“This Keeper is proving tougher than I had anticipated. I have one more idea before I play my trump card. However, I must be careful. I could jeopardize the dream if I push her too hard.”

Madia

“I mean it; everyone.” Cael’s exhausted voice cut through the air as Madia listened. The redheaded Ket was hunched over as she sat in the shelter, her teeth clenched in anger. “Flain, Aevum, they even raided the academy. I only got a brief glance, but it was too terrible to bear.” Cael paused for a moment as she took in a quivering breath. “And I never did find my little sister…”

Madia placed a hand on Cael’s shoulder sympathetically. “I’m sure she’ll turn up, Cael. We’ll find her.”

Cael clenched her fist. “But will she be alive when we do?”

Madia narrowed her eyes. “Don’t think like that Cael, we must remain positive. If there is any hope, we must cling to it!”

Rell, who was just beside Madia, nodded enthusiastically without a word. Cael just snorted. “Nice to see you haven’t changed through all of this. Still as blindly optimistic as ever.”

“It’s that optimism that has gotten me this far,” Madia retorted.

A quiet fell over them as water dripped from the ceiling above, the rushing stream casting a calm over the exhausted group huddled within the crag of the cliff.

Madia looked down in shame. “I almost gave up when I escaped. Aevum died helping me and the princesses get away.”

Cael raised her head a bit, her brow still furrowed. Madia took that as a sign to continue. “He had sent me to the Hivoria Basin… remember? Where the Revrian Amulet was destroyed two years ago-”

“I know what happened there, Madia. I don’t need a lesson on recent history,” Cael snarled.

“Take it easy Cael,” Madia soothed. “When I was there, I remembered there are still things to keep fighting for. I met someone there out on the island in the center.”

Cael raised her eyebrow a bit. “Island? There isn’t an island in the Hivoria basin…”

Madia blinked as Cael responded. There was a brief moment where she felt the world quiver and ripple around her, as though something had shifted. She shook her head as the sensation faded before looking back at Cael. “You’re… right.” Madia gazed blankly at the ground, the world seeming to spin around her as the flowing of the rapids nearby filled her ears and a fog began to lift from her vision. “Perhaps it was some sort of dream.”

Cael suddenly placed a hand on Madia’s shoulder firmly. “It doesn’t matter. What happened out there?” Cael spoke abruptly.

Madia shook her head, the strange sensations disappearing as she returned to her story. “This person on the island spoke to me. She was young, but wise beyond her years. She reminded me that I didn’t have to be a Keeper to use magic,” Madia smiled a little bit.

Cael snorted. “That didn’t do much for me,” she muttered as she reached behind her, letting her long, ginger hair fall in front of her shoulder. There were scattered strands of white mixed into it, and the tip of her hair was pure white. Madia took in a gentle breath as she gazed at it.

“Cael, you over-exerted yourself.” Madia said.

“I used it trying to get out of the city after I returned to survey the damage,” said Cael. “Of course, lacking reagents… it cost me a lot to cast.”

Rune tilted her head. “I thought you couldn’t use magic without materials.”

“You can, but it just means it burns away at your life instead of the pages of a paper, or the specks of dust I made,” Cael explained.

“And you tried to use displacement magic, didn’t you; to get in and out of the city?” Madia asked. Cael just avoided her gaze. “Cael, you know how taxing that magic is.”

Cael leaned back. “When you’ve got nothing to lose, you stop caring about things like the costs of magic.”

“Well I’m still here, and so are the princesses,” Madia encouraged.

“A lot of good that’ll do us. A pair of children, a half-dead magician, and the weakest of the four Keepers.” Cael spat the last words.

Madia flinched as she leaned back. “Cael, please don’t say that.”

Rell spoke up. “Madia saved us, Cael. We would have died if not for her.”

Cael looked away. “You know it’s true. You don’t have any actual talent in battle, and your form of magic is so limited you can’t do much if anyone is smart enough to see through your illusions and tricks.”

Madia glared. “My magic is more than just ‘illusions and tricks.’”

“Regardless, it’s still probably the weakest of the Keepers magic,” Cael said.

Madia lowered her gaze again. “I won’t deny that. But that doesn’t mean I can’t do something good with it still.”

Cael grunted. “Your positivity is simply blinding.”

“And do you think the world would be so much better if we all focused on what was wrong and what could go wrong?” Madia countered. Cael raised her head a bit. Her expression had shifted; it had grown softer. Madia let out a breath as she continued. “Couldn’t a world full of darkness always use another light?”

A low growl grew in Cael’s voice as she stood up. “How can you be so confident that you are this light? You don’t have a family to lose, your family doesn’t even care about you!”

Madia looked taken aback as Cael spoke those words. She felt her heart ache as Cael shouted at her.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Rell suddenly cried out, now standing just a little in front of Madia.

