Let's rewind a bit shall we...

"Blessed gods take me into your hands.

Give me your strength so I may stand.

Remove the fear that clots my soul,

Gods, give me your light to hold

Give me your hearts to hold!"

The words of her mother's favorite psalm echoed in her head, echoed against the darkness that consumed her.

Tears running down her cheeks evaporated in the scorching heat.

Pain! Pain! Make it stop!

She tossed and turned, swatting the hot air poisoning her nostrils with smoke and the smell of flesh burning. Her flesh...

Mageia popped open her eyes and sucked in a lungful of air. Floating around her were glowing specks of purple dust. And staring straight into the sky, it was dark, endless, with shimmering stars. But it wasn't nightfall. The sun, it shined bright and powerful, yet it sat very far away, almost blending with the stars. And the moon also sat in the opposite direction, very far away, glowing with serenity.

She sat up and pressed her hands into the grass, softer than cotton, and the colors of a rainbow. A whistling breeze hung in the silence and her skin pricked with awareness.

Mageia could feel a hundred eyes upon her, yet no one was around. Who was watching? She couldn't tell and she didn't know. With caution, she stood and looked across the sea of grass that extended beyond what her eyes could see. When she took in her appearance, she realized she wasn't wearing the ceremonial dress, but a purple one that fluttered in the breeze and trailed the grass around her feet. A gasp escaped her as she traced a hexagon mark on her chest with dots at each corner.

"This is new," she muttered.

Then she felt a breeze on the back of her neck and when she touched it, she felt her birthmark was still there. But her hair was gone. Her long curly hair so precious to her was gone, now trimmed in a neat bush on her head. The breeze picked up into a wind, causing the dust of magic to expand in a circular motion. When it finally settled down so she could see through the mist, she almost cheered for joy.

Don, Dana, Nabea, Sadon, Madeena, and Rasni appeared from the mist dressed in thin shawls of the Valeera's famous gemstone colors. Don wore red. Dana wore green. Nabea wore silver. Sadon wore sapphire. Madeena wore a shimmering white. And Rasni wore gold.

"You all look beautiful," she said as they took in themselves in pure shock.

"Where are we?" Madeena said.

"The Serene," Dana squealed for joy. "Nabea, we made it."

"Gods be good," the older woman said clasping her hands in awe.

"So, the Serene is real, I see," Rasni said scrunching his nose as if he was unsatisfied with the destination of his soul. "Best I find a way to avenge our deaths."

"Awe, he said our," Don chimed with a sarcastic roll of his eyes. Rasni frowned.

"But aren't we supposed to be in the Halls of Dawnis first?" Nabea said.

"That's what I thought too, but I just appeared here," Mageia said.

"It's so beautiful," Dana said spinning in circles.

"Mageia, look at you," Don said with an awestruck smile and her cheeks grew warm. "Amerie was right. You are the Fairest of us all."

"And we are to serve you! Thank the gods," Dana yelled.

"I do not want to serve her," Madeena said. "At least on the realm I had my freedom."

"Be grateful for once in your life. You've received a second chance," Nabea said.

"Don't mind her, let us rejoice," Sadon said grinning ear to ear.

"But what are we supposed to do now?" Don said.

"I want to move, but I cannot," Rasni said. "Why is that?"

The six of them stood in a circle with Mageia in the center. She scratched her head, wondering the same thing. They all tried moving, but barriers prevented them from going anywhere. A warm shiver came over Mageia. Something was wrong in the Serene.

Thunder rumbled from every direction.

"What was that?" Dana said.

"Can someone tell us what is going on?" Rasni shouted into the air.

Mageia gasped feeling a warm energy flowing through her veins. She inspected her arms and noticed the veins were purple. The energy hummed in her ears and the floating magic flew away in six directions.

"What're you doing, Mageia?" Don said.

"I don't know," she said.

The thunder continued to rumble, and the wind stirred awake from six directions. Then at the same time six balls of lightning shot up into the air. Each ball of light was a color of the realm's gemstones.

"What are those," Dana said fear claiming her soul. Mageia shivered and clasped her heart in shock.

I feel her fear. No. I feel everyone's fear!

"They're getting closer," Don said staring at the red flame aimed for him.

"I can't move," Sadon said walking in different directions, only to knock into a transparent bubble.

"It's okay," Mageia said as they tried to run to no avail.

"What do you mean," Dana said close to tears.

Deep in her gut something told her this was supposed to happen. It was a good thing unfolding, but she didn't know how to explain it. It just had to happen.

Then it happened, all at once. Each ball of light in the colors matching their shawls, it struck the Sacred Six. They screamed for a second, either in fear or reaction to the impact, then a beautiful transformation occurred before Mageia's eyes.

Don, handsome and humble, was engulfed in red flames from head to toe. It reminded her of the fire that claimed him first on the Holy Alter, yet this one didn't burn him. It consumed him, no changed him. The shawl dissolved into an outfit black as the abys with crimson hems and designs. Half of his chest and his arms were exposed, revealing beautiful red markings along his muscles. His cheekbones grew sharper, and his black hair turned red as blood.

Dana, sweet and pure, was engulfed in green flames transforming into vines and leaves forming into a beautiful gown. Emeralds decorated her ears, neck, and arms and green markings spewed alive from her exposed skin. Her long brown hair turned wavy and green as grass and her lips were too painted green. She shimmered in a young innocent glow, yet power now withered through her veins.

Nabea, quiet and wise, was engulfed in silver flames. It clung to her skin and formed into a dazzling silver gown. Her hair already speckled with gray withered into silver and sat on her head like a nest. Her back straightened to its fullness and her chin rose high, exposing her long, elegant neck.

Sadon, mighty with a kind heart, was engulfed in sapphire flames which turned to water when it touched his brown skin. It glazed him all over and formed a pair of silky pants with fish scales. Sapphire jewelry in shapes of shells, leaves, waves, raindrops, and fish decorated his head, his neck, and his entire arms. Markings too appeared around his muscled torso and flowed like waves up to his neck.

Madeena, sharp and privileged, was engulfed in whitish gray flames that formed crystals of all shapes and sizes all over her body. A translucent silk appeared from her skin connecting to the random crystals and flowed to the floor in a sharp trail. Her ears were pointed and dazzled with crystals, and her hair flowed to her behind in a radiant color of pure white.

And Rasni, harsh and grumpy, was engulfed in pure shimmering gold. His hair shrunk into gold curls and his pale skin darkened into an amber tan. The fat of his weight dissolved in his flames forming a round, firm, and muscular torso. His shawl transformed into a gold and black outfit with metal on his shoulders and arms.

Mageia stood agape as these transformations came to a finish, leaving the people she had died with in powerful and beautiful forms. She would've laughed for joy seeing how the gods or maybe the Serene were blessing the Sacreds for the involuntary sacrifice for the kingdom – perhaps the realm, but they opened their eyes.

Mageia's heart crawled up her throat. They were not the Sacreds anymore.