After a short journey through the streets of this unknown city, I was led into a house filled to the brim with people. Upstairs I went and into a room where a woman was screaming. She was giving birth, I realized.

Before any of them had the time to react, their rescuer had already left the inn not waiting to see if they would follow. With a quick look at each other, Samos once again saw they were waiting for him to make the decisions. Trusting his gut instinct that this man meant them no harm, he made for the door and was soon followed by the others.

The man awaited them further down the street, checking the corners before proceeding. With a quick glance back he turned right and disappeared from sight. Hastily, Samos hastened his step to catch up. Behind him, he could hear his friends hurry as well. Eder would have no trouble keeping up, but Yara and Faye could not keep this tempo up for long before getting exhausted.

He reached the street in which the man had turned and once again saw him waiting at the end, this time turning left and disappearing again. The chase went on for a while, driving them deeper south into the city away from the harbour and the palace. Looking back, Samos could still clearly make out the grey plumes of smoke the fires were causing.

What was going on?

After what seemed like an eternity, the white-garbed man finally came to a stop. They had reached the southern walls surrounding the city.

Samos came to a halt and was no long after joined by Yara, Faye and finally Eder. The two women were breathing heavily, the effort of the long run shaking them on their legs.

“We weren’t followed,” Eder told them. “I backtracked a few times to make sure, but I couldn’t see or sense anyone.”

The men in white garbs grunted and spoke with an accent Samos couldn’t place. “If you’d learn how to control your Enhancement properly, there would be no need for backtracking. You walk around like a bull in a porcelain store and are surprised people are able to follow you.”

“What…” Eder began confused but the man shushed him.

“There will be time for questions later. For now, we need to get out of the city. Follow me and be quiet, I’ve sealed off access to this particular spot on the walls, but it won’t take long for they discover the seal.”

He started for a set of stone stairs built into the wall and climbed up, immediately followed by the four others. Once up the empty wall, he pointed at Samos and Eder first, then at Faye and Yara, making a carrying motion as he did.

Without further explanation he jumped down the walls onto the brown grassland below.

“I think he meant we should carry the two of you and jump down,” Eder explained and Samos nodded.

Yara looked sceptical, Faye’s cheeks flustering.

“No time for arguing,” Samos said sternly and he picked Yara up before she had the chance to object. Not waiting to see if Eder followed his example, he Enhanced his entire body and jumped down from the wall. Yara gave a cry as they fell, but three seconds later they landed safely on the ground.

“And you do that for fun?” she asked, striking her hair back.

“Sometimes,” he grinned as besides them, Eder landed with Faye in his arms. They were both showing red cheeks, Samos realized and he thought he saw Yara give a quick wink to Faye.

Their rescuer had already moved further away from the city, waiting at a rocky outcrop that hid him from any eyes that might be spying outwards from onto the walls. With a final sprint, they joined him behind the rocks and were suddenly faced with a gang of seven horses, one of them occupied by another man in similar clothing as their rescuer.

“Where’s the fifth?” he asked his companion who mounted a horse of his own, the same thick accent resounding in his voice.

“Couldn’t make it. Get on the lot of you. We have quite the journey ahead, no need to give them the chance to catch up with you.”

“Who’s them?” Samos couldn’t help but asking.

He was answered with another grunt. “Get on the horses, we need to leave this place first. You can ask your questions once we’re away from this place.”

Realizing there was no other option left, they did as instructed and choose a horse each. Before long they were galloping over dry fields, grass growing brown rather than green.

Looking back, Samos watched Vorna grow smaller by the second, small plumes of grey smoke still finding their way to the clouds above them. Not two hours ago everything had been just fine.

Now they were alone and on the run with men they didn’t even know the names of or why they were helping them. Without Ralph.

Yara must have seen the worry in his eyes. “He’ll be alright, Samos. Lord Aëron is the most skilled fighter we know and I’m sure everyone on the ships got away safely from the fires.”

She didn’t sound convinced. But what was the point of negative thinking? Of course everyone was alright. Rey had no doubt fought of anyone trying to attack him, Alvina at his side and Yoren supporting them. They had to be alright.

Finally, after rounding a hill, the city disappeared out of sight. The ride didn’t stop though as the two strangers hurried them on. It was not until the sun caressed the horizon and the night grew darker that they halted, giving the horses a much needed rest.

Leading the horses by the reigns for the last part, the two led them into a small deepening of the earth almost completely surrounded by rocks that were overgrown with moss and the brown grass.

Judging by the charred spot of earth surrounded by small stones, this was a well-known resting place for travellers.

“We’ll camp here for the night,” their rescuer instructed. “If all went well, there shouldn’t be anyone tracking us. If they are, we’ll spot them soon enough.”

The horses were tied to an old rotting trunk and fed, their saddles taken off. One by one, the man who had rescued them patted the horses, speaking soft words to them as he did. In the twilight of the evening, Samos thought he could see small lines of power in the man’s hands being guided into the horses.

A small fire was lit, providing them warmth as the cold of the night began to set in. One by one, they sat themselves around the fire.

Finally, their rescuer joined them once he was done with the horses. He took of his hood and shawl, revealing a tanned face with dark features. He was clean-shaven, but his face was covered with scars from cutting wounds. “If you have questions, now is the time. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge.”