“Oh don’t you dare start on me now, Rell!” Cael immediately directed her anger towards the child, who instantly jumped back. “It shouldn't surprise me that you would rush to Madia’s defense! You are the daughter of the mighty Alaria, Queen of Fendra! Not Madia, the farm girl that became a Keeper just by desperately following the whims of some carpenter boy!”

Her voice reverberated through the canyon as she yelled at Rell, who collapsed into Madia. She was left stunned, staring into Cael’s burning green eyes as she panted. Cael’s chest was rising and falling with anger as she looked at the three before her. Rune glanced between the two parties in confusion.

Madia at first felt a sense of despair as Cael’s anger peaked, but something else began to stir within her as Rell gripped her clothing, hiding from Cael’s wrath. Her eyes began to close as she took a deep breath, opening them again into a glare as she rose to stand up, easily a foot shorter than Cael. She speed-walked up to the ex-Keeper of Magic, teeth clenched. “You can insult me all you like, but I will not tolerate you directing your fury upon these children.”

Now it was Cael’s turn to be surprised. She leaned back away from the significantly shorter girl, an incredulous look on her face as Madia rose her voice.

Madia did not break her gaze as she spoke again. “They have been through just as much if not more than any of us. I will not have them further traumatized by your-” Madia gasped as the pain in her leg suddenly flared up. She yelped as she crumbled down.

Much to her surprise, Cael caught her, supporting her for a moment. The redhead sat her down, leaning her up against the wall again. Madia shook her head as she looked up at Cael, who had turned away.

“I… I don’t know what’s gotten into me,” Cael’s voice quivered.

Madia tilted her head at the sudden mood change. “We’re all very tense. Things have been difficult for all of us, but that’s no reason to take out our frustrations on each other.”

Cael clenched her eyes shut. “I’m l-losing my mind, Madia,” she stammered. “No, I’ve already lost it.”

Cael turned around, a few tears trickling down her cheek now. Her voice had grown higher as she fought back the tears. “My time is limited, Madia,” she said, gripping her hair right where it turned white as she took a desperate breath. “It’s only a matter of time before my magic kills me.” Cael released her hair. “And I’ve lost sight of what there is to keep living for.”

Madia felt her sympathies return to her as she shifted against the cave wall, adjusting to look at Cael properly. “Cael, it doesn’t matter how much time you have left. What matters is what you do with that time.”

Cael locked eyes with Madia for a moment. “We need to take Elra back.”

Madia shook her head. “No, Cael… we can’t do that, we have to find somewhere else to go. We can’t hope to take Elra back.”

“Then what was all that nonsense about hope before?” Cael raised her voice again.

“Hope for what we have, not for what we’ve lost,” Madia reasoned.

Cael looked to the ground again. Her eyes darted around as she processed the conversation. She clenched her teeth again as she turned around, stomping on the cave floor. She let out a loud cry of anguish as she looked back out to the rushing river just a short distance away. The princesses simply remained huddled together, staying where they were as Cael screamed.

Madia just stared at Cael, giving her a moment as her voice trailed off. She let out a heavy breath as she relaxed again, shoulders slouching. “Sorry, I had to get that out…” she mumbled.

The princesses also relaxed as they let go of each other. Cael turned around and looked at Madia. “I understand what you mean,” Cael started. “But your life is different than mine. Elra was my home. I grew up there… as did my family. My education, my talents, the people I loved… Everything that I am-” She pointed out of the cave, still looking at Madia with longing. “Is out there, beneath the spires of the palace.” She winced as she looked away again. “Or what’s left of it.”

Rune whimpered. “I want to go home.”

Cael turned around and began walking away.

Madia sat up straight. “Cael? Where are you going?” Madia called after her.

Cael looked back. “With nothing left to lose, and only so little time, there’s only once place I can go.” Cael paused before giving her a painful smile. “Home.”

“Cael, don’t do this,” Madia pleaded.

“If you want to help me, I will be in Elra the night of the festival. If there were any time to try and make one last stand, that’s the time,” Cael said. “I won’t blame you if you don’t join me. You still have a full life ahead of you, as do the princesses.”

Madia shook her head, mouthing the word “no.” Cael just stared back. Madia opened her mouth as her jaw shook. “Please, Cael.”

“Farewell, Madia.” she said, before suddenly stopping in her tracks. “Oh, that’s right… I had almost forgotten.” Cael turned around again, before concentrating, closing her eyes as she let out a gasp.

“Cael, be careful-!” Madia said as Cael began casting magic. With a pop, a red staff covered in engravings and burned markings appeared and clattered to the ground. Aevum’s staff-!

Cael smiled a little. “I figured you might want this. It’s not suitable for me. I escaped with it before coming here and hid it away.”

Madia carefully reached out to pick it up, warm to the touch from the magic freshly cast on it as she felt its indents. She looked up at Cael and gave her a pained look. “Thank you, Cael.”

Cael has already stepped out of the crag, turning to the left as she made her way to the cliff side.

