“Mel we don’t have much time. The phoenix is trying to hatch but it doesn’t have enough energy to do so. If we want her to survive then we need to work together to develop the song of light. It is the only thing that would have enough creation energy in it to let her hatch without any adverse affects. We need to compile everything that we know about light and use all of our knowledge to fill in the blanks left behind.”

After telling Mel what needed to be done I tried to put my mind towards piecing together everything that I knew about light but my thoughts were jumbled. Fear clouded my mind with the knowledge that I was running out of time. Mana weighed down on me with an intensity that I had never felt before. The power around me made me feel nearly invincible further distracting me with images of what I could do with it.

No! I can’t let these distractions get the better of me! The scar I wear was gained because I was too weak to master my power. If I let myself be stopped by fear or be mislead by overconfidence then I will fall right back into that trap! This is my mind my power and it will bend to my will!

With a deep breath the panic fell away and thoughts of grandeur were dissipated. My mind cleared and I was able to put my focus towards the task at hand.

What is light? What does it do?

The first thing to come to mind is the sun. It provides light to the world. With it there is a cycle of day and night. The light pushes back the darkness but it also gives more than that. With the light comes life. All of the plants I saw while outside needed that light to survive. They took the energy that is gave and were able to grow.

So light is connected to life but there is more to it than that. When I was laying in the clearing where I learned about the wind it burned me. So light can bring life but it can also bring harm to things. That’s another piece of the puzzle but there has to be more to it. I am getting close but there are a few things I am missing.

As my thoughts started to slow Mel began to send images to me trying to help.

A large tree.

A blinding radiance filled with warmth.

A long shadow.

An empty crater.

What do all of these represent? The first two are obvious I already drew those same conclusions. How does a shadow connect to light? Wouldn’t that fall into the song of darkness? Also isn’t that the crater where Cindra died? That is definitely part of the song of darkness so why would Mel show them to me unless…

I start running the song of darkness through my head again reviewing each line and trying to find its meaning. As I went through it a realization started to dawn on me. The song of darkness is all about something reaching the end of the cycle! If the cycle has an end then it must begin somewhere.

Light and dark aren’t total opposites like I first thought they were. Light is just the beginning of the path while dark is at the end of that path. The two are at different ends but are still connected and neither can exist on its own.

As the realizations started to come to me I could feel my understanding of the world deepen. Pieces in my mind twisted and began falling into place as a new melody that had always been just outside of my hearing began to hum through the air.

This melody spoke of creation the birth of new things and infinite possible beginnings. I let the melody wash over and around me listening to its ebbs and flows. The longer I listened to it the more I began to feel my body resonate with it. The song could feel all of the potential for life within the Twilight Grove and it wanted to start something new.

With my entire body in tune with the new song I started to move. Every motion grabbed onto the power within the grove twisting and moving it to where it needed to be. My movements were my own but at the same time they were the song’s, two parts working in harmony.

Clouds of power swirled around the room and just as the first sparks of new life began to thrum through the ground I opened my mouth and began to sing.

Darkness fades with dawns first light

A world bathed in warmth and life

Out of shadow’s hold the new day’s born

Its time to rise so lift your head

If your path just starts or continues on

It’s not the end

So take a step don’t be weighted down

The day has dawned and new things wait

See them all and know that life continues on

From dark to light the cycle flows

From each death a new life grows

The end has passed and the start is here

A brand new day in the endless flow

It may be cruel, It might bring pain

Life’s not free from darkest days

But the sun still shines, It will always rise

To bring new hope to empty eyes

The light of life, the warmth of hope

The cycle turned to bring new life

As I sang everything in the grove moved. The stars and moon lighting the cavern glowed brighter than ever, the clouds of mana shone with a new brilliance before swirling into ancient patterns. Circle after circle formed all across the grove before pulsing with light.

In that flash something new was born. The Twilight Grove had transformed from a place that was only a reminder of what had died before into something beyond anything I could have imagined. Every thought every image that I had believed the grove could have become was realized and surpassed. The song of light had used all of the power I had put into the room to give birth to something new.

I was still standing on the old heart tree’s island but outside of that was a garden that was beyond explanations. Quiet creeks and waterfalls snaked through the new hills and trees. Flowers in full bloom wafted pleasing scents through the air. A great tall tree hollowed out shone with an inviting light. The home that I had imagined that I didn’t know I had been longing for had finally been born.

A sharp cracking sound brought my attention to my feet where the phoenix egg was shaking cracks spreading across its surface. The song had not only given me the home I had dreamed about it had also give the phoenix, my phoenix, the strength to hatch.

