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Kin feels similar to when Akira tossed him into his house when Zaiya attacked their village when he emerges from the mirror. Beside his burned back and still bleeding shoulder and his chest looks like Zaiya tried to bite him in half.

He cannot see any wall in the room. Its all black, as is the ground. No visible asperity on the floor. But his blood is visible. At least, so it will be easier to find the mirror again. Talking about that. The room must be huge. He can see more mirrors, but the distance to the next mirror must be at least thirty men's height.

He is tempted to return to the mirror, but... it fell and might be at the bottom of the tower or what is left of it. No, he cant go back without a sign of his phoenix, whatever that may be. He doesn't have strings she could pull. May be she can use the mirror too?

Kin tries to sits down, the bleeding is slowing down, but the pain in his back is still killing him. So he stays on his feet and starts tugging at the phoenix. When she doesn't resist, he works her head feathers for a while, before turning around and giving one of her tails a playful tug.

“I just hope our little one is ok..."

There are two brightly illuminated people in the middle of all the mirrors. One man, slightly older then him with neatly cut hair and no beard and a woman, far more lithe then a human woman, with pointy ears and hair going down to her elbows. They both are just... shades of white, no other color.

The carpenter tilts his head at them. “Hello?", then his face turns red and he covers himself again. That darn cloth problem.

They seem to ignore that completely, though. Both of them smile at him, but only the woman speaks. “Hello, Kin. It is nice seeing you again. Even under both our circumstances. “ A little sadness sneaks into her voice.

Kin takes a few slow steps towards them and points at his shoulder. “This? Nah, that will be fine once... once... she finds me." He sighs, unsure if that will happen – or rather WHEN it will happen.

Now both ghosts look at each other, a smile getting broader on their faces. “You … found someone? That's wonderful. And she is coming?"

“Yes, wait. You look familiar, but that doesn't mean I will tell you stuff. Especially after the last weeks with Rikka."

Now the two ghosts stare at him intently, no more smile on their faces. If anything, then worry. The woman with the pointy ears speaks again “You met Rikka? Please be careful around her. She is.. very dangerous. As for us, my name is Kendra and this is my love, Aiden."

Kin is thinking about the names, they sound familiar too, but he cant remember where he heard them. It must have been a while ago.

Now Aiden continues. “We have been to Juniper a few times and met the village smith. He is a kind soul, and we helped him a bit." Kins eyes turn to slits as he stares at them when Aiden takes a short break before continuing “And when we noticed Rikka's master was trying to catch up to us, we left our son with him."

If sound could be seen as colors by him, the room would turn from black to... dark black. He sits down, his mind turning the pain in his back and shoulder down to a tickle when it finally grasps the identity of the ghosts in front of him. “Mom? Dad?"

The little phoenix obviously enjoys paddling around the lava lake, while Zaiya dives down over and over again. She found out, that the tower must have been very close to the steep cliff of their little island. By now, the phoenix uses her talons to climb down the cliff. It only takes a moment to find the remains of the tower there. Then the real work begins. She picks up a piece of the wall, uses her tongue to see if its the mirror, then carries it to the side, away from the ruins, then continues to do so. It is still tedious, but the routine works well for her. At times, her human tugs lightly on her, which makes her smile every time and with renewed effort, she continues. Except, when he teases her with her tails.

Both of the ghosts nod at him. And he storms, or more stumbles towards the white silhouettes to embrace them. They look at him sadly, when his arms just go through their bodies.

“Yes. The grand master of this place caught us. But thanks to our knowledge, we are too valuable for him to just let our souls go. So he locked our spirits away and connected them to these projections, so all his minion can come and talk to us. We are still ourselves and can choose what to tell them, though. Only Rikka tried to get information recently, lets hope she wont come now. I don't think it would be good, if any of them" Her father points at the other mirrors “ would see you here."

Kins voice turns grim. “Rikka wont. I.. I … killed her."

Silence.

“She.. was haunting us for months now. And.. when I saw the opportunity, I just... took the sword...even though she said she would let us go."

He flops down, sobbing lightly.

His mother sighs. “She was a very bad woman and brought a lot of pain to many people. And far too powerful to be stopped easily. How did YOU do it, though? “

“She got distracted... she was playing with us for a long time now. Just to beat us back at anything we tried against her. But then.. at the end of her experiment, she got distracted... and I didn't think, I just acted. “

He stops and takes a few deep breaths before climbing to his feet and wiping away the tears.

“Can I .. help you somehow? “ The pain in his body slowly returns after the shock.

Both smile weakly, not wanting to push the matter of the sorceress further for now “Not really. We don't know ourselves where our souls are being held. But may be we can help you somehow.

“Can you make me immune to lava and lack of air?"

They look at him, dumbfounded. “What?"

“Let's just say... I messed up big time and destroyed a building in some lava lake, with me inside and no way out. Then Z... I mean, then I went through the mirror, but I cant go back now, if the mirror is still on the bottom of that lake..."

So that's it. Rikkas tower is no more, when he killed her, the tower soon gave in.

“No, I am sorry. We both were Sorcerers, but we don't have any power. We can teach you, but you did not inherit any of our magical gift. There is no way you can activate the runes without power. If you like, we can teach you, but it .."

“That sounds good!"

Aiden stares at his son intently. “Your wounds looked severe, but they are healing already. Far faster then they should. We were afraid you might die, if not for blood loss, then surely infection. “ Then he smiles. “That's great, but I am curious as to why...?"

