"Hawky. Please, wake up."

He could hear the voice, kind and gentle yet tinged with regret. His clouded mind recognised the pull of sleep but his need to search for the voice was too great. He could hear the scatterings of conversation, feel the cool cloak of shade protecting him from the unrelenting heat, his body temperature changing from boiling hot to a low chill of frost.

"Oh Laia's light, this is all my fault. Come on, boyo. I need you to stay with me."

The rustling of movement was all he could hear above the interchanging voices, the shade no longer calming but bracing, searing against his skin. Slowly the haze of darkness began to lift, the need to awaken a sharp bolt of clarity in his mind as the strings of endless warmth caused him to jerk awake ever so slowly.

"Wisp?" he said, raspy from the effort as he called for his companion.

Hawkins opened his eyes a fraction to find he was surrounded by darkness. He reached out to touch it, it shifted a little, shivering at the sudden sensation before moving upwards like a black curtain. A large scaly head poked his chest as the Agar he had been hoping for was nowhere to be seen. His heart sank just as his lack of memory attacked his system, causing him to breathe out in short, painful huffs.

"No, no. It's OK, it's OK. It's just me. It's Odi, remember?"

Hawkins shook his head, tugging at his jacket which was thankfully around his shoulders as he tried to shield himself from the thought of such a revelation. It was not his Agar. Wisp was gone.

"What-what's going on?" he burst out at last, his eyes clamped shut in terror.

Odi's smile soon turned to concern as she tried to muffle her coughing with her claw, knowing full well of the situation he was stressed about. The worry lines began to form as she slowly allowed Hawkins out of her embrace despite her struggling against the ache of her back.

"Don't worry, Hawkins. Everything is alright now."

He shuffled uncomfortably, his face now red with colour, his expression marred by too many emotions to comprehend. He sat with a dragon that was not his partner, a sheer fountain of knowledge against an uncertain path of lies as if nothing at all was wrong. Hawkins lay within the protection of the doubly reinforced barricade, the main structure of the walls jutting out like fragments of wings and modeled stone.

"What do you mean? What happened? Where...where am I? Where's...where's Wisp? Where's my Agar?" Hawkins demanded, his mind a mess of questions only to be cut short.

Hack hugged the disorientated Mediator with all his might, the Sand Wraith's scales shivering as it remained a morose grey. He was visibly upset, his scales shedding onto the trusty grey long coat his late father had gifted him before his passing. Hack had done his best to fill the role but the grouchy Mediator had never shown more concern than he did now.

"I thought-I thought I'd lost you, boyo. I was so worried that...without Wisp you'd end up like me and I...I couldn't cope." Hack said, his voice quivering as he wouldn't let go of the Smoke Traited.

Hawkins smiled, staying quiet while he allowed Hack to process how he felt for the first time in a long time before breaking free of his ironclad grip. The Sand Wraith hid his face with his claws as he sniffed, leaning gently against Odi's powerful side, careful to avoid her outstretched wings.

Hawkins shuffled next to him, everything hurting but he was grateful for the shade caused by Odi's wingspan. It was still very sore for her to move but now the sun had gone down a little, Thea had recommended that she kept them open as soon as Hawkins woke up to get used to them again.

"I'm sorry, Hack. I don't remember what happened. I just felt really angry, angry at you, angry at myself and angry at my stupid Trait!"

A flicker of smoke came into view before extinguishing as quickly as it came. Hack smiled tiredly, gently poking him in the shoulder. Hawkins couldn't help but laugh, the concentration on the Sand Wraith's face was reminiscent of when he used to tease him when he was younger. Hack leaned back, contentedly before recalling Hawkins words and decided to put in his two cents on the situation.

"Yeah. I know what you mean. I hated my Trait too for a long time. Less so now but still happens on occasion. Without you and Rush I doubt I would have lasted as long as I have and even now I think about what would've happened had I not..."

Hack's voice faded, trailing off as his eyes closed shut, a myriad of emotions. He drew his knees up gently towards himself, deadly aware of his cursed foot. Hawkins didn't know how to react, he hadn't heard Hack speak about his past before in all of the time he knew him. The fact he was willing to do so now meant a great deal to both of them.

"Rush? Is that your Agar? You never mentioned them before." Hawkins said, keeping his voice quiet.

Hack was surprised, his eyes wide as he searched his brain for recollections of his Agar.

