THE BLACK AND WHITE pebble stones crunched under Clara and Emir's feet as the flurry of snow eased them down a path leading to the temple's entrance.

It lay solitary amidst the thick foliage and trees. The dense canopy of trees provided as much cool shade over the temple's roof. Away from the snowy and festive city of New York, nut shells and dead leaves littered the forest floors. The path of ivory and ebony pebbles stretched from downhill and up ahead. All was silent except for the songs sung by birds and the skittering of small animals, playing hide and seek behind the bushes.

"Hello?" Clara called and was met by an echo of her voice. She started towards the direction of the temple only to be held back by Emir with a worried look on his face.

"Is something the matter?" Clara cupped his face in her hands. Emir flinched at the touch but made no effort to release himself. His heart was torn. He wished to surrender to the feeling, but another part of him felt adamant as to how the princess could cause such a stir in his heart.

Emir drew circles at the back of her hand. "Will you let me share with you the worries of my mind, Anneliese?"

With a wistful expression, Clara said, "Of course!"

Emir nodded, feeling grateful. "Right before we left the place where the Attuned clans had gathered for a rather unfortunate meeting, I saw something in the corner of my eye." He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "No, not a thing... but people. Two of them if my memory serves it right. They were men dressed in fancy suits, quite opposite to the roguish demeanor of the other fellows in that room. Their huge build told me they were men. And as the moonlight shone upon the face of one of them just as they were about to leave, I couldn't help but recall his face belonging to someone we know, only years younger, which makes sense since we are looking into the past."

Clara gently squeezed her palm on his cheek when he stopped and hesitated. "Go on."

Swallowing, he said, "I wish I could be wrong, but there's no point in running away from the truth. One of the men was the younger version of the master."

Clara froze and let her arm drop to her side.

The prince gave a stiff nod. "If the so-called master was there, who could be the other person with him?"

"The Dread?" The words came out as a whisper from Clara's lips but they spread throughout the forest as swiftly as a vengeful ghost. The trees stood frozen in time. There was no more of the stream of light passing through the gaps of their branches as the trees huddled closer for comfort. The tiny animals hid in their nests and the birds flew as far away as possible.

"He isn't the Dread. Not yet. But perhaps we'll know what led him to become the evil of our present in this memory." Emir jerked his head in the temple's direction. "Well, into the temple we go."

They trudged the path just as the forest went on its former business. The temple ahead was built with polished gray stones, a triangular roof, and carved columns. It showed no signs of abandonment for the grass around it was neatly trimmed. At the foot of the steps, a shallow concrete basin filled to the brim with crystal clear water was placed amidst the flower bed.

"Look," said Emir, holding up a hand. A movement from the inside caught his attention.

Clara followed his line of sight and out came from the entrance two familiar figures who were rather making a hasty exit. Lazarus and Eowyn bounded down the steps with the latter leading.

"What an odd pair," Clara said just as the two passed them by, completely unaware of their presence.

"Let's follow them." And Emir took after Eowyn and Lazarus away from the temple. "Those two are up to something."

"We need to get closer." Clara practically ran after them, what with Anneliese's short legs and strides. "They're whispering about something and we need to hear them."

Eowyn was snarling in annoyance. Her eyes were restless, scanning the trees around them and looking over her shoulder, fearing that someone might be following them. Lazarus looked rather worried. The tip of his nose pointed down. Gone was the air of arrogance, only concern.

"The others won't take the betrayal lightly. I wouldn't let my clan suffer their wrath," they heard Lazarus say.

Eowyn's face failed to show any emotion, but blood dripped down her closed palms, her nails digging into her flesh.

"To abandon the others and rob them of the promised world, it's mortifying—"

The sharp slash of the blade through the air drowned out Lazarus's words. Eowyn had unsheathed her knife and had the tip of the blade pressed on the man's throat, drawing a thin and shallow cut.

"One more word from your mouth, I will not hesitate to slice your throat open. Mark my words," said Eowyn, voice grave and monotone.

Lazarus' eyes hardened. "Don't threaten me, woman. I am only concerned about what is to become of our world. What you're about to do—what the five of us would do—is a catalyst of war. We're waging war on our comrades."

"Former comrades," Eowyn spat, hurt crossing her eyes. "They no longer deserve the gift of the sanctuary the Guardian Deity will give us. That paradise isn't theirs anymore. Only those who remained true and free of evil have the right of passage to the new world. Didn't she just talk to you, Lazarus? Isn't that enough proof that our comrades have changed their ways? And now they are planning a domination of some sort with that filthy Blood Att to lead."

