*Camile* I was reading to Merna when Puabi strolled into the room. “What are you doing?” Puabi pointed to the book that was in my hands. “It is a tragic romance novel. Sadragon gave it to me when he saw me in the hall. Said that he found it. Though I would like to read it while I am taking care of Merna.” Glancing over at the fire, Puabi placed more fuel into the flames and kissed my forehead. “What is the tragedy of the story?” I cleared my throat, “A beautiful woman does not know that her fated mate is in front of her. A spell had been cast, not allowing her to feel the pull. So her mate has to win her over. The one that cast the spell on her, places an amulet on her neck … pushing her into the water … when the beautiful woman wakes up, she finds herself in the future, unable to get her lover back.” Puabi strolled over to me, wrinkling her nose, “You are in need of a bath!” I could not help myself, I laughed, “I can not remember the last time I left the room to have a bath. But …” I pointed at Merna. “We will make it quick, nothing has changed since Merna was healed. I am sure things will remain the same when we come back!” *Ashur* Our trackers brought us to Quito, Elcavador. We found a small party of twelve individuals that were scanning the location. They appeared to be hunting down easy targets. human borns that would be easy to take away, with no one able to get them back. I was nearing my target when the fighting began. Our enemy seemed to be shocked at our presence, and quickly jumped into the human borns body, avoiding capture. This is the tactic they had done in the past. Knowing that we would follow the laws and not harm the human borns without just cause. I spotted my target jumping into a young female. The female’s body jolted with the invasion. Once she gained control over her footing, she turned her head and screamed like her life depended on it. As fast as the invasion happened, the human born female forced the invader out of her body. “My lucky day!” I said as I approached Mannel’s followers. “It looks like you jumped into the wrong body. This female is protected,” I grabbed him by the scruff of his neck as he was trying to figure out what just happened. The female that had been jumped started to mutter words that were not clear to me. As I brought out my blade to kill my opponent, I was surrounded by the spirits of the past. The little female had called on her ancestors for protection. “Smart little human born!” I told the female. I did not know if she could hear me, but I knew she could see me. I kept my eyes on this human born as I dug the blade into his chest. Between the female’s ancestors and myself we were able to take care of the remaining traitors. The few that we were able to get our hands on, we killed without a thought. The captain's comment was directed at the ancestors of this place. They seemed to be aware of what was going on. “What do you think they did with the others?” Captain was referring to our enemies that had been hunting the human borns. The female that I first spotted when we got her was standing near me, “Los enviamos de regreso a donde pertenecen!” The female replied to me. “Well at least I know she can see and hear us.” I told the group, “The little female told me that they sent them back to where they came from!” “At least the human borns are safe! Though if they are referring to sending them back to where they came from, Mannel’s domain, they are going to inform Mannel that we are here.” Captain stated. “Does it really matter at this point!” I said, “at this point we should always assume that everywhere we go they will be there ready to ambush us. When we get back to home base, we should alway assume at any time we will be attacked. We just need to stay vigilant all the time.” “Yes sir!” Everyone echoed each other. I nodded my head once at the little female, “NO bajes la guardia, volverán!” I told the female. The female glared at me for a second, studied her ancestors only to smile up at me. “What did you tell the female?” One of my hunters asked me. I glared at him, “I told her not to let her guard down.” I exhaled. “Come on, let us go back!” The group gathered together while a portal was created, “Do you think she will do as you said?” He asked I neared the portal, one of the last to leave, “If she doesn’t, she will be a fool! They will be coming back. This female just repelled our enemies to where they came from. This means she will become top of the list for our enemies to capture!” Glancing around, “Do you think that maybe we should leave a few hunters here?” The hunter suggested. I glanced around the remaining group, “Yes! Captain …we will head back to the main base, pick ten of your best there and you will all stay here making sure that Mannel does not get anymore human borns.” *Master* It took four Earth moons to gain control over the Earth realm. Majority of my siblings ran back to their realms to avoid prosecution. Only a handful of my siblings, and kin are unaccounted for. Pirapancam has kept her respectful realm, untouched by my wrath. The agreement between Iravu and I has not changed. She still keeps ladyship over the outer quadrant. While I strolled the halls, my informant was telling me of the updated information that I needed to know. Many parts of the world were on fire, part of the fire was out of the norm. Civil war had broken out among the human borns, which as I had assumed upset Pirapancam. In the span of the uprise here the human born population had gone down