"Really? I'm sure I...no, you were probably too young when you met him. He's still in Hellspire probably, you've heard of the Moving Mountains of Araacrosta?"

Hawkins coughed on his own breath, stunned by Hack's casual efforts of mentioning such an important detail. He had assumed Hack had took refuge in Beggars End before Shuriken's destruction like many others of his kind. They had been allowed access to the Undercity through the hidden tunnels underneath leading to the Labyrinth created by a renowned Tinker Mole inventor called Leaff. She had not only segregated Opalis by lowering her Undercity creation into lower territory but had allowed her people to thrive underneath it undetected until the Gadgeteers guild made itself known.

"But that's ages away! That's near the edge of Caldor!"

Hack was unfazed, recalling how he had travelled through the Labyrinth once he had almost died in the Araacrostan desert. The Labyrinth was how the unwanted now travelled to and from Opalis and beyond but the Throneholder had outlawed its usage to Opalis and forced many Caldorian refugees to pay to go above ground to border checks or risk being caught below by the Excelliar allianced forces.

Who knew how long those from Nocturus survived such a feat but they were lucky enough to avoid the Excelliars, for the time being.

The Gadgeteers guild may have been independent but they needed the backing of the Excelliars to manufacture and distribute their inventions. Creating new tunnels wasn't an option when they were constantly found by Copperback and Rockerfella dragons. Eventually they'd run out of options and have no choice but to pick a side. For now, they chose both.

"Aye. It's where I'm from and it's where I grew up for a little while. Rush is my nephew. He's an Earth Traited like me." Hack said simply, as if commenting on the weather and not telling him a deeply private matter.

Hawkins took the time to process such a basic statement, only just realising that the word 'nephew' meant he had family. Other siblings, parents, grandparents, who knows how many people he had in his life and Hack simply said nothing all this time. So why now? Hawkins had never felt it was OK for him to ask whether he had family or friends or even siblings. Their relationship was complicated and Hack wasn't really the type to talk about his feelings but maybe now was a good time to start.

"So...why did you stay in Beggars End? Helmspire is the home of the Sand Wraiths so why did you leave? Hawkins said hesitantly, trying not to press for answers.

As soon as he saw Hack's reaction, he knew he had stepped on a sensitive subject. Hack avoided his gaze, his scales turning from grey to red as his awkwardness fed into Hawkins' mood.

"I just felt...it was time to move on and see the rest of the world. I'm a Traited after all so why wouldn't I go to the centre of it? Anyways, after the Divide went up I was already an experienced Mediator with an upstart apprentice to look after. I have a life here." He said neutrally, avoiding the question as best he could.

But he couldn't fool Odi. She growled at his statement, her scales shuddering in anger as the two Mediators jolted forwards. It took a while for Hawkins to decode Hack's awkward explanation but it simply proved that he hid behind his words. Just like he did. Hack obviously didn't want to share his past and perhaps a lot of things hadn't been discussed with him yet but maybe Hack has his reasons for doing so.

It caused him a lot of pain just to talk about his nephew, his family, his Agar he hadn't seen in years. How much did he have to suffer to hold everything in like he did? How long could a Sand Wraith last before his past caught up to him? Regardless, Hack had shared more than he ever did in all the time Hawkins knew him. That meant he trust him enough to listen and to confide in him when he was ready. It reminded Hawkins of himself, his own Trait and how he felt about the relationship between his Agar or even others. But despite how content he felt, he still had to try. For Hack's sake.

"You'd never want to go back, not even to see your nephew?"

Hack jaw clenched shut, his scales shaking as if remembering far too much at once. Pain seemed to spread around his entire body as if experiencing a highly concentrated Lockbind. He couldn't say anything more even if he wanted to, his pride was always his downfall. Hawkins watched as Hack was the picture of defeat, his head sagging lowly.

"No. Rush...Rusherby is better off without me."

Hawkins heart hurt at the sound of Hack's quiet refusal, Odi's shock reminiscent of his own a few moments ago. Their eyes met as Odi snaked her head gently around him as Hawking grabbed his shoulder and side hugged him.

Hack couldn't help but laugh, letting the two idiots hold onto him in a vice grip. Hack was about to say something in retaliation but was cut off by a constant tapping of feet. Mantis' fuzzy outline came into view, looking displeased as ever but Hawkins pounding headache seemed to get louder with every glance at the irritated Enforcer.

