"That's enough of your interruptions." The instructor rubbed her temple while glaring to the back of the room at Yael. He of course only smiled smugly, shaking his shoulders.

"Just got excited." He tells her, throwing me a wink.

He'd just got excited at least four times already in the three sentences the instructor has been able to get out. Though I don't think I can blame him. Wingslyn sounds amazing, from what I've been able to hear.

"As I was saying, Wingslyn is a realm of spectacular color, medium in size. In contrast to Drako Realm, it is full of light. They have three suns, and two moons that are always present. The three suns represent the three loves of their God creator, Rollenth. They were Demi that Rollenth fell in love with, only to have his heart broken by each one. The two moons, one purple, and one red, represent his two sides. He is known as the God of two faces. One side of him is kind, full of life and joy, while the other is constantly pensive, seeking to wreak havoc and sew distrust through mischief." The instructor takes a sip of her water and I can feel Yael fidgeting in the chair beside me, eager for her to go on. "Just as Rollenth has two sides, his creations do too." I sat up a little straighter in my seat, intrigued. "The people of Wingslyn are split down the middle, Fairyfae, and Fairlings. They are at constant odds with one another. The Fairyfae, with their purple eyes and translucent purple skin, are generally kind, happy," She pauses, glancing up at Yael. "If a little too excitable, they are good. Their abilities include creating light, reading energies, and in some cases the power to heal or communicate with plant and animal life."

I gasp quietly, turning my eyes on Yael who is beaming like it's his birthing day.

"I'm kind of awesome." He whispers and shrugs.

"The Fairlings are red eyed, like their moon, and are pretty much the polar opposite of their Fairyfae counterparts. They are mischievous, deceitful, and distrusting to the Fairyfae, but within their own communities, it is them that are most talented in music. They love within their own kind and are capable of creating tricky visions, storm clouds, and voices in the heads of their foe to confuse them." I scan the room, looking for the boy who'd introduced himself as a Fairling in the auditorium, but it's more like he finds me. He's already glaring this way, but it turns out it isn't at me but at Yael. I may not know him well, but I still feel protective over him and I glare back at the other boy until he glares those red eyes someplace else. "Wingsyln is one of the most versatile realms and one most depicted in art and song throughout all realms. Their skies are constantly filled with rainbows, and their plants bloom flowers year round as purple and red streams cut across the hilly lands."

"No wonder you don't like it here." I whisper to Yael. "I wish I could see it."

And I do. More than I should. According to Oliver, I'm basically going to be here all the time until the realms people try to kill each other again. I don't want to just hear about these fantastical places, I want to see them. I've been in the dirt my whole life, believing that's all there was, but now my eyes are opened to the other worlds and I just want the chance to experience them.

I want to go to the hills of the Caster lands and see what their villages are like. I want to see their capitol city and smell what a Rosumbloom smells like. I want to see them make objects move with the sweep of their hands.

Even Drako, the realm of Drinkers. I can't imagine a world where there is no day or plants. A place where super strong and fast things drink the blood from the weaker race. Even a place like that, that granted, I may not want to stay too long, sounds like something I want to see for myself.

"I wish I could show it to you." He whispers back, nearly leaning his head onto my shoulder. "I think you'd like it."

I nod. "I think so too." Not that I'll ever know.

"Next up are the Demons and the Shiftlings."

Two boys and one girl in the front row throw back their heads and make a howling noise like some kind of deranged animal.

"Shiftlings." The instructor raises her eyebrows at them. "The Shiftlings are from Wesburrow. The fifth realm." The three Newbs clap each other on the backs. "Wesburrow is a realm of long stretches of forests with streams and lakes that hold many different species of wildlife. Wesburrow's waters and forests are home to more unique species than what exists on any other realm, including this one, but what really makes them special, is that every single species it houses, can transform itself into any other creature it has seen before." The instructor moves towards the group and puts a hand onto one of the boy's broad shoulders. "That means, Phantrm here could go from this form, into my form, or into the form of a fish or a bird. Just as a fish or a bird could shift into his form." I'm sure my mouth is hanging open. My mind can't imagine it. It just can't. "The only catch is that they can only stay in a new form for a few hours before a forced shift back into their born form. Likely because of the mutual respect between all of the species, Wesburrow is the most harmonic of all realms."

"We should get a shiftling friend."

I smile back over at Yael. "Good idea." I nod.

I think back to the dirty smell of the fish markets back in the Ring. I'd gutted many fish in my short years, but never had I once even considered what it must be like to be the fish.

"And finally we come to Demons, and their realm naturally named Hell, after it's Goddess of creation, Hellena." The instructor smiles, but I must be missing the joke.

"Hail Hellena." I just barely hear Noah whisper in the row before me.

