"I've been hearing her voice," Daenna confided, pulling her knees up to her chest where she rested her cheek and looked over at Yrsa. "But not all the time." She knew Jaspel, who was like a mother to them both, was missing from the tribe, and everyone assumed she was dead. But Daenna still held onto hope that she was alive, but Yrsa's reluctance to discuss Jaspel at all was foreboding. 

Before her disappearance, Jaspel had held the esteemed title of Sultana within their tribe. Her presence commanded respect, and her decisions shaped the fate of her people. However, when Daenna ran away, Jaspel vanished too, leaving the tribe in a state of uncertainty. It was Yrsa, determined and capable, who stepped up to fill the void left by Jaspel's absence. Though initially daunted by the weight of leadership, Yrsa swiftly grew into her role as Sultana, proving her mettle and dedication to her tribe. 

Yrsa's head finally popped up off her sleeping mat inside their tent. They had both just settled in after a long day of training. Yrsa knew her way around the blades but they spent most of the afternoon and evening practicing the art of Stillness. She met the young girl's desperate eyes with her own. "Sometimes I think I hear her too. I think she helped me find you." 

"How? What did she say?"

"It's not something she said really, I had a dream about the Journeyman, when I woke, I knew just where you'd be." It didn't make much sense to her, but spending her life with Jaspel and the things she'd been taught had been pretty unbelievable too. Yrsa was told long ago of Daenna's fate, she was almost 20 years her senior, she had much more time to get used to the idea of her sister becoming the Phoenix, let alone knowing Jaspel was her predecessor.  How could she explain what it meant to be Primordial to this young girl without completely terrifying her? She wanted to prepare her, but make her stronger, more fierce, not afraid. She wished Jaspel was still here too.

"I think it's her. What does it mean?" Daenna extended her legs and sat up straighter, anxious for any kind of answer.

"It mean's you are truly resurrected?" Yrsa explained what she could.

"Resurrected?" Daenna crossed her legs and leaned in closer with her elbows perched on her knees.

"Yes, it means to revive a part of your soul magic that has remained dormant, until now."

Daenna sat silently for a moment, taking in her sister's words, until finally she asked, "I don't understand how you know all this?"

"I told you, Jaspel told me, before she left, that one day your ancient blood would ignite your powers."

"Ancient? But I haven't been alive for centuries."

"The Phoenix has. For more than that. Since the beginning, all Primordials have come and gone several times." Yrsa knew the details of Deanna's transformation and where it may lead her only from what she had learned from Jaspel. Jaspel had raised Yrsa, just as she had raised Daenna. Yrsa thought of Daenna as a little sister, someone whom she needed to protect but also someone she needed to guide. Though teaching Daenna to control her every emotion, because any of them could set off her power over certain chemical elements, would prove most difficult.

"Daenna, I want you to know you've been doing very well in your training. Not once today did I see panic in your eyes. I think it may be time to test your reserve. But you must be aware of something before we do."

Daenna stiffened and held her breath. She wasn't sure what Yrsa meant, but it didn't sound good. "What is it?"

"You are the Phoenix because you have control over certain elements in the air, just as Jaspel did before you were born. When they combine, you create fire. But you must know, those same elements can be used in different ways. You can do much more than you think."

"I can?"

"Yes, but it is very dangerous." Yrsa saw the panic begin to build behind Daenna's eyes again. "I will speak no more of it until you have better control. I'm not even fully aware of how your power works, I can only help you control your mind, your thoughts. When you are able to will the flame, we can begin to explore your other talents."

"Talents?"

"Yes, you should have many, albi." Yrsa reached out to stroke the girls hair, remembering her as a child.

"Why did Jaspel never tell me any of this? Why did she let me leave?"

For a split second, Yrsa scowled, then calmed her features. "If I remember correctly, you sneaked off in the middle of the night!" 

Daenna lowered her eyes, remembering how she had meticulously planned her getaway. Of course Jaspel wouldn't haven let her leave. "Maybe if I knew about this... this Primordial business, things would have been different. Maybe Jaspel would still be here."

"Yes, very different! You'd most likely be dead, not Jaspel. And your leaving didn't kill her. "

"But why!? And how do you know for certain she is dead?"

"Deanna, I know you've always had a hard time trusting me, but trust me in this now. You were sent to us for a reason. You being back now only confirms it. We must work together to..."

Screams cut Yrsa's words short. Terrified screams. Yrsa bolted up onto her feet. "Stay put," she ordered as she lifted the tent flap and scanned the camp. She couldn't see anything amiss, but it was too dark. The camp torches only lit so much of the path ahead and the screams had originated somewhere west of them.

She disappeared into the darkness and left Daenna alone in the tent.

Be ready.

It was the voice inside her head again.

"Who are you?" Daenna asked breathlessly as the screaming outside intensified. No one answered. She heard shouting over the wailing, orders from Yrsa to free the horses and run. Had the Journeymen found them? Should she be running too? No, she had been told to stay put, Yrsa would be back for her. But something wasn't right. The air felt thicker somehow, like she was breathing in vapor. 

Deanna stood up and peeked outside the tent. She thought of running again. This was too much! Why was she the one chosen for this? "Yrsa!"she screamed into the night air. She heard the woman yelling to the west, telling people to hurry, to head through the forest, to the canyon. 

For a moment there was nothing but the sound of feet scampering about outside the tent. Daenna waited. The tent flapped in a soft breeze and smacked the pole that held it over and over again. Should she run? Had Yrsa left? Panic welled just below the surface of her emotions. It smoldered. The skin on her arms began to tingle and her fingers went numb.

No. No. No. She thought.

Be Ready . The voice commanded.

"Be ready for what?" Daenna squealed.

She spun around when she smelled it. What looked to her as smoke began to fill her small tent. Though it hadn't the burning smell she had come to know. It smelled acrid, like the dead cat she'd found and buried as a child, only ten times worse. She pulled her hands up to her face to cover the smell and realized that her fingertips were set aflame. She squeezed her fists as tight as she could and bolted from the tent as the smoke rose and began to take a shape.

As Daenna blasted through the camp she ran directly into Yrsa who had been on her way back to get the girl. Out of breath and ragged she grabbed and hugged Daenna, then quickly pushed her away and then shoved her in the other direction, towards the forest.

"What's going on?" Daenna demanded, trying to sound more angry than afraid.

"We've got to lead them away and get to safety. Let's go!" Yrsa seemed calm but she was more scared to death of losing Daenna again than what was behind them. 

"Lead who away? The Journeyman?" Daenna persisted. She didn't like being ordered around though she was glad to have Yrsa to guide her. But being kept in the dark about anything was enough to get her temper flaring. She squeezed her fists harder and felt her ears burst into flames.

Yrsa was quick to notice. "Not yet, albi, but soon. Now we run. We run from the dead. There is no time to waste!"

They ran on foot, as the horses had been set free before the fumes got to them, and most ran in the same direction. Daenna could see people ahead and behind her. Some faces hard and determined, others petrified and afraid for their loved ones. They ran together, trying their hardest not to look back, to see the dead take shape, to watch them morph into the draugar that now pursued them. The Soulless.