I start my online classes next week, but until then, I'm writing to my heart's content. :) I hope y'all are having a great start to the new school year! The next chapter is here!

*Donella's POV*

I retook my seat at the round cherry wood table, allowing the rest of the board of directors to process the information I had just delivered. The gathered wizards, sorcerers, and necromancers were all deep in thought, except for Seto, who was watching me from his seat to my right, brown eyes reading my expression. He was one of the only ones in the room I would count as my friend. We'd met fighting Mianite in the war. Mianite didn't care that sorcerers and wizards are totally different. In his eyes, all magic users had declared war on him with that failed assassination attempt. Strangely, Mianite actually brought the different magic disciplines together with his war. Upon catching my attention, he leaned over and whispered from inside his black and light grey hood, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I lied. He gave me a knowing look before returning to his own thoughts, leaving me with mine. They were invincible, and now they're gone.

I remained lost in thought until one of the older wizards cleared his throat. "We have all heard the report and now know what has happened to our missing wizards. The main question, it seems, is whether or not it is feasible to mount a rescue operation." The other members of the Board spoke back and forth on the topic, and the discussion quickly became heated. I'd already made my position clear; so I remained silent.

"They are our students; of course we should rescue them!"

"The worlds are too far apart to risk stranding even more of us on the other side."

"Since when do we leave apprentices trapped in a land where they'll be hunted down and tortured?"

"Would we even be able to get a team through to their side? Last time I checked, we couldn't get a message through, let alone a person."

"Rythian found a way to get back."

Finally, the talk quieted down. They seemed to have reached a majority decision. "Well then," the speaker from earlier concluded, "It is decided. Until a stable enough bridge can be formed, plans for a rescue operation will be put on hold."

"What!?" I exclaimed. I could not believe they would seriously consider abandoning the Fyre apprentices and Winter. I could see out of the corner of my eye that Seto disapproved of this decision as well.

"It is simply too dangerous risking the same fate as Waglington."

"Nothing worth doing is without risk! Or have you forgotten how I rescued you and your brother at the Battle of Red Sands?" I was standing and practically yelling at the Head of the Board now. I had personally saved his sorry rear when he'd walked into an ambush, though I'd been badly injured and lost an eye doing so. I still had the scars and the red eye to prove it.

The target of my anger looked away from my condemning eyes before saying with only a hint of apology, "I'm sorry, Donella, but this Board will not support any efforts to create a bridge spell prematurely. We need a stable connection."

I glared at those around the table who refused to meet my wrathful gaze or speak up against this unbelievable cowardice. "Fine, then. I'll go myself." I turned away from the ring of shocked faces and stormed out of the meeting hall, trying to contain my rage until the mahogany doors swung shut behind me.

Once out in the hallway, I teleported myself to my home in the arcane district of the city, not feeling like running into any more people tonight. I appeared in my private study surrounded by books and the scent of old leather. Akatena (Cherokee for "keen sighted"), my deer familiar stood a few feet away, waiting for me. She flicked one of her velvety ears at me, asking what had me so bothered. I looked into her soft brown doe eyes and sent a mental picture of the meeting and a strong sense of outrage her way. She stamped one of her front hooves in shared frustration and shook her head. She then turned and started heading for the hidden door to our basement.

"Good idea, Tena. They won't find me there, and I can blow off some steam in peace." I pressed a button hidden behind the edge of a bookshelf and watched the dark wood paneling of my floor retract to reveal a steep staircase that followed the wall down. The bottom steps were lit by a faint purple glow. I had found the best way to hide something from other wizards was to not use magic to hide it at all. Akatena trotted down the steps before me. As we reached the bottom, I could hear the floorboards click back into place above us.

Ah, my sanctum sanctorum, I thought as I looked around the small subterranean room lit by the same purple glow as the stairs. This place felt more like home than anywhere else in the city. The left wall housed a bookshelf with only a handful of tomes sitting on the top shelf, tomes too dangerous to leave where other eyes might see them. The writing on the spines varied from spindly and enticing to bold and sinister; the lettering of several glowed with a light of their own. The lowest shelves housed artifacts of various importance and potency, including a certain wand that fired exploding cattle. The shelf at eye level held my wand and sword. Both were polished to perfection and ready to use at a moment's notice.

