Universis

By Kate Copeseeley

The Five Tribes, a tiny, self-reliant nation, has lost its protective shield. The outside world, including the terrifying Thrall and its emperor, have decided it’s ripe for the plucking. Can Zyander, Alea, and Luka find a way to protect their people while rebuilding after the chaos that Nikka engineered?

In this concluding novel of the Five Tribes, there several questions remaining to be answered. Who made their shield and why? Who broke the shield and why? Did Nikka really die in that fight with Samain? Only time will tell.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kate Copeseeley
• Release date: May 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005373436

Kate Copeseeley

Kate grew up in a household of vociferous readers. Whether via womb or some other kind of nefarious brainwashing, Kate herself also became a vociferous reader, devouring books in just about every genre imaginable.It wasn't long before this led to writing her own stories (in every genre imaginable).

Book preview

Universis

by Kate Copeseeley

Book Description:

The Five Tribes—a tiny, self-reliant nation—has lost its protective shield. The outside world, including the terrifying Thrall and its emperor, has decided it’s ripe for the plucking. Can Zyander, Alea, and Luka find a way to protect their people while rebuilding after the chaos that Nikka engineered?

In this concluding novel of the Five Tribes, there several questions remaining to be answered. Who made their shield and why? Who broke the shield and why? Did Nikka really die in that fight with Samain? Only time will tell.

Text Copyright © 2021 by Kate Copeseeley

Cover Image Copyright © 2021 Bethel Stoddard

World Map Image Copyright © 2011 Lindsey Anderson

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of the publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior permission of the author.

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

COMPIS:

There is a nation of tribes; a place where common magic is used alongside elemental magic. In this world of tribes, there are five elements and five tribes that harness them.

Aquis to harness water, fishing, and weather magics

Aeris to harness air, engineering, and inventing magics

Terris to harness earth, growing, and animal husbandry magics

Ignis to harness fire, crafting, and creative magics

Sanguis to harness blood, healing, and potion magics

Here we meet three characters:

Zyander, son of High Council member Adjudah, member of the Ignis

Nikka, daughter of Duor Culten, born into the Aeris

Luka, born into the Aeris

GATHERING

Nikka and Zyander meet during the first year’s gathering, when each 17-year-old is chosen for the tribe they will be Inducted into at the end of the year. They have a gathering romance, a common ritual for the many young attendees. Nikka comes from a prosperous tribe and a normal life. Zyander is a bitter member of a tribe that was decimated by the sickness, which left them at a fraction of their number, with practically no magic. His tribe is the poorest in their nation, and as a result, he has a hard time moving past the envy he feels for the other tribes.

When Nikka is chosen to be Compis, a magical being with the ability to harness any element she chooses, their bond is shattered. As Compis, Nikka will also choose her own tribe, something the two of them didn’t take into account when they said goodbye. Now there is a chance they will see each other again, that they might be able to explore deeper feelings for each other, maybe even fall in love.

However, when Zyander is packing to leave for home, he is treated to a lecture by his father on the ethics of being involved with the Compis and they argue and part. Zyander decides to travel down to the forgotten city—Abira—with his friend Alys and search for a way to bring back the power of Ignis magic.

Luka is heartbroken at being parted, through Initiation, from his beloved May. She was chosen for Aeris, he for Terris—the most conservative and introverted tribe in the Five Tribes. He briefly considers joining the tribeless and his friend Ryd—a new acquaintance, but he decides to stay with his new tribe, in the hopes that he can use the extra time to convince May to join him when he runs away.

NIKKA

Nikka travels with Jilli to her home of the season, in Mokar of the Aquis territory. She is introduced to Jerem, Jilli’s handsome nephew and his friend Luba. She is also introduced to Agga, Jilli’s house servant, who is one of the Sea Mothers and Fathers. It’s clear from the start that Agga holds little respect for her employer, when she tips Nikka off to her spying ways. Nikka quickly learns that her talents set her apart from the other Initiates, with whom she has nothing in common and who make her something of an outcast because of her talent.

She seeks out Jerem and Luba and spends time with them instead of on her spell work. Agga is there to tutor her in what she needs to know of common magic, in any case. The little creature has an aptitude for common magic that exceeds many others and she takes up the task of molding Nikka’s great power. Everything is progressing fine until Nikka sees another, darker side of Jerem. The new side of him is abusive, and angry toward his own small servant, Joaga. When Nikka sees that, her world is turned upside down. She realizes how little she knows everyone in the Aquis tribe. This is when she dreams for the first time.

Nikka has two dreams. The first dream is about a seal who is taken by net from its watery world and when it emerges from the net on the deck of a boat, it turns into a being very much like Agga. These creatures are the Roaneu. Her second dream features Jilli, who is holding the pelt of a transformed Agga. She cuts the pelt and forces Agga to bend to her will. Nikka awakens, determined to save her friend, even if there is no way to save all of the Roaneu.

With the help of her powers and some of her new knowledge of Aquis spells, she breaks into Jilli’s workshop to find the pelt and use it to set Agga free. In the process, she finds a folder labeled Ignis and sends it to Zyander. She then retrieves the pelt, takes it and Agga to the beach and after making her promise to come at Nikka’s call, watches her leave.