Kin grins back “That is not my place to tell, or at least, not yet." He is enjoying that little big secret far too much to reveal it right away. Even though he is pretty sure about the identity of those two. They are just projections, and probably everybody might be able to generate something like that, but something tells him... it just... feels right. Similar to when he was wondering if the little falcon was telling him the truth or not.

He gently tugs Zaiyas head feather again, then focuses back on his parents.

“so.. how will this work. A big umbrella would be great. Or wait! Even better: a spell to focus the light of the sun into a beam."

His father grins “You found the altar, hu? “

His son smiles back “I found so much more. But I might want to move the altar or set up a new one somewhere!"

Kendras turn to speak again now, she frowns a little “Worshiping is not bad, but please don't overdo it. There have been far too many wars fought because of different believes and gods in the past already."

Now its Kins turn to look dumbfounded. “What? OH! No... I may believe in the sun and its.. agents?, but I don't really worship. I didn't put anything on the altar for years. Wait, that is wrong. I didn't put anything on the altar to burn for years. But it would still be nice to know how to remove and set up these beams."

His parents look confused, but nonetheless start teaching him. Painting the runes into the air and very patiently watch him redo the movements. It is very tricky, since non of them become visible like Rikka's or Janosh's did, but he is eager to learn and follows them very closely. And he wants to get to the giant umbrella and fire resistance...

Every few minutes, he stops for a moment, to tug his phoenix head to make sure she is fine – and tell her that he is too.

“You keep doing that, Kin, as if you are stepping outside your mind for a second. Are you really ok? " His mother asks, now wary of possible trickery. It doesn't make sense, though. He is asking for the most basic things possible. And even though, they both have no power anymore, they still can sense, that this person before them has non. Absolutely zero. Both of them are also very sure, that this person in front of them IS their son. But asking about why he is here and how is fruitless. He keeps smiling and puts them of with a “later!" or “once she is here". It is frustrating, but they are far too happy to see their son again to be upset about that. And his certainty, that 'she' would come is contagious.

At some point, the carpenter falls asleep. Zaiya got so used to him giving her life signals, that she panics when it didn't happen for an extended time, means about five minutes max. Since she can check the bond herself, she returns to poking it every few seconds. Thanks to the constant hot surroundings, it takes longer for her to become tired. When she lies down to rest on their island, she calls over the little light phoenix and rests. It takes several days until Zaiya finally swims up with something she thinks that might be the obsidian relic for the hundredth time. But this time, it really is the mirror. Instead of diving into it, she lies down to rest. Her carpenter stopped tugging again. She figured out, that he sleeps, when the signals stop.

Then another thought hits her. He still needs water... and food. She doesn't know, if there would be any wherever he is,. He may survive longer, thanks to her blessings, but without water for several days, he still would be in trouble. His tugging didn't change, though. No sign of distress. She gasps then glares, as he tugs one of her tails again lightly, playfully. Then she grins. Soon it is time for payback.

Kin's thirst is slowly getting to him. Far worse then his hunger, but at least, the temperature was comfortable somehow.

He has learned quiet a bit the last days, but without testing he doesn't know if it would work.

After a few more minutes of practicing, his parents seem satisfied.

“Don't go swimming in lava, son, this is just a minor protection spell. If we teach you more complicated runes like this. Without a way to try for you and no way for us to correct mistakes, it will end in disaster for sure."

Kin nods “I understand. I never really wanted it anyway, beside the umbrella." He looks at their confused expressions. He still didn't reveal Zaiya to them, so a giant umbrella doesn't make any sense. Soon she would find him, and then they would understand!

They both start to look worried, though. He is obviously getting weaker.

“Kin, you could try any other mirror to find food and water." They point to one a bit away from him. “We know, this one is Master Janoshs, he is... a decent person. He might help you, if you promise to leave him alone beside the supplies. If you tell him, Kendra of Rand sent you, he will listen. Rand is a small elven border town, next to the city on the dam."

Kin tilts his head “He isn't living in some kind of … deadly environment, is he? " A rhetorical question. He doesn't wait for an answer, thirst and hunger pressure him to seek his help. Again.

“No, he is just reading. For centuries. He only leaves the tower, if he is looking for new books. You would have him help you in an instant, if you brought some, but if you tell him my name, he will help you anyway. May be, he can give you some cloths too and let you out of his tower. It is only about one day on foot away from Juniper."

Kin shakes his head “I can't leave. I have to wait here. But I will ask him for water and food. And clothes." He looks back one more time. His parents look worried, but they all know, he cant stay like this for much longer. “She will come for me, mom, dad, she will. I know."

The carpenter isn't sure how to activate the mirror, so he just reaches out to touch it as he did with the one his phoenix held for him. As soon as his hand touches the surface with the swirling black mist, he gets pulled in as before.

He blinks and quietly takes in the room around him. It is another tower. Very similar to Rikkas and the one from the vision with the young Zaiya. This ones interior is completely different, though.

There aren't just bookshelves on the outer walls, but also in the middle. It feels like a maze of bookshelves. And they go up all the way to the top of the tower. He cant see any way of getting there, though, unless one wanted to climb the shelves. On one side of the mirror is a single desk and chair and on the other are crates with supplies.

He immediately takes a step towards them, before catching himself doing it. Instead, he reaches for one of Zaiyas strings to tug her head lightly. That always brings him back from anything that might make it hard to keep his wits. Anything like despair or panic for example.

Master Janosh appears above, having picked a seemingly random book and now slowly returns to the ground. His feet are surrounded by dark blue mist, similar to what Rikka used, when she chased Kin through the forest.

