The whipping winds tossed Deet's braids as she walked across the frozen land. The cold should have penetrated her flesh, she should have struggled in agony against the blistering ice surrounding her, but there was no sense of feeling in her body. Not even the crystalised strands of hair beating her brow could shake her from the dread spreading through her body and shrouding her senses in darkness. Deet had no understanding of time, or space, or how far she had gone. The only thought she could form, the only word she muttered as she trudged on, was Rian.

Rian. Rian. Rian.

His name beat a bruise against her darkening chest, keeping the spread of sickness at bay. If she could walk a bit farther, go on until the edge of Thra swallowed her whole, then he would be safe. They would all be safe. Deet had sacrificed herself to the power of the Sanctuary Tree so that she might save those she loved, but now the choice seemed a cruel price to pay. Love and life were two gifts she would no longer have the opportunity to experience for herself. Now, there was only the chill of the wind and the name she could not forget.

A call came up in the wild, full of pain and warning, right above the rising mountain of ice Deet moved toward unfeeling. The part of her that remained, the part that still loved and cared for the life of Thra, looked up into the swirling winds to see what poor creature could be in such distress. She was still Deet, afterall. Still the girl with a heart that refused to turn away in the face of danger. No matter her hands rippled purple electricity into the ice as she stood to watch the strange flying creature struggling to stay afloat. It was as afflicted as the others; purple and bleating out for an escape from the rage. It's wings were as obscured by ice as the lashes on Deet's large eyes, causing it to sway and dip against the breeze as though it had been thrown into the sky with no knowledge of flight.

"CAW! CAAAAAW!" It wailed, slicing against itself.

Without a second's hesitation, Deet rushed to get under the creature to capture it from the sky. As though sensing her aid, the creature allowed itself to fall into her hands that were streaked in purple and ash.

"Poor thing," Deet muttered. She could hardly hear herself over the squalling of the ice winds. Thought the beast was nearly frozen through it fought against her, trying as it might to lash out and spread the darkening rippling across it's black feathery body. Deet closed her eyes, and focused on the face she would never forget, the smile that warmed her, and used what was left of her energy to give the animal a bit of peace. With a steadying breath she allowed the pain it felt to flow into her, she pulled out the poison coursing through it's tiny form. Unlike before, the ice-covered land she stood upon ignited around her, exploding in purple light that shot straight up into the gray sky, and illuminating Thra. Deet stood strong against the swirling tornado of cold air, gripping the beast to her chest until the Darkening was fully removed.

Suddenly, the world went quiet. The wind stopped and the snow ceased to fall. Deet had forgotten what she was doing until the now-happy creature bounced out of her hand and into the breeze, free to go back to it's own home once more. As the gaelstorm around her died down, Deet thought for a moment that she saw Rian, that he was right before her, reaching out a hand to bring her home. A home that could never be.

"Rian?" Deet called through the fog of the storm left behind. Then, she gave in to the call of rest and let the ice consume her.

Meanwhile in Ha'rar

There was never enough time in the day. Rian had never been one for reading, had never been allowed the time to explore the knowledge of ages past, but now his life was dedicated to learning. His experience as a warrior would come in handy now, on this new hunt. He stalked, crept, and dove into the books around him in the great library of Ha'rar. There had to be an answer, something Aughra hadn't thought to tell them, a discovery that could return Deet to him. They had never known about the Darkening, yet there were answers when they needed them. His own father had never revealed the history of the Dual Glave, yet the knowledge was just waiting to be discovered. If he could stay awake and continue looking, stay on the hunt, he would find a way to bring her back.

While others mourned for their fallen, Rian mourned a stolen future, a life doomed to solitude and loneliness without the one he loved. He thought it strange at first that he could care for someone so soon after losing Mira, but Deet was like no other he had ever met before. If Mira's essence lived on in Thra, he was certain she was happy such a bright light as Deet had entered his life. They would have got on well, he told himself when he dared to think about other roads his life might have taken. Perhaps he would have been happy below ground, exploring the Grottan caves she spoke of with such wonderment. He could have learned to love the darkness if it was as beautiful and full of life as Deet described. That future, he feared, was impossible now.

"No. Not impossible. I have to have hope," Rian muttered as he flipped through yet another book. The librarian had given up on trying to dissuade Rian from forgoing sleep and food to continue on with the ancient texts. The old man was certain there was no answer to be found in Ha'rar. But they hadn't known about Lore existing below their very feet, Rian had countered stubbornly. He would not give up, even after pleas from Brea, who loved books and learning more than most.

He was surrounded by stacks of scrolls and books that fluttered each time he sighed in frustration.

"Nothing! Nothing at all," He grumbled once more to himself after another night of searching in vain. He stifled another yawn against his hand and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes.

"Rian, you're still here?" Brea called from the doorway. She carried a stack of books that he gathered she had taken home to study on her own. Though she was not as obsessed as Rian, Deet was also determined to find a solution for her friend. She owed it to Deet to help, to deliver a happy ending to them both. She could only sigh when Rian shrugged and continued to press him.

"You aren't doing her any good working yourself to death, Rian. You have to rest so that you can look at these texts with fresh eyes. Sleepy eyes will miss something."

Rian stopped at this. Brea was the wisest Gelfling he knew, and the only one who actually enjoyed the studies of these texts. Perhaps there was some truth to her words. Sensing she might be getting through to him, Brea pressed on, setting her books down beside him on the already overly cluttered table. Rian sighed and dropped his head when he felt Brea's comforting hand upon his shoulder.

"You carry so much weight, Rian. For Deet, for Mira, for your father, for the rest of us. You have to give yourself a chance to heal so that we can be there for Deet when we find her." Brea spoke softly, without judgement and full of care. Rian had become her closest friend, especially since losing Tavra. They had been through so much that few would ever be able to understand. Watching him suffer had placed a heavy stone upon her heart.

"What if we can't find her? What if she's lost?" Rian muttered, terrified of speaking the words. He held onto hope so tightly in the days since letting Deet walk away. He had thought it better to let her go, but now feared he'd made the wrong choice. For a while, he could only hope that she would come back to him, but now he feared there would be no chance of a return. It was the fear that kept him going, the terror that waited behind his eyes when he dared sleep, the sinking knowledge that Deet was lost.

"We will, Rian. Deet is strong, stronger than all of us combined. That's why the Sanctuary Tree gave its power to her. It knew that of all the Gelflings, Deet could bear the burden. She isn't lost to us, Rian."

But before he could speak, a light shot out of the sky to the North, brilliant and terrifying! It was so powerful that it shook the foundations of the library, knocking books and scrolls from their high shelves onto the floor. Rian and Brea looked on in horror as the sky turned from blue to violet, ringed with smoke and lightning. No one went that far to the North, no one would.

Rian and Brea snapped their heads to one another and shrieked in tandem:

"DEET!"

In that moment, as he watched the sky twist into a dark version of what it had been, Rian made a fearless vow: against all odds, he would bring Deet back.