Lux opened her eyes slowly, sitting up with a groan. Her muscles still ached, but they no longer felt like they were going to tear in half. She rubbed her eyes before looking around. She was in an empty room with a floor made of woven mats and paper walls, all made with a light wood. It looked like both the mat and the walls had been repaired several times but were in overall good condition. One wall was made of solid grey stone with a window cut into it that was covered by a reed curtain. Beside her was an irritatingly familiar sword. Lux couldn’t put her finger on where she had seen it before, but the white and red sword felt familiar and comforting. Soft illumination shone through the paper from one wall, where Lux could hear animated voices speaking.

“I’m telling you Jess, she’s harmless,” Chad said, his deep rumble making it easy for Lux to hear him through the thin walls.

“How do you know? From what I understand, you found her in a cave for Divine’s sake. She was probably put there for a reason!” A feminine voice, who Lux assumed was Jess, replied in a not-so-quiet whisper.

“Did you want me to just leave her there? She was dyin’, Jess!” Chad said.

”And how do you know that? She could have been faking it!”

”I don’t think she could fake passing out like that. And you saw how thin she was.”

Jess didn’t reply immediately. After a minute of silence, Lux heard a sigh and Jess’s voice again.

“Fine, she can stay here for a while. At least until we can figure out where she belongs.”

“Thank you, Jess,” Chad’s voice was soft and grateful.

Lux was about to stand, and walk out when the door slid open just enough for two small children to peak their heads in. They were identical, with short black hair and bright, curious, green eyes. Under their left eyes was a small, silver star, like the one Lux had seen on Tara. They stared at Lux, and she gave a small self-conscious wave. One of them spoke up.

“Mama, the cave lady is awake!” the child said, looking back over her shoulder.

“Why are her eyes red? I’ve never seen red eyes before,” the other child said, looking Lux directly in the eyes.

“I told you two to stay put!” Jess said before approaching the room, “Leave the poor girl alone.”

Jess appeared in the open door, pulling it open farther. She was about a foot shorter than her husband, but had the same black hair streaked with grey and a pretty face, with soft features and smile lines. Her eyes were the same sparkling green as her children’s, and she seemed to be shaping Lux up with them, scanning her with a piercing glare only a mother could pull off. Her gaze softened slightly as Lux averted her gaze and clasped her hands in front of herself.

“Hello, child. My name is Jessica, but everyone calls me Jess. Wha-“

“I thought your name was Mama!” one of the twins interrupted, theatrical shock on her face.

“Oh hush! Don’t interrupt me!” Jess chided, shooting a glare at the child who spoke, who was now giggling. A smile crossed Lux’s face at the children’s antics.

“Anyway,” Jess continued, “What's your name?”

“My name is Lux. Thank you for taking care of me,” Lux replied, dipping her head.

“The manners on this one!” Jess laughed, her body language relaxing, “Welcome to our home, Lux. Can you stand? I bet you are thirsty.”

Lux nodded and attempted to stand up. Her muscles were still aching, and she nearly fell. Jess had stepped forward, however, and caught Lux’s arm before she fell to the ground.

“Thank you,” Lux said, feeling blood color her cheeks.

A look of concern passed over Jess’s face, but she didn’t say anything, simply helping Lux to walk out of the room and seat her at a table in the adjoining room. The short walk had helped Lux stretch and the burning in her limbs seemed to lessen a small amount. Jess brought her a glass of water, which she gratefully accepted, draining it in a few gulps. Lux set the glass back on the table and looked up to see Chad staring intently at her. Lux averted her gaze and grasped her hands together under the table so they couldn’t see them shaking.

Lux’s mind was in turmoil now that she had a moment to fully wake up. She had no idea where this place was, nor why she was in that cave with those strange pillars that pulsed with power. The fear and anxiety tried to claw its way up her throat. Chad’s intentions with bringing her to his home were also unclear, but Lux didn’t think he meant to harm her based on the conversation she overheard earlier. She was certain however, that she owed him and Tara.

“We ain’t gonna hurt you, lass,” Chad said, his voice soft.

Lux looked up and met his eyes. The guarded look he had before was gone, replaced with one of concern.

“Is it ok if we ask you a few questions?” He said in the same gentle voice, gesturing to his wife.

Lux nodded but went back to staring at the table.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Chad asked.