Lazarus sighed. His shoulders drooped in resignation as he looked up at the sky wistfully. "Indeed, she talked to me. Last night. In my dream. Only five shall enter the world she created for if the other ten could join our ranks of faithful believers of the deity, the world she created for us will burn and fall into ruins. Our paradise will be no more."

Eowyn stepped back and sheathed her blade. Lazarus blew out a breath as he pressed a palm over his throat.

"I knew from the start that Argyle's a twisted maniac, but I still couldn't think how he managed to convince them to follow his lead."

Lazarus pursed his lips. "He might be threatening them."

"Whatever the case, it's hard to trust any of them anymore. All we can do is to let the trust upon the Guardian Deity reign us."

"Trust upon the Guardian Deity," Lazarus murmured and the wind blew hard. "I suppose you already received the instructions about the portals."

Eowyn nodded and the two resumed walking down the path. "Tomorrow, when the sun and moon align, the portals to Hiestora shall open."

The flurry of snow arrived and then surrounded Clara and Emir until all they could see was a plain sheet of white. When it cleared, they were hovering above the sea. The restless tides brushed the bottom of their feet. The sky darkened as if it were dawn or dusk. In the face of the dark sky, the lunar surface turned a rusty red color—the blood moon.

There had to have been thirty people, maybe more gathered on the dock. One by one, people leaped off the pier and into the water. Then up ahead, Clara spied a soft white glow. She realized it was a blue-white cylinder hovering in the middle of the vast dark sea like a giant glowing worm. It was a portal. This was how they were going to get to Hiestora.

Each person who reached the portal breached the barrier and was swept up into it. It looked like they were being sucked up through a large, white straw.

The scenes changed each time the flurry of snow arrived, wiping it out to replace it with another.

There they stood with the Fire Clan at the mouth of a volcano. The lava parted in half to reveal a stair that went down the depths of the earth.

Into the tallest glacier of Antarctica, the Ice Clan went. The mountain of ice shone like a mirror that reflected the image of the world that was waiting on the other side.

In the quietness of the night, where the lights of the streetlamps couldn't reach, a band of earth wielders gathered around a tree that was like any other tree in the park. A diminutive form emerged from the wood, its skin as rough and dark as tree bark, eyes the color of leaves. Tiny branches protruded from its head, almost like a set of deer antlers. The creature stepped aside and revealed a bright passage, so blinding that none could see what was on the other side.

And for the last time, the scene changed. Clara and Emir were on top of a mountain when they felt some light rumbling. Clara's eyes lit up, instantly recognizing what was occurring, and she said, "Earthquake."

Emir feared that an enormous crevasse would open up in the ice underneath them and the earth would swallow them whole. He heard rocks and snow falling, looked north to what the inhabitants of that world called Everest, and saw a cloud of ice and rocks more than a quarter-mile tall rushing in their direction.

Beyond that was a clash of power, blood-curdling screams of battle cries, and an open portal on a Caspian. One by one, members of the Air Clan jumped through the portal as Lazarus held back the enemies by himself until everyone was safely in.

Argyle, Clara recognized him despite seeing the face for the first time, was a handsome man with a well-sculpted jaw, straight nose, high cheekbones, deep green eyes, and profound harshness on his face. He took delight in every swing of his attack, laughing even when nothing was funny.

A hundred or more volleys of attacks shot straight at the barrier Lazarus used to ward them off. And even when the old man was sweating, he held himself on his own. And as the last of his clan members had gone through the portal, Lazarus threw himself backward with his wind and the portal closed.

The attacks ceased and all was silent. But only for a moment as Argyle screamed a fit of rage and lashed at everyone who stood near him. Blood smeared the snowy mountaintop as more lifeless bodies collapsed one after another. Clara and Emir watched the event of the slaughter unfold, then the wave of ice crashed on them.

When they reopened their eyes, they found themselves back in the master's dark chamber, panting heavily on the floor as if they'd run a marathon. Their muscles were surprisingly weak so they wobbled as they stood and needed the table for support.

The master's deceptive smile, deceitfully warm and kind, made them shiver now that they finally learned of a Blood Att's malevolence. He was there near Argyle as he slaughtered people without remorse. He wore that same kind of smile he was giving them.

"Have you learned something of value?" the master asked, running a finger around the brim of the basin, water still glowing hauntingly red.

