The mirror shifted to show the kids emerging from the other side of the hedge. Shwa slithered in front as she led the kids through the forest.

Nicholas began to pepper the sundavrilnú with questions, this time at a slower rate to give her the chance to respond. "So, Shwa, you're the leader of the guardians?"

Yes, Shwa answered as they forged on, the sun glinting green through the leaves. As my usshu said, I have defeated the Weldenilneya and earned the title.

"How many clans are there?" the boy asked, his green eyes bright with curiosity.

Twelve. The Sundavrilnú and the Weldenilneya are the biggest, and the only who derive their names from the ancient language.

"Do all clans fight?"

Shwa sounded amused as she replied, No, we have a very high standing among the other groups, besides small arguments now and again. The Weldenilneya are our only enemies, for they renounce the old ways in which we take great stock in.

"The old ways?" Nick said.

We have customs that have been in place for generations. Shwa circled around a fallen tree, and the rest followed. Sundavrilneya are matriarchal, and we consider ourselves to be the embodiment of the shadows, from which we take our name. The Weldenilneya, who are lead by a male, Trrrriisssshhhnn, scorn our way of life to the point where they take another name in hopes of differentiating themselves as a new and better species.

Nathan frowned. "How does that even make sense?"

It doesn't, the snake returned. A sundavrilnú is a sundavrilnú, no matter what you call it. Halting, she announced, We have arrived to the end of Du Welden Abr Súndav. This is where I must leave you.

"Thanks for not eating us," Nia said with a smile.

Of course, came the amused reply. Take care, hatchlings. May we meet again before we pass into the darkness, and then meet again once we have. And with a nod, Shwa turned and slithered back into the shade. The five children turned back and stepped out of the shade to the sunlight forest that lay beyond.

"What are we gonna tell Faðiras?" asked Rosaminda, staring at Ruyi. "I mean, it'll be hard to explain how Nia wound up with a darksnake."

Gedwëy stepped away from the said snake's encroaching head. "Yes, we must come up with a plan."

"Yeah…" Niaomi frowned slightly, thinking. After a few moments, she snapped her fingers. "Alright, I have it! How about we claim to have wandered too deep into the woods, and we got lost?"

"One problem," Nicholas said. "We weren't supposed to be in here in the first place."

"Curses, you're right," his sister grumbled. "Guess we'll have to spill the beans."

"But you know what Móði is gonna say," Nate moaned. "She'll talk about how dangerous it is and that we can't go wandering by ourselves. We'll never be able to find your bondmates then! And you heard Hekate: no bondmates - "

"No dragon," she finished with a sigh, running her fingers through her curls and dislodging a few twigs. "So what do we do?"

The five stopped, staring at one another as they all tried to concoct a plan. Finally, Rose suggested, "Why don't we just get them all today?"

It was silent for a few moments as the rest digested what she'd said. Nathan was the first to speak up, grinning widely. "That's a great idea! We could get this knocked out in no time!"

"But there's less than twelve hours until night falls," Gedwëy said as she flittered onto Nia's head for a less disturbed perch. "That's not a lot of time."

"We could do it," he boldly replied. "Come on, what do you guys say?"

"If we spend approximately seventy and five minutes on each hunt, we would be able to make it back before then," Nick declared.

"If Nick thinks we could make it, then I'm in," Renata said with a warm glance towards him.

Niaomi smiled widely. "This is a perfect plan! Let's go!"

Gedwëy sighed in defeat. "Jeshindû won't like this…" Her warning was ignored as the kids cheered, eager to begin their hunt.

"Okay, okay - Nia, where do we start?" asked Rosaminda.

Nia repeated the lines of the poem. "'An elöriyæ was the first; a sundavrilnú's next on course. The phloÿn will come flying on air.' Do you guys know what a phloÿn is?"

Everyone turned to Nicholas and Ren, who looked at each other. "Well…" the girl said, gray eyes narrowed in concentration. "There was a mention of the phloÿnar in some of the scrolls, next to pictures of a horse…"

"A flying horse!" Nick added, voice rising with excitement. "That's what it is - a flying horse! They were said to be very smart and very strong, and they lived near the plains."

"Great!  Let's just head over there - "

"Wait, Nate," Renata interrupted. "There was something else...something about how only certain pegasi can be bound; those born of a coupling can't be, but another type can - something to do with earthquakes."

"The fault lines!" her sister piped up. "I remember you showing me how Poseidon was also the god of earthquakes, and fault lines are places were earthquakes happen the most."

"And where pegasi are made!" Ren and Nicholas cried at the same time.

"The fault lines of the earth usually mirror the fault lines of wild magic - " Renata began.

"And the steam and energy, fueled by the heat, make a pegasus!" Nick finished.

"So we just need to find a fault line…where?" asked Niaomi.

"They're usually found - "

"At the base of volcanoes.  So - "

"All we have to do is - "

"Travel to the mountains!"

"You guys make my head hurt when you do that," Nate groaned as his brother and Ren finished speaking, only to grumble when they replied in tandem that it was a Nicata thing.

"So, I bet if we follow the stream, we'll reach the mountains." Straightening, Nia declared, "Alright, guys, let's head out to find our phloÿnar!"

"Our?" the other four repeated, shock etched into each one's faces.

Niaomi grinned, the silver in her eyes sparkling. "Of course! A phloÿn, or pegasus, can be bound to you guys, too! So, let's find our flying horses!" She started walking as the rest all looked on, dumbfounded. Turning around, she rested her hands on her hips and yelled, "Are you coming or not?"

"Yes, ma'am!" they all cheered in response as the four raced to catch up, grins on each and every one of their faces.

[Chapter Word Count: 10715]