Thea felt the pain like none other, the pain from the many wizards dying in the Waterrealm. The news arrived a day ago, when people, Water Elves and many other beings from the Waterrealm streamed through the streets of the capital.

She knew that the threat had arrived, but it was far more than the darkness many had described before -- it was pure evil. Waterrealm was a nice place, the last time Thea visited Waterrealm the waters were still blue, and the underwater cities sparkled with dim lights illuminating the depths of the ocean. Now, it was but a desolate wasteland, a place where the darkness reigns.

"Master Thea," Gwyndale knocked on the door and opened it, and he and Sermorph walked in, "We came to ask for your permission."

"What permission?" Thea stood and asked.

"With your permission, we can seal all portals to this realm, and it would take time for the darkness to enter into this realm--"

"You have my permission, but do not forget how powerful the darkness-- or I would prefer to call it the evil-- is now. Building a portal across two realms is simply too simple to them. But I agree for it would still buy us time," Thea nodded.

"Excellent," Gwyndale smiled and produced a reddish orb from his tunic pocket, and spoke into it, "Shut all portals to the Waterrealm, now."

"Yes, Grand Master Gwyndale," A voice emanated from the orb, and Gwyndale kept the orb into the tunic pocket, "The command has been made, we are safe for the time being."

"But I thought we had forgotten about something," Sermorph spoke, "About a week ago, I sent Ar-Qosh on a mission to the Edge--"

"You too?" Gwyndale turned abruptly.

"What do you mean by that?" Sermorph asked quizzically, "You mean... you also sent someone to the Edge? Who are they?"

"Um... Demphin and Felros are their names," Gwyndale revealed, "And I sent them there because, um..."

"Because?" Sermorph prompted.

"At first I thought Gurzuk is used by you dark wizards, so I sent them to save the stars from you," Gwyndale said.

The atmosphere was tense for a moment, before Thea sighed, "Please, masters, squabbling over this is just childish, let's focus back on the three disciples."

"Yes, from what I was saying," Sermorph coughed, "They are our only hope now. I could not locate Ar-Qosh's presence since a few days ago, and either that they have reached the Edge and they are too far out I could not sense their presence, or... they have died along the way."

"I trust them," Gwyndale spoke, "I know that I chose Demphin and Felros for they shall never yield even in the deadliest of circumstances, and I am sure that was the reason you chose him. But for now, our battle strategy against the darkness is of utmost importance. What is our strategy?"