Unfortunately, Jilli felt the loss of power from the pelt and is there to greet Nikka after her release of Agga. Jilli is clear with Nikka that Agga’s loss is nothing and she will have another servant by the end of the day. Nikka vows to save all the Roaneu from their slavery, and she packs up her things and uses the principles she learned from Agga to transport herself back to the Citadel.

ZYANDER

Zyander, meanwhile, has gone to new settlement and joined up with his friend, Alys, to start their long journey down to the forgotten city. Alys may not believe that they can save the Ignis, but he is always eager to try a new adventure.

During their wet journey southward, Zyander is plagued by a series of dreams:

In the first dream, he is introduced to a vixen. She tells him she was sent by Iam, that she will usher him through Napalin, and that she can see his magic, which is strong. He has a golden palm printed on his chest.

In the second dream, she takes him to a secret waterfall—the sacred birth place of Aeris magic. The vixen tells him that water runs through the earth and the bodies of the creatures in it. She has him swim in the falls and the pond at the foot of it. She tells him that the Five Elements were given to the Five Tribes and the common magics were given to the animals. Humans share common magic in order to stay connected with Iam’s creations.

In the third dream, the vixen makes him climb the Cliffs of Iverside, and tells him that there is no cure for the effects of the sickness. Better that he should consider his tribe forever changed, she says. She also alludes to an important truth that the Five Tribes leaders may not have grasped. All of the elements must remain in balance together. If one element dies, they all do. Iam is invested in saving the tribes. Then she pushes him off the cliff and he flies.

In the fourth dream, they walk into a sacred oak grove, where the vixen made him climb a giant oak and pluck a large acorn from one of the branches. When he lands back on the ground, she has him plant it in the soil. Earth is where we’re born, she says. It grows our food and gives us a grave when we die.

In the Fifth and final dream, she takes him into a cave, where there is a bowl and sharp spike waiting. She tells him that blood is the trickiest of the elements. Blood is not an element of the earth; it was given solely to the beings that live on it. Blood came from Iam directly, and is one of the reasons why the Sanguis are so powerful. Zyan cuts his hand and the blood drips into the bowl. When he wakes up, the cut is still on his hand.

When Zyander and Alys have almost reached the forgotten city of Abira, they are greeted by the fox herself, who until now, Zyander has supposed to be imaginary. She takes them down into the city and leads Zyander to a building that houses the Shining Stones. They represent the magic of his tribe.

She tells Zyander that Ignis magic is not just representative of fire, but also of life’s spark. It is the soul of the five elements and the reason the Ignis were once powerful. She also tells him there is a reason the phoenix is a sacred creature to the Ignis: Their magic can die and yet be reborn. All that is required of him is to smash the stones with the hammer on the wall. He smashes the stones and a great magic overwhelms him. He collapses to the ground, unconscious.

LUKA

Luka is heartbroken and feels out of place among the Terris. He is not allowed to write to May. He can’t figure out what his Lumenta—beast of the soul, which every Terris transforms into—is and he gets stuck with Kanae, his new mentor, because she is a carpenter, like his parents were. He’s made some friends: Joah, Brelle, and Grem, though overall, he feels compelled to stay alone.

He is surprisingly talented at common magic and dreams of flashing feathers and bloody prey, but still, his Lumenta eludes him. Finally, near the close of the season, he goes with the other Initiates to make a call for his Lumenta, and all are surprised at the shrill shrieking cry that escapes him. His Lumenta doesn’t appear, however, so he goes about his business.

It’s only when he runs off to the woods alone, after a distressing conversation with one of the Duor, that he finally meets his Lumenta. It’s a griffin and it is very irritated with him for calling it.

AERIS:

NIKKA

Nikka ends up at the Citadel alone, which is fine because the Divinaris welcome her with open arms. Her accelerated progress in common magic is confusing to the Divinaris, who point out that the other Compis, Samain, has no such gifts. They promise to keep it a secret, though.

After the fallout with the Ignis and the threat of the Terris to pull out of the Five Tribes altogether, Nikka has to throw her weight around and force them to remain, for now. She then joins Salia, the leader of the Aeris, at her house and gets ready to begin the season.

Almost at once she is confronted by the idea that all her personal information and progress is being recorded in a file that is being passed around between all the most important politicians in the Five Tribes. When she demands to see it, the Divinaris woman refuses and Nikka loses her temper, transports herself elsewhere, and meets the vixen, who agrees to take a turn as a magical tutor.

While the fox teaches her common magic, Nikka also agrees to learn Ignis magic with Zyander and the others in his group, although he takes a firm stance on public displays of affection. After witnessing May and her flirtation with Salia's assistant, Roder, that might not be a bad thing.

It isn't until Salia invites her to a local gala that Nikka suspects anything strange is afoot. But a pair of worried parents show up, and from the way Roder whisks them away, Nikka knows that something bad is happening. She makes it her mission to find out.

Through a series of investigations, she discovers that the parents of the Aeris are involved in a hideous pact with Salia. In return for eternal life, they enter their children in a yearly lottery. The child chosen is drained of blood, which is made into an elixir for all the new Inductees to drink.

