I don't know why she agreed to send us the workings of her magic. Is she looking for followers? Does she believe that an Eldar could taint her prism by using magic that our people despise?

I doubt the sincerity of this exchange of information. Her kind has always been deceitful, greedy and wicked. And she in particular, given the colour of her magic, cannot have given us this gift without her taking something particularly nefarious from it.

We must erase all signs of this 'gift' and pretend it was never given to us.

Old note found in a forgotten Eldar ruin.

Leila looked at the horizon, from the top of the boat's mast she had a clear view of the river, and the forest beyond. Sitting with her legs dangling in the wind she bit her lip in concentration. She heard a noise. Zarune had just grabbed the boat's mast with one hand, and with a wave of her arm, she rose into the sky, before landing gracefully on the mast beside her.

With her hair blowing in the wind, Leila continued to stare at the horizon.

- Are you worried? she heard.

She dismissed it with a nod of her head.

- He'll be fine.

Zarune sat silently beside her.

- He may be a soft-hearted fool, but he's tough. Leila said.

She stood up.

- Besides, he and I are going our separate ways. We do what we have to do for you, then we go our separate ways.

As she was about to leave, Zarune spoke up.

- Leila.

Leila glanced at him.

- Sit down. Let's talk.

Hesitantly, Leila sighed and sat back down.

- I don't know what more there is to say. she muttered.

Zarune just looked at the sky in silence.

- You mustn't feel guilty, Leila. Zarune continued.

Leila frowned as she glanced at her.

- I don't feel guilty.

Zarune looked at her, for the first time since their conversation began their eyes met. Embarrassed, Leila looked away.

- If anyone's in charge here, it's me.

- No! I...

- Leila.

Leila shut up.

Zarune sighed, rolling her eyes again.

- I agreed with my mother when my father wanted to ask the gods for help. To give us such an easy way out of a problem created by our negligence is not right. This is not who we are, Eldar. Of course, it was supposed to be Eldar who were... Still... Still, I'm really glad that my father finally did it against the advice of the court, despite the sacrifices it must have cost him. Despite the price, the empire will have to pay for it. I'm grateful to him for that, and not just because it will protect my people. But also because it allowed me to meet you, it allowed me to discover new horizons... I sometimes forget what it cost you, all of you.

- I am grateful.

- You are?

- Yes. Of course, I miss my family, I'd love to see them again and of course, the way we got here was a tragedy. Still... Maybe I'm selfish for thinking this, but... Life here is so... vibrant. I didn't realise how empty I felt at home. Everything there was agreed upon. I already knew what I was going to do with my life, how it would end. So I am grateful. For the opportunity, you gave me, for making me understand what I want. And if that means I have to do you a favour. I will.

Zarune took her hand and Leila squeezed it before releasing it, her eyes lost in thought.

- I know you're hiding something from me. You and the other Eldar. I'm not blind.

Zarune looked back at her, her eyes sad. Leila met his gaze.

- I trust you. I know that whatever it is you've been hiding from us, you'll tell me when the time is right.

The princess smiled sadly and gratefully at him.

- In any case, what do we do now?

- We wait.

Leila looked at her friend before glancing down. The ship they were using was beached. The wyvern's attack had damaged the keel of the ship, and water had begun to seep in. Leila barely had time to get out of the ship's hold to see the wyvern fleeing with Jonah on its back and Marie in its clutches before she had to help the sailors manoeuvre the ship so it wouldn't sink.

With skill, a little weaving to keep the structure intact, thanks to Aurora, and a lot of luck, they had managed to ground the ship before it sank. Since then they waited, as some merchant ships passed along the river, some even taking the time to stop and offer help, Zarune had decided to set up camp where the ship had run aground. She had only taken the time to send a written letter to one of the merchant ships heading for Tera. Then she sent Imoran with a group of sailors to one of the few fishing villages on the Tua to get supplies. After much discussion, Mustapha had managed to convince Zarune to let them accompany them. They had been waiting for almost six days and Leila was getting impatient.

- Will the Weaver you sent search from Tera be able to find them?

- If they are still alive, yes.

Leila sighed in annoyance.

- He's taking his time to get here.

- What do you say we go hunting? To put some meat on for tonight's meal.

Leila pouted.

- I'm not really in the mood today. Maybe tomorrow.

Exasperated Zarune said.

- I told you it was okay to make such a mistake. You've only hunted around Irvanon, and nature is much more control there. You still don't know everything that lives in our forests. Many Eldar would have been trapped too.

