She watched as Loih and the two Knights rushed into the room. Helnion was expecting more magic to come flying out of the room at them, but it instead came from the plaza behind them.

Helnion had fallen to the side of the doorway and could not see inside, but she could see into the plaza. Her heart jumped as she saw eight men coming their way.

Six of the men were normal-looking enough, but the magic that they were directing at Nie and Etam told her otherwise. The other two men were dressed in full crystal forged armor and were focused on Etam, blocking his magic easily. She was being ignored.

"Hide!" Nie yelled to her.

Helnion very much wanted to do as her brother said. Unlike on Korron, she was not the only one that could use magic. She was probably the worst magic user here.

She started shaking. She knew how easily she could be killed now. She also knew that if she were not being ignored at the moment that she probably would already be dead.

"Go!" Nie shouted at her.

Helnion began to crawl away the way they had come. Were there other bad men this way? Could she get around them or maybe try to escape through a window?

Then she remembered. There was a room filled with magical items. Maybe there was something in there she could use.

Helnion took one more look at Nie and Etam. Nie huddled behind his shield and looked terrified. Etam was also behind his shield but was flinging ice and fire in front of him randomly.

She then looked at the men in the plaza. They were nearly halfway across but had slowed thanks to Etam's attacks, the attacking magic users hiding behind the armor-clad men or taking shelter behind a tree.

Helnion crawled as quickly as she could towards the door to the storage room. It was not far but with the fight going on behind her, her worry for Nie and the fear that she would stop being ignored made the trip like a long journey.

Soon enough Helnion found herself in the room. She in front of her put her at awe. Shelves of crystal items lined the walls. Most of what she saw she could not immediately tell what it did, she would have to use it to find out, and she knew she did not have time for that.

It was the armor and weapons she went for. She knew it was unlikely that any of the armor would fit her, but she could still use a shield and sword. The shields here were much higher quality than any she had seen. She even suspected that one of them had elemental crystals forged into it so it could attack and defend at the same time.

It was this one she chose. It was a little bigger than she liked, but she tried to pick it up, anyway. To her dismay, she found it was all she could do to pick it up with one arm. There was no way she could fight with it.

That left her with getting herself a sword. It did not take her long to find one. Her eyes almost immediately found an ornate sword nearly identical in size and shape to Salis'. It felt heavier than she remembered Salis' being, but she could use it.

Helnion took one last look around the room. How she wished she could stay in here and look at everything. There was some rare or unusual item among all of this. Even if there was not, it was pretty to look at.

She shook her head and looked to the door. She could still hear the sounds of magic hitting the walls of the estate house but could hear nothing from any living thing. She knew she needed to hurry or it would be too late for her to help. It might already be too late.

Helnion rushed out the door, sword ready in both hands.

As soon as she left the room, she saw that their attackers had already made it to the pillars that lined this part of the plaza. She saw no signs of Etam, Nie, or any of the Knights of Sorris. She knew at least one of them was still alive because the magic users were still firing the odd piece of fire or ice into the room and she saw no bodies aside from one of the magic users that had a large burn mark on his chest.

Helnion froze. One mage had spotted her. He glanced over her quickly but then turned his attention back to the room. She was not surprised she was not considered a threat. Even she could see her sword shaking in front of her as she held it.

Helnion began to slap herself slightly, hoping it would calm her down. It worked a little, and she got the courage to move again. She knew there was no way to join the others in the room so she would have to do whatever she was going to do on her own. She was still not sure what she could do to help, but she hoped she would think of something before too long.

Now in the center of the plaza, Helnion took another look at the fight. She could see inside the room but could not make out anyone inside. There were several pieces of toppled furniture in the room, some of which were on fire, and she thought she could make out the odd shield sticking out from one or two of them.

Helnion looked at the men attacking the room. They were still ignoring her and even had their backs turned to her. If she attacked them now, could she kill several of them before they turned on her? Alternatively, she could probably even leave right now if she wanted.

No. There was no way she could leave when she knew her brother, fiance, and protectors were in here dying because she made a deal with a Deity. She also did not want to lose an opportunity to get information on finding Salis. Besides, if things became terrible for her there was a chance Triosa would help. At least she hoped Triosa would help.