The problem is that it's really just a scheme for Salia to give herself long life, with no regard for anyone else, and that her parents have wiped the memories of her sister from her mind.

When Nikka unveils the truth, Salia and her husband are placed under arrest, but no one cares that the other tribe members escaped with little or no punishment.

In the final days of her stay with the Aeris, Nikka learns that her sister is strangely impervious to magic. Blinding spells and memory wipes don't work on her. When Nikka looks to see what magic her sister may have, she sees a strange mix of all the magical elements that are wrapped up in her sister's body. She isn't sure what to make of it, however.

LUKA

During the gathering, Luka manages a reunion with May, and the two not only reforge some of the bonds they'd had before Initiation ripped them apart, they create some new ones. But they are once again parted before Luka can get her to promise to run away with him.

Meanwhile, he learns that the griffin that he called is named Khara and she is a Sharina (or ruler) of a griffin kingdom far away. She and Luka are off to a rough start, miscommunications abound, but somehow, they end up friends. In the midst of their getting to know each other, they discover they can share memories, somehow. Luka learns that she ran away from home because of pressure to mate and have heirs for the kingdom. Khara volunteers to teach Luka all about being a griffin, so he'll be able to transform into his Lumenta when the time comes.

Kanae is surprised by his early return from the gathering, but then again, the whole tribe is abuzz over what is going on with the Ignis, whom they see as being punished by Iam. There are rumors of a secret army in the Terris, and tribe members disappearing from among them.

When Khara comes back from hunting one day with a strange tale about what she's seen in the woods, she allows Luka the large favor of riding on her back and takes him to see an army encamped in the woods, led by a Terris with a bear Lumenta.

Luka hurries back to tell Kanae, but is greeted by a letter of rejection from May. After a period of grieving, he finds Kanae and they set off for the camp on foot, so Kanae can see if she recognizes anyone. They're very concerned about a takeover from Koen's secret council.

When they get to the army's camp, they do indeed find someone Kanae knows: Surgal, the leader of the army. When she shouts his name, the soldiers kill her and take Luka captive.

He spends some time working like a slave (literally), then ends up conscripted into Surgal's army, where he spends most of his days getting pounded on by the other recruits. He does manage to extract one piece of information from Surgal, though. The man intends to start a revolution.

ZYANDER

Zyander finds out that his actions have far-reaching consequences when he is informed by his sister that his entire tribe has collapsed. Meanwhile, he has settled into the abandoned house of a former tribe member: Finaell. The man was something of an experimenter, and his theory of Scientia turns out to be a big help to Zyander. Zyander learns he's going to have to write the new spells for Ignis from scratch.

After Alys and the other tribe members wake up, he and Zyander set out to form a team of spell makers, trying to rewrite spells that haven't worked for years. The group has to stay hidden from the elders, especially because the elders found out about Zyander's doings in Abira.

Adjudah brings word in the midst of their work. The elders want Zyander to come to them and stand trial for his so-called crimes.

And so, Zyander answers their endless questions about the fox, and the stones, and his new views on magic. All seems to be going well, until an elder by the name of Leena pays him a late night visit. She confesses that even though she doesn't remember much of what happened during the time of the sickness, she has learned that the elders knew all about how to reset the Ignis' magic. They knew that all they had to do was smash the stones and all the tribe's magic would be restored. But they chose not to do it, because they wanted so badly to hang on to the power of the past.

This truth tears Zyander up inside, because he sees this as being the reason his mother didn't survive his sister's birth and the strange fatigue that inflicted her. Zyander loses his temper before the elders, and swears never to reveal the secrets of their new magic. In return, the elders banish him from Awatha and Labaria, threatening to kill him if he ever shows his face again.

Still, he gets called back by Leena when horrible monsters attack the new settlement. Two of them, weird creatures with human-like faces and barbed tails, cut through several ranks of Custaps before Zyander uses his limited magic on them.

It's clear that the Ignis are no longer safe in their own cities. What's also clear is that they need to move everyone to the newly protected city of Abira.

Terris:

NIKKA

Nikka is delivered to the Terris and notices at once that she can't find her friend Luka. When she asks the Duor about it, she is told that he disappeared during the previous season and no one has been able to find him. He is presumed dead.

She spends the first part of the season investigating his disappearance, which leads her to the campaign of one new candidate for High Council member to replace Koen. His name is Carse and he is suspected to be responsible for a rash of disappearances in the tribe. These tribe members were disillusioned and unhappy living in a conservative tribe like Terris. People even left behind husbands and children with no word.

Meanwhile, Nikka visits with Zyander in the woods and meets his new griffin friend, Khara. Zyander and Nikka grow closer, learning magic together, talking, and caring for Khara's injuries.

When she and Zyander disagree over the best way to put a protective barrier around his camp, she insists that her way is better. This decision comes back to haunt her when Zyan is attacked and almost dies. He and Nikka quarrel in the ensuing days and she hides away at Koen's house, focusing on her previous investigation.

