Well, I've finally finished writing this first chapter - it took so much longer than I thought! I would strongly recommend that you read Bound and Broken before this, if you haven't read it already, because a few things might not make sense otherwise.

This takes place about 1000 years after Bound and Broken.

Astarael watched the Ferenk sink slowly down into the earth, becoming nothing more than mud and stone, and then looked around. That was the last one in the area, as far as she could see. Her work here was done, for now, and she was glad of it. Imprisoning so many Free Magic creatures always made her feel guilty, no matter how many times she reminded herself that they had all been given the chance to serve the Charter and that it was not her fault that they had refused and then proceeded to wreak havoc upon the areas in which they lived. Millennia ago she had promised herself that she would carry out her duties as this world's protector properly, and she had no intention of breaking that promise again.

She shouldn't have broken it in the first place, she thought to herself, as that all-too-familiar feeling of guilt rose in her once again. It had been almost a thousand years since Orannis had been bound and, although no-one had spoken of that day since the hemispheres that imprisoned the Destroyer had been buried near the Red Lake, Astarael thought about it almost constantly: what she had done, and what she should have done instead. She knew she couldn't be the only one who thought that she should have wielded the sword and broken Orannis; that she should have given up her life to protect her world.

'It should have been me...' she whispered, leaning back against a tree and feeling the inevitable tears begin to well up in her eyes again. That thought, and the terrible guilt that accompanied it, never left her and often made her break down in tears. When that happened, any Free Magic creatures she had been pursuing would take that chance to slip away from her and warn any others of their species that were nearby. Astarael had heard what some of them had said. 'Weeper,' they called her now.

Yrael did nothing to improve her mood either. Mostly, he deliberately avoided her, and on the few occasions that Astarael saw him, he would only speak to her when it was absolutely necessary. Astarael could not bear the way he constantly glared at her and sarcastically addressed her as 'mistress,' so she eventually stopped calling on him all together. He probably preferred it like that, anyway.

She tried not to think of Yrael as she flew back to the mountains in the form of a small, grey moth. Instead, she tried to concentrate on the land beneath her and her connection with every living thing there. As she flew over a human town, she felt one life end and, at the same time, another life begin. She felt these things several times each day, but she still experienced a small stab of sadness for every life that ended and a sense of joy for every one that began. Sometimes, she would not to return to her mountain home for days on end, choosing to enjoy the peace she felt as she flew over her world instead. Just the tiniest memory of how close she had come to losing it, all those years ago, made her feel sick with shame.

Astarael alighted just outside the passage that led deep into the mountains, resumed her human form, and leant against the mountainside, trying once again to rid herself of that overwhelming guilt. She stared down at the silver bracelet on her wrist, hoping to find some comfort from the Charter marks that swarmed all over the metal, but she found none. The Charter marks were not there. They had simply vanished, and the bracelet was now just plain silver.

Another tear rolled down Astarael's cheek. This was not the first time the Charter marks had disappeared like that. It had been happening ever more frequently over the past thousand years, and Astarael was not surprised to find that they had gone again. She looked up from the bracelet and concentrated on trying to reach the Charter, even though she knew it would be useless: every time the Charter marks on her bracelet disappeared it felt as if the entire Charter had gone too, as if it no longer existed, and it left an empty feeling inside her.

She had never told anyone about this. Not even Kibeth, with whom she had once shared everything. It would only make them hate her more, she reminded herself, whenever she was tempted to tell someone. They would not understand; Astarael barely understood it herself. She knew it had started when Orannis had tried to sever her from the Charter, only moments before he had been bound. He had not managed to completely separate her from it, but Astarael knew that part of her was no longer a part of the Charter. If she told anyone, she would be permanently separating herself from them, and she didn't want that to happen. It was her secret, and that was how it would stay.

Sighing, she turned and started down the steps, into the mountain, trying not to notice that the Charter marks in the stone disappeared when she passed by them, and then reappeared once she had gone. She hated having to keep such a big thing secret, but she felt that she had no choice. She was not the only one to have kept an important secret, she knew, her mind unexpectedly recalling the moment when Mosrael had revealed a secret of her own.

* * * * * *

It had been only a few days since the hemispheres had been buried, and Astarael had shut herself away in her private room to hide the disappearance of the Charter marks on her bracelet. They had returned only a short time after they had vanished then, and she had just decided to leave her room. Dyrim, Mosrael, Kibeth and Belgaer were speaking quietly to each other in Dyrim's room. Ranna was, predictably, not with them. She had not left her room since she had returned to the mountains after the binding. She had been very close to Saraneth, and it was generally acknowledged that she need some time alone. As she neared Dyrim's private room, Astarael had overheard part of their conversation.

'It would not have made any difference,' Mosrael was saying softly. 'Even if we had done the binding when we first knew the Destroyer was here, she still would have died.'

'You can't know that,' Belgaer answered.

'It was her choice,' Mosrael continued carefully. 'She knew what would happen to her as soon as she had finished creating the binding spell we used.'

'How do you know?' Dyrim asked, her voice unusually quiet. 'She never gave even the slightest hint–'

'I knew what would happen as well,' Mosrael interrupted softly, staring at the floor. Dyrim, Kibeth and Belgaer all stared at her.