There was a long moment of silence as her footsteps faded away. Madia, Rell, and Rune were left in the darkness of the overhang.

“She’s really given up,” Rell whispered.

Madia nodded slowly as she leaned back again. Rune looked at Madia, frustrated. “W-well, you’re gonna help her, aren’t you?”

Madia placed her thumb to her lip as she thought about this. It’s their home too, and for a while it was mine. Am I right to abandon it? she wondered. And what of the children? If I join Cael, what will become of them? They need me. I can’t risk myself getting killed, I’m all they have.

Madia sighed. “I can’t help Cael, because if we both die, there’s nobody left to take care of you two.”

“COWARD!” Rune shouted as she stood up. Madia’s heart skipped a beat as Rune raised her voice now.

“R-Rune, calm down!” Rell begged.

“All you ever do is sleep, and talk! You never do anything!” Rune exclaimed.

Madia's mouth hung open. “I’m just trying to protect you! I’ve been taking care of you for the last year!”

“You can’t protect someone without fighting!” Rune continued.

“I won’t fight, Rune. I don’t want to take any senseless risks!”

“Then you can’t protect us!” Rune said with a stomp.

Madia furrowed her brow, mouth agape as she processed what Rune had said. Rune seemed to immediately realize what had come out of her mouth, and her eyes shifted to fear, perhaps of herself as she stumbled back a bit. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at Madia, seemingly confused about her own tirade.

After a pause, Rune sniffed as she wiped her face. “I-I know you can protect us… you did it before, back when Mennic attacked. You did it in the water and you did it when Cael got mad.” She looked at Madia anxiously. “But I hate hiding… I hate running!” Rune concluded.

Madia didn’t have any immediate response as she returned Rune’s gaze, scanning the cave before letting it land on the staff in front of her. She admired the design for a moment as she pondered what the young girl had said.

Finally, she took a deep breath and let it out as she calmed herself. “You’re right, we can’t stay here, and we can’t run forever,” Madia started.

“But you’re injured,” Rell said, placing a hand to Madia’s forehead.

“They’re minor, save for the leg. I will have to be careful with it.”

“So if we’re not running and we’re not hiding, are we going to fight?” Rune asked hopefully.

Madia bit her lip. “I’m not going to join Cael on her suicide mission, but I know there are people that can help. Not everyone has turned against us. There must be those who still believe in the Keepers and the royal family.”

“What are we gonna do, then?” Rell prodded.

“Tuulin is a strategist, so trying to outsmart him would be no simple task. Yet if we stay hidden for a little while longer… we might not have to.” Madia continued.

Rune made a face at that. “Huh? But that doesn’t make any sense.”

“Think about it. The last they saw of us was us falling into the rapids. They could have easily pounced on us if they wanted to while I was unconscious or while we’ve been hiding here with Cael. Yet they didn’t, so as far as they’re aware, we’re either long gone or already dead,” said Madia.

“So we hide until you’re better and then we fight?” Rune said.

“No, we will do no fighting. However, if we speak to the right people, and convince them there is hope, we may be able to sow the seeds of a revolution in the hearts of the people of Fendra.”

“How long will that take?” Rell questioned.

Madia thought for a moment. “It will be at least another day or two before I can walk without some kind of support, and that’s with some restoration magic, which at the moment we haven’t the reagents for. After that, we will have to travel some ways. I suspect it will take at least a week to reach our most likely allies. After that, word will spread on its own.”

“But what about reagents? Are you gonna hurt yourself like Cael did just to use magic?” Rune asked nervously.

“Absolutely not. We’ll make our own reagents, which means I’ll need you girls to gather me a few things from the forest above. Just some basic materials, nothing too fancy.”

Rell gulped and nodded, whereas Rune smiled excitedly at the prospect.

“With what little we can scavenge, I should be able to make enough reagents to speed up my recovery process. My leg doesn’t seem to be broken, it’s just got a vicious gash,” Madia said as she slowly stretched her leg out.

She looked between the two princesses. “Now listen closely, you two. Rune, I want you to take my knife and see if you can find a couple sturdy, low-hanging branches. Carve the bark off of them. That green stuff under the bark will be important.” She turned to Rell next. “Rell, look for Caylon trees, you’ll recognize them by the sap that drips from the branches. Their leaves are dense, and feel kind of pasty. Bring me some of their leaves, and if you see any meadowgloss, grab that as well. It will help with the potency of the reagent.”

The children nodded, and Rell finally cracked a smile. “I didn’t know you knew how to make reagents!”

Madia chuckled a bit. “I’m no expert like Cael and Flain, nor am I particularly talented at channeling raw materials, but I was the best in my village when it came to understanding how magic behaves. It was the one thing in my schoolings I was good at.”

She looked between the two of them, before gesturing towards the cave entrance with her hand. “Now go, and do be careful. If there is any sign of danger come right back here or stay hidden.”