by five percent. Various reasons for their demise contributed to the decrease. If things continued by the time the human borns found an agreement among each other the population could go down by another ten percent. The main goal was for us to come to a conclusion before world war breaks out. The only good thing about this is that human borns were good at reproduction. Probably the only thing they excel at. I set my sight on the mage, “Is there anything else that I need to know?” The mage bowed his head, “There is not, Master!” I waved my hand, “You may go then!” I ordered. I opened the door to Merna’s chamber. I was pissed once I realised that the fire had gone out. Camile was to make sure that the fire never went out. Smelling the air, a foul smile mingled in with Puabi’s scent hit my nose. ‘I will speak with Puabi and her mate later.’ I made a mental note. Starting the fire again, then strolling over to Merna’s slumbering body. Four Earth moons she has been like this! I had the strongest mages to study her condition. Each of them could not explain her state. It was a mystery to them as well as me. Touching her forehead she seems chilled to the touch.“Wake up!” I whispered into her ears. There was no response. Stroking her hair I ventured into her mind. White swirling energy filled my mind's eyes. Still there was no sign that Merna was close to consciousness. I could tell that her energy was there but her mind seemed to be sleeping. It was almost like what I do when I need to recharge. I glanced briefly at Merna one more time before I left the chamber. For a split second, I thought I saw a blue light surrounding her body. If I had not turned my head to see her, I would not have noticed the change. Blinking my eyes, the blue light was gone. There is only one individual that would be able to explain that odd anomaly, Pirapancam!*Camile* I had been summoned to the throne room. Puabi said she would stay with Merna while I met the Master in his throne room. I was trying to remember if there was anything that I had done to upset the Master. Nothing came to my mind! Entering the hall that leads to the throne room, my hands started to sweat more. Bowing, “Master you asked for me to come!” “How are things going with Merna’s condition?” His voice was low, so dangerously low. “I am sad to say Merna has not stirred at all!” I replied to his question as I stared at my feet. My head was still lowered as he asked his next question, “Did you leave Merna’s chamber with no one else in the chamber?” I did not believe his tone could go lower until now. I thought about it, “I did! I had not had a bath since the day Merna came back home. Puabi rushed me to the bathing room and aided me in bathing as quickly as possible.” I could hear him huffing, “Did you spend time chatting?” “No Master! We rushed there and back as quickly as possible.” I was prompt with my answer. The Master growled, “I am finding that hard to believe since when I arrived the fire was close to being out! As well … there was an attempt on her life, how is it possible for this to happen?” I forgot my place when I lifted my head to give the Master a confused look, “that can not be, Puabi placed more fuel on the flames to keep the room warm for Merna, as you had instructed. And we were quick not to waste any time to have a conversation. I swear to my master that it was the fastest cleansing that I have ever had.” I thought for a second that the Master was going to strict me. His eyes turned obsidian with a flex of gold swirls. Maybe he could read my mind and know that I am not lying. I am not sure but the next thing, he roared at me to leave. *Puabi* Camile looked pale when she came into Merna’s chamber. “The Master showed up here when we were in the bathing room. He said the fire was out! And … someone entered to kill Merna while we were gone!” Camile came over to me so that I could cradle her.I inquired further, “Did he say anything else?” Shaking in my arms, “He told me to get out! I thought he was going to punish me! Or even worse kill me!” “Next time you will go to the bathing room alone and get clean, we will not make this mistake again!” I have known Chaos for a very long time, I know his different levels of anger and kindness. “He can tell when someone is lying to him. Or telling half truths.” I thought about things for a moment when I realised the fire was once again getting low. Getting up I placed another log on the fire. “It is odd how much fuel had to be placed in the pit to keep this room warm and lit.” I spoke out my thoughts. Camile lifted her head off of my shoulder, “Is this normal?” “No!” I started at Merna as the fire started to flicker, “We should not have to place this much fuel to keep the fire going!” The fire started to flicker more as it lowered in intensity. “That is odd!” Both Camile and I walked over to the fireplace. Both of us were studying the flames, “Small blue flames!” Camile pointed out. Both Camile and I jumped when the blue flames covered Merna's body. “I AM GOING TO GET CHAOS!” I yelled as I ran to the door and out into the hallway. ‘Chaos?’ I tried to link him. Getting no reply I ran faster down the hall. “Where is Chaos?” I yelled at one of the hunters. Confused, “Outside!” The hunter responded to me. Running as fast as I could, I followed Chaos’s scent. ‘Chaos where are you?’ I linked him. Still I received no reply. *Master* My family was walking through the portal from Pirapamcan’s domain. Though there was still resistance to my rulings, I had for the most part taken full control over enemies domains. I would have left things as is, only building forts all over the Western continents and islands. Yet my youngest brother had sent an assassin to kill Merna. I was not going to allow this to slide. Now I was aiming for all of their land, taking control over all domains and realms. That attempt on her existence had sent me over the edge. Merna had no idea of the danger that she was in. The effort of taking over my siblings' realms was almost effortless. To insure that they could not rebuild, I destroyed everything. Then my hunters absorbed what was worth taking.I was having a light conversation with my sister when Puabi came running towards me. She was one of the last individuals I wanted to see or hear from at this moment! “Master, it is Merna!” Puabi’s breathing was laboured. All conversation with Pirapancam halted, “What is going on?” Puabi waved with her hands for me to follow her, “There is no time to explain!” Puabi ran back into the location where she had come. My sister followed me as we sped towards Merna’s chamber. The sight that was in front of us was unexplainable. “Place my daughter into the water!” Pirapancam ordered me. Camile was in the corner of the room covering her ears with her hands. A blood curdling scream was coming out of Merna’s mouth. I lifted up Merna and portalled her to the bathingroom. It was the closest water source. “Put Merna into the water!” Pirapancam yelled her order. Entering the water submerging Merna’s body in the water only holding her head about the water. The water was hissing and bubbling around Merna and myself. The blue flames did not extinguish though Merna’s screams started to subside. Pirapancam hollered, “EVERYONE OUT!” I was so concerned about the welfare of Merna that I had not thought about anyone being in the location. Without a thought twelve heads scurried out of the bathing room. Pirapancam entered the water, placing both hands on me, she was holding onto my arm, fear was evident, ‘she is going through a purge or also known as a rebirth!” I glared down at my sister, “explain! And I do not want half truths … or I can not tell you … I do not want any of that, only the truth!” “Merna is changing again!” Pirapancam covered her mouth as Merna started to wriggle around in my arms. “In truth Merna never really dies … she … rejuvenates in a process like this. See, Merna will go through a rest state, then burn from the inside out. From the ashes … Well you will see!” The temperature of Merna’s body was causing the water to boil, and steam filled the room. My full attention was now on my sister, “What blood did you use to create Merna?” Pirapancam’s attention was on Merna, “The foundation of what Merna is … is an ancient species!” She stroked Merna’s head as the blue flames started to consume Merna. “It was not that hard, I found her floating in the darkness, nothing around the egg.’ Pirapancam released my arm, moving her body over to the other side of Merna. The water had now evaporated half of the public pool. Both of us were looking at Merna, unable to do anything. The moon was at its peak when Merna’s body shifted. “Take her out of the water!” My sister instructed me. On the floor, the blue flames started to lick at my skin painfully, causing me to back away. Merna was burning away from the inside out! In matters of seconds where Merna’s body had been, remained a pile of ashes. Pirapancam had her hands over her mouth. Stepping closer I could feel the heat that was emanating from the ashes. My hand hovered over what used to be my mate. My sister extended her arm outwards. “Do not touch her … it is not over yet!” Kneeling down I glared at the ashes unable to breath nor blink, I was numb. “How could my little mate be taken away from me so quickly?” I whispered. “Chaos!” My sister whispered, “She is not gone but transforming!” Blue and gold energy swirled in the ashes, my jaw dropped at the sight I was watching. In minutes the ashes turned into an egg. “The first time I witnessed this I almost lost my mind!” Pirapancam understood how I was feeling. In my arms I held onto a golden egg, humming with energy the strength of the closest sun. Whispering, “A phoenix!” I hissed harshly. Tears rolled down Pirapancam’s face, “Not just any phoenix but the rarest of them all. From my knowledge there have only been twenty-two ever spotted!” My sister was sniffling now. “The Neruppu paravai were very secretive about their gifts and abilities.” I started to growl, “What have you done?” Pirapancam glared at me as if she was guilty of a crime. “It was before the great divide. Before my grand seer was murdered. My seer warned me of the deceit our siblings were going to act on. I was desperate, Chaos … I had no idea who to trust and I had no one to run to. They had taken all of my daughters from me … except one! I was with child when my seer and I found a way to defeat our siblings. To do this I had to be patent and do as the seer told me.” Pirapancam paused for a second, she held out her hands as I gave her the egg. “My seer saw a rare egg in the darkness … a very rare Neruppu paravai. No one knew of this little bird's existence! After I ran, I spent the time hunting down what others could not see. When I found the golden egg … I placed my daughter with the bird. Hiding both of the girls in your abyss, I ran as far away from them, until it was safe to look for them again.” My sister cleared her throat. “While I was in hiding, I warned the