“I had woken up in that cave, and I was extremely thirsty. You and Tara gave me some water, and then I passed out again,” Lux replied hesitantly.

Chad nodded, and asked another question: “What were you doing down there?”

Lux didn’t answer for a moment, trying to dig the answer out of her mind. She came up blank, to her frustration.

“I don’t know,” Lux said, shaking her head, “I just remember waking up. I know I was put there by someone, but I can’t remember any details.”

Chad frowned. “Do you remember why they put you down there, or when?”

Lux shook her head again, not trusting herself to speak. She couldn’t remember why she was in that cave, or who put her there, but it made her incredibly sad for a reason that she couldn’t put her finger on.

Chad sighed and leaned back in his chair, causing it to creak in protest. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, noting the slight tremor in Lux’s arms.

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“Are you hungry?” Jess said, laying a gentle hand on Lux’s shoulder.

Lux looked up surprised, but nodded, noticing for the first time how hungry she was. Jess smiled and moved to the small stone stove, lighting it and setting a large copper pot on it. Lux’s attention was drawn away from Jess as Chad spoke again.

“That’s a fine sword you have there,” Chad said, nodding to the room Lux had been sleeping in, “I didn’t even know you had it until Tara had shoved it in my bag. I tried drawing it, but it seemed like the blade was stuck. I couldn’t get the damned thing out of its scabbard.”

“Thank you, I think. I’m not sure myself where it came from, but I do know it’s important to me,” Lux said, looking at the room. She instinctively glanced to the room where the offending sword still sat. The feelings attached to the blade were extremely complicated and she wasn’t sure if she was capable of untangling the unpleasant knot.

“Do you know how to use it?” Chad said, giving Lux an appraising look.

Lux shrugged, and stiffly got to her feet, waving off Chad’s offered hands. Her muscles burned as she made the trek to the room, but it felt like she was loosening up with every step, and the pain was no longer unbearable. She picked up her sword and walked back to the small living area, standing in an empty spot in the room. She held the sword in her left hand by its scabbard.

“May I?” Lux asked, looking at Chad.

He looked worried but nodded. Lux nodded back and gripped the handle with her right hand. A comforting warmth seeped into her hand, and a flash of light pulsed from the seam between the blade and the guard. With the ease of practice only her body remembered, she drew the sword with a hiss. As the blade cleared the scabbard, Chad sucked in a breath and Jess, who had been watching out of the corner of her eye, gasped and dropped her knife on the vegetables she had been chopping.

The blade was made long, straight, and thin, curving to a wicked point. However, the blade seemed to be made of two different types of metal. The edge was made of a pure white metal that nearly glowed compared to the black spine that seemed to eat the light around it. Where the two disparate metals met, they seemed to swirl together, making it nearly impossible to tell where one ended and the other began despite the fundamentally opposed colors. Most notably of all was the engraving on the side of the blade. A diving bird made of flames was etched into the dark metal with shimmering red lines. The carving was so intricate it felt like the flaming bird was going to peel off the blade and burn the place down in its fury.

Everyone, including Lux, stared at the blade with wonder. The grip felt right in Lux’s hand, like it was made for her, and she smiled, taking comfort in the fact she had something that unmistakably was hers. She nodded and sheathed the sword with one practiced motion before looking up.

Jess and Chad had troubled looks on their faces, staring at Lux and sword. The two children, who had been watching from where their mother had been, had a starstruck expression on their faces. Before Jess could stop them, they had run up to Lux and were staring up at Lux with sparkling eyes

“That was so cool!” The twins said in unison.

“Can you do it again?” The one with a grey scarf tied around her neck said to Lux before turning to other one, “You could sense that too, right Hikari?”

The one with a tan scarf nodded vigorously. “I did Megumi! Are you a mage Lux?”

Lux looked at the two twins with a furrowed brow, “What do you mean, mage?” She asked.

“You don’t know what a mage is?” Hikari said incredulously, “Everyone knows what mages are!”

Just then, the door opened, and Tara walked in. She was considerably cleaner than last time Lux had seen her, and she had changed out of her work clothes into a simple white shirt and loose black pants. The twins immediately left Lux and ran up to Tara, who was closing the door behind her. The ran into her, hugging her abdomen and looking up at her, talking excited.

“Aunt Tara, Lux is a mage!” Hikari said.

“Aunt Tara, Lux doesn’t know what a mage is!” Megumi said at the same time.

