Noir-Astra's influence swept amongst all the streets found in Natanstrelle. The four surrounding villages were darkened, as well as Central City itself.

If the four voyagers didn't have Luchinda's insight into the future, they wouldn't have made it past the first hurdle on their journey. They certainly wouldn't have got very far if they didn't have each other, and True was grateful for his team's bravery.

He was especially grateful that Òrum was still willing to help, despite the doubts he expressed within Petra Marbh.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to help convince people to join the Light Defenders, when I couldn't even convince my own wife!" he said at the meeting the night before. 

"Why wouldn't she come?" Malek asked tactlessly and earned a stabbing glare from his older brother.

"She is convinced that our sons will escape the darkness," Òrum explained, ignoring True's silent objection towards his younger brother. "Ridiculous, I know! But she wants to stay at home to greet them. Airgid and I tried to make her see sense, But she is too set in her ways."

"That's Òrelia for you…" Fratair lamented about his cousin, "she hasn't changed at all."

Before leaving that morning, they made sure to protect themselves with their family symbols. They had to move quickly and silently to be able to sneak past the impossible number of stretched dark shadows that surrounded them.

Once they reached the edge of the city, they met the second hurdle of their voyage.

Leaving the forest was one thing, but the wall sectioning off Tuanalis, the Northern neighbouring village, was unrecognisable. Black smoke swept across the once, welcoming white bricks. 

True stopped and silently communicated with his team about their next move. Luchinda gave him strict instructions and he told the others what needed to be done in detail the night before.

Òrum gave True a sharp nod, stood closely behind him. He held his light orb in his left hand and pressed it into True's spine. Fratair did the same behind Òrum and Malek joined the end of the tightly compacted line, pressing his light orb into Fratair's back. Doing this strengthened the family symbols covering them; so that True could safely use his light orb to open an arch in the Noir tainted wall, undetected.

They moved as one through the gap True's light magic made, and once Malek reached the other side of the wall the archway crunched back together. This awakened the shadows that became dormant as the light magic worked through the brick.

The four had to move quickly.

They ran through the village as Noir-Astra's puppets began to panic around them. They dodged past fleeting shadows that threw themselves, unwittingly, into their path. Missing them only by meer millimetres.

They reached Aurora Valley by the skin of their teeth, and they could finally gain their breath. However, they knew they couldn't rest for long, for Luchinda told them that they must always keep moving, even when they felt safe.

So they journeyed on, at a brisk pace, aware of their surroundings at all times. 

It took them just over three hours till they saw the surrounding walls of the Emerald Army. Black, billowing, inky smoke diffused through the air around them.

The team hid amongst the trees of Strelle Forest, to safely assess the situation. 

"We're too late!" Òrum hissed.

"No, no, we can't be…" Malek replied, matching Òrum's hushed tone.

"Luchinda said if we travel fast enough we should get there before Noir-Astra does. But look at it! He has been here, you cannot deny that!" Fury crept into Òrum's
eyes as he contemplated the gaping holes within Luchinda's predictions. "Why didn't she prepare us for this?"

"She told us what we needed to know," True defended the Fiosolim sister.

"No she steered us wrong! This is hopeless!" Òrum snapped.

"No, it's not hopeless!" True contradicted the Head of Sprèintis. "I know what those lads are capable of. What light defences they'll know. There'll be some in there that won't have been taken." 

"They'll be prisoners though, True," Fratair uttered, his brow scrunched together with worry.

"Or dead!" Òrum added, making Malek wince.

"Well, it seems to me that there's only one thing we must do…" True declared boldly, turning his head back towards the blackened Army grounds.

"Retreat?" Òrum interrupted, but he knew full well, that True wasn't going to say that.

"No. We need Emeralds, and we can't leave any possible light prisoners behind. We'll have to break in and free anybody we can." 

Malek let out a huge sigh as he contemplated the possible dangers this new mission had. But nodded his head, mustering as much bravery as he could. "I'll follow you, big brother!"

True gave his little brother a proud wink then looked towards the others.

Fratair nodded solemnly and Òrum rolled his eyes.

"Fine! Let's do this!" he blurted out, not capable of hiding his irritation.

"Before we go..." True held out his arm to stop his brother, who eagerly began to move towards the edge of the forest. "We must be ready for anything we may face in there! Keep your light orb in your left hand at all times and do exactly what I do."

"Yes, brother!"

