Firefly: Forethoughts    When Celiose first mentioned Iron Writer, I thought it was simply the best idea ever.   In fact, I had thought of something similar myself before but kept it to myself, since I didn't think I'd be able to pull it off.   Leave it to Celiose to have the guts to try and launch projects like this.   It's how the Figgies (which makes for some of the most exciting moments in Kupopolis) were born.    That said, I waited with bated breath for 'ol Cel to launch the Iron Writer.   I thought this was a great opportunity.   A chance for me to write something different than my usual.   For the unitiated, my writing doesn't exactly have a broad range of elements.   I always write in a fantasy setting.   I always use females as my main characters.   And I always have relatively simple plots of the simple "bad guy against good guy" variety.    Unfortunately, when Celiose launched Iron Writer, it couldn't have come at a worse time.   I was thick in the throes of things, at work, at launching and fine tuning Kupopolis.com, and yes even in my personal life.   I knew that, with only a week to write, I wouldn't get my own little Iron Writer post done.   Depressed and defeated, I still looked forward to reading the results of what was the purist competition in writing ever to grace our boards.    Then Celiose announced that submissions would be accepted till midnight on Sunday.   This, combined with my miscalculations on dating that had me thinking that submissions would be accepted until midnight on FRIDAY, magically opened up a gate of opportunity.   I had nothing to do on Sunday.. which means I was left with one magical day to come up with an entire post.    I wanted to do a piece unlike anything I ever wrote, but I quickly found I was not good at impromptu thinking when foreign elements were involved.   Panicking late on Saturday night (or sunday morning, natch), I asked a friend to give me a few more ingredients, just to narrow my scope a little.   Although one of those elements didn't make it into the end story, the other two did.    Unfortunately, this wasn't really the story I wanted.   This is not a sci-fi story with male characters and a complex theme.   This is women, good vs. evil, in the fantasy land of Aryth.   Exactly what I was trying to avoid, my Iron Writer post is completely and thoroughly the same old Jippish. ;)    But, ah well.   I won't get any points for originality from Kupop vets.   After a seven hour writing spurt on Sunday (a little longer than seven hours, to be fair), fueled by wonderful Pepsi Twist, I had my very own entry into Iron Writer.   At least I can claim I was part of the first competition. Now, for something far more relevant to YOU: Some of the fresher faces around here might still not be clear on Aryth.   Sure, I have profiles up for it on the OmniNet, but getting to know Aryth is seeing it written.   There's details that are not in those profiles, simple enough.   So, for those of you who haven't read my stuff before, I've tried to disconnect this post wherever possible.   For starters, it's a completely new cast of characters.   Also, the story takes place over seventy years ago, before Aryth was introduced as part of "The Web of Worlds," still completely cut off from the rest of the dimensions.   (As a result, I am unable to make references to other writer's works, something I like to try and fit in when I do big posts like this.   This makes me feel a bit guilty) Some other quick notes that might help understand parts of the story:   Aryth, or at least the part of the dimension that is written with, is comprised of one large continent.   This continent is split down the middle by the Bloodbane Mountains, which are practically unpassable by foot, called East and West Aryth, respectively.   At the time of this post, the empire of the East, called Gnall, has finished putting down a rebellion by the magic users, known as the Runal.   The rebel group, known as the Phyrex, planned to take over Gnall, seeing themselves as superior beings because they had the ability to use magic.   They were defeated when a man by the name of Viashin no-Laykrinn developed an artifact, called simply the "Leash," that could enslave magic users. When the Phyrex was defeated, the Phyrex leader, Jinasto-no, disappeared without a trace, along with most of the other highest ranked Phyrex leaders. The West Aryth is split up into Five Different Nations -- Marabon, Rein, Rodan, Camoore, and Truklan.   