Helnion began her preparations to attack. She knew she could consider using the ice attacks Etam had because that was what Triosa had been training her in but it was too slow and she feared that one of the men would look back and realize she could use magic. If they knew that, then she doubted they would continue to ignore her.

So she went with fire. She had not used fire magic in a long while, but it was one of the easier magics to use. Even Salis could make this kind of magic, though she never did for some reason, aside from what her sword made.

Immediately a ball of fire appeared in front of her. It was much larger than she had wanted, but it would do. She made several other balls of fire, making sure they were smaller than the first.

The balls of fire quickly made their ways to their targets. All but one missed. Not that her aim was off, it was that the men were using wind shields and the wind had deflected the fire easily away from them above their heads, the fire splashing onto the ceiling where she saw signs of other fireballs that had been deflected there. The only fireball that had resisted the wind shields had been the biggest one she had first made.

Helnion knew she would only have enough time to attack one more time before the men would counterattack. This time she made three more fireballs as big as the first. Making them this big tired her much more quickly and would take her out of the fight that much sooner than using the same amount of magic for several smaller ones, but it was her best option.

The three fireballs hit their targets just as the men were in mid-turn. The fireballs were so big and hot that they passed through the men. Two of them ran into the backs of the crystal forged armor of the two men on the other side of them where they vanished into nothing as soon as they hit. The last continued into the room her protectors were hiding in where it burned through a table before vanishing, revealing a startled Knight.

Helnion watched the Knight for a second, hoping he was all right before she realized she was in more trouble than he. The last living magic user was now looking directly at her and had already formed several fireballs.

She was wide in the open and could not find a tree or wall to hide behind. This left her with using a wind shield herself. She was never good with wind shields and knew she had no hopes of making one as refined as the attackers' had been, but she had no choice.

Moments before the fireballs came at her, a raging wind formed around her. It tore at her clothes, making it ripple and flap fiercely. She had never created a shield this strong and was surprised at its intensity. It felt like her clothes WOULD be torn off if she kept it up for too long.

The quiet hissing sound of fireballs scorching the air brought her mind back. It was then she also realized her shield had worked. All the fireballs had harmlessly been directed to the open sky above her.

"Helny!" She heard Nie shout at her. "Move!"

Helnion remembered how open of a target she was. While her shield was very effective against all but the biggest fireballs, there were other things magic could do that a wind shield could not protect her from.

Like the large piece of pottery that was now heading right for her. She barely ducked past it at the last moment and began running towards a door that led to the hallway she had been down earlier.

She felt a sharp pain in her right arm, just above the elbow. She stopped behind a tree and looked down. A large piece of ice was sticking out.

"Lady Helnion!" She heard Loih shout. "Keep moving, then escape! Do not worry about us!"

Helnion looked up from her arm and back to the room the others were in. She could not see it well thanks to the tree, but she saw that Loih and the Knights had charged at the attackers, Etam supporting them by flinging chairs, books and other small items at the enemy.

Helnion watched as the Knights charged at the enemy. One of the Knights appeared wounded, but he showed no signs of hesitation as he reached the armored enemies and began to fight.

The tree burst into flames above Helnion. Her shield had stopped another ball of fire but she knew that it would not be long until more ice came and the tree was much too narrow to hide her so she knew she needed to finish getting to the hallway.

Helnion looked at the remaining enemy magic user and saw that he was now keeping an eye on both her and the men trapped in the room, ignoring the Knights.

Just as she was deciding whether to run or continue attacking, the back wall of the room Nie and Etam were still hiding in blew out, spraying even more pieces of wood and plaster into the plaza.

The remaining magic user smiled. He then turned his attention completely at Helnion.

Helnion knew deep down that it was now too late to run. If she left the tree, she would be wide open. The distance to the door was not far but there was no way should could outrun any attacks he would send her way.

Two bears appeared in front of the man. Helnion wondered why he did not continue to attack her with ice or even random objects. She was not sure she wanted to know either, but creating animals from magic would have taken most of his concentration so all she needed to do was get out of the plaza before the bears reached her.

Helnion glanced at her wounded arm, which had gone numb thanks to the ice, before running for the door again. She was already tired, and she did not run as quickly as she had earlier but she still slid open the door to the hallway and close it before the bears had reached her.