With a few more shakes and sharp cracking sounds the egg exploded outward and a new phoenix was born. She was beautiful. Standing only about two hand spans tall she was covered in fiery feathers. Reds and oranges flowed into bright yellows and the smallest flickers of flames traced along her body.

Instantly upon laying eyes on her I felt a deep connection snap into place. The bond was not like that seen between a mother and child but like one that is between two best friends who would do anything for each other. The bond was like the one that I had with Mel.

Falling to my knees I quickly pulled her to me and cuddled her to my chest. The phoenix rubbed affectionately against my cooing happily as new thoughts and images from its mind came to me. “Haha I’m so happy that you’re okay.” I managed to get out between laughs and a few tears of relief. Her feathers wer so soft and a little ticklish. Between that and the feelings of love and joy being sent across our link made it a little hard to focus.

“I should probably name you shouldn’t I? I don’t think it would be right to keep calling you phoenix now that you are hatched, but what should it be? Hmmm… you need something good.” I stopped to think for a few moments. Memories of everything that had happened to bring the two of us to this point flickered through my mind and finally the perfect name came to me.

“I’m going to name you Ember. You were the last spark in a dying fire but from that one small spark new life and flames were born. Together the two of us will make sure your fire burns long and bright. So how about it?” Ember cooed and chirped happily sending thoughts of agreement happiness and then hunger to me causing me to laugh again.

“Well I guess you would be hungry after all of that. Let’s see what do I have that you can eat?” Pausing I focused on the knowledge of phoenixes that Cindra had given me. “Okay so it seems that you can eat just about anything but until you are older and strong enough to hunt on your own I will just be feeding you mana.”

Willing a small ball of my liquid mana to appear I was slightly startled by how fast and easily it appeared. Recovering quickly so to not loose the ball of mana I refocused and offered it to Ember who eagerly consumed it. Letting out a happy chirp and snuggling tighter into me she promptly fell asleep.

“Haha I guess you were rather tired after all you have been through today. You just sleep now. I should probably check the notifications I have been getting before it gets any angrier at me.” I whisper with a soft chuckle. Looking down to the corner of my vision at the light angrily blinking there I open my notifications.

Ding…

Meditation has reached level 15!

Mana Channels has evolved into High Flow Channels!

High Flow Channels – You have changed the nature of you mana channels. Now encased in a layer of mananite your mana channels have become more resilient and are able to handle a much greater pressure allowing for faster mana flow. With their current design they are nearly indestructible. The pressure you are able to put them through is up to you. Current bonus – 3x faster mana flow.

High Flow Channels has reached level 18!

Mana Manipulation has reached level 39!

Coalescence has reached level 20!

Liquid Healing Matrix has reached level 22!

Spellweaver has reached level 25!

Enhancement Matrix has reached level 9!

Quest Alert: The Endless Song

A song of incomprehensible power that bends the very laws of nature; it is beyond your current understanding. To know this song you must know the 6 primal aspects of nature. Feel them, listen to them, and understand them.

- Understand Fire (x)

- Understand Wind (Complete)

- Understand Water (Complete)

- Understand Earth (Complete)

- Understand Light (Complete)

- Understand Darkness (Complete)

Reward: The Endless Song

Spellsinger has reached level 11!

Druidic Defender has reached level 23!

Partial Domain created!

Partial Domain – A domain is you seat of power. In this place the natural world has been saturated with your power and has become deeply connected to you. With this connection mana regenerates 10x faster and spells are 2x more potent while inside the domain. The holder is also able to use their influence to bend the natural environment to their will and is even able to affect others ability to use or access mana. As you do not yet have the ability to fully claim The Twilight Grove you are only given a partial domain. With this you are able to regenerate mana at 3x speed and experience a 1.25x boost to spell potency. You are not yet able to bend the environment or affect others ability to use mana.

Oh wow that really is a lot of gains I earned over the past… however long it’s been since I went into meditation. I’ve definitely grown a lot stronger with the changes that I made to my mana channels. With the bonuses I get for increased mana flow I will be able to make spells faster. I am also on the cusp of understanding enough to use the endless song. I can feel it at the back of my mind now and the only piece I am still missing is fire.

This bit about domains is also interesting. It is obviously something very powerful and I guess it is what came from mee trying to claim the Twilight Grove but I’m not quite sure why it says I can’t claim it yet. Maybe it is because I haven’t yet completed the quest given to me by the old heart tree. I will need to think about that. I know I still have to defeat the four queens but something tells me that I am still not ready for that yet.

Speaking of my gains from meditation what was the deal with that crystal wall in the temple I think I should head over there and see if I can figure anything out. It is where my mana is coming from so it is something that I should know about.