Against the right wall sat a rough oak table and chair. An unlit lantern hung from the ceiling above the table. A bed of blankets sat in the corner under the stairway for Akatena when my studies ran longer than expected.

The far wall was the source of the glow permeating the room; it housed a nether portal. It would seem incredibly dangerous to the other wizards if they knew. We had done everything in our power and used every spell we knew to keep this city secret and beyond the reach of gods and mortals. I had taken precautions of my own. My nether portal was heavily enchanted to allow no one but myself and Akatena to use it.

Walking to the shelf, I strapped on my scabbard under my maroon coat and sheathed my carefully honed and enchanted diamond blade. I then pocketed my wand. Turning to face Akatena, I asked her mentally if she wanted to come with. She snorted and sent me an image of her pacing the house all evening, bored out of her mind. I laughed as we both stepped into the swirling portal.

The blast of superheated air that met me on the other side reminded me of my still seething rage. Pulling my sword from its undecorated sheath, I walked across the shelf of netherack we had appeared on and started heading for a run down fortress that I could barely make out through the heat haze. There is something more satisfying about slaying monsters with a blade than blasting them from afar with magic. Tena followed a step behind me. This fortress had been abandoned by Dianite and was now home to deserters from his army, mostly pigmen and the occasional wither skeleton. Dianite had gladly granted me permission shortly after we met to vent my rage here whenever I needed to. That had been the beginning of our friendship.

I lost myself in the rhythm of slaughter I'd grown so accustomed to in the war and slowly felt my anger drain away as I dodged, parried, and struck. I was aware that Dianite had shown up at some point during my rampage, but I didn't stop until there wasn't a living thing left in the fortress aside from one small magma cube hiding in a corner. I left the creature alone; it wasn't intelligent enough to have been here by choice. I cleaned my blade on a tattered curtain hanging from one of the fortress's windows and walked back out of the dark brick structure to find Dianite scratching Akatena's ear while he waited for me.

"Anyone you want me to smite?" Dianite asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk as his glowing red eyes met mine.

I chuckled, in a much better mood now. "Thank you for the offer, but I had something else in mind for that favor you owe me." Dianite owed me big time for reviving him. I'd finally found the spell to do it a few weeks ago in a book of magic that was... frowned upon. I had done it because of our friendship, as well as to keep Mianite from getting cocky. I wasn't a fool; I'd made sure Dianite understood that trying the all out war tactic again wouldn't work. He would play the long game and gain influence through more subtle means this time. Who knew that being killed by his own champion and being forced to live as a spirit for nearly a decade would teach Dianite some wisdom and self control?

"Oh? Do tell," He said, intrigued. He snapped his fingers and made 2 walnut chairs appear. We sat down while Akatena went to graze on some mushrooms growing a short distance away. "This is a bigger request than fixing your eye, isn't it?" He concluded after eyeing me carefully. He had repaired my ruined eye, though it now had a red iris that matched Dianite's.

I sighed. "Yes. How much do you know about portals and sending someone between dimensions?" I decided to cut to the chase.

Dianite frowned. "Enough to know they are temperamental and difficult to control. My sister has more experience with them than I do," He admitted grudgingly. I had not gotten to meet Ianite since her return, but I did know that the two siblings were still on rocky terms after Dianite held her prisoner for a couple centuries. "Has this world really gotten so dull that you want to leave?" Dianite asked, feigning hurt.

I gave Dianite a sly grin. "I'd never dream of leaving permanently. I have a group of fledgling wizards to rescue; the Board has given up on them without even trying." I couldn't help the bitterness that crept into my voice, remembering the meeting I'd just stormed out of. "I never should have saved that fool," I said while absentmindedly rubbing the skin under my red eye. I never thought I'd regret saving a fellow wizard.

"I pity the wizard that made you this angry," Dianite commented, looking over my shoulder at the now lifeless fortress. "I hope you never find reason to regret bringing me back."

"I hope it'll never come to that too."

Dianite seemed to be steeling himself up to do something he really didn't want to do. "I'll contact my sister and try to arrange a meeting, though we may have to offer to go to the End for her to even agree to it." I nodded my gratitude and consent. Dianite crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a face of concentration. A few minutes later, his eyes shot open, and he stood with a grin of accomplishment. I mentally called Akatena back over to us, sensing that we would likely be teleporting to wherever the meeting was.

