Cindy smiled wide at the small globe of water hovering between her cupped hands, her eyes sparkling with delight. She watched it revolve slowly, its spherical shape distorted with constant bulges and depressions, as if some invisible creature was pushing and pulling from within. She understood it as her inexperience in making a perfect sphere and focused harder, her smile disappearing and her brows furrowing. Gradually, the sphere's shape smoothed and was nearly perfect.

"Ha! Well done!"

Her uncle's booming voice startled her and the globe of water burst apart, splashing on her hands to drip down to the ship's deck. Pursing her lips in anger, she turned on her approaching uncle and wagged a finger at him. "I almost had it! You know you can't disturb me when I'm concentrating!"

The robust, bearded war veteran looked like a whipped dog for a moment, shame showing in his grey eyes, until it was banished by frustration. Waving his hands high in exasperation, he bellowed, "How am I supposed to know you were practising your magic? I was talking to the captain and just came to see what you were doing!"

"You didn't have to yell when you saw me!"

"I was congratulating you!"

Cindy, about half as high as her uncle Ruslan, folded her arms over her chest and frowned. "You could have saved it until I was done."

"Bah! I was trying to help..."

Cindy sighed. This wasn't the first time it had happened. Her uncle meant well and she loved him—and nothing would change that—but many times he acted without thinking and her progress in mastering the elements had slowed considerably because of that. He gave her all the time she needed to train and practise but when he tried to "help" it would most often do quite the opposite. He sometimes busied himself with training the ship's crew in swordsmanship but most were inexperienced and needed much patience, which Ruslan certainly did not have. His other pastimes were helping with the regular ship duties, as long as he didn't get in the way, sharpening his sword into the keenest blade in all of Faeryum, exercising and keeping in shape. Those tasks busied him most days but today was one where there was little to do as the winds were strong and fair and most of the ship's crew was resting below decks, uninterested in swingings swords. Sir Gawaine, who had accompanied them as a representative of Avalon, had been below decks most of the time, having little love for sea travel, and thus was of no help to Ruslan's situation.

Cindy eyed her uncle, who appeared clearly sorry for disturbing her but still angry and upset. She hadn't meant to injure his pride and placed a hand on his arm. He looked down at her, his jaw tight, and she offered him a small smile, which relaxed him.

"I don't understand why Merlin couldn't have come along," he muttered. "I don't know anything about your magic and I feel like I'm doing nothing but holding you back."

"Don't feel that way," Cindy replied softly. "Merlin had to stay behind to protect the camp if the empress decided to attack it. He wanted to come along with me but did not want to leave New Avalon without any form of magic defense."

"New Avalon lasted this long without him."

"Against the trolls, yes, but we aren't fighting them anymore."

Ruslan sniffed. "Did you talk to him this morning?"

Cindy shook her head. It had been the first morning since leaving New Avalon that she had not spoken with Merlin through the flames. Something felt amiss, out of place, and wrong. She wondered if some terrible event had happened back in New Avalon but had no way of knowing. She had tried to contact him through the flames of a lit match but she was yet unable to initiate the conversation of the fire-speech. She would have to wait for him to contact her, however long that may be.

"Something must be wrong," her uncle said. "We should turn back."

Cindy nearly agreed with him but she stopped herself, remembering her task. "I want to but we have to accomplish our task first, uncle. We have to at least try to persuade our people to fight against the empress."

Ruslan sighed and groaned. "You are right, as you often are. I simply do not want to miss my chance at plunging my blade into that bitch's chest. King Arthur had best not beat me to it."

"Maybe whatever is keeping Merlin from speaking to me is nothing bad," she said, not believing herself.

"Yes, and perhaps the trolls have returned to seek peace and open trade," he replied sardonically.

Cindy frowned. "I was just trying to remain positive."

"Hmph," was all Ruslan said, though Cindy could tell he wished to say more.

The youngest of the two walked to the side of the ship and rested her arms on the gunwale, gazing out toward the sea. Far in the distance, separating the ocean from the sky, was a thin black line. The ship had sailed southeast to seek the coast of Sauradia, which it followed now, and in a few days' time it would veer sharply to the north. That leg of the journey would be the most difficult as the winter winds and currents sweeping down from Ocean of Ice Peaks to the northwest would bring great waves and turmoil into the Cerulean Ocean. The current normally hugged the southern coast of Frenis and curved to northeast where it drove into the scattered islands belonging to Kenmard, Frenis and Midae. In winter, however, the current widened considerably, powered by the great icy winds, and made crossing the Cerulean Ocean a dangerous task. According to the Sir Gawaine, it was one of the reasons their ship had sailed south to Sauradia instead of north to Frenis, which would make for a shorter trip to Kenmard. The other reason was the obvious risk of encountering Noyran or Swordenish ships if venturing north.