'You knew?' Dyrim whispered disbelievingly. 'How?'

'I... It is a little hard to explain,' Mosrael answered, frowning slightly. 'It was shortly before Astarael brought Yrael to us. I was coming up with a few more Charter marks when I... I don't know exactly what happened, but it felt as though I was dreaming. I started seeing all of us, performing the binding spell, and then I saw her using the sword and I... I saw what happened to her.

'The vision, or whatever it was, worried me so I started heading back towards my room. On my way, I passed her room and I saw her sitting on her bed. She looked upset about something, and so I asked her if she was alright. Of course, she told me that everything was fine, but then I told her about my vision and she went quiet and told me that, if everything went according to her plan when we bound the Destroyer, that was exactly what should happen.'

'Why did you not tell us?' Kibeth asked, still staring at Mosrael in shock.

Mosrael sighed sadly. 'She made me promise not to tell anyone else what I knew. I told her that you should know, to save you some of the shock if nothing else, but she was set on keeping it a complete secret. She also made me swear to stop anyone helping her once she had begun the breaking. I suppose she had guessed that Ranna would try and do something. I wanted to tell you, but I had no choice. You know what she's... what she was like.'

* * * * * *

Astarael sighed sadly and continued towards her room. Every now and again, she looked down at her bracelet to see if the Charter marks had reappeared, but they had not. She crossed the narrow stone bridge over the Ratterlin, and lightly touched the door at the end of it. For a moment, she wondered whether it would open for her; the Charter spell imbedded in the door might vanish as she touched it, but it did not. She felt the door recognise her, although it did not seem a particularly friendly recognition anymore, and then it swung open. Astarael walked through it, and then it slammed shut behind her, sending a gust of wind blowing through her long, raven hair. She took a deep breath to stop any more tears from falling, and in that breath, she caught the unmistakeable, fragrant scent of rosemary. It washed over her completely, even as she tried to work out where the scent was coming from. She had gotten rid of that sprig of rosemary, hadn't she?

Clearly, she realised, she had not. And why should she? After all, it was hers. A tiny part of her started calling to her, telling her to stop thinking about it. She knew what would happen next; it had happened before, the last time she had smelt the rosemary, and she didn't want it to happen again. She walked swiftly across the chamber and spoke the Free Magic spell that revealed the doorway. Then, she passed through the door quickly and started towards her private room. She could hear the others talking to each other in another room, but she didn't stop to listen to what they were saying. They would be creating more Charter marks and spells, Astarael knew, although she could see no reason for it. There were far too many stupid Charter marks already in existence.

Stop it, part of her said. Stop it, and go and tell one of them what is happening to you. But why should she? None of them would bother listening to her. They hated her. They no longer cared about what she did or how she felt. They were all wrapped up in their little bubble of Charter magic, from which they were deliberately excluding her. Orannis hadn't been like that. He had cared about her, and wanted her to be with him. Now he was gone, and it was because of them. Them, and their stupid Charter...

'Stop it!' she whispered to herself, shaking her head to try and clear her head, but it didn't work. The scent of rosemary was clouding her mind, as it had before. She started running towards the door of her room, trying to ignore the thoughts that were passing through her head. She shouldn't be thinking like this. It was wrong and she knew it, but she couldn't help it.

'Astarael!' Kibeth called from the end of the passageway. 'You're back! Why don't you come and join us?'

Don't answer her, Astarael thought to herself. You don't know what you'll end up saying. Don't answer.

'Astarael?' Kibeth had run after her and caught up, and she now stood directly in front of her.

'Leave me alone, Kibeth,' Astarael mumbled, not trusting herself to say anything more. Without looking at Kibeth, she tried to push past.

Kibeth laughed and stepped closer to her. 'You always want to be on your own. We are making more Charter marks at the moment. Come and be with us for once, and help us make them. Belgaer has thought of some more that we haven't made yet, and we think we will have finished it once they are done.'

'Why would I want to do that?' Astarael asked harshly.

Kibeth picked up on the tone in Astarael's voice and her smile faltered. 'Are you alright?' she asked, looking genuinely concerned.

'Of course I am!' Astarael snapped.

'Then why won't you–'

'Because I don't want to,' Astarael said shortly. Belatedly, she noticed that, as Kibeth had walked towards her, she had been walking backwards, and now she was just outside the room that Kibeth had emerged from. She could see Ranna, Belgaer, Dyrim and Mosrael in the room. They all saw her at the same time and smiled, but Astarael didn't see that. All she could see was the non-existent hate in their eyes. They didn't want her there. They never had. Orannis had been the only one who had wanted her.

'What don't you want to do?' Dyrim asked, gesturing for Astarael to enter the room.

'She says she doesn't want to help us finish off the Charter,' Kibeth answered, before Astarael could respond.

Astarael gave a short laugh. 'I do not want to help you finish the thing that imprisoned the one being who actually loved me.'

Silence greeted her words. They all stared at Astarael in the same way a group of humans would stare at someone who had suddenly sprouted an extra head.

'Please, say you did not mean that,' Kibeth said softly.