"But, we need a plan, True..." said Fratair, warily.

"The plan is, as soon as we get in there we run and we arm ourselves."

"Run where? Arm ourselves with what?" Òrum demanded sceptically.

"Just follow me! Trust me!" 

Òrum groaned and wiped his hands aggressively down his face. "Fine! Let's go... We're wasting time!"

True gave him a quick smile of gratitude and the four of them made their way to the dark wall. They formed a tight line, pressed their light orbs into each other's backs and disappeared inside the training grounds.

"I just don't understand," Celeste began, whilst she added berries to the basket Vicora held on her arm.

Those left behind within Night Forest, tried their best to keep busy whilst they waited for the men to return. They didn't want to feel of no use, although that couldn't be helped at this time.

"What don't you understand, sister?" Vicora asked with a heavy sigh.

"They leave to recruit fighters that'll train us up for an upcoming battle. But what is this battle even for? Has everybody just forgotten the prophecy! It is foretold that we lose! What is the point in all of this!" 

"Celeste, we have been told to trust in the light," Vicora uttered whilst rolling her eyes. She had lost count of how many times she had said this to her.

"Everyone keeps saying that! But it doesn't make sense! None of this makes any sense!" Celeste ranted, throwing her hands in the air.

"All we need to know is that Luchinda has seen a way. And she has told us that we must fight the darkness the best we can. Illuminare-Trabem will take care of the rest," Vicora explained once again to her sceptical sister.

"I don't like relying on blind faith!" Celeste huffed, dropping more berries into the basket.

"I know you don't, dear," Vicora said calmly. "But you just have to suck it up!"

Luchinda kept herself away from the group. She couldn't bear to be around their questions. Of course, she understood why they had so many, but she had no choice. She had to keep them in the dark.

She spent her time gazing into the smoke, downstairs in the catacombs. She raked through each vision she had already witnessed, memorising key moments that she knew must come to pass. This task took up her whole attention, so much so, that it took a while for her to realise that her brother was standing behind her. 

"Luchinda!" James called to her, for the tenth time. She tore herself from the smoke, her eyes pulled wide as she got used to the much dimmer lighting of the catacombs. "Sorry, Lu, but I must talk with you about something."

"Oh, Jam, are you here to talk about Amber's moon blessing?" she responded with a question she already knew the answer to.

"You saw that, did you?" James asked, pointing a finger at the white smoke that rose slowly behind her turned head. 

"Not much gets past a seer," she shrugged with a smile.

"I see," James nodded, "but what does it mean, little sister?"

"It means, everything that needs to come to pass is in line. That is all that I can say," Luchinda said, not blaming her brother for looking worried at hearing her vague answer. "I am sorry. You do understand, don't you?" she added, moving away from the table and walking closer to her, suddenly very quiet, big brother.

"Just tell me, tell me that my granddaughter will be safe," he whispered, not looking away from Luchinda's large, olive-green eyes.

"Amber will be fine, Jam," Luchinda reassured him without a flicker of doubt entering her confident voice.

James nodded, then moved away from her and headed towards the stone stairs. But suddenly stopped.

"I do trust you, Lu," he began to say without turning around. "I trust you with all of my heart." He then left her to her smoke gazing.

As she heard his footsteps moving up the ancient staircase, she let a tear fall from the corner of her eye.

The wall crunched shut behind True and his team and the shadows covering it sprung into utter chaos; just as they saw within Tuanalis, earlier that day. True began to sprint and the three others copied suit.

They saw him grow his light orb in his palm as he dodged the diving shadows. He then stopped and stretched his right hand out to the side. They could not work out what he was doing. It was only when a combat staff came soaring through the air towards him that it became apparent. They then copied his actions and retrieved their own staffs.

True expertly melded his light orb into the wooden structure in his right hand, showing the others exactly what he was doing. This was a trick he had learned as a green rank in the Emerald Army. Within seconds, all four of the team held identical light empowered staffs that lit up their hands and faces.

True then led them towards the prison hut. The darkness clawed at them blindly and when they got too close, the now armed team batted them away. Searing sparks of light emitted off every strike, making the darkness cower and shriek in agony. 

Malek tried his hardest to match the swift manoeuvres his brother made. He wanted no more than to be able to twist and expertly spin his combat staff in his hands like a pro, but he was not as limber as True. Fratair and Òrum just swung and hoped for the best as they kept their feet moving. 