Cindy glanced about closely, searching for Red's ship. After a moment she spotted the white sails, far to the north, ahead of them. The trip was of utmost importance and haste and though Red was near enough, Cindy would never met her. The ships' captains had been instructed to not stop for anything and would sail the entire way to their destination without lowering anchor once, as long as circumstance allowed. There were other ships sailing around them as well, the makings of a loose fleet of sorts, heading to Avalon to gather supplies one last time.

Ruslan grunted. "Gaphir out there somewhere?"

Cindy nodded, her hands clenching tightly at the thought of the vile fire mage. Her uncle had been most upset when she had told him how he had nearly killed Belle in an attempt to get Cindy to reconsider becoming his pupil. "Somewhere..."

"Wouldn't that be enjoyable if we stopped there for a while?" he said through gritted teeth. "Gaphir has a certain sword he needs to see."

"You go for the empress, uncle; he's mine!"

Ruslan looked down at his niece and chuckled. "Very well, little general, so shall it be."

Cindy blushed slightly at the title, one that General Little had given her. A sudden urge to turn the ship around, back to New Avalon, surfaced but she hastily subdued it. No, she must sail on. She must complete her task, her mission, her quest. As difficult as it was to train without Merlin, she could not give up. She had to keep trying.

Sir Gawaine made a rare appearance on deck then, joining the two Kennish and offering them a small smile, his middle-aged face revealing a few wrinkles. "The day is beautiful and, much to my stomach's delight, the seas calm. How fare the both of you?"

Ruslan grunted. "As good as can be, I suppose."

Gawaine nodded and stood at Cindy's side, resting his elbows on the gunwale. "And you, Cinderella?"

She shrugged. "Merlin didn't talk to me this morning."

Gawaine furrowed his dark brows. "Did he not?"

Cindy shook her head, still gazing out to sea. "Nope. I didn't do anything wrong..."

Gawaine smiled briefly. "I am certain it has nothing to do with any act you committed, my dear. It does trouble me that he has not spoken to you, however. Merlin is the most reliable man I've ever known. He would not merely forget, despite his great age."

"Do you think something happened in New Avalon?" Cindy asked wide-eyed, gazing at the dark-haired knight. "Do you think he..."

"No, I am certain he yet lives, Cinderella. Merlin has healed my wounds in the past and he told me, and all those he has treated, that if ever something terrible would happen to him that we would feel it. He heals by placing a piece of himself within us, Cinderella. What we lack, he fills. It is a reason he prefers to let us heal on our own for he only has a limited amount of himself to give. I do not feel anything amiss within myself and thus, I can confidently assure you that Merlin is alive."

Cindy reflected on what Sir Gawaine had said and then asked, "I thought he used nature magic to heal?"

"He does, my dear. Nothing goes to waste in nature and nothing comes from nothing. All types of magic are extracted from a finite source. Nature magic comes from nature itself. Merlin could have sacrificed someone else's body to heal us but, being who he is, he will only pull the magic from within himself. Arcane magic is originally from nature, as you know, but its source is from all pieces of nature without life such as the rocks on the ground, the water, the sky, the stars, the bolts of lightning, the flames of a volcano, and from the depths of the world itself. Such is the reason arcane magic can be used more liberally than nature magic itself."

Cindy was surprised that Sir Gawaine knew so much about magic and listened intently, deeply interested in all that he had to say. As another surprise, Ruslan stood and listened as well. He normally cared little for the talks of magic but he too seemed interested. Perhaps, she thought with a warm heart, that he was trying to learn more about it to be a better uncle to her.

"How do you know so much about magic?" she asked him.

"I may not cast nature or arcane magic myself," Gawaine started, "but it has always interested me and when learning the mundane healing arts, Merlin taught me much."

"Why don't you cast magic?"

"I do, my dear."

Cindy's brows furrowed in confusion.

Gawaine chuckled. "As nature magic pulls from the life around us and within us, and arcane from all the rest, the other two classes of magic pull from different sources. Do you know them?"

Cindy thought hard and recalled her lessons with Merlin. He had taught little about the other magic classes, dark and light. His focus had been mostly with nature and arcane and to tame the elemental forces around her. She thought she knew the answer but she wanted the knight to tell her anyway. "I don't know."

"Sure you do!" Ruslan barked. "I know you do, Cindy!"

Cindy blushed and turned around, giving her uncle a glare.

He raised an eyebrow and raised his hands. "What are you mad at me now for?"

"Ugh, you just don't get it."

Sir Gawaine laughed. "There is no need to fuss. I would have told you anyway. Would you still like to know?"

Cindy, still blushing, nodded. "Yes...please." She could hear her uncle sigh behind her and a part of her wished he would leave and go do something else but a much larger part reminded her that he was there to try and understand and thus be of more help to her.