The door burst open not long after she had closed it, the door nearly knocking her down as it flew into the hallway and onto her.

Helnion gripped at the sword, which she had forgotten she was still holding. She was not sure how well she could use the sword against the bears with only one arm, especially her left one, but she could not think of any magics at the moment that worked well against the bears.

The bear that had smashed the door down stood on its hind legs, its transparent claws bursting into flames as it readied to finish her. Its transparent eyes looking past her as if it was not sure exactly where she was.

This brought a little hope to her. The man was still outside and could not see her well. If she stayed low where he could not see her through a window then he could only guess where she was.

Helnion rolled to the side, down the hall towards the front entrance, pain shooting through her wound as the melting ice dug into her arm.

The bear did not watch her and stayed looking in the spot she had been before and attacked, its flaming claws scorching the floor.

Helnion could not see the man from where she was, so she was not sure if he thought he had killed her…

The bear dropped back to all fours and began heading for her again, the second bear following the first into the room. Both began to charge.

Helnion picked herself up from the floor, her right arm crying out in pain when she tried to put weight on it. Despite this, she got into a crouch and have her sword at the ready by the time the bears had reached her.

She swung at the first bear. Her left arm strained under the sword's weight but she struck the bear just before it ran into her.

The magic holding the bear together convulsed as the sword went through its translucent body. The bear did not stop, but it had been enough to weaken its form, lessening the blow she received when it hit her.

To her dismay, the blow knocked the sword from her hand, sending it through the bear and further down the hallway. Luckily the bears had run past her and the way to the sword was clear.

The bear she had struck disappeared, although she suspected it was the creator of the bears that had done so.

No sooner had that happened than the man entered the hallway. He looked down at her, showing no emotion, his eyes scanning the scene before him.

Helnion heard a crash outside in the plaza. It sounded like more cracking wood and some shattering pottery.

She jumped to her feet to see what had happened, the man in the hall with her taking a glance as well.

The sight was frightening. Not only was all the debris in and around the room floating in the air, but Nie and Etam were. In the center of the room stood a man clad in full crystal forged plate armor. The only place his armor did not cover were the palms of his hands, which he had raised.

It was what happened next that made Helnion scream.

The man slammed Nie into the wall hard, causing him to drop his shield. Next, she watched helplessly as the man impaled him to the wall with a large broken piece of wood.

Helnion fell to her knees. Her brother was dead. Her dearest brother was gone. Would she soon follow him?

Do not give up! A familiar voice said in her head. The enemy before you is nearly spent. You still have the power to defeat him.

Helnion remembered the reason she was here. Salis was still out there and she needed to do this to find her friend and her brother had just given his life to help her do this.

Helnion's mind finally came to a focus.

She looked up and saw the man in front of her. She could sense the bear behind her.

Helnion formed two large spears of ice above her, the air noticeably becoming dry as she did so.

The spears flew at the man. For a moment surprise and fear jumped on his face. The ice wobbled as he tried to redirect their course with his magic but their course stayed true and the man was soon pierced and dead, landing several paces behind where he had been standing thanks to size and force of the ice.

The bear vanished behind her, though she had not noticed.

In the plaza, she took a quick glance at the Knights and the armored men they were fighting. One of the Knights had fallen back, blood covering his armor while one of their enemies looked to barely stand, and would soon be finished off.

The man in the room had just finished attacking Etam, who was also pinned to the wall. He had not dropped his shield and appeared to be alive, but he would not be helping the fight any longer.

Helnion looked at the tree closest to her and after a moment she soon had it uprooted and floating in the air. She then tilted it so that the top of the tree obscured the view of the man in the room and dropped it. Finally, she began to form a giant ball of ice.

The ball of ice soon became so large that she had trouble picking the tree back up off the ground. In a moment she had steadied the two objects and launched both of them at the man. Even though this spent most of her remaining power, she propelled herself forward with a strong gust of wind, leaving a large plume of dust behind her.

Helnion and the ice soon flew over the heads of the men fighting just in front of the room, the tree striking the remaining armored man violently, sending broken branches and splinters everywhere. She did not care about the fate of the man she had just struck and watched as the ball of ice broke through the branches in its way before continuing into the room.