The barrage began.

“Who are you?”

“Who are we running from?”

“How did you find us?”

“Where are we going?”

He held up his hands defensively, waiting for the avalanche of questions to end. He gave a small smile once the silence returned. “Let’s start with introductions. My name is Teiran, he is called Sia,” he started as he pointed towards his companion.”

“You’re Nakin!” Faye blurted out, earning her stares from everyone present. She sputtered. “The names, they’re Nakin.”

Teiran nodded. “We are Nakin, yes. But don’t believe everything you hear or read, we are not as bloodthirsty as some of you seem to think. That’s the who part answered.

“Concerning how we find you and why we are here, we cannot answer that I’m afraid. We were simply given Orders to be at Vorna around this time and await three ships coming from Odera. We were to wait until you were attacked and then guide you away from the city and the ones pursuing you.”

The four of them stared at Teiran.

“But how…” Yara stuttered. “You knew this would happen?”

Teiran shrugged. “We were told something could happen and we should be ready to intervene in case the worst happened. As to how it was known this would happen at this specific day, I cannot tell since I don’t know myself. We simply do as instructed.”

“So you don’t know who attacked us either?” Eder inquired.

Teiran gave a chuckle. “Like I said, we’re only following instructions. But I have my suspicions.”

“Ethel…” Samos whispered and Teiran nodded.

“I know Order ships and Enhancers when I see them. Which brings us to the next topic. Who are the four of you? I’d like to put names to the faces I rescue.”

One by one, they introduced themselves.

Teiran seemed genuinely impressed. “Four… Dovra’Sha you call it? The fifth one with you, who was he?”

“Ralph Aëron, a Son’Sha,” Samos answered and Sia whistled sharply through his teeth, his first contribution to the conversation so far.

“You have funny names for the Talented,” Teiran smiled. “At Dadendam, we use the old names for the gifted ones.”

“Dadendam?” Yara mouthed the word. “Where is that? I’ve never heard of it?”

Teiran’s eyes flashed back and forth from the fire to Yara, a flicker of panic visible for only a second. Sia was staring daggers at Teiran.

“Just a city,” he said quickly. “Of no concern to the lot of you. Get some rest, we have a four day ride to Pelizar ahead of us.”

The two of them stood up and left the fire to go on watch. Once they were alone, the discussion flared up.

“I don’t know if we can trust those two,” Eder started. “They’re Nakin, desert people. They should have no business with us or the Order.”

“And their story of how they got here just doesn’t make any sense,” Faye agreed. “Who could have predicted we would arrive in Vorna today. And that we would be attacked of all things?”

“I agree this is all a strange string of events,” Samos spoke, “but is there really anything else we can do right now? We don’t know where Ralph is, our ships are probably at the bottom of the harbour by now and we’re being chased by Ethel’s men.”

The words were harsh and perhaps he had spoken more severe than intended, but it was the truth. Teiran and Sia were the only ones they could rely on for the moment.

“Hear this out,” he continued. “We go along with them at least until we get to Pelizar. Once we get there, we could look around for any news coming from Vorna and make our decision then.”

They all nodded in agreement and settled back to enjoy the warmth of the fire. Some time later, Teiran returned and took both Samos and Eder apart.

“I’ve been discussing with Sia,” he said, “and we both agreed that I will train the two of you.”

They both regarded him with surprise. Training, now?

“Didn’t you just say we needed to get some rest for tomorrow?” Eder asked and Teiran nodded.

“This is a different sort of Enhancement training, one that is not often practiced and is therefore largely unknown outside the Nakin. No doubt you have been trained sufficiently in Enhancing your entire body by now, capable of handling anything coming at you and standing your ground. Your jumps off the city walls were proof of that.

“The problem however is that the both of you are so unbelievably loud when you run around it’s no wonder you were caught that quickly. And I don’t mean loud as in screaming and yelling, but the sound of everything you do. Your anxiety was almost touchable when you fled away from the harbour, any experienced Enhancer would be able to sense that.

“So in order to make sure you keep quiet next time, you’ll be training to do the opposite of Enhancing.”

“The opposite?” Eder asked in disbelief. “You want us to get weaker?”

Teiran sighed. “That conclusion stems from the belief that Enhancement simply makes your body stronger. It doesn’t. It’s the power inside of you that gets stronger, not your bones or muscles themselves. What I’m talking of doing is called Absorbing.”

“Absorbing,” Samos whispered. “What does it entail?”

“Instead of strengthening every line of power in your body until it glows brightly,” Teiran answered, “you will try to dim its power. It should become nothing but the resemblance of a small white thread. It will absorb the force in itself and fade it away. It will do the same with its surroundings once you can control this fully. Scent, feelings and even sound will eventually be absorbed.

“It’s a very useful and difficult skill to master, but it comes with great disadvantages. Once you find yourself in a state of Absorbing, you will be like any other normal man or woman. If an Enhancer attacks you at a time like that, you will be defenceless.

The lecture seemed to have finished as Teiran instructed them to sit and attempt the absorbing on their fingers. It reminded Samos much of the first couple of exercises he had received from Ralph. Only now, he had to do the opposite.