"Hell was the last realm for many thousands of years before the Demi created this one." The instructor explained. "Some of you may or may not have been passed down tales of Hell. It's said to be a place of unending pain, sorrow, and despair. In some realms there were fables, particularly in Utopia, that said any who do not seek the God's approval in their lives will live out their eternity in constant turmoil and tortured for the rest of time in Hell." She tilts her head and sighs. "In reality, from time to time, there have been those who went so directly against the Gods that they were in fact disgraced and sent to Hell, but this hasn't happened in thousands of years." She shrugs it off and moves on.

I don't remember every hearing of Hell, but there were whispers sometimes in the market about how our souls were dammed in the Ring. This was usually heard from the patrols.

"Hellena created her realm after being inspired by the Drinkers of Drako, and the Fairlings of Wingslyn. Hell is eternally dark like Drako. The land is sharp and jagged, covered with both deep carnivorous valleys and high reaching arched mountains. Fires burn and shadow like creatures wander the lands, crying out as they move over the burning coals. Demons stand guard over their shadow creatures. Their forms are not different from this," She spans her hand out towards us all. "They cannot be burned and tales say that they can see into your soul and know your fears, but no Demon has ever denied or confirmed that part. They are both physically faster and stronger than Drinkers, but rarely have a reason to use those talents."

"There are a some two hundred or so souls cursed there, and the Demons spend their lifespans guarding them and the shadow creatures. Demons are the single most secretive and least understood of all of the creatures of the realms. Unless you are one, we do not know why they guard the souls and shadows or what their purpose in life is. They are known to sometimes be cruel, but not always. They are reclusive and quiet, making them a mystery to the rest of us, which is why they are often times feared."

"Um, yeah, that sounds a bit scary." Yael whispers and I elbow him hard in the ribs, hoping that Noah hadn't overheard him. If she did though she doesn't react.

"So that's us." The instructor says, looking around the room. "We are Casters, Drinkers, Utopians, Fairies, Shifters, and Demons, but we must leave these titles behind and become something new. Something unified. We must become Custodes." She checks the small clock on her wrist and sighs, clapping her hands once. "That's it for today. Tomorrow we will talk about how these six types have been integrated into this realm, and then we learn about the Humans." She grins at the end, then dismisses us.

I stay put, watching each of the figures before me standing, walking, and talking with each other. Some are easy to pick out. Fairies have retained their colored retinas, making them at least a little distinguishable. The others though, the yellow eyes or the pale versus dark skins, they were harder to figure out. I wanted to imagine seeing them all in their real forms. I wondered absently if one of them was actually a fish that now got to have a neutral form all the time now. And Noah was still a total mystery to me.

"Aren't you coming?" Yael snaps me out of it, standing in front of me, looking down at me impatiently. "You know I don't know how to find my way back to the Mess hall, and I'm famished."

"You're helpless."

"Am not," He holds out a hand. "I'm very capable of being helped, and that's what I hope you're about to do."

All of this new information bouncing around in my head makes me feel a little in over my head, but then I remember my run in with Oliver. Find me later and I'll explain, he'd said.

I took Yael's hand, letting him pull me up out of my seat.

"Look how strong I am." He chuckles, holding his arms up and flexing the muscles. "It may not be easy to get comfy in this thing but it is still pretty cool." He shrugs.

We follow the crow out into the hallway, just following the bustle the right way.

"So did you get a whole new body?" I ask, scrunching up my face.

Yael grins, patting my head. "You're so cute." He says. "I did, but not all that different really." He shrugs his shoulders. "I still mostly look like me, but we're smaller in Wingslyn. I'd have been a little shorter and thinner than you, and my skin was a shiny pale purple and my hair grew in silver and green shades, not this dull brown stuff." He tugs a section of his short hair. "I was frailer than this too. I'm all beefy and strong now. And my voice is deep." He touches his hand to his neck.

"That's amazing." I say honestly, trying to picture his high cheekbones and strong jaw looking frail and small. It was pretty impossible. "I just looked like this...but dirtier."

Yael laughs loudly, but then stills. "I'm sorry." He turns to me with wide purple eyes. "I didn't mean to be offensive."

"You weren't." I assure him.

He sighs, holding the door to the Mess Hall open for me and the two girls behind us.

"Good," He winks. "Because you're my bestie and I'd be lost without you...like literally. I'd be lost." He looks around the room, scanning his eyes over the rows and rows of tables lined on either side with stools. "Oh," He jumps a little, pointing. "There's Pearl."

"Whose Pearl?"

"Don't be jealous, but I got directions...well, an escort earlier from her. I think she's good. We're going to be friends with her." He nods his head in finality, like picking a friend is just that easy. "Pearl!" He saves and a skinny pale girl with eyes so blue they're breathtaking from across the room tentatively waves back. "Let's sit with her."

I start to follow but then I spot a mess of red hair in the line for food.

"I'll find you." I tell Yael and he follows my eyes.

He makes a noise, but doesn't stop smiling. "Friend of yours?" I nod and he grins harder. "Ok, don't leave me too long though." He leans down to my ear. "Don't let Pearl know, but you're way better at finding things." He laughs to himself and goes to her table.