“You again." He states indifferently without looking up from the book. Then it looks like something hit him. “Wait, how did you get here? Did the old hag let you go? And why are you alone and naked?"

Kin blushes and tries covering himself as usual “I.. um.. sorry... Kendra.. sent me? Kendra of.. what was the elven town?"

Now, Janosh closes the book and stares at him intently. “Why do you know that name. Tell me.. now." There is a kind of threat in his voice, as he steps around the carpenter, scanning him for information.

“She .. is my mother. Ok. When you brought me to the sorceress, she did some rituals on Zaiya." When The sorcerer stares at him The phoenix. In the end, I .. “ He takes a deep breath “.. I escaped through the mirror. Then there were ghosts of my parents, who told me to ask you for help. Food and cloths may be. Food mostly, cloths might not last long, I'm afraid."

Janosh keeps staring at him, obviously thinking “Rikka is gone, isn't she? And you got her again, right? She was rambling about that insolent farmer..."

Kin interrupts him absentmindedly “Carpenter."

“..Whatever. Her tower collapsed and you escaped through the mirror. “ Now he nods approvingly. “I am no friend of Rikka, and you have nothing to fear from me. I don't want you, your phoenix or anything else you both could provide. I am a scholar, I am only interested in literature and the last thing I could use here is a burning bird destroying my library. “ He slows down again, thoughtful. “If you really are Kendras son, I will help you. If you don't bother me beside that. Help yourself. “He points to the supplies. “What else do you need? “

“Thank you. You are very kind. I will pay you back somehow, promised. You.. don't have fire resistant cloths, by chance, do you?"

Kin didn't think he could laugh at all but at that, Janosh laughs heartily. “No, I am sorry. I am content with very little runes to cast. The enchantment would not last long, if I imbued some clothes for you either. And it certainly would not withstand the heat of your phoenix. Now at least, get some cloths. There should be a robe or two in there, just pick one." Then he opens the book again and sits on his desk, reading as if Kin isn't even there.

He is very perceptive, that sorcerer. Kin's stomach painfully draws his attention back to it and he carefully starts looking through the supplies. He picks a few strips of dried meat, but quickly discards these when he sees a carafe of water.

That's what he really needed. Janosh completely ignores him now, lost in his book once again.

Kin takes his time, forcing himself to slowly drink and eat.

After he is full, he picks up one of the robes Master Janosh pointed to and turns back to him.

“Thank you, I will not forget your kindness, Mr. Scholar."

Janosh actually smiles for a second, then nods before waving towards the mirror.

Kin considers asking him to take him out of the tower – or may be both of them, once Zaiya found him in that black room. After another look at the scholar, he discards the thought. No need to, really.

“I hope, my bird will find me, before I have to bother you again."

The carpenter doesn't get another reaction from the sorcerer – librarian - and decides to leave through the mirror again.

His parents are quiet happy to see him again.

“He helped you, did he? And he gave you clothes."

Kin smiles “Yes, that he did. Mom?" He sits down in front of them again. His back and shoulder still aching, but even with the robe, it is more a minor nuisance at the moment then painful.

“Yes, Kin?"

“Is there a spell, that can cancel another sorcerers spell or prevent a target to be affected by it?"

His father smiles “Of course." Then looks at Kendra, who continues “It is very difficult and if the other sorcerer knows about it, it is not very hard to get around it. There is an easy one too, though. For that one, you have to stay focused. It is not used outside of the very basic training for all elves in Zyrra. You make yourself vulnerable to non-magical attacks, since you have to keep in touch with your target. There are few battle-siblings, that tried this. But it always is just too inconvenient. The one you try to protect has to keep close to you. Meanwhile, you cant even watch your own back, let alone protect both of you against incoming missiles or flanking attacks. And you can't focus on your own offensive. You hinder your partner AND have to rely on that one for just about everything except spells thrown your way."

He grins at her. “Thank you for the explanation. It sounds perfect!"

Both her parents blink in confusion “What? How...?" His father laughs “Oh, may be she-who-will-soon-come-for-you can clear that mystery up? “ He becomes thoughtful, after that and his wife stares at him. He had an idea.

“Can you teach me mom?" He tugs Zaiyas left foot. That starts the routine with eight or so different strings. “Please?"

She laughs “Of course. I am really looking forward to meet this savior of my son."

And so the rest of the day is filled with more practicing until he falls asleep again. His parents seem to be always awake, obviously, if they are just spirits. Kin finds it strange, that no other sorcerer entered this room for days now. He wont complain, though.

He tugs of of the phoenix tails again playfully.

Zaiya absolutely needed the time to rest. Even though, the lava helps her energy levels, she is still exhausted after diving down to move bricks and search for the mirror for days. Her carpenter is still fine. Just light 'I am here' tugs. She is really glad, that he finally uses that ability, especially as a way to communicate.

Her head shots up, when her tail gets tugged again and she starts panting. Her eyes turn to slits and she slowly climbs to her talons to waddle to the mirror and taps against it. Kayda is resting next to it, eyes closed.

The phoenix gets sucked through it, just like Kin was and appears in a completely black room.

Only a few dried specks of blood on the ground right in front of her. She spots the carpenter and stares at him “You are done, human!" Then she pounces like he never thought a bird with 2 legs could. He gives a cry of happiness, then surprise, then he gets buried under her fluff as his parents let out a surprised cry of fear.

She didn't notice the two projections when she arrived and now glares at him, before loudly yelling at her seemingly alone human “What did I tell you about a phoenix's tails?"

