The darkness enveloped the group, holding them prisoner, forbidding any sign of light to explode. A flame crackled in the youngest's hand, only to die out just as quickly as it had erupted. Three of the assembled were hanging onto each other, shaking and sobbing in the darkness. The larger – a strong, tall man with hair the colour of honey and eyes that shone, even in the darkness, a bright and abnormal glow, the softest yellows mingling with the harshest oranges in his irises – held the other two tightly, who shook with unconcealable sorrow. The man with copper coloured hair, a pair of obsidian tinted goggles placed precariously on his curls, was talking to a pair of twins, matching eyes, so bright and blue that it was almost eerie. They spoke in hushed whispers, evidently scared of provoking the being that lies just outside their cage of darkness.

The only one who wasn't panicking, nor talking, was holding onto the steel bars off the cage. The darkness held the bars like she did, feathering it's impenetrable touch over her fingers. Her hair was loose, falling over her shoulders in waves, wrapping around the long, blue dress that draped over her tall body.

"What did we do for this?" The largest man asked, looking up at the tall woman with eyes like the sun which he commanded. "What have us eight great pillars of existence done to warrant such imprisonment?" He looked to the woman. Her cold form, holding herself like she's carved of stone, sent chills down his spine. He was the leader, but people would drop to their knees to appease her cold stare. Fear and respect were co-conspirators when it came to her presence.

"Calm yourself, Julien." The man with copper curls said, voice feigning an air of coolness that his hands, twisting around a coil of wire, betrayed as false. "Only one of our number is able to escape, and I'm sure she'll free us." His gaze flicked to the woman.

"How can anyone be so sure?" The youngest sneered, still clicking her fingers and watching her sparks die after the darkness takes hold. "She's the only one who can see what's happening outside the cage, yet her silence is deafening. Xane, think." Her eyes were alight with irritation, glaring at the woman, who's hand was still wrapped around the bar.

It was no lie, to be completely honest. Her eyes – the coolest grey, like the moon she commanded, enveloped the right eyes which followed the cycles of the moon, and the deepest blue that pierced even the most guarded and darkest hearts – scanned the darkness beyond the steel. She saw the creature that lay in wait, that stalked outside and wrapped its tail around the bars, sending chills of horror down the spines of all who don't see the truth of the dare beyond the bars. She knew there was no reason to fear, but the eyes on the creature stalking beyond, blinding and red, the colour of blood that's long since dried up, bore into her own, threatening her if she told them anything.

One of the twins, the one with hair the colour of clouds, full to the bursting with rain, spoke up. Her voice was chilling; a cool gust of wind rattling the windows of a lonely cabin in the woods. Eerie. Dangerous. A low lying blanket of a threat. "Just let her do as she pleases. Think how she's feeling at the moment, Amber. She was torn away from her corporeal form just after another member of her body's consciousness vanished. Different reasons, sure, but the same, terrifying effect."

Her twin hummed in agreement, turning the heads of most. "Does Aeres speak for you, Auriel?" Amber asked, folding her arms over her chest before turning to Julien and the two who he held close, protecting them from everything. "Eyrai, Isa, do you have no voice to speak or no eyes to see that this is wrong? We eight should not hold secrets from each other."

A chill went around the entire room, knowing what Amber said was true. Julien's face fell yet he held Eyrai and Isa tighter. Xane and the twins looked at the floor, realisation in their hearts.

"Your anger mustn't rule you, Amber." The woman spoke, her voice low, almost a whisper, but in the silence of the cage it cast the most dangerous and noisy shadow. "Anger is what drives men to madness. It's what led humans to try and take my kingdom for their own. It's what led them to use Julien's power without gratitude. It's what led them to take Eyrai's gift for themselves. It's what led them to destroy Isa's work. It's what's destroyed them, and we mustn't let it destroy is too." She turned around, looking at amber with eyes that glowed, seeing through all darkness. "Secrets, however, are what have led man to glory, to power. Less men have been dragged into Exor's-" an intake of breath echoed around the room. Nobody liked Exor; nobody except the woman. "-grasp because they held their secrets close to themselves. Let me hold mine."

Amber's eyes flickered with anger and sadness. The flame in the lamp hanging over the eight gods flickered, burning brighter for a brief moment, before dying entirely. Julien looked at it, before uttering something to make it relight. "We should get some rest." He said, eyes scanning the other seven. "We don't know how long we'll stay here."

The others grumbled, slumping against the bars of the cage or curling up on the floor. Julien leaned against the wall, Eyrai and Isa leaning on his shoulders. "You need to sleep." He said, eyes still bright with worry ebbing and flowing through the rippling colours.

"There's no rest for the wicked, Julien, you should know." The woman said, looking down at the blonde with sorrow.

"You're not wicked." He replied, incredulously.

She shook her head. "Don't be so sure. I'm more complicated than you give me credit for."

And with those words, she was left the final one awake and aware of the world around her.