The investigation gets closer and closer to finding out what's going on, when voting day arrives, bringing all sorts of surprises, the first of them being that the candidate who won the most votes steps down from his position in favor of a man named Surgal—who was never even a candidate.

The man shows up at the house where she is staying with Koen to claim guardianship of her and to trick her into wearing strange metal arm bands that make her so sick she passes out.

In the weeks following, Nikka discovers she can no longer do common magic, though she is able to do some elemental magic with effort. She stays with Surgal and Luka in a large farmhouse, training as a soldier when she has the energy for it. She also starts dreaming about Surgal's time among the Phasma, eventually discovering that he has two children, Jordan and Lewis, still living in that land.

During the rest of the season, Surgal continues to isolate her from the rest of the tribe, and insists she swear an oath of loyalty to him. When she steadfastly rejects the idea, and even refuses to stay out of Surgal's way while he enacts his long-term plans, he threatens to harm everyone she loves. When she still refuses, he tries to kill her using the armbands.

She escapes by transforming into her Lumenta, the phoenix. She makes contact with Zyander again, and they renew their relationship. By the time the season ends, she makes a bargain with Surgal anyway, agreeing not to interfere with him in return for the safety of her friends and family.

ZYANDER

Zyander offers up Abira to his tribe members after the New Settlement is attacked by a hideous creature. The tribe moves to the city and the elders promptly banish him to Napalin, where he spends his days meditating and practicing his magic.

He is eventually warned away from using magic in the forest by the Unoria. They are miniature black horses with horns. They tell him that his magic is a beacon to the other magical creatures in the forest, who will use it to hunt him and kill him.

Days later he discovers a griffin (Khara) in a trap who is slowly dying of starvation. The trap was made by a sphinx who captures him as well. Using magic, Zyan is almost able to free himself and the griffin, but the sphinx surprises them and tries to kill them. Fortunately (or unfortunately) a basilisk who has been hunting Zyander by scenting his magic comes to claim him as its meal.

While the sphinx and the basilisk fight over him, Zyander frees himself and Khara and they fly off toward his camp, but not before Khara is injured by the sphinx's claws. She is able to make it back to his camp, but collapses soon after, from blood loss and exhaustion.

Over the next few weeks, he tries to make friends with the prickly griffin, but it isn't until they are both almost killed by the basilisk again (her wing and his arm) that they truly bond. A group of unoria saves their lives, but Zyander has a dead limb as a souvenir of his battle.

Soon after he and Nikka fight over the loss of his arm, Timbric and Alys come to find him with good news: the elders have been deposed and Zyander himself has been picked to lead his people.

He reluctantly agrees to accept the burden, but doesn't want to change his life until he is attacked in the middle of the night by an assassin. Zyander is kept from death by Alea, and healed by Mordra—who is disturbed by an Ignis leader who is so young.

Meanwhile, his friends, Daen and Kala, have taken Finaell's teachings to heart and now plan to eschew many of the Five Tribes tenants in the Treaty, including the blinding spell.

As if he didn't have enough to worry about, Surgal, the new leader of the Terris requests an alliance. Zyander remains suspicious of the man's motives, especially when Nikka tells them that Luka discovered there is a spy among them: Golan, who is looking more and more likely as the person who initiated the attack against Zyander. There is an investigation that frames the former elder as the culprit. The man is also proven to have tried to orchestrate an uprising. The man is taken and put on house arrest until he can be tried for his crimes.

Zyander meets with him, and Golan denies everything, confessing something that few but the elders are aware of: Roar is a house of assassins who hire themselves out to the other tribes in return for money and favors.

Reeling from this revelation and more confused than ever, Zyander escapes to his old residence and is eventually joined by Nikka in bird form. After love confessions and intimacy, they are interrupted the next morning by the news that Golan has escaped.

LUKA

Luka has thrown himself into being the best recruit he can be, while still being an outcast for stopping Julia from getting gang raped by his fellow recruits. After another of Surgal's rousing evening speeches, he discovers that the other soldiers don’t hate him the way his bunkmates do.

He starts a relationship with Imore, a Terris soldier whose Lumenta is a golden eagle. He uses her as an excuse to leave his bunk at all hours, so he can tutor the Phasma slaves and perhaps find a way to help them escape. Unfortunately, Imore catches on to his other activities and feels offended, so she reports him to Surgal, who is less than pleased that Luka went behind his back.

In a show of force, Surgal has one of the slaves, Mary, whipped until she is broken and bleeding. He runs out to the forest afterward, until the pain from his arm bands make him collapse. When he wakes, Surgal is there to convince him to swear fealty. When Surgal agrees to let Luka take the slaves back to the border between lands, Luka agrees to be a true soldier, and Surgal releases his arm bands.

On their journey to return the slaves home, they are attacked by a lizard creature (turns out to be a basilisk) and Luka instinctively transforms and kills the beast. Everyone in the group views him as a hero, and he's cemented his place among them.

Now that he can transform, he stays longer to fly each of the slaves up and over the mountain range, promising to meet with Surgal's group as soon as he can.

Returning home is harder than he thought, because he can transform and none of the other Initiates can. The Duor see him as a rule-breaker, even Etho, who disapproves of his relationship with Surgal. Even his meeting with Nikka doesn't go well, because she views him as conspiring with the man who put the arm bands on her.