There is also the Glory Tower, which stands as the center of magic and learning in the western part of the world. Since these nations are all documented on the OmniNet, unlike Gnall, I won't get into them too much, since their history is relatively unimportant. Okay.. no more details.   I'll actually get on to the post now. Firefly: Prologue Aryth.    The little dimension in the middle of nowhere.   Those who have traversed across the Web of Worlds will readily say that there is no place in the known universe to match the natural splendor and beauty of Aryth.   A world largely untainted by man.   A world of grassy plains, jagged mountains, muddy beaches, beautiful valleys, endless oceans.   A world of bright colors and clean skies, clear water and warm light.   A world where there is more than enough food for everyone, where a mere walk through nature can yield you fabrics more pleasing to the touch than silk.   Simply strolling out of a town or village and gazing at the horizon is said to be breathtaking.   Aryth falls nearer to a Utopia than anything the Web of Worlds has ever seen.   Paradise.   Eden.   Perfect.    Aryth is perfect.   It's mere existance defies reason.       To some, the mere notion of a world that is perfect, a world where none go hungry and everyone is given a chance for simple, immaterial happiness, would seem impossible. Their own worlds are torn asunder by the cannons of war and their lives left more to chance and a rollercoaster economy with neither compassion nor mercy -- such simple happiness would seem about as attainable as the stars and moons.    For the miserable and beaten of the Web, however, there is one small comfort.   Aryth is a perfect world, but that says nothing of its people.   No matter which dimension you choose to survey, you will find that from culture to culture and people to people, there still remain simple concepts.   It's what separates us from the animals -- we have feelings.   Desire, to set our wants above the well being of others.   Jealousy, to crave what others have.   Bitterness, hatred, pride, and love.   Aryth may be perfect, but its people are not.   Nobody is perfect.    This is a story about some such imperfect people. Firefly: Flower Fields Aryth, almost 80 years ago...    Moira fell backwards, arms out at her sides, flat as a book.   She giggled as her fall was cushioned by a hundred or so flowers, unnaturally strong due to their closeness to Source.   Despite their strength, the landing of the rather plump girl forced petals loose and into the air, decorating the plane above in a variety of pastels, lively greens, and deep blues.   Moira continued to giggle as the soft colors fell upon her face.   One tickled her nose with such intensity that she had to frantically itch it away.   Her peace now disturbed, young Moira sat up and looked at the endless field of flowers around her once again.    Dusk was slowly settling over the Marabonian Flower Fields, the sun choosing to light the sky instead of the land of Aryth.   Even in the dimmed light, however, the Flower Fields were enough to hypnotize a young girl.   The smell alone, of miles and miles of endless flowers, was enough to dazzle the senses.   The sight of the same flowers made for a wickedly peaceful combo.   Moira felt that she could lay there and lose herself and time, merely gazing until night swallowed the world.   Very likely she would have, too, had it not been for one little girl.    "Who are you?"    It was a bold voice, though tiny, with a thick accent that Moira couldn't quite place.   The plump blonde girl propped herself on to her knees and position herself to face the newcomer.    Moira was not so old to be able to easily distinguish true beauty in people and features.   She thought bunnies were cute and tiaras made of flowers were "beautiful."   But Moira was momentarily speechless when she saw her visitor.   She was about the same height as Moira herself, maybe a little shorter.   But she had darker skin and tilted, almond eyes that were intense and impossibly deep, nearly as mesmerizing as the flower fields around them.   The girl had jet black hair that went down to her hips, dark eyelashes, pouting lips.. and a face that was somehow... perfect.   On top of it all, the young visitor had a way of holding herself.. a confidence, a presence.. that simply would not allow her to be ignored.    Moira finally managed to speak.   "My name.. is Moira..."   She had never felt so inadequete in all her life.   Moira was about the same height as her visitor, but probably weighed twice as much.   Where as the other girl's hair was perfectly groomed and dark as night, Moira's own was a curly, dirty blonde that was severely dishevelled from a day of pouncing through the Flower Fields.   