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Leila looked at her angrily.

- I. Got. Swallowed. By. A. Plant!!

- And you managed to escape on your own.

- ZARUNE!

Exasperated Zarune raised his arms to the sky.

- Good thing you didn't run into a Pestilence. she muttered.

- What?

Zarune stood up, quickly climbed down the mast and said over her shoulder.

- Nothing!

- Zarune come back here! What is Pestilence?

By the time Leila got off the mast her friend was gone. She hesitated between going to look for her friend and pestering her for answers or dropping the case. Finally, she decided to be reasonable, unlike some people. Sure, she might have been a bit pissed off when she got back from the hunt, yes she had kicked some crates that were lying around where she shouldn't have, maybe she had vilified that sailor a bit, but he deserved it, not looking where he was walking, and having his arms full was no excuse to push her around.

Taking a breath and calming down, Leila walked towards Aurora who was a little further along the shore. Approaching her, Leila couldn't help but shake her head, her best friend always managed to attract sympathy from strangers, Leila didn't know how. Aurora, sitting on a seat on a blanket at the water's edge, a large hat on her head and a fishing rod in her hand was fishing. There was a silver bowl on a small table beside her with fruit on it. A closed parasol lay against a tree root a little further behind her. She wore a light green dress, deciding that the weather was too good to stay in leather armour.

All of them had been given to her by the captain of the ship, to thank her for saving his ship, and by some sailors who were making eyes at her. Aurora of course did not realize it.

As she approached, Aurora looked at her suspiciously from under her ridiculous hat. It had three coloured feathers on it.

- Have you calmed down?

Leila stopped, frowning, she didn't like what her friend was implying. Just as she was about to answer her sharply Aurora wagged a threatening finger in her direction. Deciding it wasn't worth it Leila sat silently beside her.

- You shouldn't be away from the camp like that. The river is dangerous. Remember the Coulobre three days ago?

Her friend smiled at her.

- Don't worry, the Captain bought a repellent from a passing merchant while you were out hunting. It's used to repel the most dangerous animals in the river. He was kind enough to give me one.

Aurora pointed to a long stick with a sort of egg on the end with holes in it. The stick was stuck in the water near the bank.

- Apparently, it was quite expensive.

Leila wrinkled her nose, before glaring at her friend. The world was unfair.

Aurora misunderstood her look and leaned over to pat her hand, her eyes full of compassion.

- They're fine. You'll see. I have good instincts about this.

Deciding not to tell him she was mistaken about the meaning of his gaze, Leila rested her chin on her, one knee drawn up against her. She put Dune Fallen next to her in case the river decided to give them a surprise.

- Success?

- Yes, I managed to get a few.

Leila looked around.

- Where did you get them?

- I put them back in the water, we have enough food.

- Too bad, I want to go eat a fish tonight.

- Do want me to save the next one for you?

- Uh Uh.

Smiling at him Aurora added.

- The captain told me that the boat will be repaired tomorrow. They will leave then.

She leaned towards Leila.

- He offered to take me directly to Tera, instead of waiting for the ship Zarune requested. He described Tera to me, I can't wait to get there!

- You didn't accept it, did you?

- No, of course not. I wouldn't leave without our friends.

After a moment of restful silence, Aurora resumed.

- You know I asked Zarune how the Weaver will be able to find them. Maybe I can do it myself, I thought. It is possible to find a person with his Prism. It's like fingerprints. The more powerful the Prism, the more echoes you leave on the world. With our Prisms so powerful, it should be easy enough to find us.

Aurora gave him one of her rare serious looks.

- It is possible to hide your echoes, we'll have to learn that. I like our Eldar friends but I don't want them to always know where I'm going.

Leila frowned in displeasure at this news. She should have known there were a few things like that. Concerned about their current situation she had not thought further about the matter.

- Will they let us do it?

- Don't worry, Zarune said she'd teach me, once I got to Tera, if I promised not to use the weave in question until I'd woken up the Towers.

- Why?

- They intend to use its traces to assess our progress towards the Towers and thus coordinate the advance of their armies more easily.

- Will you teach me?

- Of course, I'll teach you all.

Aurora hesitated before resuming.

- Zarune told me to keep it to myself, and not to tell Mat. If he learns the technique, he'll probably use it right away.

- Don't worry, I won't say anything. I am aware of the importance of a good flow of information. Even if, like you, I don't like it when people can tell where I'm going.

- It's not like this is new to us anyway.

