At one point, Rogh became strong enough again to go up on earth surface and challenge the Order.

But he did not go up and attack the Order.

Instead he went up to the surface in the cloak of darkness and in complete silence and secrecy.

Using his strength of magic, he turned himself to be a handsome young man, named himself Damian and for some time worked as a farmhand in a farmland closest to where the invisible castle was.

Damian spied on Evinia, the beautiful and kind-hearted daughter of Gearan and Sylve that loved to spend time among human beings, enjoying their markets, food, games, laughter. She was a powerful sorceress herself, but did not see that as an advantage. She loved being ordinary, and her love and purity of heart made her popular among the children in the villages, the animals, and the men who wanted her to be their wife.

Sylve and Gearan of course loved their daughter so much, they could never be angry at her for sneaking out of the scarlet fence to live and experience the richness of life outside. They turned a blind eye and let their daughter enjoy living her life outside the fence with one condition: Evinia had to go back to the castle before sunset.

Damian set up his plan to meet and charm Evinia. He used a dash of magic, a lot of subtle persuasion, manipulation, and sweet nothings to finally get Evinia to fall in love with him.

Evinia fell hard for Damian. Her pure heart knew only love and kindness, and she gave it all to Damian.

After a few months of backstreet relationship, Evinia brought Damian to see her parents.

Both Sylve and Gearan did not see through the mask that Rogh was wearing—they did not even guess in their wildest imagination that Rogh would come with so much charm instead of with the drums of war. They were just happy that their precious only child had found a good man, and were even prepared to let Evinia live part of her life in the human world.

Rogh's patience paid off. Sylve and Gearan approver Damian's relationship with Evinia, and the two were wedded in a simple ceremony in the garden of the castle.

Damian was allowed to live in the castle, and he helped out as a gardener there.

Rogh was patient, he knew he needed more at stake to make sure his plan work.

He lived in a domestic bliss with Evinia and his in-laws in the castle.

The time came for him when Evinia got pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy named Arran.

After Arran was born, he turned back to be Rogh and took his wife and newborn child hostage. His demand was clear: The Order had to surrender to him and let him take control of the castle so he could destroy it and open the chasm completely so that his demon followers could go out from the abyss to earth surface.

As planned, Nerra, Rogh's second-in-command, came up to earth too. Only Rogh and Nerra that were powerful enough to go up to the earth surface without the chasm opening for them. Their sorcery was strong.

Sylve and Gearan fought Rogh and Nerra while their followers whisked Evinia and baby Arran to safety.

Gearan died from the injuries inflicted on him by Nerra.

Nerra came to attack Sylve too, and while Sylve was busy with Nerra, Rogh escaped and killed some followers of Sylve who were protecting Evinia and baby Arran. It was then between Evinia and Rogh.

With newborn Arran in her embrace, Evinia fought courageously against her demon husband.

Humiliated and heartbroken by the betrayal of the only man she had ever loved and her body weakened after childbirth, Evinia was wounded.

In another battle, Nerra was badly wounded by Sylve and pretended to be dead while Sylve hurried away to help Evinia fight Rogh. In her fury, Sylve beat Rogh, grabbed immora from him, threw him back into the abyss, while the half-dead Nerra was accidentally shut out of the abyss and decided to run away to hide and heal.

Evinia was so weak that she knew she could not survive the night. Her heart cried in sorrow when she saw the black tattoo of the jagged line, a symbol of the chasm, appeared on Arran's left temple to his left jaw. A reminder that he was the son of the demon. With the last drop of her strength and sorcery, she created the silver necklace with the sun pendant—pouring all her kindness, purity, and love that she would never get a chance to pour into her son's life into it.

She let Arran wear the necklace, and gave this message to the grieving Sylve:

"Mother, I know you will now drink the immortality potion to keep your fight with Rogh. I am sorry that I die tonight, I am sorry that I cannot continue our Order's legacy. But Arran, Arran is innocent. Please let him drink the immortality potion too when he turns an adult. Please let him stay here."

Evinia coughed up fresh blood and the end drew nearer for her. "The necklace is not for Arran. It is for someone who will become his light, his love in the future. It is a symbol of a marriage, of a wedding. That person and the necklace will protect Arran with so much love that Rogh can never get to him. Rogh will never get to claim Arran as his follower as long as love fills Arran's heart and life."

Evinia whispered her goodbye to her son, hugging baby Arran, kissing his cheek, whispering how much she loved him over and over again until she ran out of strength. Then she turned to Sylve, and whispered,"I love you, Mother. I am sorry for all this. Goodbye."

Evinia died with fresh warm tears that wet her cheek, and Sylve plunged into her own abyss of grief after losing both her husband and her daughter in one night.

<<<>>>

"Parts of me died that night too, along with my love Gearan and Evinia. I lost my trust in love for some time. I hate Arran, but I also love him. I do not know how to treat him right," Sylve sighed with sadness in her voice. "The necklace, Evinia's first and last gift to her son, protected Arran. I let him roam in forest and villages around here because I trust the protection that Evinia gave her son. Now he married you, let you have his necklace, he is without protection. Rogh could easily get to him. I have to chain him and put an enchanted wall around him."