He helps Nikka tap into her other magics, trains with the soldiers, and forges friendships to get the Initiates on Surgal's side. Then one night he finds out that the Ignis have a traitor among them and tells Nikka so she can warn her friends.

While flying the next day, he meets two new griffins, a silver/black griffin and a silver/white griffin. They tell him they're from the griffin island and that they are looking for Khara, whose parents were in an accident. According to the pair, one of her parents died and the other barely clings to life.

He tells them to meet him at a certain time and he will try to find her location. Then he flies to Abira to find Khara. She is astonished at the change in him and even more astonished at the news of her parents. She agrees to meet with the griffins, who Luka meets and sends to her location.

On his return, he finds Surgal alone in the house, drinking and mourning the fact that he will have to kill Nikka. Luka tries to stop him, but he pushes the button on his pendant that activates the kill command and in his horror and grief, Luka attacks Surgal.

The two fight, but Surgal is by far the better skilled, whether human or bear. He beats Luka to the point where the younger man passes out, and when Luka awakes, Surgal banishes him from his presence.

Luka goes to find Nikka and when he sees that she is still alive, he convinces her to meet him at Etho's house. By the time she arrives, so has Khara, who is irate that Luka didn't come to say goodbye. On a seeming whim, Khara invites him to go back to the griffins’ territory with him, promising him an army to fight Surgal if he does.

So he goes with her, denying to the other griffins that he and Khara have mated, to see the island of the griffins.

Ignis

NIKKA

Though she has been released from Surgal’s power and from the metal bands that bound her and her power for almost a season, Nikka has been irrevocably damaged by them. She can’t use her Compis power for much of anything without feeling sick. At her end of the season check-in with Samain, the older Compis offers to help, and he takes her to his workshop so he can diagnose what the problem is.

After Samain gives her a bottle of capsules she can take, Nikka is able to let someone take her through the Praete Line without passing out and vomiting, but the true damage to her common magic is now clear. She entirely without the use of it, like it has been damaged beyond repair.

Zyander’s secession from the Five Tribes left the High Council angry and frustrated, so they decide that Nikka will not be visiting with the Ignis for Astra Cida. With the idea that she must go and retrieve her things from Abira and deliver the High Council’s judgement to the Ignis, Nikka goes back to join her friends for a council of war. That is when Zyander comes up with the idea of resetting the other tribes’ magical elements, as he did for the Ignis, months ago. It will distract them from trying to subdue the Ignis and keep any armies busy with maintaining the peace.

Nikka is given the five jade figurines that she’s been practicing with every season when she meets with Samain, to use them to connect with each element. As a result, she starts dreaming about them, and the jade circle she came in contact with when she first met Zyan. She is to use them, and a gold circlet of some sort, to perform a magic ritual, but she has no idea what. The dreams continue throughout the season.

When Nikka enlists the help of Divinaris Somae and Alea, the three of them travel through the different territories: Aquis (with Agga’s help), Aeris, and not Terris because of her vow to Surgal, but lastly the Sanguis.

Unfortunately, her reset of the Sanguis does not go as planned, because Samain is soon upon her, livid with anger at her daring, confesses something that almost makes her pass out with fear. He was the one that created the disease that killed so many Ignis, in the hopes of stopping Finnaell’s design at combining both magics and tribes.

Nikka tries to fight against him, but he is much stronger than her, and can harness powers that he’s used for hundreds of years and in the end, he kills her, burning her to a pile of ashes.

ZYANDER

When his first meeting with the High Council, as official High Council member is a horrible disaster—Mordra announces herself acting head of Ignis in light of Zyan’s age and the severity of the Ignis’ tribal emergency—Zyander invokes Article 6 of the Five Tribes treaty and secedes from the nation of the Five Tribes.

Zyander is setting up his tribe for independence, using seeds saved by the elders, choosing empty spaces to plant, ordering drills and guards to be place in relevant locations, when news of an attack reaches him. Two of his tribe have been attacked when gathering in the forest, by two massive black hounds.

This leads to a sudden and terrible epidemic of half hound creatures loose in the city. Everyone they bite becomes one of them at a rapid pace, and it is quickly learned that they have a natural magical resistance. In their efforts to put down the rest of the creatures, Timbric is wounded and must be put in stasis, to prevent the infection’s spread while Samain searches for a cure. He is later revived and given a cure, but he seems changed from the experience.

Meanwhile, Zyander searches for a way to remove Surgal from power, finally settling on an alliance with Duor Etho, to reset the Terris magic and use the advantage to capture Surgal. Everything proceeds well until the night they are to put their plan into action, and find Etho’s house aflame with her inside of it. Zyander is captured and has to confront the horrible truth that Timbric has betrayed him.

Another horrible truth is soon revealed: Nikka has reset the Sanguis magic and according to Samain gotten herself killed in the process. Zyander barely has time to take in the news when Samain reveals a long-held secret. The Sanguis use human blood in their magic and if they are not given exposure to it every day, they will go mad because the magic consumes them instead. When they awaken after their magical reset, they will be like animals, unable to do anything but take blood from their former comrades.