Once True reached the prison hut, the others had his back, battling against the panicking shadows.

True speared his staff into the locked door and a gap opened within the thick wood. The four of them stepped inside, and the eerie shrieking of the shadows got cut off as the wooden door re-formed itself behind them.

There they saw half a dozen prisoners hanging by their wrists around the cold brick walls. Thick dark chains held them up - their dead weight pulling heavily against their binds, causing gashes to open up on their exposed wrists.

Malek saw that the prisoners' light orb pouches were still at their waists and his brow slammed down in confusion.

"They still have their light orbs in here?"

"A - c-cruel - trick..." a prisoner tried to explain, through painful laboured breaths.

"Shh..." True hushed the poor hanging prisoner, as he tried his best to come up with a way to break the chains holding them. He could see that they were created by darkness, which of course would block their ability to summon their light orbs to their hands. It certainly was a cruel trick -  Noir-Astra gave them all the means to escape but no ability to wield the power. 

One prisoner's light orb did not glow through his pouch like the others. He was the first prisoner to be tied up and was the first to lose all hope that he'd leave that prison hut alive. That loss of hope caused his light orb to lose its power and die.

Fratair's heart broke as he thought of the trauma that poor lad must have gone through. Being an orb manufacturer, he knew how much a spirit must be broken for a light orb to wither beyond help, like the one he was seeing.

"I have an idea," True declared suddenly. "Malek, do as I do. We need to combine our light."

"D-Dìl-Eques, is - that - y-you?" the same prisoner spoke again. True then realised that he was Dìl-Forti, his old group leader. The one who treated Astrid terribly when she was a child; of course, everyone of those old enough to remember her did.

"We're getting you out of here!" True said,  before he could let his mind spiral. He then took his light orb out of his staff and signalled to his brother to do the same.

He pointedly looked up at the ceiling and Malek got ready to toss his light orb over his head at the same time as his brother. When the two light orbs made contact with the beams above, the chains melted away from the prisoner's wrists and the light orbs returned swiftly back into their owners' grasps. 

The prisoners fell to the floor, every one of them landing on their feet. They straightened up and winced as they massaged and shook out their aching limbs.

"Arm yourselves, we must move fast!" True ordered the six emerald warriors.

Fratair quickly grabbed the lad, who no longer had a light orb. "Stick by me, lad, don't leave my side, whatever you do!" he said to him and received a quick nod in response. 

The other prisoners' hands flew to their hanging pouches. They drew out their glowing light orbs, held them tightly in both hands and in perfect synchronisation let the light magic completely absorb into their clenched fists. The bright beams emanating from their hands healed their wounded wrists in a heartbeat.

True's eyes grew in awe as he witnessed such impressive light magic. He had not learned the art of Lasmani (translated: flame hand) for he deserted a year before he was eligible to train in such an intricate style of combat.

"Let's go!" he said, shaking himself out of his reverie, then combined his light orb with his staff again, and Malek did the same.

True then hit the door and walked through the gap that formed, followed by his three team members, and the prisoner under Fratair's wing. The other freed prisoners made their way out by walking, like apparitions, through the door with their light covered hands held out in front of them. 

They all began to make their way to the black wall. The prisoners managed to fight off the shadows, despite the vast number of attacks they faced. They were not protected by any symbols, so the darkness had no trouble seeing them. With Lasmani they threw the shadows from them with ease. They crouched, spun and leapt across the shadows that took them on, making them look powerless in comparison.

Malek had never seen such impressive moves in his life, and he couldn't help himself from getting distracted. He forgot where he was for a brief second and that was all it took for him to be grabbed by a shadow. 

"True!" he managed to choke out before it began to pierce its sharp smoke talons into the corners of his eyes. He dropped his staff to the floor.

Dìl-Forti saw Malek being attacked and didn't hesitate to run to his aid. He gripped the shadow from behind and as the light magic burned into the darkness the black creature screamed in pain. Dìl-Forti then threw it off of Malek, picked up the staff lying on the floor and whacked it. The combined magic of two light orbs made the shadow dissolve before his eyes, leaving only a dusting of light sparks in its stead. This made a great number of shadows cower back in fear.

Dìl-Forti took this opportunity to help Malek to his feet. He handed him his staff back and patted him on the shoulder. "Eyes open, Lad, we'll make it out of here together!" 

Malek nodded, determined, and forced his legs to move quickly towards the now opened wall of the Emerald Army grounds.