Jano was still preoccupied by the experience. His hand trembled and his stomach churned. He had no idea where he had been sent to by the chaos, or whether what he had been shown was real. Or even whether it was one of several possible realities. It could have all been just in his own mind. He felt like a fool for not asking Dariea in more detail about chaos essence.

They left him alone after he insisted he was fine to go on. Dariea explained that she thought the trials were over, but she couldn’t be sure. He didn’t care. He just didn’t want to hold things up any longer than he already had. They knew he wasn’t entirely right. Dariea seemed no worse than before she stepped through the portal. Robin had explained that they had only been gone moments. The portal had closed after Jano entered and then they had both been spat out. One after another. Jano was last of course.

They had already spent an hour in the gardens waiting for him to recover. They headed inside another of the caverns, just past the point where the portal had been. He was afraid of the darkness which lay at its mouth. He took a deep breath and followed the others in.

Inside the next chamber, the gardens continued. Light streamed in through several small circles in the roof. Shade permeated the corners of the room, swirling darkness which seemed darker than black. Jano could not look at them. Torches were lit across the room, containing small vortexes of flame and a light indigo wind danced across the roof of the cavern, playfully dancing and shifting.

Dariea walked into the middle of the room and held out her hand.

“Reveal your secrets.” She commanded.

Robin looked at Jano with worry when nothing happened. Dariea did not break her concentration and continued to stare at the centre of the room. The torches flickered and the room continued as it was.

“Reveal your secrets!” She persisted.

The room shifted. The torches began to violently flicker and shift. Then the fire exploded out of the casing. The wind began to howl and caught the fire in its oppressive cascade. The chaos essence enveloped it all and the room began to twist around itself. Jano became increasingly nervous, his stomach dropped as he thought he might be stuck back in whatever the chaos had trapped him in before. He looked at Robin and Dariea, expecting them to disappear at any moment.

Four altars appeared before them. The essence reacted violently to their appearance, Jano then realised that the raw power had been coming from them the entire time. It had just been obfuscated by the defenses of the room itself. “Don’t move.” Dariea’s voice was calm but authoritative. Neither Jano nor Robin moved an inch despite the room dissolving around them. Just like she had demanded of them at the entrance to the cave, when they were almost flamed by traps.

Darkness wrapped them up and the fire raged around them, but there was no heat. Whatever was going on, it didn’t seem to be another test. Dariea shifted, moving her arms as though setting out several complex forms, seeming to control the maelstrom. Crimson fire danced amongst swirling dark indigo infused wind. The very nature of the room seemed to change, it was as if it was shifting through different forms. Chaos swirled all around them, with portals opening here and there.

In a moment, the essence separated themselves into four once more. Hammering each of them before their own altar. Jano realised the reality warping was a combination of the Shifter clan and the chaos essence combining as it filtered out. The altars began to grow and formed four separate tall columns, rising twice as high as Jano’s shoulders as the room settled back to normal. In the centre of each pillar was an item, which had been hidden below.

Dariea’s body softened as she relaxed. A loud click rattled through the cavern as the columns settled into place. Everything calmed down. She paused. It was unusual for her to hesitate so. Then Jano watched as she strode forward and picked up a small obsidian coloured rock which hung on the end of a silver chain. She threw it around her neck and for a brief moment, every vein in her body pulsed black creating a map like a network of channels.

“Robin. Come here please.” Dariea said the words softly, but it was clear that there was no refusing her.

Robin walked toward her. She flashed a look of trepidation toward Jano. Her arm strapped to her as it was, it was the first time he had seen the nerves evident on her face. She didn’t look like a powerful princess in that moment. She seemed an ordinary person. Dariea attached a green and black comb into her hair and wrapped it in a traditional style. Robin visibly flushed and even Jano noticed that her spirit had grown noticeably stronger. Now that he noticed it, his spirit seemed to be much more adept at scanning his surroundings than it had been before. He scanned the cavern they were in and immediately picked out the four relics, Robin and Dariea. He could pick up vague signatures throughout the nearby parts of the cave, but those weren’t as clear.