Kin smiles. She is finally here. He knew she would come! She looks.. angry? May be.

He cant even raise his hands before she jumps on him. Happy, but also angry.

When she yells at him, he can hear her usual playfulness and his worries disappear, though.

“I..."

“WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT PHOENIX TAILS?"

He blushes instantly and tries to avoid her eyes, which confuses her a bit. She wasn't done with him yet. Its too early to change colors!

“You … never touch them?“

“Unless..? “

“U-u... nless the bird is yours...?" - His voice gets quieter and she notices, that he doesn't just avoid her gaze, he actually looks at something behind her.

Zaiyas eyes grow wide and her head shots around, noticing the two people? No schemes, barely visible to her. She quickly waddles of her human and backwards.

Now its Kins turn to grin as he climbs back to his feet with a groan from his back and shoulder.

“You know.. your color matches your plumage very well too, right now."

She is too baffled to respond as she stares at all three, unsure if they are a threat or not – but sure, that she just embarrassed them in front of strangers. Some of her humans 'moralities' must have rubbed off on her.

The elf woman speaks first “So you are that.. savior Kin kept talking about. The one who would come to get him."

Zaiya takes a step back towards her human “Kin, something is wrong with those two. They are there, but not there."

The human man bows down at her. “Please forgive our discourteous behavior. I am known as Aiden, wandering mage from Horizont and this is my wife, Kendra of Rand. We are Kin's parents.“

Meanwhile, Kendra scans the phoenix “You look somewhat similar to a hawk from Eagleholm, but definitely not one I have seen. And I've never heard of tails on hawks either."

Zaiya claps her beak once, still speechless.

Aiden continues “I would say, phoenix. But there is no aura. Too bad we cant see powers anymore."

Kin continues smiling and walks over to his bird and hugs her neck tightly. “I knew you would come. I am sorry for teasing you."

Her head comes down and rubs against his side affectionately and whispers barely audible to him“I approve." Then her voice becomes 'louder' again “You have a lot to make up for, master.", which earns her a bonk on the head again and both giggle.

Meanwhile his parents kept talking and smiling at both of them.

Then the phoenix settles down and stares at both silhouettes in front of them.

“So, you two, now you can tell us your story, right?" His parents look at Kin and he nods, but waits for Zaiya to talk this time.

She slides behind him, to preen his hair while telling them from the beginning. It is strange for her. Usually she fixates on the persons mind to project her words into them. With those too, it works even though there is no one there. It is confusing, but not something the fire bird investigates further. It works, so its fine.

She starts with telling them about when she was sent to the village, forced to burn it down. The villagers use of water – and then their escape from Rikka. She emphasizes especially on the time in the cave, how scared she was, and how their son had kept her warm and as comfortable as possible.

“Then he brought me to the place of worship to regain my strength. It took a while to convince the villagers, but now “ She adds proudly “I am the village guardian. “

Kin strokes her head and she takes a break to enjoy that, so he continues.

“Then Rikka got back to us, but we beat her back again! We went to talk to another phoenix above the clouds, he wasn't very nice, though. Then the king demanded her. And she um.. kinda exploded at the guards that were supposed to get me."

Zaiya shrinks at that, sadly and embarrassed.

“Then she told the king where he can put his money and that she wont be his throne warmer."

She speaks up meekly at that “You told him that, I only threatened him."

“She didn't do anything harmful at the castle though!"

Aiden interrupts there “Is still the old Brayden on the throne?"

Kin blinks irritated “No, some guy named 'Eorthas' or so..."

Now Kendra sounds worried “That is not good. Erthonas was a spoiled brat, very entitled.“ Zaiya nods angrily, then the elf continues “You and your village might be in trouble. Most likely."

“Nothing happened, though. A few days later, we decided to go to see the dam. They had troubles with bandits there."

Zaiya lies down her head now. Sadness all over her face. Kin sits on her neck, leaning down to cares the feathers to comfort her. “She.. lost to the fury again there. But got kept her focus, so the city is still there and the bandits aren't."

When he takes a small break, Zaiya adds bitterly “And gone are also the meadows, fields, fruit trees and the forest with everything that lived there."

Now his father stares at his son firmly “Kin. It is your responsibility that something like that doesn't happen. Why didn't you stop her? “

“I... wanted t..." Then he gets tossed on the birds back, as she raises her head abruptly.

“He couldn't! I sent him away. They had booming magic to shoot little balls of metal. It was too dangerous. And it all went so fast. He did stop me, but it was already too late." Then she stares at them, trying to redeem at least her honor as guardian, even though no one even thought about doubting her. “I didn't leave him without protection, though. A griffin took him out of harms way and protected him." Then she whispers, more to calm herself down then tell any of them “He was safe."

Kin meanwhile crawls back beside her head and tugs it back on his lap to comfort her again and continue their tale.

“After that, we flew west to a tower. There we got attacked by Rikka again. She took a long time to remove or replace our bond, then wanted a dark phoenix from us."

Zaiya starts shivering at the thought. Even though it was not a dark one in the end, it still is a bad memory for her.

“But even though, she did everything right – she said – Zaiya instead laid.. or well.. was forced to lay a bright, white egg. Then I.. messed up, big time."

At that Zaiya pulls her head again from him and continues quietly “You killed the Kerrin who was the master of that tower. After she died, the tower crumbles and you nearly died, but escaped through the mirror. I am sorry, that it took so long to find it again. You look well, though. I was afraid you would starve or die of thirst."

