All three gods had left for another town, and I was stuck in Dagrun. Alva and I went down to Cherry Ridge Farms, Steve's farm, to visit Martha. She was the only calm one in all of the mayhem, and it was nice to have an escape from the terror. That day, we were picking apples from the trees.

"Nice day isn't it?" Martha said, staring out at the vast field past the farm. "I love just staring out at the horizon. It's peaceful. A nice place to come when the family is falling apart. I looked where she was looking and found that I agreed. I'd have to come down here more often.

"How is Steve doing these days?" I asked.

"Moody as always. But he understands what I'm going through. It's almost nice to hear him grumbling about nothing. Makes you forget your real problems, you know?"

We nodded in understanding. We continued to harvest apples for a few minutes, when Freya ran up to us, screaming as loud as she could.

Martha dropped her apples and ran toward her. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"The gods..." she wheezed, out of breath. "They were in Urulu when someone... a hooded figure... appeared out of thin air and... killed Dianite."

Martha's eyes widened in alarm. "But he's immortal! What mortal could have slain him?"

My mother shook her head. "He wasn't mortal. I'm not sure who he was. But he appeared out of thin air, killed a god, and vanished. Nobody could see his face. Nobody knows who he is. But Dianite's dead, and he's gone..." She burst into tears and lay her head on Martha's shoulder.

"What's going on?" Steve yelled, running from the house. Martha repeated the story to him. Steve took off his straw hat and shook his head in awe. "But what about Ianite? Just one loss after another... poor thing."

"I have to help her," Alva said firmly. After a glance at my worried face, she added, "I'll go alone if I have to."

"No, no, child," Freya said, her voice shaking. "I'll assist you. Andor... it would probably be best if you stayed with Martha. Or anywhere for that matter, as long as it's far from the family. I'm not sure your positivity would be appreciated."

So I was left with my aunt and uncle while the family continued to fall. I feared it wouldn't be long before it crashed and burned. Of course, I didn't tell anyone about my fears. I had to convince others that I was still an optimist, so I would be an optimist.

Martha made me an apple pie since I was too upset to eat normal food. I forced myself to eat it. It was delicious, but food wasn't my biggest concern at the moment. Night was falling, and I would have to return home. She hugged me good-bye, and so did Steve, although reluctantly.

And that's when everything really fell.