Zyander and his tribe members must now prepare to fight against the Sanguis and protect the rest of the tribes. They must also try their best not to harm the Sanguis, who have done nothing wrong but slept for long enough to damage their minds and bodies. When the magical force knocks them unconscious, they awaken to find the airships of Thrall circling overhead. Their shield of magical protection has been broken.

Surgal predicts that they will soon be overrun by Phasma and all the tribe members that can hide or protect themselves must do so immediately.

LUKA

Luka, Khara, Carva, and Ruik all travel to the Griffin’s Keep together and Khara is astonished to find that not only is her mother still alive, the griffin is in perfect health. The Shona, as she is called, is expecting her daughter to fulfill her duties at last: choose a mate, have a mating flight, and settle down to the task of learning to rule her people. The Shona is less than pleased at the sight of Luka, and his brown and gold colors. She feels that Khara has granted him liberties that no Sharina should grant a male griffin who is not her mate.

It soon becomes obvious that the Shona has already chosen a mate for her offspring: Lathan-Mokre el Mechan, the captain of the guard, silver and yellow. She does her best to keep Khara busy and away from Luka, but the two of them still meet every night when Luka sneaks into her room. She teaches him to read Rostrich and they share memories back and forth.

Luka decides that the stratified society of the griffins is no way for them to live, especially when he meets the browns or dirtbirds, as they are called, and sees how poorly they are treated. He meets with them several times, in effort to convince them to leave the island and form their own colony on the mainland. They are skeptical, and he endeavors to reach out to all the lower colors on the island, trying to convince them to rebel against the society that dictates their lives based on what colors they are born with

Just as he feels he’s starting to make progress with the griffins that are considered of the lower orders, he is attacked in the streets and beaten until he loses his griffin shape and falls unconscious. When he awakens, Luka is imprisoned and unable to transform into his Lumenta, thanks to his extensive injuries. He is interrogated by Carva, who wants to know what type of bond he has with Khara. Carva surmises they share a Catena bond, which is a rare connection that is almost unheard of between two griffins.

When Luka is finally able to transform back into a griffin again, he learns that Khara is to have her mating flight with all the suitors she could desire. She comes to see him, and she is in heat, confessing that she’s had strong feelings for him, despite his human origins. He loses all reason at the thought of her with someone else, and he realizes that he too, has strong feelings for her.

In his rage at being separated from her, he channels his Terris magic and cracks his prison wide open like an egg, climbing from the cell and taking off after her. They meet in the air, where they far outstrip the other griffins flying nearby, and find a quiet and hidden room to accomplish their joining. Luka and Khara are now mates, and they gather what griffins will join them, returning with hope to the Five Tribes.

Upon arriving in the Five Tribes, they discover chaos and disorder because of the Sanguis reawakening. The griffins are gifted Labaria to live in and Luka, Khara, and Lathan take a contingent of soldiers to help Zyander subdue the Sanguis without harming them. Unfortunately, just as they are making progress, some magical force sweeps over the land, knocking them all unconscious.

When he rouses, he finds the other griffins still asleep, and soon has to protect them from Phasma invaders. They’ve landed an airship and their oddly dressed soldiers are trying to capture anyone from the Five Tribe that they can reach. Luka unleashed the blood hungry Sanguis at them, and everyone is killed but the pilot of the airship. At this point, Surgal has returned and he insists on taking the plane back to Thrall to rescue his children.

ALEA

Alea joins Luka and Surgal with an idea of her own. She proposes that they dress in their finest and take the airship to Thrall. They will meet with the Emperor and convince him not to send any more airships to hurt their people.

The three of them dress appropriately and make the pilot take them into Platea, the capital city of Thrall. When they arrive, there is a large contingent of soldiers waiting and a representative presenting gifts for them: three sets of the same bracelets that Surgal used to hold prisoners when he was building his army back in Terris. Surgal is livid and the other two aren’t much better, having become aware of them thanks to Surgal’s treatment of Nikka.

All three decimate the airport and kill or injure the soldiers. They leave the diplomat alive, insisting that he take them to the Emperor.

Part One: Friga Hiema

Winter petals

drifting from cloud trees

falling down from the branches of the Praetra

covering over the world

my world is white and whiter

my breath is cold

-unknown, Aeris tribe

Chapter 1:

Nikka (one week before common magic reset)

In all the times she’d considered death, Nikka hadn’t thought about how it would feel. She’d considered what the Praetra would look like once she was dwelling in it, the brightness of it, possibly white or a plethora of colors. She’d even thought about how she might feel: joy, stillness, peace, or nothing at all.

The Praetra was cold. It felt like a million little breezes were snapping at her hands and feet, but she had no hands and feet and they weren’t painful. It was more like the breezes wanted her attention and they were tapping at her for it.

The concept of time was missing. Maybe it was forever, maybe it was never. Was this a place?

It feels like I’m here, but where is here?

Nikka felt relief at the thought that she was someplace, mostly because she still held on to the idea of herself. Uncertain what she was supposed to do, she simply existed. The idea of her stayed where it was, wondering if this was what eternity felt like.