Charlotte fought to catch her breath. Her hand grasped the sun pendant, and she finally realized the gravity of the sacrifice that Arran had done for her.

Her legs shivered as waves of emotions overpowered her. She fell on her knees.

"Go back to your room, Charlotte. Stay there."

Something about what Sylve had just said—Charlotte was not sure what exactly, the tone, the choice of words, the coldness, or the patronizing way, but it got to her.

Something snapped within her.

She clenched her fist, looked up, stood up, and stared unblinked at Sylve. "You. You let your grandson, my husband, off the chain. Now."

"You are crazy. I cannot do that. He is a taboo, the untouchable, a half-demon being."

"Call me whatever, Sylve. I don't care. But listen to this: You have treated the only family you have with such humiliation. His father is Rogh, but who are you to decide for sure what he will become? His mother is your daughter, your angelic daughter. Doesn't her blood within him mean something?" Charlotte trembled in her effort to suppress anger that bubbled within her like magma in the depth of a volcano, ready to erupt.

Sylve caught her gaze and maintained it, and Charlotte refused to back down.

"Charlotte, do not challenge Sylve—" Arran warned her.

She turned around to look at her husband. His blue eyes worn down by worry and exhaustion, and Charlotte mouthed a voiceless,"I will be alright."

Arran stared at her, straightened his back, even though he did not say anything back, Charlotte knew she had his support.

She turned to face Sylve again. "Sylve, I thank you for your help to me. But this-chaining Arran, is not right. What has he done wrong? You cannot punish him for who his father is, for the sins of his father! Who his father is does not decide who he is or who he will be."

Sylve's face grew stiff, her lips quivered. "I have seen way too many destruction caused by Rogh. I will do my duty, my oath to protect this place against Rogh even though that would mean I must chain my own grandson!" The quiver of Sylve's lips became more intense as first tears rolled down her cheek. "I do not have any choice, Charlotte. If I could choose, I do not want to live this long without my love Gearan. But I have to live to protect this green earth from Rogh. I never had any choice. My oath as the leader of the Order has become my prison, my curse."

Charlotte bit her lips, and replied,"You have a choice, Sylve. You have a choice to trust Evinia and her blood within Arran. You have a choice to trust that the good side of Arran is stronger than his demon side."

Sylve did not respond. Her frail body bowed and her eyes shut tight like she was thinking hard.

"I have an idea," Charlotte spoke in a slow and sure manner. She thought about it. It should work.

Sylve lifted up her head and looked at Charlotte with curiosity.

"Take off the chain from Arran, let him live with me in the gardener cottage. You can surround that cottage with your-your magic wall. I will take turn with him wearing the necklace. He has the blood of Rogh within him, I have immora within me. We both need the necklace."

"Charlotte, that is not going to be enough for you to withstand the influence of immora!" Arran protested in shock at her idea.

Charlotte turned to him, nodded. "It will be enough. It has to be. I will not take the necklace all for myself while you also need it. It is too selfish." Charlotte sighed, and continued,"I cannot do that to you, Arran. Be selfish."

She turned back to Sylve. "So? Good idea?"

Sylve was quiet for some time, her eyes looked at some invisible point up on the sky. Finally the old sorceress inhaled a deep breath, and exhaled it, and she nodded without any word.

<<<>>>

Sylve set up her magical wall around the cottage once Arran and Charlotte moved in.

Charlotte stopped by her room and grabbed her slingbag with all its content before Sylve set up the wall. Her most precious possession. Something to remember her life before immora, something she could look forward to having again once immora, not sure how, got out of her.

Then it was just her and Arran standing face to face in the cottage.

Arran was sheepish, he could not look at her straight for more than a few seconds. Though he looked around his small cottage and said,"Treat this place like your own, Charlotte. I do not have much here, but what you see is yours to use. You can sleep on my bed. I sleep on the floor."

Charlotte nodded her agreement. Arran was her husband, but not that kind of husband. He was an emergency husband.

Then Arran went to the side of the wall where his weapons were. He took one small knife, and extended it to Charlotte.

"What for?" Charlotte tilted her head.

"Please take it, Charlotte. Keep it close to you always."

"What for, Arran?"

"Just in case I-I turn to be-to be like Rogh. Just in case I lose the battle of maintaining the goodness in me. Stab me with it, straight to the heart."

"I will not."

"Yes you will have to."

"No."

"Charlotte, I cannot live with you here unless I know you have at least something to protect yourself against me."

"Arran, we are taking turn wearing the necklace. You will not turn to be like Rogh."

"Please, Charlotte. Take this knife."

Charlotte sighed, Arran's eyes pleaded her to take the knife. Those magnificent blue eyes that had captured her heart and never really released it anymore.

She hated weapon, never ever thought about carrying one, but this time she would do it. For Arran's peace of mind. She extended her right hand, and took the knife.