“Alright Mel you were a huge help in getting me to finish the song of light but now its time for our next adventure. I learned something interesting about that old temple I woke up in and we need to go investigate. Hey what’s up with you?” Just as I am about to stand up to head to the temple I notice Mel has gone through some changes.

Where the was once just a small thread of crystal on Mel’s seed there is now only a little of the original seed left while the rest is crystal. The crystal has grown around her in shimmering shades of purple black and white with streaks of blue. It feels nothing like a regular crystal would feeling smooth, soft, and almost alive.

In response to my question Mel just sends feelings of completeness and reassurance. Not really sure what else to do I can only shrug and take it that Mel would know what is best for her. With my curiosity sated for now I turn and walk to the temple where everything began.

Walking into the dark room a confusing mix of emotions fills me as I see the murals wrapped around the wall and the alter where my life as I know it began. More than being happy, sad, frightened, or excited to see it the room just makes me feel confused as the old questions of my origins come to the surface.

Trying not to get lost in thought I force myself to focus on the dark crystal wall that stands across from me. It still looks exactly the same as it did on the day I woke up to see my own frightened reflection in it. I now know that there is something more to it and determined to find out what it it I cross the room until I am able to place one shaky palm against its surface.

Balancing Ember in one arm I focus all of my attention on the feeling of the wall against my hand. At first it feels just like it did on that first day, cold solid, and unmoving. Knowing there must be something more I let myself fall into a light meditation. As my mind clears I feel a small pulse of energy flit through my awareness.

Excited I try to follow the pulse but lose it as I fall out of my trance. Pouting slightly at my mistake I focus on recentering and calming myself to once again enter a near meditative state. With my mind quieting down I am able to quickly feel the energy pulsing through the wall once again. This time I am able to stay focused and begin using some of my own magic to follow the pulses.

I let my power twist and flow through the crystal until my senses come to a small tightly packed ball of energy. The ball pulses and hums and something inside me whispers the word ‘key’.

So this is some kind of key? If so it must be what opens the path to whatever is beyond this door. I almost feel like the key is trying to sing to me… or maybe it wants me to sing to it? Yeah that feels more like the right answer, now I only need to find the right notes.

Focusing on my Spellsinger abilities I let myself resonate with the world around me and open myself to the melodies of the world. Withing the rising tide of songs I am able to pick out and isolate a single one quieter and overshadowed by the rest. Focusing on that one song I let it grow in my mind before I begin to hum the melody it projects.

The effect is almost instantaneous. A large pulse of energy flows through the crystal and I pull my hand away as I feel it start to change on a fundamental level. Just looking at it there doesn’t seem to be any change but I know that something is different.

Hesitantly reaching out one finger I tap the crystal before quickly withdrawing my hand. Where I had touched it ripples form like they would on the surface of a lake. The ripples flow over the crystal before it once again settles to once again look like a perfectly smooth wall.

“Okay that is pretty weird Mel. It felt almost like I was touching water. I think that we should be able to cross through it now. Are you ready?” Getting a hesitant affirmation from Mel I firm up my resolve and step through the wall.

It feels like stepping through a sheet of water only the water has no temperature and none of clings to you after you get out. The thick liquid feeling of it makes me shiver slightly as I get my first look at what was behind the wall.

The room is small dark and perfectly circular. The only light comes from the nine archways sealed by panes of smokey glass and a large circular section of the floor that is made of the same material. The only thing visible through the fog that fills each is a large glowing symbol.

If the temple outside had felt old this place felt ancient. The air carried a feeling of timelessness and a heaviness of barely restrained power. Drawn by a feeling of familiarity I walked around the small room lost in a haze of missing memories. Each time I would walk past an arch marked with a symbol a name or possibly a title would come to me and I instinctively knew what it was.

At the first arch “Alpha.”

Next was a symbol of a winding path “The Traveler.”

Then the symbol of a lute “The Musician.”

A long thin sword “The Warrior”

An open book “The Researcher.”

A small hut “The Chief.”

A cracked heart “The Lover.”

A dying tree “The Defiler.”

An empty circle “The Hollow.”

And finally, the symbol glowing on the floor “Omega.”

Questions swirled through my mind and I sunk to my knees unable to process everything at once. I stared at the large symbol for Omega on the floor and with my head spinning I asked. “What is this place? What do each of these symbols really mean? Why do I know the title associated with each path? Who do these titles belong to?”

My questions go unanswered in the silent room, my memory still just as blank and lacking of answers as the smokey panes of glass surrounding me.