The next day I woke up before Lynn. I saw her smiling peacefully in her sleep and wondered if she might have a good dream. I checked the area out with my magic and my thoughts flew through the ground. And then, far away closer to the River of Fallen was a large group. I felt weak signs of magic unrevealing their place, yet a strong kind of magic also hid the place. Phoenix must have been able to leave a trail for me, and maybe for his sister as well. We had no time to lose.

Within a second I packed all my stuff and rushed towards Lynn’s side. I nearly didn’t want to wake her because she was so peaceful, but I knew I had no choice.

“Lynn! Lynn, wake up! I found them.” I touched Lynn’s shoulders and shook her a bit, trying to wake her up. But she didn’t move at all. It was like she didn’t hear me. But how? Last night she was fine, and now she seemed dead.

I was shocked. I had to choose. Leave her behind and find her body eaten alive by the animals of the forest, of letting go of my only chance to save Elda and Phoenix. There was no way out. There was no way back either.

“I’m sorry Lynn…”

She would never forgive me if I didn’t try to save her brother. And I needed her help. There was no way back, so it was time to test the limits of my magic. I concentrated and a green aura appeared around me. Then I picked up Lynn’s senses of magic and mixed them with mine. I had no clue if this would work or not, but I would take my chances.

When I thought my mind would collapse a tree grew right under Lynn. It her into the sky and made her a bed of leaves. I knew she’s be save there. Then I left her a note carved on the tree. Something she couldn’t miss out on. I was really starting to worry about her. Why didn’t she wake up, why couldn’t she hear me. It was a pain, yet I was grateful she was still breathing, because without her breath she would have been done for.

After I secured Lynn was alright I made my move. It was no use to hide now, I had to be fast. I grabbed my bow and swung it over my back as I did the same with my bag. I checked if my sword was attached in the right way and started running.

“One, two. One two. One two.” At first I said it out loud, but then it became a voice in my head keeping me fast, even when I didn’t want to anymore. There was no other way. I had to save them or at least try.

As I went down the hill and tried to reach the river I saw smoke. That must have been it. That should be the place I was looking for. The place Elda and Phoenix where. Then all of a sudden there were burn marks on the ground. They were so small but I noticed the pain of the grass. I stopped and read what they said.

‘Dear Nature Wizard. Don’t come closer. We’re surrounded by an unknown magic source. Something from the Order, I’m sure. Please look for the Water Wizard. She is in great danger. If they find her, they can control me as she drunk from a poisoned pool.’

I knew there was something wrong with Lynn. Another Wizard to avenge, another one hurt, caused by the order. I wonder if they knew about me or not. This message was meant to warn me, to let me save myself, but as I already found Lynn, nothing was stopping me from rescuing Elda and Phoenix. I owed her that. Lynn needed her brother, and I needed my mother back.

It was useless to use magic and screen the camp. The warning from the Fire Wizard had been clear. There was someone with magic in the camp! Someone working for The Order. But who would it be? Which Wizard was so far gone he’d help the order to destroy all of its kind? I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. But I had no choice. I had to save Elda and Phoenix. And without magic.

As the sun slowly set I made up a plan. I would scout today. Get to know the soldiers in the camp. And after that, I would break through. Kill their guards and sneak into the big tent. Just saying it like that made it sound easy. But I knew better than calling this job easy. This was going to be a job on life and death. A battle I couldn’t forsake to lose.

Then I also had to found out what poisoned Lynn. I couldn’t leave her to het fate. I had to save her as well. This is what made my plan even more complicated. I just hoped Phoenix would be able to tell me more about it. He was my only hope. I didn’t want to think of the horrors that could occur if not… They would pay for what they did to my friends. Trial Wizard or not, they’d pay!

I followed the smoke and ended up crawling through the mud. There might be guards around the camp as well. I had to use the forest as my hiding place. My home. Luckily I was used to this. As I came closer and closer to the camp I noticed a small tree with berries in it. It seemed to be my lucky day! Wild strawberries were my favourite. I made a stop to save some for later. The two of them would be grateful for some food. I just knew it.

After a while I reached the camp. I climbed into one of the higher trees till I had a nice lookout spot. There was nothing unusual in the camp, since I last visited it. Yet it felt different, as if someone was indeed hiding it. As I covered my body in the tree I felt home. This was my life, this was my tree, this what was nature power was truly like.

I looked at the camp. The tents where still in the same spot, but the only difference was that one of them was well guarded. I didn’t notice that before. It would probably be the tent both Elda and Phoenix are hold in. But I wasn’t sure. I had to check that out later. Maybe they would come out but I doubt it.