He grins and tugs her head again “Your carpenter is crafty." Then more humble “or more likely, he was just lucky. Again."

She stares at the silhouettes. “A few magic tricks would have helped greatly there. If you are his parents, you a mage...sorcerer.. and you an elf. Then Kin should be able to use magic, right?"

The spirit of his mother sadly explains "No, he didn't inherit any elven traits at all, it seems. And not even the tiniest bit of magic."

Zaiya shakes her head and grins"This is not true, lady. He still used his magic to charm this phoenix."

The spirit replies indifferently "That wasn't magic, it was kindness. In this case, it may have worked. I have seen others getting ripped apart by creatures they saved moments ago. They forgot about their own safety and their kindness lead to their doom."

Aiden laughs at that “I guess, that works. That's why you.. Wait..." He stops and smirks at his son “You … are a crafty little boy. That's why you wanted to learn, but you you still can't use any...“

Kin signals him to not reveal that they had taught him some very basic rune words.

“..ah um. Ok. Never mind. “ He laughs embarrassed then quickly changes the subject “You said the egg was white. I have heard a very knowledgeable man talk about a theory about this. He is supposed to be dead, but we know that, in fact, he is still alive. He is held captive in one of the Towers at Serenity castle. May be he can tell you a few things you want to know about. But be careful. You don't want to piss off the king.. if you didn't do that already."

Kendra glares at her husband and he quickly adds “I mean... you don't want to anger him further."

She nods and smiles again.

Zaiya starts chirping at them after that. Kin never heard her do that for more then a few tunes. This sounds like talking – and strangely enough, his mother replies in kind.

His father laughs. “Let the girls talk.. Son, come here."

Kin steps next to him. “Boys talk too, hu?"

Aiden doesn't smile. “Son, you have to be careful. The destruction she brings... it hurts her. You HAVE to be quick about stopping her, when she looses control. She seems to care a lot about her surroundings. That is not normal for a phoenix, at least, from what I know."

Kin nods thoughtfully “She does. Ever since I asked her to practice tuning her aura. And since she became the village guardian. “ He takes a small break to think about Juniper “The village... I hope they are ok."

Aiden laughs “They were ok before, weren't they? But village guardian is a fancy title..." He looks over at his wife and the bird “They are chattering... “

The carpenter continues “Yes. Definitely like chickens."

Zaiya smiles at them dangerously “I heard that!"

“Hey, not fair! You got your conversation, we got ours! We don't listen in on you either." That is because they cant, of course.

She grins “That's why I'm .. He did WHAT?" Her head turns back to Kendra, completely forgotten about the playful insult and she starts her chirping laugh once more, eyeing him every now and then.

“They aren't telling stories about me as a kid, are they? Talking about me as a kid, why did you two leave me with Akira?"

His father shrugs “I cant understand them. Elven stuff. Well... we knew that someone was after us. We made some enemies of our own, especially for helping Michael of Eagleholm.“ He blinks, as he notices the confused look on Kins face. “Oh, that is the sorcerer I was talking about earlier. The one that did a lot of research, starting with religion, especially on the creator. Then switched to gryphons and after he was satisfied, phoenixes. We snatched him away a couple of times of someone … dark. In the end, he got him anyway and us too. But at least, he was still alive then. Locked in Serenity castle – one of the towers."

“Who is this 'dark person'?" He moves closer to talk more quiet “Not called Balthasar or so, is he?"

His fathers face falls, fear and pain in his face." How do you know this name. Don't tell me you angered him too."

Kin grins weakly “I don't know. But.. if it is the same one, he must be over a thousand years old. That's surely not possible.."

Aiden nods slowly “It is, your mother and I are.. were around five hundred years old when we died. Michael is over one thousand five hundred and Balthasar, we don't know."

The grin on the carpenters face freezes. “He was the one, that caught and abused Zaiya a thousand years ago. And from Rikka's rambling, he is also the one that is behind her attacking and kidnapping us."

“This is bad. He rarely shows up here, but if this is the case, we are lucky he didn't yet."

“Dad, whats with the black things you can go through? What are they and why did it survive the fall from near the top of the tower?"

Aiden shifts about uneasy. “They are made of obsidian. Very durable, like the altar near Juniper. Imbued with magic to be used as portals. They suck people in, that touch them. Kendra? Honey? They should leave. Our host might be after them..."

The chirping stops and everyone looks at him, then the elf look at Zaiya “I thought Rikka was behind it?"

The phoenix waddles over to them, preening Kin while answering normally now. “The order seems to have come from someone else."

Kin giggles and moves his hand through the feathers on her neck “That tickles." He turns to his father “We can visit again, right?" He nods slowly “Give it some time, though. You don't want to meet him. “

“And Zaiya? Where is our little one?"

She smiles “Outside, guarding the portal. I didn't see any danger outside while diving for the mirror. I will still go through first to see if everything is ok. After a few seconds, you will pull my wing, if I don't fight it, you follow." She sounds serious, still worried about the hot stone outside ending his life.

“Okay." He reaches for his mother one more time and their hands meet, then his hand goes through hers. “Okay." He repeats quieter with a hint of sadness.

“Come now, human." Zaiya turns around and waddles back to their portal. He follows quietly, looking back at the silhouettes smiling forms a few more times, before he watches Zaiya disappear.

She taps the mirror with her beak and then it looks like her whole form contorts and gets pulled into the mirror. All of her gets pulled to the middle of it, like a thin stream of feathers and colors once it reaches the mirror. He waits a few seconds, then tugs her wings and holds them lightly. When there is no resistance, he touches the mirror too.