The ball of ice lurched. It then shifted to the left just in time to miss the man. Helnion had expected as much to happen. What she had hoped was that the man had not expected her to throw herself at him. He hadn't.

By the time he had seen her it was too late for him to stop her. There was not much she could do to the man because of his armor, but she hoped that she could make him easier to kill.

As she flew over the man's head she grabbed at his helmet and pulled on it. It came off with a jerk; the straps yanking his head backward. She could have looked to see the man's expression but did not.

Now all she need was for her wind magic to last long enough to get her through the hole in the room and outside. She did.

Out of the hole, she saw her giant ball of ice resting a few paces in front of her. In a moment she had passed over it. It was then that she began to fall. She tried to catch herself as she landed but her legs collapsed beneath her and she hit the dirt hard, before slamming into a small building.

Helnion's mind began to cloud. She was not sure if it was from fatigue or if her mind was returning to normal, but she knew that she did not have time to lay there on the ground and recover herself.

Helnion looked up. Triosa was standing on the roof of the small building, looking down at her. The woman's veil made it hard to see her expression.

Triosa did not move to help Helnion and looked from her and back inside the building.

Helnion looked up just in time to see one of the Knights engage the man she had stolen the helmet from. She had hoped they would not have been far behind her if the tree had done what she had hoped. Thinking back, she was not sure what it was she hoped it would have done. It would have staggered the man, but the armor would have protected him easily.

Helnion put on the helmet. It stank of sweat, was much too big for her head and blinded her but she did not want to leave it and she wanted her left hand to be free.

"Stay back, Lady Helnion!" The Knight in the room shouted at her just before she reached the hole in the wall. It was Loih.

She knew she would get in the way if she went any farther, but she wanted to watch the last of the fight, whether they won or lost.

She could see the fight well enough from where she had stopped, so she went no further.

Only Loih was in the room fighting so she started looking for the other two Knights. She soon found the unwounded Knight. He still in front of the room taking on the last man in armor.

She turned back to the fight in front of her. Loih looked exhausted. She could see the sweat dripping off of his face as he blocked the attacks from his opponent, who was still throwing objects around with his magic. Thankfully, his armor would keep him from meeting the same fate as Nie and Etam.

Helnion immediately looked at Nie, remembering he was in the room. She then looked away just as quickly. Seeing her brother pinned up on the wall like that was not something she wanted in her memories.

But what of Etam? Was he still alive? He too had been pinned, but he had not looked as bad off when she had seen him earlier.

She looked towards the opposite wall, having to turn the loose helmet on her head.

There he was. A long, thin, but sturdy piece of wood was sticking out of his right shoulder. He was awake and had an intense look of pain on his face. His eyes were open, but they seemed to be unable to focus on anything. He was still holding the shield, although it now hung uselessly at his side.

Helnion heard a scream. It had come from the hallway. When she looked to see what had happened, she saw the last armored man fall to the Knight, who had found a gap in the man's side armor with his sword. The Knight pulled his sword out then kicked the armored man over onto his back before decapitating him. He then immediately rushed into the room to help Loih.

The last man soon began to get pushed back. He was not carrying a sword and Helnion was sure he could not hurt the Knights. There was the sword Nie had dropped, but Loih had been careful enough to keep himself between the sword and the man.

The man smiled. Once again all the objects in the room flew into the air but instead of attacking the Knights the debris soon began to shoot towards the hole in the wall, towards Helnion.

"Run!" Loih shouted.

It was too late because Helnion soon floated in the air. She would end up just like Nie, dead and pinned to a wall.

Helnion grunted as a large piece of a dresser slammed into her. Other things followed soon after. Most of the things were small and only left small cuts but occasionally larger pieces would hit her, one knocking the breath out of her.

"NO!" Loih yelled and began charging the man.

He too was being assaulted by the debris but now he was ignoring it and was charging directly at the man, the other Knight doing the same.

Helnion soon felt her stomach lurch as she was violently pulled into the room. It did not take her long to see that she was heading straight for a large jagged piece of wood that was sticking out of one of the broken walls.

She felt the breath get knocked out of her again as something slammed into her. She then felt herself slam into the wall, still a few paces away from her doom.

When she looked up, she saw that the Knight had been quick enough to reach her. He picked her up and began to take her out of the room.