When it fully turned dark I relied on my surroundings. What all could the trees tell me? What all did I need to know to enter the camp? The trees where angry. Man cut bushes and twigs for place for the tents and fire.

I gathered enough information about the camp and thanked the forest. It was time for me to slumber as well. It was time for me to come to action and rescue their prisoners. Time to pay The Order back!

The green hills greeted me with a breeze through my hair. My hair, partly green, displayed my mood. It had been as black as the night sky when I first met Elda, but now it had a more natural colour. The green always appeared whenever I hiked through a forest, because it was my home. There was nothing wrong with it. I loved the colour green. It had always been my favourite. Especially the one from the leaves in spring.

I followed the river steam as I climbed up the hills. It had been a while since I last saw the them. When I did they were grey and dark and it was my first time ever seeing the snow. It was the winter I first spent at Elda and Master Kenjio. The good old times. A tear ran over my face as I stared at the stream. It had a calming effect on me.

Out of my bag came a zooming noise. I turned my bag around and realised the noise came from the Bottle of Life. Was it trying to tell me something? Or did it enjoy the water as much as I did? I didn’t know. But going from the worst, I swung my bow from my back as I used it as a walking stick. Nobody would suspect it was a bow, because you could only see it as bow when you were close by. And then it would already be too late. I could swing it and fight with it nearly as good as with my sword. But it was an easier way to hide a weapon, so I dealt with it.

The zooming noise became louder and louder and when I reached the top of the hill I was wanting to chant a spell to locate the zooming noise, but I couldn’t. Instead I saw a hiker from a distance. She was heading towards me so I decided to greet her. When our paths crossed I was surprised, but before I could say a single thing, she started to talk.

“So it must be, Warrior of Faith, that we meet again.”

I nodded. Of course. It had to be the Water Wizard. That was the reason the Bottle of Life made that noise, because her master was near. I should have known. The link was so obvious that I just forgot.

“Yes, Water Wizard. It’s been a while. May I ask? What brings you here to Nobody’s land?” I gazed at her. She had not changed a single bit since the time I met her. Her hair was azure blue and braided together in different directions. It made me think of the sea. Her skin was just as pale as ever and she nearly vanished in the sun. Her dress was the only thing that was different. Instead of the blue one she wore during our first meeting, it was now dark red, letting her face look even paler than before.

“I’ve been on my way to search a friend. He was captured a while ago. You haven’t seen a large group of soldier by any chance, Warrior of Faith? They’ve put a sleeping spell over us, and when I woke up, I was alone. Yet the water told me what happened.”

“Thinking of it, I have.” I was in a battle with myself. Should I, or should I not reveal I was a Wizard as well? In tough times it was needed to group together and stay strong. After all, there were only that less wizards. I didn’t even know which ones were alive, and which ones were dead.

“Can you tell where they went? It is crucial I find my friend.” The water Wizard spoke with a demanding tone, and I was quite sure that her friend might be the fire mage.

“Actually, I’ve seen them. I hid in the trees when they came, since I was suspicious of what the forest told me. There was a large group of armed soldiers. They were from the Order. Among them there were two prisoners, Elda my foster mother..” I sighed. Just thinking of her already made me sad. I continued to speak as a tear rolled down my face. “And there was a young man. He looked very pale. As if he was suffocating in the air. The forest did him no good. Even his aura was weak, he seemed barely alive. Yet of his young age, he had a full grown ginger beard, and half long ashen white hair.”

The face of the Water Wizard turned from surprised to unbelievable to angry. I think she realised I was a Wizard as well, and not just a Wizard, but one with good connections. I feared for the worsts. But I didn’t really have a choice, I needed help to save Elda, and if the Water Wizard would be able to help me so I could see her again, I would even tell the world I was a Wizard.

“You… You are a Wizard! Where is your aura? Where’s your scent?! And if you know Elda… How come, that you don’t know her companion. He’s the Fire Wizard! She called for his and my help to avenge her husband, and we decided to help her out. But she never mentioned having a daughter. Not even in the years that I knew her. All she ever mentioned was how much she wanted them. How frustrating it was, that she couldn’t have them.”

I knew I had some explaining to do. So I told her everything. How I met Elda, how I took her in, and when I last saw her. But I left out the part of my sister. I wasn’t ready to speak about that yet. That was something I would only tell if there was no hope left. If there was nobody with a plan. But for now, gathering all the Wizards seemed like a good idea.

“I see.” The Water Wizard spoke to me. “So you’re the one who can stop this madness. We have no time to lose then, don’t we. There is no other option to go out and save Elda and Phoenix. My name is Lynn.”