I don't need his help, she thought angrily. I lived on the streets by myself up until I met Selvina. I can learn magic without him...

As soon as the thoughts entered her mind she felt her insides twist and pull painfully. She remembered how both she and Ruslan had looked up into the night sky at her mother's star and how the both of them had been in tears. They were family and as annoying as her uncle could be, she did need him in her life. The revelation calmed her and just before Sir Gawaine spoke she turned around and gave her uncle a quick hug. He seemed confused but he hugged her back anyway.

"Dark magic," the knight began, "takes its energy from everything that had once lived but is now dead or dying. Empress Rhiannon, incredibly skilled in dark magic, was able to master it easily due to all the wars she has fought and all the kingdoms and nations she has conquered. Dark magic was plentiful and she had a great source to extract from. Wars of great magnitude can, however, upset the magical balance by creating far too much dark magic for its opposite, nature, to keep in check. During times of peace nature and dark are mostly equal as lives are lost at relatively the same rate as those that are birthed. Wars, despite the fact that they made me a knight of renown, are always taxing on the magical balance and are better off not waged."

Ruslan frowned. "Sometimes there is no other way."

Sir Gawaine nodded slightly. "It is a sad fact to admit, my friend. Some rulers cannot seem to ever come to terms and take the peaceful road to resolution. I wish it was not so but we humans are capable of great misdeeds and terrible tragedy."

Cinderella was deep in thought and after several silent moments asked, "Why is light not the opposite of dark? Is it the opposite of arcane then? I always thought light magic would be what could balance dark magic."

"I asked that very question many years ago. Merlin told me that light, despite being the least understood and rarely used magic, is the one to balance all others. Only through light can complete magical balance be obtained."

"I'm confused..."

Gawaine chuckled. "So was I, Cinderella. Let me explain it the way Merlin explained it to me. He told me that nature magic was the most all-encompassing magic as it lies within all living things and even all things that do not live."

"I thought arcane was in the things that didn't live..."

Gawaine nodded. "It is."

Cindy felt her understanding slipping away and struggled to make sense of it all before panic set in.

"Remember," Gawaine went on, "that arcane magic is a part of nature. Long ago we humans were able to master it so well that we made it a separate class but, in reality, arcane is just a different spectrum of nature magic. It therefore stands alone and has no opposite. Now, returning to Merlin's teachings, he then went on to say how dark magic came from all things that had once life but now do not. Death and decay are dark magic's chief sources. Dark magic cannot exist without nature magic for if there is no life, there is no death. It is for this reason that nature magic is the dominant source of all magic in the world."

"But what if everyone and everything were to suddenly die?" Ruslan asked, folding his arms over his chest. "Would there not be more dark magic than nature magic then?"

"No."

Ruslan exchanged a glance with Cindy that said, "I'm as confused as you now."

"Remember arcane," Gawaine reminded. "It is a part of nature magic and thus, even in a world without life, nature magic, in the form of arcane, survives."

"Does that mean nature magic can never be destroyed?" Cindy asked.

"Precisely so. Life may be extinguished but nature itself will live on."

Cindy was beginning to understand it all now. Nature magic was the strongest of them all, which is why she, an elemental, was the counter-balance to the empress, who mastered in dark magic.

Sir Gawaine rubbed his stomach as the ship lurched on a rather large wave. He pursed his lips and struggled to stand straight. "I fear I may need to return below decks," he said through clenched teeth.

Cindy, however, was not finished with him yet. "Wait, what about light magic? You said that it alone could right the balance? What do you mean by that?"

Gawaine glanced at Cindy and put a hand on the gunwale to steady himself. "I will be brief as I think I am need of rest but to answer your question, light magic comes from within your soul. It is also named holy magic for this reason. It is a gift the gods have given to everyone though very few know how to use it. Your soul, unlike your body, never dies and instead returns to the gods upon your death. Only the most legendary of spellcasters can utilize light magic and Merlin has told me that he himself has difficulty in making use of it. The elemental gods created all that there is in the world and outside of it. Nature, arcane, and dark magic came from them. Light, however, came from The First, the being that gave birth to the elemental gods. It is for this reason that light magic could potentially be the strongest form of magic but, because no one has ever mastered it, we may never know for certain."

Gawaine grimaced and gripped his stomach tightly. "Forgive me, I must retire..."

Ruslan wrapped an arm around the knight and supported him as he guided him below decks. Cindy watched them leave, her mind focused elsewhere. The mystery of light magic consumed her thoughts and made her wonder if she, somehow, could learn it. The empress and Gaphir would have no chance against her then! She would ask Merlin when they spoke again, whenever that would be...

She was about to resume her training when an alarm came from the crow's nest.

Foreign ships were sailing toward them with all haste.