It isn’t, a voice told her.

She turned to see who had spoken. Did she turn? She didn’t have a body.

You can have a body if you want one, said the voice and Nikka saw that it was a short woman with the darkest skin she’d ever seen who was talking to her now.

If I can see her, I must have eyes, Nikka thought.

You can have eyes, as well, Bright One, the woman told her, smiling. Nikka’s breath caught at the force of it. She was lovely, and tiny—a bird, or a small woodland creature.

Can I talk?

Of course, you can talk, and this time the woman started laughing.

Who are you? asked Nikka.

She wanted to ask so many questions, but that was the first question that seemed to come from her newly formed lips. She glanced down to look at her tongue sticking out and realized that she was now a head in the brightness: nose, eyes, lips, and hair that floated around her. The woman across from her was perfectly made, wearing a long white gown made from animal skin.

The woman cocked her head and pursed her lips.

Don’t you already know who I am?

With a gasp, Nikka realized she did already know.

The first Compis. My lady… She wasn’t even sure what to say.

Finish the rest of your body and we will walk, the woman told her.

It took some hard thought, but Nikka was able to form a concept of how she saw her own body, then slowly it went from fuzzy to sharp and real. Touching her hands together, she felt her skin respond to the gentle pressure.

How can we walk here, my lady? Nikka asked. There is no ground. And, are there destinations one can reach?

Call me Ayita, she said. You have not discovered this yet, Nikka, but for such as we, this place is whatever we want it to be. If you want a road, all you have to do is will it. For myself, I prefer Napalin. Not as you know it now, but how it was when I was a girl.

Before Nikka’s eyes/not eyes, ground formed, with bare dirt and little tufts of grass. Dead leaves scattered the earth, and little bushes and clumps of flowers sprang from it. Mighty trees lifted themselves to rest above the heads of the two, and their leafy branches spread wide to shade them. The only thing that didn’t change was the sky. It stayed white and shining, causing the forest to glow and shimmer.

Nikka crouched down to inspect one of the deep red flowers that scattered among white and purple. Its petals were as silken soft as a real flower and it smelled as sweet.

It is real, Nikka. It’s as real as you are alive, Ayita told her.

But I’m not alive. That’s why I’m here, Nikka argued.

The woman laughed again.

You are alive in whatever capacity you choose to be alive, and however long you choose it. You and I, Nikka, we are special. All the Compis are special in this way. We are the only beings on this world that can decide how to live out an eternity, she said.

Nikka felt the frown form on her brow, remembered it was a real frown, and suddenly felt more solid.

Then why are there not hundreds of compis roaming the earth? Nikka asked.

Because eternity is very long, and boring, Ayita replied, and laughed again. How I have missed talking like a human girl.

Then why do you not come down to the Five Tribes and help us? We need your help!

Ayita shrugged and grinned mischievously.

Who says we do not help, in our way? Some of us feed the Praetra that you use in your magic. Others visit the world now and again in whatever form they choose. That tree house that Zyander is so fond of in deepest Napalin is one of us: an old Compis who enjoys the slowness of being a tree, and the excitement of helping his occasional visitors.

Nikka wasn’t even sure what to say at that point. It made sense. The tree was placed in the center of one of the largest Praete Lines she’d ever seen. Another thought occurred to her.

Why could I not shape the world as you do this one, if the Praete lines are all around me?

Because they are diluted and imperfect, mere echoes of the power and energy we feel here.

Nikka sat on the ground, unwilling to expend any more energy in asking questions that didn’t matter. Ayita sat next to her.

Do not despair, Bright One. Iam has plans for you.

And how am I to accomplish these plans if I am dead?

Your body—the shell—is gone, but the spirit remains and can be reborn. For some it is easier than others. In your case, Iam has gifted you with a particular Lumenta to aid your return.

Am I even certain I want to go? It is much more peaceful here than the chaos I have created.

You must go, Nikka. Your work has not finished. Would you abandon your people to being half-broken forever? They must be taken to the depths before they can rise again.

What can I do? Samain will only kill me.

Picking leaves and grass from her bare feet—had they been bare all along?—Nikka refused to meet her gaze.

You sound like a child. Maybe you are right. Maybe this work is too difficult for you, said Ayita.

The Compis lay back and Nikka joined her. They stared up at the gleaming strands, so numerous that they filled the sky with white magic.

It’s so perfect here. Why would you ever want to leave? Nikka wondered.

I don’t do it often. And I haven’t for many thousands of years. But when a female compis was again called from the Praetra, I had to visit the world to see her.

I’ve made such a mess of things. Not like you, my lady. You created a nation that has stood for many years.

Ayita snorted and turned to glare at her.

What in the world makes you think I brought order? Because of me, the largest war of that time was begun, and many souls were released here. I don’t know what your histories tell you, but a peacemaker I was not.

Nikka frowned back at her.

But all the stories say that you were responsible for forming the Five Tribes. They said that you brought them all together and got them to stop ostracizing each other.

Sitting up, the Compis looked down at her, a smile softening her face.

That was my mate, who was a better person than I will ever be. He realized that the tribes could not continue to war and pick at each other for the differences of magic between us. He was not my mate then, but I made him mine in time.