He could not make it as a large piece of a cabinet slammed into his back, knocking him but not Helnion down onto the floor as she floated in the air once again, helpless. The next thing she knew she was flying across the room again.

This time it was Loih that stopped her, slamming into her and pushing her away from whatever sharp piece of debris she was heading towards.

"Get out of here!" He yelled, more with worry than anger.

Helnion picked herself up and began to make her way towards the hole in the back wall which was only a few paces away.

"Loih!" She heard the Knight call out.

Helnion looked back to see that the man in armor had picked up the sword and shield Nie had dropped.

Instead of attacking either of the Knights, the man also began to head towards the hole in the wall, presumably to escape. There was no way Helnion could avoid him in her current state, but Loih was still close, so she hoped he would stop the man before he got to her.

Loih met the man less than a pace from Helnion. She did not wait to watch and continued heading towards the hole. She would be there in a moment and could soon stop being a hindrance to the Knights. She also hoped that they would distract the man enough so he would stop picking her up and throwing her across the room.

"Helnion…" She heard a weak voice to her right.

She glanced over to see Etam. He was pointing at something outside the hole. She followed his finger and saw him pointing to the large chunk of ice sitting about five paces outside. She was not sure what he expected her to do with it, the man so easily deflecting it earlier.

She stared at the ice as she made her way to the hole and outside. It had already melted and she could see cracks beginning to form throughout the inside.

There had to be something she could do with it. She had recovered a little of her energy but nowhere near enough to lift it and throw it as she had earlier.

Helnion heard a loud grunt behind her. She looked back to see that Loih had been knocked back and fallen to one knee. The man had pushed his way past him and was heading to the hole again, his eyes on Helnion.

She turned back around and pushed herself to run as hard as she could. To her dismay, she barely managed a slow, loping run. Not only was she dead tired from the use of magic, but her body was bruised all over now and her muscles did not work the way she wanted them to.

Helnion looked back to the ice. There was no way she would make it in time. There had to be something she could do…

She looked at the cracks in the ice. She knew there was no way she could lift the whole thing, but could she break off pieces and use those?

She pulled on the ice. The cracks immediately spread, and a chunk broke off. It was a small chunk and wobbled in the air but she could use it.

The ice shot towards the man behind her, barely missing her head. She spun around as it passed.

The man saw it and raised the shield to block the ice, protecting his bare head.

Instead of the ice smashing into the shield and shattering, it changed direction and flew straight up into the air. The man glanced at the ice as it shot up but did not stop his approach; he being nearly on top of her.

The man raised his sword, it's many tiny crystals glittering in the sunlight with deadly beauty.

"Lady Helnion!" Loih yelled, his voice full of terror and sorrow.

The ice struck the man on the top of his head. It was not a sharp or jagged piece so it did not pierce his skin but exploded, spraying smaller chunks of ice and making a sparkling cloud of ice dust.

The man staggered under the blow, causing his strike to pass harmlessly to Helnion's left.

Helnion pulled the helmet off of her head and held it in front of her, hoping to use it as a shield.

The man stood in front of her unsteadily. The blow had been a hard one, and he looked as if he were having trouble focusing on her.

He struck.

Helnion somehow deflected the sword away from her with the helmet but dropped it.

Thankfully Loih caught up to them, the other Knight close behind.

Loih crashed into the man, his shield hitting the man hard on his left side. The blow caused the man to stumble. He still did not fall, but it was all he could do to recover.

Helnion fell to her knees, shaking. She wished she could be somewhere else. She wanted to go back in time and reject Melche's offer. There was no way losing Nie and Etam was worth this. Sure she missed Salis but the Terran girl could easily fend for herself could she not?

Helnion picked up the helmet that lay in the dirt just to her left and put it back on her head backward. She did not want to see the fight.

"It is done," Loih said, taking the helmet off of Helnion's head.

She glanced up at him. His helmet had been removed, and he was holding it his right hand, his sword sheathed.

Helnion was not sure how long it had been since she had fallen to her knees. Did it matter?

She looked from Loih to where she had heard the fight taking place. The man in armor lay not far away, dead. He lay in the dirt, his blood coming out of a large cut in his exposed neck, soaking the soil.