Perhaps the trip wasn’t just for Dariea, he thought. He made eye contact with his teacher who gave him something of a concerned smile. Like one might give to a family member to try and persuade them that everything is okay. Dariea added the other relics, for the Shifters and the Berserker Fire clan to a pocket of her satchel.

“Come on, let’s get out of here and head back to Goshnia.”

Dariea grabbed both of them and opened another portal. All restrictions seemed to have disappeared. Jano’s stomach tightened once more. He couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t go back to that place in the challenge. That he wouldn’t be tested again. That he wouldn’t be tested and found wanting. Before he had time to object, Dariea flung them through the portal and jumped them back to the common hall of the barracks.

“Robin, keep that safe. It is to be delivered to your mother, who will decide what happens from there. Do not speak of this to anyone. I am trusting you with part of the fate of Molinia, do you understand?”

Robin nodded. “Of course. I am deeply honoured, I will guard it with my life. I probably won’t lose it..” Robin didn’t take her eyes off it but she tried to grin.

Dariea gave a small laugh. “Good. Now get some rest, we’ll be shipping back soon. Jano, can I speak with you for a moment before you retire?” She sounded so formal again that Jano had to think twice. He hated it when she spoke like that, it made him feel so distant. When he felt distant from her, it forced him to reckon with everything else. Robin walked away, her rooms were not far from the common hall in the mansion and they were left alone. They started toward the barracks themselves.

“Let’s walk to your lodgings.” She said.

He led her along the short passageway to the room he was currently calling home. Inside were basics, a relatively comfortable bed, a dresser and a small unit for washing up. Dariea looked about with a wry smile on her face.

“It reminds me a little of my lodgings in the Middle, do you remember?”

Jano wanted to scoff. Of course he could remember. Instead, he nodded.

“Jano, the test of the chaos essence I intended to complete alone. Robin did not pass through, and I hoped I might spare you the same fate. I thank you for trying to come to my aid, but as helpful as you have been I thought it was above your abilities. Chaos essence is not as easily explained as some of the others. Many in Molinia do not know its true form. Some contend that nobody really does. My theory is that it is the power of the stars themselves. It is time and space wrapped up together like some sort of infernal web of mystery. It existed before our world did and will likely continue to be here long after we are. Do you understand?”

“No. Not really.” Jano said.

Dariea smiled. “I don’t suppose anybody really does understand. It’s only a theory. We can but guess.”

“I was somewhere else. And something was trying to invade my spirit. It kept screaming for me to let it in. Whatever it was. It felt like it wanted to use me and when I wouldn’t let it, it decided to tear me apart.” Jano spoke softly.

“Did you let it in?” She said, her eyes solemn and serious.

Jano looked at her and noticed the concern on her brow. He shook his head. He felt naked somehow, as though the details were intimate.

“No…” he paused, “at least I don’t think I did.”

“Good. You were somewhere else?” She probed.

“Yes. Somewhere very different to here. The air had a purple sheen and there were several moons in the sky. There were people atop a cliff watching me.”

Dariea seemed to consider his words very carefully. “The tests are designed to push us to our limits, it was likely all just a dream. It was different for me, and it would likely be different for everyone else. A trap designed to allow the very power itself to take over us. To use us to its own end. If you were deemed worthy of a test such as that, then have faith in your ability to resist it. Chaos essence is powerful, but never seek power simply for its own sake. Trouble lies down that path. That was the test you passed today. So hold your head high and be ready for whatever lies ready to test us next. There is always something else around the corner.”

Something else just around the corner. He hated the idea of that. He didn’t let her know that. Instead he nodded and remained silent. Something still didn’t feel right, chaos felt as alien and remote as it had when he had first started learning it. And he was barely competent with a few techniques. Doubts filled his mind. Was he cut out for it? Should he just give up? He couldn’t stop the questions from coming, and he wasn’t sure he knew the answers.

“Well, get some rest. We will be leaving shortly. But you did well, you exceeded yourself and bit by bit, that’s how we progress.” She tried to smile, but Jano could tell there was something else behind it. He nodded and tried to return the expression.