Month 1, Day 4, 12:00:00; Arvium, Home

Aella slid off of the bed, and ran a hand over her face. The knocks continued, and a hurried voice called to her, muffled through the wooden door.

She walked over to the door and opened it, seeing Gemina with her hand raised to knock.

"Finally," she said, shaking her head. "You had me worried there for a bit. Did you just login? The others have already logged in and are waiting for us downstairs--the High Council is paying Betas to help with the clean up, and if we find any crystals, we are authorized to keep them."

Aella blinked. "What?"

Gemina frowned, then reached forward and put her hands on Aella's shoulders. Her bright teal eyes searched Aella's. "What's the matter?"

"I'm confused," Aella said, turning her gaze away from the other woman's.

"I see that. What are you confused about?"

Aella sighed. "What do you mean everyone has already logged in? Why did they log out?"

Gemina nodded. "Now I understand the problem. We were told you had passed out after the explosion. We, and you, were teleported back to our login points along with the other Betas during the battle--the High Council decided it was the best way to keep us safe while they dealt with the raiders. They've managed to catch the guilty parties and put out most of the fires."

"So the battle is over?"

Gemina laughed. "Yes, Aella. Do you want to join us in the clean up? It's good money, and there's a chance to get crystals."

Aella nodded. "I'll be down in a minute."

Gemina smiled and nodded. "Don't be too late--Gemini wants to get a head start on the other Betas."

Aella watched the woman scurry down the stairs, her footsteps making a rolling cadence that echoed in the enclosed staircase. She gripped the door frame with her right hand, taking a deep breath. "I don't want to have to lie to them" she whispered.

She unrolled her left fist, looking at the ring Garron had given her. She held it up, then slid it onto her finger. She stared at it for a moment, then took a deep breath and headed down the stairs after Seashell.

The others were waiting for her at the bottom staircase near the front door. Gemini and Sigmund stood in the dining room doorway, Gemina stood against the front door, and Maeva sat on the steps.

Aella smiled and her body relaxed as she saw Sigmund leaning against the doorway to the dining room. "You're okay," she said as she stepped onto the ground floor.

He raised an eyebrow. "Of course, Aella. I'm surprised you would doubt my abilities."

"It's nice to see you safe, Aella" Gemini said, moving toward the front door. "We were worried when you didn't log in the same time as Sigmund and he told us you were in the same explosion."

The group turned as a loud series of knocks thundered from the front door. Gemini opened it, and Aella followed the others as they gathered around.

A man in silver and gold armor stood on the front porch, four others in similar apparel gathered on the steps and walkway behind him. "I am Kennick from the High Council. I bring with me a summons for Aella Rynnex. She is requested to stand before the Council in twenty minutes time."

Everyone turned to look at her, but she ignored them, staring into the guard's eyes.

"Why have I been summoned?"

"It is in regards to your whereabouts during the battle, and your contact with Ender Dragon Rider."

"Ender Dragon Rider?" Sigmund said, his eyebrow raising.

Aella looked up at him and shook her head. "I will explain the situation later, once I return."

She stepped forward, pausing when Gemini laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Aella?" he asked. "Are you ok?"

She nodded twice, then patted his hand with her own. "I will tell you everything when I get back."

"We'll meet you at the High Council," Gemina said.

"I assume you are Aella Rynnex," Kennick said as she stepped through the doorway.

"Yes," she said.

The man nodded, then held out his hand. "I will be teleporting you into the Great Hall. I ask that you relax, and close your eyes, as it will lessen the momentary feeling of nausea that may happen on your first teleportation."

Aella half-chuckled, placing her hand on the guard's metal glove. "I understand."

"Three, two, one," the guard counted down.

The familiar sensation of weightlessness filled her stomach for a moment, before the rush of voices and hum of activity filled her ears. The air had a slight aftersmell of smoke and burning metal.

Month 1, Day 4, 12:10:00; Arvium, High Council Great Hall

She opened her eyes, seeing the two-story tall ceiling of the Great Hall stretching above her, the walls made of white marble and Corinthian columns lining the walls at intervals, with marble statues filling the gaps. Long tables sat along each side of the room, and players stood around them, maps and glowing displays between each clump of players. A long red carpet ran between the two rows of tables, ending in a semi-circle of large chairs on a raised dais. Nine players stood in a cluster, some of them waving their arms, their loud voices carrying over the hum of voices.

Kennick moved in front of her, and he waved his hand for him to follow him.