Astarael stared at her steadily. 'I meant every word of it.'

'Surely, you can't still...' Dyrim began. Then she looked at Astarael's expression. 'How can you? After everything that happened?'

'I know,' Astarael answered sharply. 'How can I stand looking at you? Any of you. I don't know why I ever listened to you.'

'You don't know what you're saying,' Belgaer said, trying to stay calm. 'You are not yourself.'

'I know exactly what I am saying,' Astarael retorted.

Dyrim reached out and grabbed her by the arm. 'What has gotten...' she trailed off as she saw Astarael's bracelet, immediately noticing the lack of Charter marks, and she let go of Astarael's wrist in shock. 'What has happened to you?'

'It would seem that I have finally seen sense,' Astarael answered.

'It seems that you have lost it, actually,' Dyrim cut in. She looked Astarael straight in the eye. 'Answer me. What has happened to you? Why have the Charter marks on your bracelet gone?'

'I never wanted them there in the first place,' replied Astarael flatly. 'I was tricked into agreeing with you.'

'That is not true,' Mosrael said quickly. 'We all know that.'

'It is true,' Astarael snapped. 'Why would I agree to be a part of something that is only good for imprisoning others for no reason? I am not just speaking of Orannis. What about Yrael? What about the thousands of others we have "dealt with?" It's not right! It–'

'Maybe Saraneth should have done the same to you as she did to Yrael,' Dyrim snapped.

'She would not have dared,' Astarael replied confidently, although she remembered how she had feared that in the past. 'I am this world's protector. If she had done that to me, I would not be able to do my job.'

'You weren't doing it at the time, anyway,' Dyrim answered sharply. 'You were quite happy to let this world burn. If Saraneth hadn't–'

'All she was doing was trying to take over, as she always did. I was in complete control of everything, so she didn't need to... But at least she got what she deserved.'

Silence met her words, then Ranna made a noise that was half-way between a gasp and a sob, pushed past Astarael and ran from the room. A moment later Belgaer followed her, calling her name. Dyrim, Mosrael and Kibeth stayed glaring at Astarael.

'How dare you?' Dyrim said, her voice now softly furious. 'How dare you say that?'

'I am only being honest,' Astarael replied.

Mosrael came and stood very close to Astarael. 'What has gotten into you?'

'I...' Astarael was about to reply, but then she faltered. Her mind had suddenly cleared, and she knew without looking that the Charter marks had returned to her bracelet. As she realised what she had just said, her hand flew to her mouth in horror. 'I didn't...'

'Get out of here,' Dyrim said coldly.

Astarael didn't need telling twice. Feeling the tears start to pool in her eyes, she fled down the stone passageway, into her room, and closed the door behind her. Then, she slid slowly down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, and buried her head in her arms as the tears took her over. They would never forgive her for what she had said, she knew. They may not have hated her before but they surely did now and, Astarael thought, they were right to.

After a while she looked up. Crying would not take back the awful things she had said. She ran one hand through her hair as she attempted to calm herself down, and frowned as her hand touched something hard and plant-like, caught in the ends of her hair. She took hold of it and looked at it, puzzled. It was the sprig of rosemary that Orannis had given her. She recognised it instantly. Glaring at it, she drew a short series of Charter marks with one hand. The marks became a short, silver knife and, in one quick motion, she sliced through the section of her hair that was tangled with the rosemary.

'I hate you...' she whispered, staring and the sprig in her hand. She visualised the Charter mark for fire and whispered its name at the same time. Instantly, the rosemary burst into flames and, within seconds, was nothing more than a small pile of blackened ash.

Astarael let the ash fall from her palm, and then took a deep breath. Outside her room, she could hear the others talking, and her sharp ears picked up their words.

'Are you sure she's not there?' Dyrim was asking.

'Yes,' Belgaer answered. 'I thought she would have gone to her room, but it was empty when I got there.'

'Where else could she be?' asked Kibeth, sounding uncharacteristically serious.

'I don't know,' said Belgaer quietly.

'Neither do I,' added Mosrael.

'Could she have left?' Dyrim asked. 'I mean, none of us actually saw where she went, so we cannot be sure that she is still here, in the mountains, at all.'

'If that is the case, she could be anywhere,' Belgaer replied. 'I think we should go and look for her.'

'I agree,' Dyrim added. 'Let's go. It will probably be best if we split up to search.'

'What should we do about..?' Kibeth asked, and Astarael was sure she was indicating her closed door.

'Leave her,' Dyrim replied flatly. 'Come on.'

Astarael listened as they walked away, and then slowly opened her door. This was her fault, she knew. She failed to control herself, and now Ranna had left. Almost unconsciously, she started walking slowly along the passageway, following the others. The least she could do now was help to find Ranna. She wanted to do something good, for once.

I really hope that made sense. I've been told that it does, but I know I might have written it in a slightly confusing way. Astarael is a little mixed up, anyway. The next chapter will introduce some new characters (humans!), and hopefully will be up relatively soon. (I'm going to try not to have month-long gaps between chapters this time!)

Please review! I'm open to constructive criticism, if anyone wants to give any, but if you didn't like it, please don't flame!