Emir's eyes flashed. "Learn what? To fear you?"

The master laughed. "Child, no! I've given you knowledge! Isn't it a wonderful surprise that more attributes exist other than the five? You should thank me."

"Why would the previous Elders fail to include this in our history?" Clara couldn't help but ask. She was as revolted as Emir by what she learned, but even more so by the ignorance she lived in her whole life.

"Perhaps to prevent curious minds from exploring the other world your kind had long since abandoned. For when one of the portals is to be opened once again, those who are left with a vengeance will finally be able to enter. But who knows? If you manage to escape from here, you can ask them yourself."

The master grinned. Emir gritted his teeth and said, "So you are saying that the hatred the other clans bore for our ancestors has been passed down to succeeding generations?"

The master nodded. "We ought not to forget, not unlike your ancestors who wanted to bury the stain, ignoring the fact that the past remained unsolved would haunt the future."

"Didn't the Blood Atts run rampant in the past and wreak havoc in Hiestora? That's the origin of the Dread's horror and the legends surrounding him. We were told a story about a fictional Dread who leads a band of rogues who take pleasure in killing. That story still scares children until this day," Clara said, shaking her head. She gulped. "It isn't just a legend, is it? I know it's not. But how did the Blood Atts arrive in Hiestora when their portal wasn't supposed to open? Or..." Clara gasped, eyes widening in horror. "Can it be? The Fyrians had been traitors ever since?"

The master threw his head back and laughed. Emir nearly threw a punch at the old man when Clara blocked him with her body. She shook her head and that stopped the prince from advancing further.

"Indeed, the portals shall only open in the presence of certain wielders. That is, Fyrians can only use the portal inside the mouth of Mount Katmai in the Tuneless realm, not the one that appears in the Caribbean sea for the Nivalonians to use." The master strolled over to their side. Clara and Emir stayed rooted on their spot as the master breathed down their necks. "But you see, this is where it all went wrong. The Guardian Deity took us lightly for blood is power itself. She knew of its capacity but trusted too much when she handed out powers to her comrades."

"Comrades?" Clara seconded, voice shaking.

"Oh? Another part of history that's manipulated. The Guardian Deity isn't some being who just magically appeared out of nowhere." The master clamped both hands on their shoulders. Now the three of them were neck in neck. He whispered to them, "Well, let me tell you a story. It is about a group of friends. Long story short, one of them stepped into something she shouldn't have and when a great source of power had been unleashed, she absorbed all of it. A mortal's body, so weak, wouldn't be able to contain it all. And to save her, her friends offered their bodies as a vessel and the girl shall put pieces of the One Magic in each of them."

"But don't the Sun and Moon magic make up the said One Magic?" said Emir.

"They gave the pieces of the One Magic to her friends except for the Sun and Moon," the master continued. "Unfortunately, there are no more people left to house the two remaining magic, so she kept it along with the magic of Creation. Still a ticking time bomb, she created herself a cage in the form of a golden palace where she would wait for her end." He paused and Clara felt her heart thump painfully for the mention of the golden palace brought a familiar image in her head.

"Unless someone or a pair that were strong enough would come along and own the two celestial powers," she said her thoughts out loud.

Emir shrugged the master's hand off his shoulder. He turned around and snarled. "What is it that you want? What now? You're going to open the portals just like how you did when you're not supposed to and let them in?"

The master hummed, nodding. "You're catching on quick, boy. Yes, we managed to arrive in this world even if the Guardian Deity forbade us to. Her powers had an extent, you see, for Creation and Blood are tied and she shouldn't have given either one up. We forcefully opened our portal and we shall do the same for the other clans."

"So that's your mission all along," Clara said. "What's that got to do with us?"

"The portals will only be visible when the sun and moon align and it shall happen sooner rather than later. I shall call it Project Eclipse."

"You'll force an eclipse?" Clara muttered under her breath and when the master nodded to confirm, her world stopped. Now she finally understood her part in this. "And I suppose you'll need the Sun and Moon wielder to do your bidding. You may have me, but there's no news of the Sun Att's whereabouts."

The master alternately looked at them. His shoulders shook in a soundless laugh as if sharing a joke with himself. And then with more understanding, as her head spun the clues laid out before her, her guess might have some truth in them.

She searched for his eyes to look for a sign that she might be wrong. They held each other's gaze for a moment and when the prince tore away, she knew.

Clara's heart sank. She might have done the art of deception, but she wasn't the only one who knew how. And that left a bitter taste in her mouth.