She nodded and walked down the red carpet, her eyes flicking from group to group as they walked toward the dais. Some were looking at topographical maps, others reviewing video of battles. She bit her tongue as she saw a familiar black dragon swooping down on a burning field on one of the display screens.

"Wait here," Kennick said as he stopped in a small empty space about twenty feet from the dais. Three other players waited in the same area, one of them leaning up against the tall white marble pillar behind her.

"Yes, sir," she said, nodding her head to him.

She caught Prince's gaze as he looked over to where she was standing, and she frowned at the angry expression that flickered across his face before being replaced by a more neutral expression. He waved the player next to him away, then stepped out of the cluster and toward her.

"Aella," he called, motioning to her.

She stepped forward, moving in front of the dais. The other members of the High Council quieted, then moved to their chairs.

"Congratulations upon finding the first keypiece for Terra, Aella Rynnex," he called to her. His voice was loud, but toneless, emotionless.

She nodded once, then turned her attention to the other Council members. Each one held a neutral expression, hiding their emotions from her.

"But that is not why you are here, though you will be recognized later in the ceremony to open the Bela gateway."

Aella took a deep breath, the ring on her finger feeling heavy and warm suddenly.

"Do you have a mentor, or an affiliation with a guild yet?"

Aella frowned. "As of yet, no. I have neither declared a mentor nor an affiliation with a guild."

Prince nodded. "Protocol of the keypieces states that all Apprentices with keypieces may pass through the barrier by themselves, but we recommend that you either declare a mentor, or join a guild before you find the rest of the Terran key."

Nike stood, and Prince turned his attention to her. "Aella," she said. "You have been called here to discuss your sighting with Ender Dragon Rider of Omega. He is considered a fugitive, armed and dangerous. He has been considered the instigator of the raid that caused such destruction last night."

She motioned to someone behind Aella, and a screen appeared above the heads of the council members. Aella glanced up and she swallowed as she saw the square in front of the High Council building, smoke billowing from the destroyed building. She and Sigmund lay on the steps, covered in white marble dust.

She watched as the events were replayed--her standing up and fighting against the black-clad fighters, and a roar from Noir filling the air. The dragon landed as she was forced backward by a player, golden energy surrounding her energy. It faded as she stumbled and Ender appeared behind the player, sinking his sword into the player's back.

She frowned as smoke covered the camera, and when it cleared, both Ender and she were missing.

"Your player caret disappeared after that moment," one of the other council members stated as she stood up. "Where did you go?"

"You were covered in golden energy, similar to that of the Omega players" Nike said, crossing her arms. "That energy is reserved only for players of Graduate level or higher, and shouldn't be available to someone of your level."

"Silence," Prince said, raising his hand. Both Nike and the other council member quieted, then returned to their seats. "What have you to say in your defense of the matter? We will reserve our questions until you have finished."

Aella nodded. "To go back to the beginning, I saw a figure several times throughout the first few days in the Game--always in shadow, always just out of reach. Before the flag challenge, I followed it into a warehouse and witnessed a fight between him and three players dressed in scarlet armor. He defeated them, and vanished into a smoking hole in the ground, what I assume to be a wolf teleportation spell."

She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. The expressions on their faces were stony, but a few had shifted slightly in their sheets when she mentioned Garron, or Ender--the two wore the same armor so she wasn't even sure who was who at some parts in the story.

"Later that day, after fighting in an arena, I accepted an assignment to guard an Alpha's field that night--she had claimed that small animals were getting into the crop, and she would pay me for my troubles. Her name is Jakki."

One of the women on the council straightened, her eyebrows drawing together as she sneered at Aella.

Aella glanced at her, mentally taking not of which member knew of the Furies. "That night, I was kidnapped by a dragon and I passed out in shock."

The entire council reacted to her words, and she fought back a grimace. I didn't think it was so great at the time, and I'm still mad at it. She let the anger fuel her words, enforcing her dislike of the events. "When I awoke, the figure--the wraith--was nearby. We were high in the mountains, but we were attacked by some type of snow creatures and I was caught in an avalanche. I was rescued, and he brought me to a castle. He had kidnapped me to find out what I knew about him, and to scare me into keeping it quiet. His name is Ender, and he told me he was the last of the Omega guild since Bringer of Death had died in the end of the Alpha Game."

The council were visibly agitated at this point, and on the verge of breaking her line of speech. Prince held up a hand, and she paused, holding her breath.

"Please, quiet," he said firmly. "Let her finish her side of the events. We called her here to ascertain her whereabouts during the battle, and to clear up some concerns we had of her sighting with Ender Dragon rider. We will discuss his punishments for kidnapping and coercing a Beta Player later."

