Kerii woke up to the feeling of a chilly gust of wind blowing through her window. She looked to her window, which was wide open, letting the freezing winter air come in. Confused, Kerii walked over to the window and closed it. As she did, she looked for any broken latches, but she could find none. She was about to crawl back into bed when she saw a note tucked under her door. Thinking it was another one of Syliph's, she picked it up and opened it.



"Vanwa?" she asked out loud. Suddenly, she could feel the fear building up in her chest. Her heartbeat began to quicken. There was only one person she knew of that wrote notes to her in her native tongue. It was the silver haired elf, but she was so sure that she didn't see him get on the train. She thought back to when she was on the train. After a few minutes of watching people get on, she decided that she must have been crazy to think that he could be on the train, so she looked out the window. He must have gotten on while she was distracted.

Kerii had to get out of Baska now. She wasn't safe here. She would flee to any town. Orchidia, maybe. She would be safe in her guild. Kerii was about to go pack up her things right then and there when she was hit across the head. Her vision went dark. Before she could hit the ground, the silver haired elf caught her and took her away to the hills.

The elf woke up, head pounding and confused. Cold chains pressed against her skin. She was chained up to a pole. She struggled to break free, but she couldn't even budge. "It's pointless, you know," came a voice. Kerii looked to see a figure in a black cloak. He put his hood down to reveal himself. Silver locks framed his face. His icy blue eyes accentuated his sharp features. A pair of pointy ears stuck out, a sure sign that he was an elf.

"Who are you?" Kerii demanded. The elf seemed to ponder this for a moment and then said, "Well, I don't see why I shouldn't tell you. My name is Carnil. Do you remember me, Atani?" Kerii looked down. As much as she tried, she couldn't. "Should I?" Carnil shook his head. "No, I suppose you shouldn't. After all, we only knew each other in a past life. It was destined that we should meet again." Kerii looked at him, an obvious look of confusion on her face. "That's impossible. A past life? What are you even talking about?" A smirk tugged at the edges of Carnil's mouth. "Never mind that. What I really brought you here for is to show you something." Carnil waved his hand and a shackled spirit rose out of the ground.



It was her mother, Meldë. "Ammë..." she said, tears welling up in her eyes. Meldë's spirit cast a soft glow on the ground, making the darkness somewhat less daunting. "Ah, yes, your dear amil. The person you couldn't save." Kerii looked to Carnil, eyes wide. "How do you-" He cut her off. "I know everything about you, Atani. Your real name, your magic, your mistakes, your faults, your fears... There is nothing you know that I don't." How could he know so much about her? Did he have telepathic abilities? That must be it. There was no other way that he could know so much about her.

"Anyway... there are some things I know that you don't. For example, there really was no way that you could have saved your mother." Tears began to trickle down Kerii's cheeks. "I-I could. If I had just been home I-" "No, you couldn't. You see, she didn't get sick. She was poisoned... by me." Kerii flashed a glare at him. "The doctors would have caught that." "Mmm... not my poisons. How well do you really think humans understand elven magic? Weren't they not able to find a definitive cause of her death? Just that she was struck by a sudden illness?" Carnil was right. The doctors couldn't find out what was making her sick and the autopsy revealed nothing. "Why?" That was all Kerii could manage to say as she choked down a sob. "To see what could make you break. You bounced back faster than I expected... so let's try this."



Carnil willed Meldë to return to her grave and then put his hands together, as if he was praying. He started mumbling words that Kerii could barely hear, but judging from what she could make out, she could tell that they were at least in her native language. About halfway through his incantations, a magic circle glowed beneath her. At first, she couldn't tell what was happening, but the longer the circle stayed there, the more energy she could feel leaving her. "What are you doing?" she asked, but it was pointless. Carnil was too busy completing the spell. There was no way that he would stop just to answer her question.

Kerii's energy began to drain exponentially. It soon felt like she had next to none left. The magic circle faded and with a wave of Carnil's hand, so did the chains that bound Kerii to the pole. She fell to the ground and struggled to pick herself back up. She managed to prop herself up against the pole. "What did you do?" she asked. A sly grin came across Carnil's face. He suppressed an evil laugh. "I took away your magic." Kerii stared at him blankly, not believing what he said. "You... what?" She tried to combine her mana with the energy of any celestial body, but she couldn't. She didn't feel anything. "Well, I guess you won't be needing this anymore." Carnil walked over to Kerii and put his finger on her forehead, right where the diamond-shaped mark was. "No!" she screamed as he erased it with his magic.

"We'll meet again, Atani."