Her smugness amused Nikka and with a sharp pang she thought of Zyander. He was mourning somewhere, thinking her dead. And what had happened to Alea and Somae? What had they told him? What had they known? Had they seen Samain leave the underground room and found her ashes afterwards?

Had Surgal taken over the Five Tribes in her absence?

Nikka sat up as well, the ground stirring underneath her.

How long have I been gone? How can I get back?

Ayita’s smile widened.

There you are, at last. Now we can begin the real work.

I don’t understand.

It will take some time for us to get you the tools you need to finish your task. In order to face Samain, you will need your full abilities.

Waiting this time for the Compis to continue, Nikka pulled anxiously at the hem of her gown.

The jade pieces you have dreamed of will combine to create an artifact that will reset the common magic and heal your illness.

Nikka rushed to her feet, all excitement. The hand of the other woman tugged her back down to her rump.

This is not without consequence, Nikka. It will not just send the Divinaris into a deep sleep. It will also remove the protections I gave the Five Tribes before I passed on into the Praetra.

It will destroy the shield?

Ayita nodded.

This action will have many more consequences than a few months inconvenience for the tribe members. You will be opening up your little nation to the scrutiny of the world and you must make a plan for that. Not only that, but as a creature of so much common magic, you will find yourself asleep as long as any other tribe has slept so far. Maybe even longer. I cannot say, because I have never performed this ritual myself. It was taught to me by a priestess, what you would call a Divinaris, in my tribe of birth.

Should I do it, then? I don’t want to leave my people vulnerable, Nikka said, considering the stories that she had heard from Surgal about the Phasma. They were an evil people and as numerous as the stars.

Who can say what choice you should make? I cannot make the decisions for you, I can only give you instruction. It is you who must decide what path to take, Bright One.

What can I do? I can never defeat Samain or Surgal if I only have a piece of my powers. I can never be who I was meant to be. I can always remake the shield. I’ll get Ayita to show me how. What can happen in seven days?

Show me what to do, my lady, she told the other woman.

Alea (hours after common magic reset)

Surgal and Luka were arguing about what to do, while the little man, the only one who had survived unscathed, stood trembling before them. The three boxes containing the bracelets that had been meant to enslave them lay on the ground, scattered and forgotten, blinking ominously in the dusky light.

I’m not certain we want to go off riding directly to the Emperor, Luka said, pointing at the man, who by now had droplets of sweat coursing down his brow. The man glanced at Alea and said something, and she struggled to understand his words. She sometimes felt almost like she could understand him, but then the syllables would slip from her mind like water.

They were all still standing on the rough black ground where they had laid waste to the army the Emperor of Thrall had sent to fetch them. It hadn’t been much of an army, only fifty or so members. Still, based on what Surgal had told them, it was probably a very small piece of what they could command here.

Well, how else to you expect us to get there? I can’t remember where it is, Surgal told them. I was too busy fighting for my life to notice where I was going. Honestly, Luka, you’re being ridiculous. You and Alea insist that an alliance is the only way to achieve peace and protection, and the Emperor is the only one who can give us both of those. Neither of you can speak their tongue well enough to make this deal, and I have other errands to accomplish while I’m here. So, forgive me if I want to get this over and done with.

Luka sighed and tugged on one of the braids Alea had given him.

If we go in without a plan, then why even bother going? I know you’ve a keen mind, Surgal, but can you think that quickly? Have you ever considered making a treaty with these people?

Mouth turning in a wry grin, Surgal replied, Not really, since I was more the subject of torture than friendship.

What do we have to offer? What do we have to threaten them with? Luka wondered.

Now it was Surgal’s turn to sigh.

Are you honestly trying to advise me on how to negotiate, Luka? Surgal asked. "The Emperor will expect both of those things from us. If we use the story that she has dreamed up, that we broke the shield ourselves, then the Emperor will expect us to come to him with terms already drawn up. His next move will be to reject each and every one and then see how we respond. If we are conciliatory, he will know he has all the power. If we insist on our original terms, he will know that we value ourselves more than an alliance. Any way we turn, he will have a way to learn our weaknesses, and our chances of peace and protection become slimmer. Remember, we might have magic and flashy attire, but he has millions to overrun us and after that are millions more."

Luka paced away from him and back, staring for a moment at the Phasma man, still standing near them.

I see what you mean, Surgal, Alea finally interjected. It was like a fight. First you learned your opponent, then you did the moving.

They both looked at her.

We approached them out of curiosity. We don’t mention an alliance, or a war, or even a friendship. We’ve been curious for many years about these Phasma from our stories, and we want to know more about them. We let him see our value, our power, and we let him approach us, she said.

Finally, someone with sense. This is what I mean, Luka. We can get everything we want, if we have a little patience, Surgal said.

But what if he distracts us, and sends another plane in secret?

What do you want to do? Go back and guard the place? Let our people do that. We aren’t the only ones with power to protect ourselves, Surgal said, waving to the smoldering automobiles and the dead that lay scattered on the ground.

The man said something again, this time dropping to his knees in front of them. Surgal grinned down at him and replied with a few words in the man’s