The first thing Kin sees, is Zaiya, sitting right in front of him. He walks over to her and hugs her neck, then looks around.

The ground is warm and uncomfortably so, but doesn't burn him. The sharp edges of the uneven ground are worse on his feet then the heat. The little 'island' they are on, is completely surrounded by a lake of smoking red. The little phoenix paddles around in it and seems to enjoy herself. Somewhere nearby, some animal cries or rather roars. “Do you think, we could take the mirror with us? And hide it som..."

Zaiyas head shoots up and she looks around, then pushes him to the ground roughly with her beak and steps over him. “Down! I know that sound. “ She screeches at the little phoenix, who obediently swims over to them, then climbs out and sits down next to her. If all children would be like this....

The roar sounds again, this time a second and third answers. Closer now.

Zaiya hisses and makes sure, she covers her human with her feathers. “that is why we need our talons...."

Kin, still is oblivious of what is going on grins “I am not an egg, you know? “ And then adds uncomfortably “And the ground is too warm and sharp. I think, I cut my hand... “

“Be still, very still." Then her head fixes on something behind them and a torrent of flame blows over them, but interestingly, it looks like the flame gets drawn to her. Like a horizontal stream of water, that gravity pulls down to the ground.

She hisses in annoyance “Leave us alone."

Another voice replies, also in his head. At least, they are letting the carpenter listen to the conversation. “We did, for many days. But we do not tolerate humans in our territory. Leave without him and you will both be safe."

Zaiya glares “No. This is my human, and he will stay with me. Force me to get up and I will talk with my talons."

Something heavy lands behind her, then seems to circle around them all. Zaiyas neck lowers itself, probably so she could quickly cover his head, if necessary.

“I know, my scales will be next to useless against your talons. But this human will not leave alive. Too much pain has been inflicted by the human in the lake."

The phoenix voice sounds dangerous. Not angry, like with the king or fearful when the bandits shot at them. It feels like a cat hissing, only one second from jumping into your face with all four feet and claws out.

Kin spits out a few feathers and turns his head sideways “You mean Rikka? She is gone. Dead. Wont bother you anymore."

The male replies, now his head finally getting in sight. He had seen pictures of dragons, giant scaled beings with large fangs and two horns protruding up from the head. As the neck comes into view, he can see a lot of scared scales between a few new ones, that have grown back.

“Be quiet!" hisses Zaiya at him.

“Shut up, human." growls the dragon “Is it true? Is the Plague of Lavaridge gone?"

Zaiyas head follows him, still barely above the ground. “Yes. And the tower is in ruins. As are her books with every piece of corrupted knowledge in them. This human killed her."

Two more thuds are heard behind the phoenix and Kin notices, that she becomes nervous.

Great. More of them. Not much she can do, if they decide to jump her. Kayda could try to fly away, but as soon as she herself gets up, her human will be roasted. She cant fly them away either. She may be faster and more agile, but even if she manages to dodge all flame breaths AND manages to keep Kin from falling during the maneuvers, it would still be too difficult to concentrate on flying, watching him so he wont toss her off balance in midair AND try to absorb any flame breaths that she could not dodge. The phoenix isn't THAT overconfident to try, if she doesn't have to. May be they will leave them, when they realize, that she wont back down. And if it comes to confrontation, she will fight back as long as she can... - No, that would mean giving up.

“You know, that you cannot win against all of us, right? But you can take your youn.."

She hisses again “But I will take at least the two over there with me."

His voice sounds hurt – mockingly “You do not deem me a great enough threat? That hurts."

She grins “I do, but I am sure you would want to protect them. May be your mate? Or your young? Just like me with these two."

Kin tugs at a few feathers on her neck “Zaiya..."

She ignores him and stares at the dragon, who is now fully visible to kin.

His scales have a dark blue color, most of them reflect the light of the lake around them. Not just his neck, but his whole body is full of scars. The legs must be thicker then Kin, and the talons look more viscous then the phoenix talons.

The phoenix raises her head slightly, to look at the other dragons. One is obviously a young one, much smaller. The other one is nearly as big as the male in front of her. Slightly more lithe, possibly his mate. Both stay quiet and sit down, not aggressively, but they still remind her of their presence and the threat it may pose.

“You know you cannot harm me or my hatchling." If she only would be sure about Kayda, though. She doesn't behave like a normal phoenix would. So Zaiya can not be sure if her physiology works similar. The little one still didn't grow, even though she was bathing in lava for days. She didn't fly up above the clouds either.

Kin nudges her neck again “Zaiya..." and gets ignored once more. She is far too agitated and scared to leave the dragon out of her eyes and her own thoughts keep her from listening.

“What are you thinking about, bird?" Her thoughts get interrupted. May be she should just tell them everything?

“We can just wait here, take turns, until that wretched creature is starving...."

Zaiya hisses again at him. “He is not wretched. He is MY human. Kind and caring, the opposite of the one, that was living in this lake."

“Of course he is. Of course. I am sure, he wouldn't want to see us hurt you both then, right?"

Kin wiggles a bit at that, but Zaiya presses down harder on him, making it hard to breath.

“Nice try, but even if he thinks you CAN hurt us, I wont let him."

The carpenter sighs and focuses on bringing out one arm towards his face, slowly and with great effort. It feels like he is surrounded by fluffy steel weights. How can a bird be this heavy anyway?

“ZAIYA!"

“No you wont, Kin."