"We don't have time to dwell on this namby pamby stuff any longer. We need to make a decision on creating a Triad before the sun sets." Mantis said bluntly, feeling slightly sympathetic towards the Sand Wraith as she gave him a nonchalant shrug.

Hawkins raised an eyebrow, letting go of Hack and sat quietly. He was surprised by Mantis' interruption but wasn't angered by it. His Trait was strangely calm beside Odi, almost sluggish or bored towards the situation. The Enforcers had every right to voice their concerns especially if it meant there was a time crunch on a debate Hawkins himself had suggested long before he had lost control of his anger.

Rin sighed, putting down the book she was writing in for a moment. The charcoal pencil rolled onto the floor as she slowly picked it up, her Trait flaring in annoyance. Hawkins mouth formed into an 'o' of surprise, realising he could see her Trait protecting her like the glow of a Sentry, a young Mediator apprentice. It was a continuous aura of brown flaring into molten fragments of red only to switch back again as she settled. Hawkins wasn't sure whether anyone else could see it since their reactions were subdued at best but it was a nice sight to see such an improvement.

"True. Who knows what kind of Truants might be lurking around after dark." Rin said nervously, as if she knew from experience what could lurk within the depths of the Axis alleyways.

Hawkins winced as the sudden memory of a wide open maw of flame blasting through an entire street of houses. The Overtaken had been incredibly powerful compared to a normal Truant. For one thing, Truants could no longer process Trait. The remains of their grimoire were embedded within their chest like a forgotten emblem. Those who were Agared had the luxury of breaking free from such a torment but those who chose to stay, Oathed or not recieved a sickening fate.

They were absorbed by their partner.

Dragons, nymphs, Trollians and more had succumbed to the fate of Truancy, to be used as a last resort, a fateful encounter of remaining their partners only sustainable fuel source. It acted as a temporary battery with enough incentive to fuel their bloodlust to hunt. Those feral Truant eventually lost their ability to speak, to think and were driven by only one word.

Trait.

Much like the stories of old that depicted demons as grimoire stealing monsters, these Truants preferred much similar methods. They wanted Trait that didn't overflow or trickle out uselessly. Trait that could thrive again and restored what remained of their selfless Agar and sacrilegious acts of those tormented by the transformation a Truant overtook. An Overtaken was inevitable without a cure to save those tainted by their own Truancy and in the years that caused the Truants to emerge, ten years later they were no closer to that dream.

Hawkins forced himself to concentrate on the debate in front of him, grateful they were much closer to reaching an agreement than he had first realised. Rin had written down a lot of notes and had taken up his placeholding while he had been unconscious. Now they had reorganised the seating to cluster towards Odi who was now the main speaker trying to keep everyone on the straight and narrow without them trying to kill each other.

"OK. Either we try and make a Triad or we come up with something else, fast. Let's take a vote. Mantis?" Odi said, deciding to speed things up by delegating the next person to speak without warning.

Mantis almost choked on her own tongue, shocked that Odi would choose her to speak first. She had challenged the Scale Shrieker at every turn but had failed to get a rise out of her. Hawkins let out a snicker under his breath, making the still solemn Sand Wraith crack a smile at the Enforcers utter bemusement.

It had taken a few minutes for the Mediator to adjust but his mind slowly caught up with the discussion. This vote determined whether or not a very old technique, a Triad would be attempted and who would decide to undergo such a thing. The suspicions around Triads were valid but it was important to know what everyone felt on the matter. Mantis was no exception to that.

Hawkins blinked, his vision still hazy from his dizzy spell while his dry throat craved something stronger than water. He searched through his pockets, surprised at how empty they were and struggled to recall when he had done such a thing. Odi's words about a vote echoed in his mind, sending a wave of nausea through his system. Hawkins lurched, his head aching with snippets of broken discussions and pieced together scenes he never experienced.

He tugged at his brazenly sheared hair, blackened by soot and dirt while the verdict was made from a voice he didn't know. His heart dropped at the sight of a familiar, blazing flame demanding his innocence, his eyes tinged with a stormy blue. A flash of light broke through his hopeless frame, sending him spiralling into a fit of pain, a seizure of fury and chilling consequences.

A child stood in his place, the same brazen hair, the same eyes but with unrelenting conviction he knew didn't come naturally. The child changed in a blink of an eye, a young adult in their place but still a reckless streak in her eyes. He knew it. Yet he denied it. He forced himself to until he forgot and couldn't forgive anymore.

