and tried to kill myself more times than I can count; I can’t count the ones who have died following me. I have nowhere to look except the light because I’ve been to the bottom of the darkest pit. I know Sasha, Anya, Felicity, Gunthar, and all the rest are alive. They are tough, and I must believe they’re alive until I see otherwise with my own eyes. Plus, I can feel it or can’t feel it; if Sasha were dead, I would know, therefore, she is alive. I can’t dwell on bad thoughts; they take me to a place I never want to return to. I was naked as a newborn and covered in slime.” She realizes she folded her fork over double in her hand.

Kara says, “What?”, “I told Ava, always think about something funny to pull yourself out of dark thoughts. I don’t want to hear another word about what if they didn’t. From here on out, it’s “when we get home.” Clear?” Persi nods his head. “Now, tell me about your elixirs. I’ve always wondered how magic works through them, but figured I’d sound stupid asking and stupider not understanding.” Persi starts pulling elixirs from his belt, describing them, and explaining the equations that link the arcane, how the elixirs are like spells he has precast into the bottle, and they are waiting on the words to release them… Kara understands almost nothing he says but sits and listens to every word like it’s the most fascinating thing she’s ever heard.

She returns to her room after breakfast to clean up. Afterward, she finds her three companions waiting on the steps in front of the temple. It looks like Ava found a new set of clothes. Aran talks with Persi while Persi writes on a piece of paper, making a list according to what Aran tells him. Aran has the shield expertly strapped to his shoulder to bring it to guard easily, Persi is wearing the cloak, and Ava has the Girdle of Trials strapped on and is doing a few test swings with her maul. Kara thinks about surprise attacking them, then changes her mind. They would probably run away before counterattacking and putting her baby at risk.

That’s the only bad thing about her friends knowing she is carrying a child. They refuse to train with her, which is understandable. She would do the same, even though her aura would protect the baby. Kara says, “Come on, we’ve got some shopping to do.” Their first stop is the stables, at the gate, where they find one other decent draft horse and a good riding horse. Kara lets Ava negotiate; she gets the draft horse at a slight discount but ends up paying full price for the riding horse. Kara sees that she does have some negotiating skills. The stable master seemed like he didn’t like inferis, so it was pretty good that she didn’t get charged more.