Tara chuckled, and peeled off the kids, crouching and pulling them into a hug.

“One at a time, one at a time,” She said, ruffling their hair.

“Lux said she doesn’t know what a mage is,” Megumi started.

“Even though she used magic to get her sword open!” Hikari finished.

Tara looked to Chad and Jess’s concerned looks, then to Lux who was still standing with her sword sheathed in her left hand. She raised an eyebrow and stood walking towards Lux, who looked down at her gaze.

“Well, let's see it,” Tara said, stopping a couple feet in front of Lux.

Lux nodded and drew the multicolored blade. The same flash of light pulsed out of the seam when she did. She didn’t swing it this time, just drawing the blade a few inches to expose the firebird pattern. She held it open for a few heart beats before sheathing it. Lux had a hard time looking Tara in the eye for some reason. The shorter woman intimidated her with her piercing sapphire eyes that bored her.

“That was indeed magic,” Tara said in a cautious voice. Her stance changed from relaxed to wary. Lux took note of this, though she wasn’t sure exactly how she knew. Some instinct told her that she should get ready for a fight. She had to fight down the urge to draw her sword. Instead, Lux examined the feeling she got when she drew her sword. She felt a small pull on something that was just under her skin but wasn’t physical. It felt like there was a force that was in every cell in her body, and energy that begged to be used. The power felt contained, like she was instinctively holding the strange and immense power back. She also sensed that she could release it with a thought. She refrained, and instead focused deeper in herself.

She found that even deeper in her body, veins of the power flowed in intricate patterns around her body, all connecting to a core, positioned directly in the center of her chest, under her heart. It throbbed with power. The energy, what she assumed was magic, flowed in and out of the core at many points. It fascinated her as she watched the power flow around in increasingly complex patterns.

There was a cough, and Lux turned her focus back to the world around her with a start. Everyone in the room was looking at her with various expressions of confusion. Lux’s cheeks colored and she looked down, mumbling an apology.

Tara snorted and said, “Well, I guess the cave girl has magic.” She regarded Lux one more time before turning to Chad and handing him a small sack. “Ma wanted me to give you these for tonight since you have a guest. Don’t worry, we have plenty. The gardens are producing well.”

Chad smiled and took the sack, slapping a meaty palm on Tara’s shoulder.

“Well, since you brought the food, stay for dinner. It’s always good to have you here!” Chad said.

Dinner was awkward, but good. Lux didn’t realize how hungry she was, and ate with gusto, but refrained from eating another bowl until Chad insisted she take another bowl. Tara joked with Jess and her kids, but pointedly avoided talking to Lux. Lux, for her part, tried to keep to herself, but the twins constantly peppered her with questions that she couldn’t answer until Chad noticed how uncomfortable she was and told them off.

After dinner was taken care of, Lux helped Jess and Chad clean up. They protested, but caved eventually when she insisted Eventually, everyone settled down, leaving the dining room and moving to the building’s roof which was set up as a communal space with various cushions and woven chairs scattered around an iron brazier which glowed with warm red light from several rough red crystals.

Lux reached the top of the short ladder she had to climb to reach the top and looked around at the city, an involuntary gasp leaving her lips. Chad, seeing her expression, chuckled and said “Welcome to Sacred Mountain, the city of Crystals.”

The city was settled in the heart of a hollow mountain. Seven massive pillars rose from the ground into the sky, connecting to the roof. Each one was equidistant from each other with one much bigger pillar in the middle Spiraling around it were buildings made of sparkling glass and stone. Each pillar on the had a different color, white, red, yellow, green, blue, and black. The middle pillar was different, however. It looked like a massive, ancient tree growing from the ground. It must have been more than a mile away, but Lux could make out the texture of the bark from the roof she stood on. The leaves of the tree spread across the roof in great veins, glowing with swirling reds, oranges, and pinks like a sunset over plains.

Lux stood, mesmerized at the sight. Most of her memories were still missing great chunks but she was certain she had never seen anything like this before.

“You best be careful Lux, you might catch something like that,” Chad said laughing.

Lux realized she had been standing at the edge of the roof, staring up at the sparkling ceiling with her mouth slightly ajar. She blushed and closed her mouth, earning a round of laughter from the rest of the family. Despite her embarrassment, she smiled and joined in. For some reason, she was sure that this was the first time she had laughed in a very long time.