Hawkins stared at the flame he had relied on to bring him strength dimmed against the harsh light only to be locked away in a glass cage. A glass cage of endless repetition, unrelenting until the child stood in his place once again. A smile just like Cricket's, protected by savage darkness until a flash of burning light changed her age for the last time. The reminder of the ash covered ground brought his headache to a grinding halt, his grinding teeth doing nothing to alert Hack to any distress.

"I vote no. I don't trust old Trait techniques. It's too dangerous." Mantis said with finality, folding her arms for good measure.

Hawkins remembered those words like it was yesterday. But he hadn't been the one to say them. He lay back against Odi, attempting to drown out his senses, only half listening to the conversation while his mind wandered beyond his imagination.

The flickering light came back into view, goading him forwards towards a scene of two figures, one tall and lean while the other was short and stocky. He watched alone as a bystander, their rage palpable even from his smoke like form.

It was like he was trapped in an eternal Transference, an out of body experience while his mind's eye flitted between realities in tandem. The underground forest barricaded in towering walls of packed earth melted into the abandoned streets of endless smog and animated debates on a single topic.

The tall one was angry, spouting the very sentence that had brought Hawkins here with abundant fury. It was a Sand Wraith. A heavily injured one who demanded to be heard. Streaks of light and scars of scarlet were hastily wrapped with bandages bleeding with more than red. The black scaled Sand Wraith slammed his foot down despite the short ones warning, sending a torrent of rock descending onto them both.

The smaller figure did not move, spoke quietly to the Sand Wraith despite the rockfall and gripped a hewn staff tightly. It was Tinker Mole, blind not by nature and allowed the rocks to fall where they may. The young Sand Wraith watched in awe as the Tinker Mole swayed with the earth, avoiding every blast from the unruly Trait.

The weaving movement became more erratic as Blaize and Hazard's play fighting broke Hawkins out of his daydream. He tutted, resisting the urge to lie back and forget all about the debate until this random dream was over.

The two wolves began to scorch the earth, sending them both sprawling to the ground. Brother and sister were entangled in a mess of tawny brown limbs once again, yowling and nipping at each others flanks. With a small growl of disapproval Odi had silenced their roughhousing at once, the two grinning devilishly before providing her with an answer.

"I don't care as long as I get a good heads up on what's happening. Neutral vote." Hazard exclaimed gruffly, whacking his sister with his tail, causing the barricade to shake.

Pebbles rolled off the side of the barricade, Odi struggling to shake them off her injured. Hawkins eyes widened, his smoke swarming the fray of rock with abject fear to stop them from tumbling down. The smoke soon settled along the barricade, shrouding it in a layer of protective Trait before Odi began to speak.

"We need to know whether this is still an option. We won't know if we try. I vote we go for it." her soothing voice calming his Trait a bit more.

The verdict of the Triad merging with such a strange dream made him want to shut his eyes but he couldn't stop himself from watching either intertwining scene play out. He didn't know how or why this was happening but lucid dreaming from over exhaustion wasn't uncommon for him. But this? This felt different. His body was weightless as he succumbed to his urge to sleep and took in every detail before closing his eyes to finish this crazy hallucination.

The Sand Wraith was as stubborn as they came, continuing to challenge the Tinker Mole day after day despite their obvious differences. He clawed at his injuries yet would not be healed until the blind but wise Tinker Mole agreed with him no matter how false his words. He fell to his knees, the lies he had been told now no more than a bad dream as the Tinker Mole healed him in more ways than one.

Until they arrived.

Out of the smoke, the flames and the night the Sand Wraiths past soon caught up with him. A past he knew wasn't his fault but blamed him all the same. He had once vowed to fight, to protect but in his state he could not. The Sand Wraith clung to what hope he had, the scars of bleeding light that stained his back could not be healed by vengeance and spite. So he ran. He fled away from his destiny towards a sun drenched night until he reached the end.

The end of his dead comrades.

The Sand Wraith wept among the fallen, the corpses of his fellow men until he found her. His healer. The blind Tinker Mole. The Sand Wraith broke down at the sight of her, her fur sheared and scarred alongside her eyes peering up into a broken horizon. She was pinned onto the rocks he created to shelter them, her staff stuck half broken was the only thing holding her weight. The bond they had shared now shattered as their grimoires unravelled under the weight of his grief, his Triad now alone in the world.

