Ada slowly went down wide marble stairs. She could hear how maids in the kitchen were gossiping about her family's money. The women seemed very surprised as they saw the little girl standing in the doorway.

- Ah, Miss Andara, you are still home? We didn't know!

Ada didn't answer but gave maids a cold gaze and left. She didn't have any mood to tell those women anything. She didn't have any mood to talk at all. The small girl felt herself horribly betrayed.

El put a spell on her before sending the kids back home. The spell didn't let Ada tell her grandmother about what had happened yesterday. This made the girl feel even worse. Not only was she betrayed by somebody she considered her friend, but she also couldn't even help her beloved grandmother to deal with her biggest enemy.

How could this even happen? El knew that man, she obviously didn't have any antipathy to him; she didn't fear him and didn't condemn him. No, not just him. HIM! The Monster above all monsters! The one who turned innocent inhabitants of HIS home Terra into horrible blood-thirsty monsters. The one who gathered the most disgusting dark magicians around HIM!

"Before it became Terrorem" - Ada was full of rage but those words somehow stuck in her head. The girl left the mansion and slowly walked towards Nulla City Archive. Chronicles of all known Terras and most important events in all dimensions were carefully gathered and stored there.

"Terra Terrorem: the forbidden land" was written in the book. A thick folio wrapped in dark red leather, the color of blood. The little witch looked through the pages. To her disappointment, she could only find a nearly complete bestiary of

Terrorem’s monstrous inhabitants and a long list of most prominent crimes, committed by Deas Dalias. Ada had to scroll through the book again. Nothing. A small piece of paper stuck in the cover caught the girl's attention. “…gsten suppli…rra Ar…” – was all that the girl could read.

“rra Ar” could be Terra Arma or Terra Arbores. The witch quickly picked up archives of those two dimensions. She couldn’t find a word about the forbidden land in ancient time chronicles of Terra Arbores. However, in a folio about Terra Arma Ada noticed a short phrase: “Terra Copia in partnership with Bargal's Portals Corporation – Tungsten supplies 8739-42NM year”. That was the only mention the witch could find.

That wasn't much. In fact, it was way too little. Yes, around 250 years had passed since the day when Deas came to power. This could be a whole eternity for humans and most magicians, but not for the supreme ones. Ada remembered how El recently told the boys about such wizards. Those were considered to be chosen by the universe and, gifted with a great power, they were embodiments of pure magic. The redhead also mentioned that most of the council members belonged to this kind. As a granddaughter of a supreme witch herself, Ada knew how long a life of those magicians could be. Most of the elders were already more than 250 years old.

Yet, there was at least some connection to Bargal's Portals Corporation. Ada scrolled through the family’s archive, hoping to find more information. Vainly. Their chronicles looked as if the story of an ancient transport company had started only 250 years ago.

The girl took some other books. Terra Ores was transporting its goods to other dimensions with the help of Bargal's for the last 462 years. Terra Agros - this year they were celebrating 500 years of jubilee of their partnership with Bargal's. Terra Pisces Populus - 348 years of work with the transport corporation.

As the granddaughter of the Head of the council, Ada had access to all sections of the Archive. So, the little witch returned all the folios she took back to the shelves and proceeded to the accounting department. For some reason, fortunately for Ada, there was nobody there today. "Probably, there is something important at the council" - concluded the girl. She spent hours trying to figure out complicated financial reports and schemas. Providers, transporters, resellers, buyers. Ada felt that her head was about to explode. Nevertheless, she still couldn't find any reports of Bargal's older than 250 years.

There must have been some mistake. There must have been some logical explanations. The Bargals were old friends of Ada's family. She heard once from her mother that grandmother Iduna befriended them during the "Terra Copia times". The girl didn't pay much attention to that phrase back then. Now, however, those words popped up in her memory.

Ada snuck out from the accounting department. She knew for sure, Tademo Bargal, like all elders, was now at the council. Probably, talking to him Ada could find the reason for this strange mistake.

As she approached the council hall, the witch saw a huge, dark figure in a neat gray tailcoat. The man steadily descended the granite stairs and confidently headed to the already waiting for him carriage. He looked pleased and calm.

"Arcada" - recognized him the girl. For a second, she wondered, if that huge man knew about his ward's friendships.

On her way upstairs Ada met some other elders. They were actively discussing something with distinctive relief in their voices.

The office of Tademo was empty. The little witch carefully looked inside. The room was in chaos. The floor was covered with papers. Hundreds of pages of various documents. Contracts. Invoices. Travel journals. Books were lying on the floor as well. It was clear; somebody tore out some valuable parts of them. Ada looked around and noticed some papers smoldering in the chimney. The fire had already buried most secrets that were captured on the pages. Yet, with a help of some magic it was still possible to read few letters: “…era Co……silent guard”.

The girl left the room devastated. On her way down she asked other elders about Tademo.

- Ah, he has left shortly after the meeting. He said, he urgently needed to take care of something. – thoughtfully replied an old wizard – I don’t know what he meant.

Ada wandered through the corridors lost in her thought. She could find less and less logical explanations to this all.

- Watch where you walk, child! - a familiar voice made the girl raise her eyes.

- Grandmother! - the little witch bowed immediately.

- What are you doing here? I don't remember calling you today? - asked Iduna in her strictly official manner.

- I just...Looks like something important has happened...- Ada didn't want to tell her grandmother, why she actually came.

- Unfortunately, not, my child. I am highly disappointed in my fellow colleagues, who turned out to be pathetic cowards. The council voted against the invasion of Terra Terrorem. I assume; we will have to discuss it again later!

Hearing this Ada felt relief too. Only now she realized how possible a horrible and bloody war was. It wasn’t anything abstract and theoretical anymore, it was very real and, fortunately, today the council managed to avoid making this crucial mistake. "Good. Because, what if he isn't guilty?" – the girl thought unexpectedly for herself.

- Why do you want this war, though? – Ada suddenly asked.

- What do you mean? To restore order and balance! - Iduna seemed to be rather surprised.

- But you avoided dealing with Deas for several centuries. You were the one to finish the second war with Terra Terrorem.

- I changed my opinion! Now it is the time! - the Head of the council looked very irritated.

- But why?

- Andara! You are asking meaningless questions that are out of a child's competence!

- You know, I'm not a child! – the little witch frowned.

She didn't expect to hear such words from her grandmother. Iduna had always accented her granddaughter's exceptional knowledge and abilities. Apparently, she changed her opinion on this point as well.

- You still don't understand many things. How old are you? 10?

- I'm 12! - Ada huffed.

- See, you are too small. - Iduna turned around and was about to leave.

- What had happened at Terra Copia? - suddenly screamed the girl.

- What? - the Head of the council slowly turned her head.

- How did you meet the Bargals? - Ada asked loudly.

It took her some seconds to understand what had happened. She suddenly felt a sharp burning pain on the face and then an unpleasant taste of metal in her mouth. Iduna slapped the girl's face so strongly that Ada's nose began to bleed.

- Do not ask such stupid questions ever again, child! - the old witch whispered angrily.