He sighs and wrestles his arm free, then takes a hold of a few of her strings before focusing on drawing the runes for the fire resistance spell on the ground. Nothing happens. How... to tap into Zaiyas power... that is what he has to find out now.

“Your talons may be sharp, even to a dragon, but you will not kill or cripple any of us before your human dies."

May be they don't know about phoenixes?

“Then I will hunt all of you down afterwards!"

He laughs “I know, you cant do that. Isn't there not some kind of backlash, if the one controlling you dies?"

Ok, he did hear SOMETHING, but not the whole story.

“Possibly, but that will not last long. And, what makes you think he is controlling me? Would he not command me to get rid of you? Right away? Before your family arrived?"

“..may be he just isn't the fastest thinker. Or may be something else is wrong with him?"

The dragon bends his neck to come closer, sniffing, trying to see Kin, but gets a beak on his snout for his effort.

“Fiery.. well, aren't phoenixes supposed to burn everything around them with heat, not just their voice and beak? May be you are still too young to be of ANY danger at all?"

Her beak only added another scratch to the scales, to hurt him, she would have to use her talons. Her aura would most likely be useless too.

“Why don't you leave us alone? I leave you, your mate and young one, and you leave mine."

Then she freezes. A long forgotten feeling washes over her. A bad one. Uncomfortable memories of a very bad time attached to it. Someone was sapping her power, but slowly, very clumsily, not like Bartholomeus did.

She looks around for the offender.

Yes, VERY clumsily. That's when she raises her head slightly to look at Kin, who by now, finally has figured out how to do this.

“You... Kin! You have to tell me, you.. this is very uncomfortable. I.. oh that's what you wanted to tell me?" She reflexively lowers her neck to the ground, when the dragon breathes in audibly, but no flames come their way.

“I knew it... sorcerer. We can get rid of him for you, right now and here. Just step away."

She screeches in fury “He is NOT a sorcerer." The draining has stopped now and it didn't even leave a dent in her energy reservoir.

“Zaiya, I should be immune to fire now! Not sure how long it will last, though. May be we can just fly away now?"

She thinks for a moment “You never tried that before and I nearly lost you in the tower. We will not take the risk."

The dragon takes a step towards them once more.

“He isn't just a human, but also a sorcerer. I will never let him go."

She hisses at him once more, ready to bite him “He is my mate and you will not harm him!"

He stumbles back as from a physical blow “A Human? Why would you take a human as mate!? They are power hungry, cruel creatures."

She glares at him “Of course, your interaction with humans consists only of those, that seek you out for their thirst of power. How would you EVER know what other humans want or how they are? Kerrins are all..."

She got distracted long enough for the female dragon behind her to walk up to the phoenix and shove her forward with her head. The horns being too close to the dragons head to be any danger for the bird, but she gets lifted forward and then tossed off the carpenter.

She lets out a screech of surprise, then terror. Her wings unfold as she tries to stabilize herself and get her talons into the dragon in front of her, but he anticipated that, and simply sidesteps twice to be sure, then breathes flames at the spot she was a second ago.

But its empty. No human there.

Kin lands with an thud on the ground between the phoenix and the dragon. He had held on to some of her feathers to keep her calm, that probably saved him.

He is faster on his legs, then the phoenix and dashes towards her, but a torrent of flame between them makes him take a hard left turn towards the male dragon,

He seems to be amused “Not bad, human. You will be nice practice for my son."

Then he turns towards Zaiya, who by now, caught herself and dives at him, talons outstretched.

The dragon obviously has a lot of combat experience. He knows the phoenix dangerous side are her unnaturally sharp talons, so he catches her right at her dive. His front paws neatly fit between her talons, giving her no way to use the strength in them and only scratching the top of his scaled feet.

Then he tosses her brutally away from Kin and lets go. She drops on the ground and rolls into the lava lake.

She is desperate now, swimming quickly to get back to the island.

Meanwhile, the female dragon sits back, but carefully watches Kin – most likely for any rune casting, while the smaller dragon spits a small stream of fire at him.

He tries dodging it, but the young dragon anticipated his dodge and adjusts, burning his arm.

The screams out in pain and his skin turns fire red. He ducks, then sprints to the other direction, running past the male dragon, with the smaller one hot on his heels.

The old one thinks for a second to stop him, but decides against it. Then he roars, as Zaiyas talons rip at his side and back. One moment of distraction. He twists and his tail comes down hard at her, smacking the phoenix to the ground. He roars at the human, but his son already dashed in the way. The first time he got wounded in battle for six years – it infuriates him.

Zaiya meanwhile got airborne again, diving for the young dragon, but the old dragon snatches her tails with his jaw and drags her down again.

She hisses at him and hacks at his eyes with her beak, then turns and twists until she can put a deep cut on his snout.

Kin meanwhile got burned twice. The robe is gone and his back and arm burn badly, he feels that he is getting slower. He takes a slight step to the left, then hops right and the small dragon rushes past him again. The carpenter looks back at his phoenix, but she just got pulled down to the ground once more. No help from her. He hopes she would be ok. There are no spots of liquid fire on her, except one of her tails is missing and now hangs in the dragons maw. It only seems to infuriate her more. Her aura is to normal now, but non of them are bothered by it.

The human lingers one moment too long, and the small dragon opens his mouth to breath more fire at him.

He closes his eyes, as the red stream shoots towards him.

“I am sorry, Zaiya."

More screeching and roars, when he is still conscious after two seconds, he looks around again.

The small light phoenix went in between them and blocked the stream of fire, screeching and chirping at the small dragon who takes a step back and sits.