Once she'd rejoined us, I rested a hand on her neck, and I felt Dianite set a warm hand on my shoulder before the familiar sensation of falling that always came with a teleport. We reappeared in a colorful, but uninhabited land. "Aethoria," I heard Dianite whisper before he released my shoulder and added, "Stay away from the edge; we're floating above the void." He seemed a little tense; then I remembered that this was where he had been killed. Clever, Ianite. I could appreciate good negotiating tactics when I saw them.

We had not walked far under the featureless black sky when a female voice greeted us, "Brother, I did not think to see you back here so soon." A woman with a purple dress and a regal bearing walked out from behind a tree and turned to face us, revealing violet eyes. "And who is this? She doesn't feel like a follower of yours." I stood my ground under Ianite's scrutiny. Her gaze caught on my eyes.

"Sister, this is Donella Hart. She is a friend of mine and the powerful mage that stopped Mianite's war on wizards while you were... indisposed." He said the last part carefully. He didn't want to mess up my chances with Ianite, even if he still disliked her. "She needs to cross dimensions to save a group of stranded wizards and is requesting assistance."

Ianite looked at me with even greater interest before asking, "Would this be the group of wizards known as Fyre?"

"Yes, Lady Ianite." I decided to err on the side of formality in hopes of not offending her.

Ianite looked off into the distance for a moment before saying more. "Hmm... The dimension they went to is quite distant from ours at the moment. I can see why you would need help." She turned her purple eyes back to me before asking, "You know the risks?"

I nodded solemnly. "If you can help me and Akatena get there alive, I'll find my own way back. It is rather urgent that I get there soon. They are being hunted."

Ianite nodded, though she seemed deep in thought. "It would take a lot of power to establish a link," she said to herself. Finally she looked up to lock eyes with her brother. They had an unspoken conversation before breaking their eyes away from each other. Ianite turned to me and said, "Since you aided in maintaining the balance of the world in my absence—whether you intended to or not—I will grant you your request. I will need my brother's help though. Neither of us has enough power alone for such a feat." After pausing for a moment, she added, "If by chance, you run into a man named Sparklez, tell him I sent you, and he'll help you find your friends."

Ianite walked away to prepare whatever ritual would be needed. Once she was gone, Dianite turned to me and put both of his red hands on my shoulders. I looked up at him questioningly. "Sister suggested I give you a charm of protection for the trip, just in case something doesn't go according to plan. Now hold still," He said smoothly as his eyes started to glow more brightly.

I obeyed, and a few seconds later, it felt like my skin was on fire, but in a good way. I also felt a wave of power transfer from Dianite. What are you doing? That's more than a protection charm! I mentally shouted at Dianite with my eyes wide, though I tried not to move as I did so. Interrupting a transfer of this much power could have disastrous results, but I was concerned about him giving me that much. He still hadn't regained his full strength after I revived him.

You haven't regained your full strength either. Have you forgotten that ritual to revive me nearly killed you? Don't worry about me; I spent more energy than this healing you after you brought me back. And you're the one about to go through the void. Now stop fidgeting, He countered. Knowing there was no point arguing with him once his mind was made up, I tried to hold still.

Dianite finally stopped when he sensed I had as much as I could handle, but he kept a hold on my shoulders to steady me as I adjusted. I felt like I might explode with the amount he'd given me, but the feeling slowly subsided. "Come on; Ianite has everything set up," He said, releasing my shoulders and walking down the path Ianite had taken.

Ianite stood waiting for us on the grassy edge of a cliff overlooking the void. Oh, that's how I'm going. I don't know what exactly I expected, but it wasn't jumping into the void. I banished the slight fear that crept into the back of my mind and focused on my destination as I approached the cliff with my familiar.

I glanced to the two gods to make sure they were ready. They both nodded and started concentrating. Looking back to the void beneath us, I could see something stirring. "Go now!" Dianite said through clenched teeth.

I pulled Akatena to my chest tightly—thankfully pampas deer are rather small—and took a deep breath. I jumped, sending Dianite one last message before blacking out, I'll be back.

Is Donella secretly the Terminator? O.o XD

Stuff's getting ready to go down. Are y'all ready for it?