When I look back to Oliver he is already looking at me.

I walk over to the side of the room, grabbing a tray and then I jump in line right behind him. "Hey,"

"Hey," He looks down at me. "How was class?"

"Informative."

He narrows his blue eyes at me and quirks an eyebrow. "As it should have been."

I shrug, done with the small talk. "It's later." I inform him.

He looks back at me while a woman shoves a pile of rice and gravy onto his plate and then mine. His brows furrow and I groan. "You said to find you later..." I remind him impatiently. "And it's later."

His eyes shift from me to his plate then back with a smile. "I kind of meant later like tonight or sometime."

"I'm not busy right now." I smile.

He laughs a little and then shakes his head. "Follow me."

He just leaves his tray right there on the line and walks towards the back exit. Without knowing what else to do, I do the same, muttering an apology to the people behind me.

He holds the door open, looking back into the Mess hall after I'm out in the narrow hallway with him before he closes it behind us and leans against the wall.

"I shouldn't be telling you this."

His body is rigid, his eyes intent on mine. "But you are?" I ask carefully.

He purses his lips and narrows his eyes slightly. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Why?" He asks, looking at me like I'm insane.

I open my hands at my sides. "I mean, I don't know, I guess I just do." I remember the first time I saw him, though I was more distracted by the necklace he was selling than by him, I still connect him with being the one who led me to the necklace and being the one who convinced me not only to come back and talk to the rest of my group, but to come into the Hub. "You haven't given me a reason not to."

He lowers his head, considering this, then looks back to me. "You need a better reason than that." He mutters, but then looks away. "You can't tell anyone, and I mean anyone, about this if I tell you." He looks up and down the hall. "It could get you and me both in a whole lot of trouble."

"I won't tell." I promise, moving closer.

He looks down into my eyes and half smiles. "I know." He nods. "But maybe you should."

"Huh?"

He puts a hand to his head and frowns. "I don't think I should be telling you. It's against pretty much every rule we have and is technically going against the Gods too. We could end up in Hell for it."

I know that was meant to scare me, but it didn't. I wanted to know about all of the places I'd learned about today. Purple moons, lakes of fire, and talking fish. Saying I'd get sent to one of those places wasn't a threat to me. "Just tell me, Oliver." I demand.

He sighs then. "You know how I told you we don't leave here unless we are going to take care of a disturbance, or you're lucky enough to go to retrieve a Newb?" He asks and I nod. "Well...I kind of...Well, I kind of stole a talisman a year ago." I widen my eyes, but nod for him to go on. "I've been to them all."

My jaw drops. "The realms?"

"Yes." He says, looking around again. "You can't say anything, but...well, Malikah it's indescribable. Each realm is so different and scarily amazing."

My heart is beating fast under my necklace and I hold my hand to it. "Can you take me?"

I hold my breath while he locks his jaw and purses his lips again. "I shouldn't."

"But you will?" I ask, reaching out for his hands. "Please, Oliver, just once, I only want to see it all one time and then I'll be fine with staying here forever. I just want to see it. I want to know it's all real."

His hand is smooth in mine and I squeeze it a little tighter. I can tell he's not sure, going back and forth in his head. I see the unease in his eyes, but then it's gone. He smiles finally, a small, still careful smile, but a smile. "Only a few people know about it. Realm hopping is completely illegal, and we can't do it anytime soon because it wasn't that long ago that I hopped to Wingslyn and we have to be careful not to be detected. After a week or so if you still want to risk it, I will take you with me."

I barely hear the illegal part, only focusing on the he'll take me part.

"You mean it?" I hop on the balls of my feet. "You will?"

He laughs a little at me, and nods. "I will. But only when it's safe." He turns fully to me then and I'm a little caught up in how handsome he is for a second. "Now get back in there and act normal. You don't want to tip anyone off."

I nod and smile, rushing back into the Mess hall and rushing to get another plate while acting like I didn't just get the best news ever.

I, Malikah, of the Ring, will not only be inducted into this incredible army of Custodes, but I will also get to see the other realms with my actual eyes. I'm easily reminded about the warning Tawny always used to give when I was smaller.

Only trust what you can see.

She used to tell me that all the time after I lost two coins to a man who told me he had shoes he could sell me. I gave him the coins and he said he'd bring them to me the next day but I never saw him again. Tawny scolded me as she hugged me while I cried. "Only trust what you can see." She said. "Words are easy. Anyone can say they will do something or that something is true, but unless you see the proof yourself, you never give away your trust."

I've already seen some pretty fantastical things, so it isn't that much of a stretch of my imagination that all of the things the Custodes tell me are true too, but I want to see to be sure. I want to see the things that fill my mind now, and Oliver says he will.

I'll trust him when I see it.

And I'll trust this place when I see the proof.

I know I shouldn't do anything to get into trouble, but I just want this one thing so bad. One little detour on the road to being the perfect Peace keeping Custode couldn't hurt too much, right?