His mother comes over. “So now, children have to protect you, human. How pathetic. “

Kin sits down, at the end of his strength. “Yea... from dragons. That's a fair fight. Sure. And without..."

Now Kayda screeches at him, obviously to shut up.

“Awesome, now you ..." He bites his tongue, while the dragon laughs.

“Are you the family pet or something?" She doesn't understand why they would go to such length to protect a filthy human?

“Mom, the little bird says the human is her friend. I don't want to hurt her friend. She said I wouldn't like her to hurt my friends, and she is right. Can we just leave them?"

She hesitates for a moment and stares at the little phoenix. She never saw one before, but this one definitely looks different from the large one.

“He is a human. Humans are evil."

“But mom, she says he is her father."

Now the dragon sits down, confused. The male slowly walks sideways towards his family, eyeing Zaiya. He is limping slightly.

The phoenix learned her lesson, and carefully waddles over to them too. Not leaving the dragon out of her eyes. Kin can see a few red marks on her wings and face. One tail is missing and a lot of feathers, but else she seems fine.

They all freeze, as a very loud roar, followed by a female voice that seems to be used to give orders.

“What is this? A long time since we had a phoenix visitor, but what is a human doing here?"

All three dragons bow their head, while Zaiya steps in front of her daughter.

“He is MY human and we want to leave as soon as we safely can." She glares at the other dragons.

The newcomer is larger then even the male is. Stronger too, but from her pristine scales, she didn't see as much fighting as the male had. She glowers at them with dark blue eyes. “No humans enter this place and leave alive. Too much suffering has been brought by his kind."

Kin still is barely conscious. The burns on his arm and back took their toll on him, as did the short but intense chase by the dragons. When the little phoenix stepped in front of him, to block the flames, he was certain it would be over. His mind just shut down at some point there and his body dropped down to rest. It is a little like when they were flying above the clouds and talking to the other phoenix, except, he doesn't have the will to talk. The carpenter tries to not fall asleep, though. Afraid, that he might not wake up again. He flinches, when something moves over his back, but doesn't say anything.

The little phoenix chirps at them again. He wonders, if she cant talk in others mind like Zaiya can.

“She asks if we didn't bring enough pain to her friend already. She thinks, it should count for something, that he killed the other human down in the lake and nearly died for doing that."

May be she only talks to the little dragon? Or may be he just translates to impress his parents. He opens his eyes, sadly facing away from them, but at least, its easier to stay awake like this.

His phoenixes aura is still on and he hopes that it will help. He doesn't dare to try and move, too afraid of the possible pain or what if he couldn't?

Zaiya stays beside both and eyes all the dragons, not trusting any of them. They have proven, that they could easily beat her, even if she can injure one or two badly, it will not help her human, and probably not her chick either. She sits down to look more passive, hoping they would accept that without attacking.

The smaller female, remarks to the elder one “May be the little bird is right. He did us a great service, if he really killed the Sorceress."

The scarred dragon lies down to recover from their fight. A Phoenix, even inexperienced as her, is a formidable opponent. “Then take that and leave with your little one. But not the human." He sounds less aggressive, less firm in his demand now, though.

Zaiya looks up as another dot appears in the sky above the lake. Another dragon. She sighs. The odds just keep getting worse.

“Found you! What...?" Another voice chimes in and a juvenile dragon lands next to River.

“Majenko, go and fly home. We will be there in a bit, ok?"

“What, but? Who is … Zaiya? Is that you?"

The phoenix had rested her head on the ground. Still in front of her human and next to Kayda. She looks up and stares at the new dragon. It has green scales with flaming red eyes with a tint of white at the sides, just like a young dragon she had met while swimming in the pools a few centuries ago. They were talking and playing, his eye color matching the color of her plumage and he was nice to have around.

“Is that you, Majenko? You grew quiet a lot!"

He walks forward, much to the dismay of the other dragons, except for young dragon, who follows him slowly.

“What happened to you? Who did this and... HU..."

She interrupts him, her voice sounding tired and resigned. “He is my human. Please don't hurt him anymore."

“Your … you mean? Like you told me, one you live with until he dies and stuff? “

The female dragon hisses and steps towards them, as Majenko walks past her to sniff at Kin, but Zaiya gets back to her feet to block the large dragoness.

“He doesn't look good. Will he..?"

Kin lifts a finger at him. “Hello. I am not food. Please tell your friends too. And I'm not here to steal eggs or whatever the humans you met were doing."

Majenko looks up at Leader. “The human talks!"

Zaiya looks back at that and gently nudges his good arm with her beak.

“Most humans do that. Normally a human would run away, if they see a creature your size, all teeth, fangs, muscle and flames. “

Zaiya screeches and unfolds her wing over Kin, when she sees River walk up on the other side. The wing has about one third missing, from the fight with the male. Very few drips of red, liquid energy drop to the ground while trying to reform the missing parts of the limb.

The dragon doesn't show any emotion to her behavior, she just keeps walking, eyeing them both.

“So this is your phoenix friend you were talking about?"

Majenko moves between River and Zaiya now. “Yes. And I trust her! If she says this is her human, then he wont harm us!"

River laughs at that. “You only met her twice. And you know, that humans can control these birds, right? What if he forces her to protect him against her will? If so, then you could free her!"

He tilts his head “She doesn't look like she is here against her will and the human is barely alive."

River shakes her head vehemently “It doesn't matter. The human cannot survive this."

To emphasize on her decision, she steps towards them and takes a deep breath, ready to spit fire.