"Check Etam and Nie," Loih said to the Knight.

The Knight nodded and headed back into the house.

"Are you all right?" He said, getting down on one knee and putting his hand on her shoulder.

Helnion looked at him. Instead of saying anything she began to cry again.

Loih looked at her for a second, his face showing worry, sorrow and fatigue. Sweat dripped down his face.

"I should make sure there is no one else here," Loih said, standing back up. He glanced at Triosa, who was still standing on the roof of the small building, before heading back into the house.

Helnion looked at Triosa. The woman could have easily helped them, kept Nie and Etam from being pinned to the walls as they had. Saved Nie and Etam, if the latter was not still alive.

Triosa met Helnion's gaze.

In a blink, Triosa went from standing on the roof to standing next to Helnion.

"You surprise me child," Triosa said, speaking out loud now that there were no men to hear her. "My master was wondering if putting you in a situation like this would recreate your skill that they said you displayed on Korron."

Helnion said nothing. What was she supposed to say?

"It is a shame you cannot display that amount of ability on demand." Triosa continued. "You would be among the strongest of those magic users not born under my master's name."

"Salis," Helnion said at last. She had done what she had agreed to and wanted her reward.

"Oh yes, that. Your friend is not the easiest person to find, but we found someone who fits her description in Toa Mirr." Triosa said.

"Toa Mirr?" Helnion said to herself. Salis was in Toa Mir! That was only a few days away by levitating carriage if they did not make many stops. Or maybe she could get Triosa to take her there right now!

"She is most likely in Eto, but our sources in that vile country are not the best so we are uncertain," Triosa added.

Helnion stood up, her legs shaking.

She began walking back towards the hole. Now that she took a better look at it she saw it looked like a giant mouth that had sharp teeth sticking out at odd angles.

"Lady Helnion." One of the Knights said as she climbed over the broken wall and into the room.

It was the Knight that had stopped fighting because of his injuries. The man was sitting on the floor and was taking care of his wounds, most of his armor already removed.

Helnion did not reply to him and looked around the room instead.

Loih was next to the wall to her right and was leaning over Nie's body. Helnion walked over to him. She then dropped to her knees and took Nie's hand. It was still warm. Loih said nothing and watched.

"It is over NiNi." She said to her brother, trying to avoid looking at the hole in his chest and the blood that stained his clothes red.

"Triosa told me where Salis is." She continued.

Helnion flinched as the uninjured Loih her right arm.

"Forgive me Lady Helnion, but I need to take care of your arm," Loih said.

Helnion looked at Loih for a moment before looking back to Nie.

"Eto. Salis is in Eto." Helnion said.

"What!" Loih said, surprised. "Of all the places for her to be. Are you certain?"

"Triosa said she is in Eto," Helnion said, keeping her eyes on Nie.

Loih sighed. "It appears Pali was right." He said. "If we are lucky, he will find her and we will not have to go."

Helnion looked at Loih. "Pali?" She said, wondering what that teacher was doing.

"He went to Toa Mirr a few months ago hoping to find her there. I wanted to go with him, but my status as a Knight of Sorris keeps me here in Flaern, to protect it and its people."

Helnion looked back to Nie.

A few minutes later the uninjured Knight came over.

"Loih, I have done all I can to stop Master Etam's bleeding but we need to take him to someone more knowledgeable in medicine if he is to survive that wound," the Knight said.

Helnion looked over to Etam. He was alive!

"We should hurry then," Loih said before turning to Helnion. "Can you ask that woman if we can get help now?"

"She says yes," Helnion said after a moment.

Helnion stood up and let go of Nie's hand.

"Before you get it in your head to go to Eto, I am telling you there is no way I am letting you go," Loih said.

Helnion looked at him, disappointed.

"I will try to contact Pali. If he has not already found her we can tell him where to look. Besides, you are injured and are in no shape to go on another adventure." Loih said.

Helnion did not argue. She did not enjoy fighting. She wanted to be the one to find Salis, but she was not sure if she was willing to kill anyone else to do so. She also knew she was in no condition to go at the moment. But if Pali had not found her by the time she was rested, she would go.

Helnion walked back outside to where Triosa was waiting. Hopefully, the woman would take her when the time was right.