The Sand Wraith lowered the barricade, a macabre reminder of what his kind was capable of. He cradled the Tinker Mole gently, blood staining his scales as her shallow breathing burned a hole in his chest. She spoke in a quiet lilt, quelling his anger just enough to help him think. She gave him a longing smile and the Sand Wraith accepted his fate, lowering her towards the earth for the last time. He would do as he was told. He would never forget. He would never forgive his kind for what they had done and they would never forgive him for being a creature of the Traited.

The smoke surrounded Hawkins senses in a torrent of clarity, jolting him awake as the voice of a ghost called out before being silenced by a familiar voice. He broke out into a cold sweat, his greasy hair plastered to his head as he tried to mask his shock long enough to allow Hack to finish speaking.

"I say we try the Triad. Been too long sittin' around without having anything to show for it."

Hawkins heart plummeted as his eyes fell upon the familiar form of his mentor. He hadn't noticed the thin white scars hidden by his deep purple scales. He hadn't noticed how Hack kept one arm by his side as if reaching for something below him, constantly tight to his chest as if expecting a fight. He hadn't even noticed the ridge in his nose, nicked from countless battles Hawkins couldn't bear to think about.

Those weren't just the bearings of an average Mediator. Those were the bearings of a warrior with nothing left to lose.

Even the way he fidgeted with his claws reminded Hawkins of the Tinker Moles, how he favoured his right leg to his left even before it was cursed because of how he had trained with her. He knew her left side was weaker. Of course he knew. For a Triad was made when one another trusted each other completely, faults and all.

They had spoken before about the Gadgeteers guild, full of Tinker Moles thriving both above and underground yet Hack had never introduced him to a single one. How could he? He had taken the blame for countless losses. It was no wonder he lived away from the main compound. He had abandoned her, not because he wanted to but because she asked him to.

"Looks like it's down to you, Hawkins. We currently have two people on board, one against and three partners indifferent." Odi said, calling out the current standings.

Hawkins noted how the Scale Shrieker had forgotten about Rin while she kept a tally. Thankfully she didn't take it to heart, her aura remaining a neutral tone as she gave him a fleeting grin and the gazes of the others shifted over to him. The Mediator took a long, deep breath and took his time to decide.

The visions, no memories he had experienced had given him a whole new light on the situation. It showed him how foolish he had been to suggest that Trait would fix everything. He had seen what Trait had done to Hack, the Tinker Moles and even the other Sand Wraiths. Who knew what it had done to Mantis, to Rin to even Cricket and what a more powerful, much more dangerous Triad could do to people he never thought he'd get along with. Hawkins didn't want to risk that. Not anymore.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but I agree with Mantis. I think creating a Triad is a bad idea." Hawkins admitted, his thoughts only half compiled into a coherent string of thoughts.

Hack raised an eyebrow, saying nothing but his eyes betrayed his worry for the Smoke Traited. The two Firesteps were unfazed, more concerned with staying near their partners and providing warmth to Cull. Mantis was too busy staring at Odi angrily, annoyed that her Agar had chosen to sleep beside the dragon. Her eyes continued to be drawn to Rin who was currently scanning over her notes, scratching Hazard behind his flaming ears, sending sparks soaring in all directions.

Hawkins winced. He couldn't help but think of the hellflame that arose within the dream, thousands of demons ambushing the Tinker Moles, Hack fighting his own kind who had somehow summoned them all to raze his home to the ground. The Sand Wraiths had betrayed him and so had his Triad. His Agar may have been a Sand Wraith but his heart would always belong to a Tinker Mole.

"Why?" Odi asked, genuinely surprised along with the majority of the others.

Hawkins couldn't say it. If he did, then he would be admitting it. If he admitted it than it meant Hack and Odi had known all along. That they had lied to save him from himself. But he knew. He had known ever since Wisp had ran off and started this crazy chain of events. Seeing Hack's memories had only confirmed it.

He knew his own limit. He knew that no matter how strong his resolve was it was nothing compared to the strength of his Trait. But he could continue to play along until they were all safe. The Enforcers didn't have to know. Hack and Odi seemed to have it handled. He hoped he could do the same. Hawkins knew couldn't lie to himself any longer.

Memoriam had formed a Triad with his grimoire.