- What do you mean by that?

- Well, on Earth it was the same.

- Um, I know what you mean. But unlike Earth, I feel like it's a bit more personal here, they don't use technology. The Prism is a bit like the soul, that it can find me with that is a bit disturbing.

Aurora turned to her, her eyes shining.

- Anyway, I've been thinking about it, and how I could do this with the Weave. Is it...?

- No, it's not.

- Oh come on!

- Just ask the Weaver when he gets here.

- You're no fun.

Aurora turned back to the river, sulking.

The rest of the day was quiet and Leila had her fish in the evening. The sailors celebrated in the evening, having finished repairing their ship. They took advantage of the protection of Zarune's officers to make a little more noise than was prudent in the Emerald Forest. Fortunately, no forest or river creatures were attracted.

In the morning the ship left, and their little camp was diminished by a large number of their occupants. Leila had not waited for their farewell to end, a little too focused on Aurora, and had gone back into the forest.

With sharp eyes, Leila smiled a wicked smile. She wove a flame through Dune Fallen, aimed and fired. With great satisfaction, Leila looked at the burnt plant. The plant moved silently in all directions, releasing flames all around it. Leila imagined the screams in her mind with satisfaction, before she noticed that the plant's agonizing movements had an unexpected result.

Worried, Leila wondered if she overdid it a little. She spent the next hour extinguishing the flames for fear that the fire would spread. Fortunately, the ground was wet enough that the fire did not spread too quickly. Moreover, the flames were unable to attack the giant trees in the forest.

Wiping the sweat from her face, Leila was glad she had gone hunting alone, without Zarune or any of her Eldar companions as she had done the previous days. Even though they had warned her about the danger of wandering alone in the forest.

She intended to bury this story deep in her mind.

Leila looked wickedly at the remains of the plant. It had caused her more trouble than it deserved.

Desperate not to end her hunt on a false note she went deeper into the forest. Noticing the tracks of a herd a short time later she followed them to a small lake where she spotted about forty hinds drinking.

Staying focused, Leila quickly spotted the leader who kept her head up, attentive, while the rest of the herd enjoyed the water of the lake. Avoiding her, Leila chose one of the hinds at the back of the herd. She summoned an arrow and fired. Her arrow hit the doe, and the arrow fell into its heart.

Leila smiled, as the herd fled Leila moved cautiously forward. The watering hole might have attracted more than just herbivores. She approached her prey, checking once more that no carnivores had come to challenge her for the doe, Leila stowed Dune Fallen on the holster at her back, then with a forceful weave, she shouldered the animal and began the arduous trek back to camp. All the while she remained vigilant, lest she becomes the prey instead of the hunter.

When she finally reached their camp Leila was sticky with sweat, but with the satisfaction of a successful hunt.

While she was away, a ship had arrived, and after dropping off her prey to a sullen Imoen, it was her turn to cook. Leila approached Zarune and Dereur, who was talking to a group of Eldar.

- What happened to you? Dereur exclaimed.

- What happened?

- You're covered in ash.

- ... I don't know what you mean.

Before he could answer, Leila, resumed.

- It's the Weaver Zarune was expecting?

Dereur still puzzled, answered.

- Yes, we'll be able to start the search tomorrow.

Noticing the discontent on Zarune's face, Leila asked.

- Is there something wrong?

Dereur looked at her for a moment, before answering uncomfortably.

- The Weaver has only found a trace of two of the missing.

Leila kept her face impassive, even as a storm broke out in her skull.

- Who?

Dereur looked at her worriedly.

- We don't know, the Weaver says there are two powerful Prisms active across the river, but he has to meet them in person before he can recognize them from a distance.

- I see. I join the search tomorrow.

Dereur turned away, looking at the princess.

- You should talk to Zarune about it. The forest across the river is particularly dangerous, experienced trappers have arrived with the Weaver.

- I join the search tomorrow.

Dereur sighed.

- You should go clean up, you're always covered in ash.

Leila walked away silently, before going to the river to wash her face she went to look for Aurora. She found her in her usual place by the river, under an unfolded parasol. As the sun began to set Aurora was hidden in the shadows. Leila could not see any movement on her part.

As she approached Aurora spoke up.

- He is wrong.

Leila remained silent.

- I know he is wrong, they are alive, all three of them.

Leila sat beside her, taking her hand in silence. Looking up at the sky and listening to the sound of the wind, Leila certainly didn't hear the sound of muffled sobbing.