I was surprised Lynn’s mood changed back to her calm and peaceful nature within a second. I certainly didn’t expect that. “Come, we have no time to waste.” I lead the way and together we followed the soldiers, hoping a chance would come sooner or later to kidnap our friends back.

Me and Lynn travelled till the evening fell. After that I prepared dinner by using nature magic. I was glad I had an element to return to, as I didn’t know what the Trial Wizard would have for powers, yet they would be both dark and light. That’s everything I ever read about it. There was barely information known about Trial Wizards, and as far as I was concerned I was the first one in history.

“Lynn? How did you ever meet Phoenix? I mean, you two are water and fire, and yet you seem to care so much about him.”

“That’s a long story Kiera. It all begins when I was younger. I was an outcast since I was pulled towards the water ever since I was young. Even my parents saw it. As soon as I was born I had this azure blue hair colour, and that is why my parents called me Lynn, as it means Waterfall. Within my first seven years alive I showed signs of magic and it was soon to be known that I was indeed the Water Wizard. This left me with no friends. Everyone in my village thought Wizards were dangerous and magic was something they rather left alone. Till one day, during my fifteenth spring, a boy showed up. He looked like he just walked through a fire, and I felt pity for him. The villagers laughed at him and also ad me, when I took him by the hand and showed him the way to my home.

At first, he was just staring into the fire, and not talking at all. I knew I had to help him, but I didn’t know how. After all, water was known for their healing properties. So I sat down next to him and wanted to push my hands in the fire so I could practise healing my own hands. Except the fire never touched me. No matter how hard I tried, the flames danced around me and dodged my hands. It took me a few days, but then I realised the boy was playing with the flames. He was like me.

I never thought I would meet a fellow Wizard, so that’s when I really took an interest in him. I always felt he was special, but nowadays I understand that this was just his aura I felt. I tried for weeks to talk to him, but he never said a word. Till I approached him differently. I took a cup of water and played with it. Just as he had done with the fire. I let the water dance and embrace my hands and then I tried touching him with my hand covered in water, and he let me. This for me was a perfect opportunity to heal his skin. He was surprised at first, but later on he thanked me. But he started talking to me. When I asked for his name, he said he didn’t have one, so I simply called him Phoenix. Just like the firebirds he made in the fire.

Phoenix came to live with me and my mum. He saw me as an older sister, and he didn’t know much of his real family. I mean, he was only nine years old when I found him. Then the horrible day came, my mother died. He was so full of rage, anger and sadness, nobody could stop him. His fire destroyed nearly half the town before I managed to calm him down. I had to battle with all my might, and it left marks all over my bodies. I was burned so badly I couldn’t even heal myself. But what I did that day made him fully trust me. I embraced him even though his body was surrounded by fire. I could touch him because I had the water on my side.

When he calmed down, the elders forced us to leave the village. I was heartbroken, but I had to move on. For Phoenix. I couldn’t leave him on his own. So the two of us started traveling. During one of our travels we ran into Elda and she showed him how to control his fire magic. I was just like sword fighting she said. Fire is one of the Dark magics, fuelled by anger and other strong emotions. She showed him how wonderful fire could be, and what his magic was good for. To me, she explained why it was impossible to stay anywhere close. She even then already knew that an organisation was chasing for Wizards and she wanted to protect us.

That was ten years ago. I lost touch with Elda. I couldn’t find her again, yet we spent nearly a year with her. Till a few months ago. Me and Phoenix said to help her without even knowing what it was about. Because she gave us so much. We just wanted to do something back.” She turned her head towards me and sighed. “How did you find them anyway?”

And then I started. I wasn’t really willing to share my abilities with anyone, but I knew I had no choice. I told her about the Spirit Nim, and how nobody ever knew I was a Wizard. I liked being able to study in peace, to later become a Wizard teacher. Except the fact that wasn’t true. I was able to study because of my sister, but Lynn didn’t need to know that. All she had to know was that I knew what I was doing. And then I told her of my time alone, that I only accidently ran into the group from the Order, but that I needed to check them out.

“Yet, I don’t know how long I passed out, after finding them. I don’t know how far away we are from them, I just hope we’re not too late saving them. I’m starting to believe we need a miracle to catch up.”

“Don’t worry Keira we will get there. We’ll avenge what they are doing to Phoenix and Elda right now. They will suffer for what they did to our family members.” Lynn’s face was full of anger all of a sudden. The once so peaceful Water Wizard made a statement that shouldn’t thought of lightly. I knew she meant it, and there was no way going back now.

As the night came we ate our food and got ourselves ready for the night. We created a small fire to keep us warm and I asked the grass to warn me if any type of animals or humans would try to approach us. It wasn’t the best security, but the two of us needed our sleep.