Neruppu paravai of what Mannel and his followers were going to do. A great deal of them escaped the destruction that was bestowed on so many living creatures large and small.” Pirapancam cradled the eggs as it started to cool down. “I aided Merna in her many transformations, as you can see she has self regeneration skills … She can go from one life to the next and no one would ever know unless you knew what to look for. She is the perfect balance of life and death.” Pirapancam kissed the shell lovingly. “I do not know who the parents are … but I do know she came from two originals, a very powerful Neruppu paravai who most likely had the same abilities as Merna. The other … I believe it to be a dragon!” “Would not the mother not remember? Merna told me that she remembers the important parts of her other lives!” I hissed at my sister. “No!” She exclaimed, “not necessarily … How many times did we transform and we have no conscious memory of what happened before we woke up? It is more than likely, the mother had know idea of what was happening to her … unless the event was public!” “This does not excuse what you did!” I glared at my sister, “How dare you! You overstepped this time sister! You should have given the egg to her species … Do you know what this will mean for us?” Pirapancam cradled the egg to her chest. “I know … I know but I was desperate! I was desperate to save my daughter. More than anything, I was desperate to have our siblings …” “Destroyed!” I was studying my sister,”there is more is not there?” “Yes, I wished for them to be punished and put in their place!” She whispered as the egg started to crack open. Blue flames pushed through the cracks causing the shell to shatter and slowly degrade away to ashes. Pirapancam kissed the head of the blue fired phoenix. “She is so precious to me, I love her so much. I love her as if I birthed her. You are correct, it does not end there!” I groaned, “What else could you have done?” Pirapancam cradled the tiny blue ball of feathers that even I was growing fond of. “Since so many wrongs had been dealt to the phoenix species. I sent as many as I could to the earth realm. Hide the rest with Alround … your domain in the abyss … and with me! In my journey I have been able to save thirty-two thousand and fifty hundred of them. It is not close to the population that these great creatures used to be. But they are not as extinct as believed.” My sister had pleading eyes, “you have to help me hide Merna. They can never find out about her. Not until she is fully grown. Please Chaos!” I started to pace the location, “You should have come to me in the beginning! I am very disappointed in you!” “Please brother?” Pirapancam pleaded with me.“Our siblings will destroy realms to get to Merna!” I paused my pacing, “What has been done can not be undone. If you are lucky the mother … actual mother, will not kill you. If she should find out, I will not stand in her way to get to you!” My sister's attention was placed on the blue feathers, “I understand but …” “I will keep your secret and Merna will be protected!” I rubbed my hands down my face. “What ever happened to your daughter?” “She is a mother of one, living in California! She does not know of my existence and I plan on keeping it that way.” She smiled at the blue ball of feathers. The little blue bird started to turn into a human born infant. Running over to my sister I scooped Merna up and held her to my chest. I could feel the bond between Merna and I snap into place. A thin sapphire flame outlined Merna and myself. “I knew it … she is your mate!” My sister smiled at the little bundle in my arms. “Go out in the hall, make sure that no one is around!” I ordered my sister, “I need to make sure that no one sees me taking Merna to my chamber, where she will be safe and away from any eyes or ears.” “Thank you brother!” She wrapped her arms around me. “Do not thank me yet, I have yet to think of a plan to keep her safe. Mannel still has to be found along with his followers. They are still a threat.” I paused, “There are still a handful of our siblings that are in hiding.” “This will be faster!” Pirapancam opened a portal, “still I can not thank you enough!” *Ashur* “My lord!” The captain was getting my attention. I glanced up from the papers that were scattered over the table. “What is it, captain?” “We just got a message from your father!” He handed me an envelope that was sealed with my fathers personal stamp. I was reading the message. Waiting in front of me, “Any good news?” Captain asked. “Yes! Father has taken over the majority of the other realms. We are to hold our ground here, he is giving leadership of the Western terrain to me. While Sadragon has been promoted to Lordship in the East. They are still looking for Mannel. Majority of his kin and followers have gone into hiding.” I paused as I read the remainder of the letter. “There are still five more individuals that are in hiding along with their kin and followers.” I let out a low rumble. “The fight is still going!” The captain was beaming, “I figured your dad was going to give you this promotion! Sadragon deserves this as well!” Placing his hands on his hip, “As for the cowards, we will get them in time!” “The council has also been brought into this mess as well. Everyone is hunting for them … they can only hide for so long!” I glanced at the letter again, “I wonder if Kudiya got a promotion?” “I guess we all will find out soon!” The captain seemed cheerful with the news that was given.