The council quieted, and Aella waited until Prince nodded to her to continue. "I told him I knew very little, and he apologized for everything--he hadn't meant for it to get so out of control. He gave me several Galaxium crystals as an apology, and said he would return me to the city. He did, placing me into the forest outside of Arvium. I fought a boar, and that is when I was found by my team and the Alphas. We made our way back into the city and went to the Invictus tavern, but that is when the battle began. I helped out as a healer, with what little I already know. The Betas were placed into a shelter, but since we were above ground, we were in danger when the raid reached the tavern. We were shown outside, and we were trying to get away when I saw Ender again heading toward the battle."

The council again started to murmur among themselves, but she ignored them.

"It is my fault that Sigmund and I were in the explosion, since I am the one that went closer to the battle. After the blast, I tried to protect him, but I was too weak and exhausted the energy in the Galaxium crystals. Ender brought me to his castle, and healed me. He was there when I woke up."

Prince looked away from her, rubbing his chin in deep thought. There are two wraiths--that's the only way it makes sense. But Garron is supposed to be dead, so they don't know who else is alive from the last Alpha battle.

She continued. "But we were attacked. The barrier around the castle was broken, and he managed to get me out of the castle and told me to head for a series of caves in the ravines near the castle to be safe. I left, and he began to fight."

She paused for a moment, swallowing and taking a deep breath. She let her voice quiver, letting her emotions come through her tone. "I was met by Furies, and they attacked me, and were going to kill me. Jakki was the leader of them, and she told me I was just another rung on the way to the Capitol. A black dragon attacked them, and saved me, but I fell down the cliff and landed on the ravine floor. I was wounded, but managed to make it to the cave. There I met death wolves, but they were white instead of black. I collapsed the entrance to the cave to keep them out, and I stayed there for too long. I was low on magic and health, and the wolves were digging to get in."

Nike moved in her seat, seeming interested in the story.

"I fell asleep for a short while, and when I woke, the wolves were almost through the rubble. I cleared it with a defense spell and began to fight. Somehow, I managed to wound the lead wolf, and I held an arrow to its throat. I gained a transformation with it, and the wolves led me out of the cave system. I emerged in the forest, and Ender found me. He teleported me to the dragon, and flew me to just outside the city, then teleported me to my home and left me there. That is when I received the summons and was brought here." She nodded to Prince, signifying she was done speaking.

"How many players attacked you outside the cave?" one of the woman called to her.

Aella turned to her. "Five. They called themselves Furies."

Nike sighed as several of the council members turned to her, and she waved her hand to dismiss them. "You fought wolves, death wolves," she said.

Aella nodded.

"How many?"

Aella lowered her head as she thought back. "There were four or five, I think."

Nike nodded slowly, then turned to Prince and nodded her head once.

"Any other questions?" Prince asked.

There was silence in response to the question. His face had turned paler, and he shook his head. "We will need to discuss these events," he said. "But you are free to go. Thank you for being willing to share with us what has happened. I would like to offer you a guard's protection--and the request that he or she accompany you whenever you are out of the city limits."

Aella lowered her head, thinking. She chuckled as she lifted her head. "After these last few days," she said. "I don't think I'm going to be going anywhere outside the city. I am going to turn my attention to training and calmer things."

Her statement earned a chuckle from some of the council members. They turned and began to talk amongst themselves, and Prince nodded to her, then returned to his seat. "Thank you, Aella. Please, enjoy a meal at the dining Hall downstairs as our thanks for coming here today."

She nodded, then froze as the hair stood up on the back of her neck and her eyes widened. She could hear even the slightest movement of clothing, and the heavy breathing of the people in the room. The noise was a din and cacophony of random sound, and then she heard it, clear and unmistakable, as the bowstring released from somewhere high above and behind her.

She moved, more by instinct than reason, and a scream left her lips as pain flared through body. She stumbled, feeling fire where the arrow had pierced through her arm. She felt anger, then nausea as her armor changed, and her skin turned white with swirling red tattoos. A dark, smoking hole opened in the ground in front of her, and Beo emerged, plunging into the crowd in the direction the arrow had come from.

She registered the din around her now, as Prince joined her side, supporting her weight and shouting instructions. She felt something cold start to spread through her body and she felt tired. The players in the Great Hall were screaming, and chaos reigned.

She felt her legs start to feel numb as she sank to the floor and her vision darkened.