Moira suddenly felt.. ugly.    "Hello, Moira Lanell."   The other girl said.   She managed a slight bow, more in the neck than anything, that spoke volumes about the girl's class.   "My name is Fa' Sonata."    "Your name.. is pretty."    The beautiful girl smiled.   "Yours is too."   Moira was about to express her gratitude, but Sonata was already speaking again. "We have a house very near here.. my mother and father do.   We live near the Marabonian Flower Fields.   We get to, because we are a family of great Pura."   Sonata grinned, obviously impressed with herself.   She had only mentioned it because she was very anxious to show off, as children often are.   Children are also not known for their subtelty.    But then, children are often times easily impressed as well.   Moira surely was.   "Really?   Wow!   You mean you get to come out here whenever you want?"    "I sure do."   La' Sonata said.   She was wearing a smile stretched from ear to ear, visibly happy that Moira was excited by what she had to say.   "I would say that the Flower Fields are our backyard. I come out here all the time, and smell the flowers.. and name them."    "What do you name them?"    "Oh, well..." Some of La' Sonata's grace evaporated as the girl excitedly strided through the flowers, many of which went well past her knees.   She gestured towards a dark blue lilly, stroking one of the petals lightly.   "I call this midnight.   It's poisonous though, dad says so, so don't eat it.   And this..."   She leapt towards a bright yellow mommom a few steps behind where Moira was standing.   "This is sunlight.   And this..." La' Sonata knelt where she was standing, and gently brought up the head of a tiger lilly that was hiding, lain down from Moira's frolicking.   "This is.. this is tailfeathers."    "Tailfeathers?"   Moira asked, a bit surprised by the name.    "Well.. sure.. look at the middle.   They're like feathers."    "I.. don't recall seeing feathers like that."    "You just don't know much." Sonata sighed, letting the flower drip back out of sight.   She started searching near her feet again, probably looking for another flower to name.    "What's that?"   Moira said excitedly, suddenly pointing towards the air.    "What?"    "That!"   Moira repeated, pointing excitedly.    "That?" Sonata exclaimed, her voice amused, when she finally found what the source of the excitement must have been.   "That's just a bug?"    "But... it's lighting up!   Is it magic?"    "Magic?"   Sonata said, the word a big queer on her lips.   "Well..yes, maybe it is.   Maybe."   She paused for a moment, and then nodded smartly as if she had known it all along.   "Yeah, I remember now, they're magic.   They're called fireflies."    "Wow.. can you touch it?"    "Oh, sure, they're not that magic."   Sonata said.   The dark haired girl gracefully strode forward and easily managed to close her hands around the insect.   Cautiously peering into her hands, Sonata grinned anew and walked back towards Moira.   "See?"   Sonata opened her hands up slightly, allowing the furiously glowing bug a path back into the sky.   Moira shrieked happily as the glowing bug flew past her head, just barely dodging the girl's messy curls.    "Cool, huh?" Sonata asked, proud that she was entertaining so well.    "Yes."   Moira said, nodding feverishly, as she stared at the bug darting off towards the horizon.   Staring at it, the curly blonde haired girl saw that the sun had disappeared, and perfect darkness had nearly taken its place.    "I have to go.."   Moira said quietly.   She had finally found some company, someone who even seemed to like her, and now she had to leave.    "Really?"   Sonata said, equally disappointed but for different reasons.   "Where do you have to go?"    "My mom is over that way."   Moira said, pointing towards the West.   "She brought me here.   We live in Rodan, and ever since dad went away mommy promised she would bring me here."    "I went to Rodan once."   Sonata said.   "It's pretty nice."    "It's okay."   Moira said, still depressed.   "But.. if I don't go back to Mommy soon, she's gonna come out here looking for me, and she'll be mad."    "Well, I live that way too.   We can go home together!"    "Really!" Moira said, her face lighting up.    "How much longer are you going to be here?"    "A few days still!"      Moira was absolutely beside herself with excitement, but Sonata managed to remain very casual.   "Well then, you can visit.   We can visit, and I'll show you around the Flower Fields some more!"       "Really?"   Moira said.   The little girl was practically jumping out of her skin with excitement.   Moira had very few friends at school: she was mostly the target of teasing and joking.   Here was a pretty girl asking to be her friend after just a few minutes!    "Sure thing."   Sonata smiled warmly.   "But for now, let's just get home.   I don't want your mom to get mad at you... I know, let's race!"    "But I don't like running!" Moira started, but Sonata was already laughing and trying to high stride her way through the flowers.   Taking a deep breath, Moira prepared herself to follow. Firefly: Flower Tiaras    Moira was running full boar, sweat slicking her face, petals tickling her nose and eyes, breath labored and tired.   But she didn't care.   Whooping another laugh, she jumped in the air and threw the tiara that Fa' Sonata had made for her into the air.   As she landed from her pounce, she stared at the tiara drift back towards the earth slowly, raining petals of all shapes, sizes, and color back to the earth on its journey.   Her imagination taking her, Moira spun in the petal shower, her dress leaving trails behind her.   She imagined for a moment she was beautiful, a fairy living in a beautiful world of magic.   Petals scattered across her, sticking to her clothes and skin.   Just as the Tiara had almost reached the flowers from where it came, Moira leaned over and snatched it, placing it proudly back atop her head.    Fa' Sonata, far more calm, but still laughing mirthfully, came walking down the trail that Moira had made in her energetic run.   "You have become quite the runner since last time, darling."    Moira looked at her dark haired friend and grinned devilishly.   They had spent nearly the entire day today in the Flower Fields, just like the time they first met seven years ago.   They had been children then, and they still were in many ways.   But now they had a friendship that had been built over seven years between them.   It had started quickly and painstakingly maintained from a distance of two countries, but still Moira tried to get to Marabon at least once a year, and still Fa' Sonata would always be waiting for her.    The years had been especially kind to Fa' Sonata, so Moira judged.   She had been a bud when the two girls had first met, but now she was slowly opening.   Her frame had a hint of curve, hips and breasts starting to appear, a harbringer of the body she would inevitably grow into.    Moira was as jealous of her best friend as ever, but the years could have actually been a lot worse to her as well.   Moira was no longer quite so roundish, though she was still far too stout and puggish to be called attractive.   Her classmates had matured enough to stop toying with her feelings, though they still were slow to make friendships with her.   Still, whenever she started feeling lonely, she would think again of Fa' Sonata, the beautiful girl from the Marabon Flower Fields who took Moira as she was.    Today was their last day together, and then Moira would return home to Rodan.   Usually the last day was a sad affair, and the two girls would try and have fun but would be unable to.   Today, however, there was a little something to keep their spirits up.   Fa' Sonata kept speaking of a "surprise," and she was in a remarkably good mood considering that Moira was set to return home before the sun came up the next day.   Seeing Fa' Sonata happy made Moira happy, and so their last day was not quite so bleak as usual.    But Moira was tired of waiting.   Determined to show her impatience, the young girl sat down in the flowers, distracted only as two fireflies flew by her head after being rustled from their esting place below.   Evening was coming quickly, and she would have to return to her mother once more.   Besides, if Fa' Sonata didn't tell her soon, she would simply burst from anticipation.    "You look expectant, darling."   Fa' Sonata said, gracefully lowering herself to her knees beside Moira.    "Enough teasing."   Moira said, trying her best to sound pathetic.   "You've got to tell me what this surprise is..."    "Just a little longer."   Sonata said, smiling lightly.    But Moira would have nothing of it.   "Noooooo.. you said you had good news, and I'm getting tired of waiting so tell me.. telllll meeeee!"    "Fine."   Sonata said, laughing a laugh that sounded like music.   "I'll tell you.   There were recently some Tanes through town and.. well, all the girls approaching womanhood had to be tested for magic talents.   And... it turns out I have a lot of magic talent.   I mean, like.. a LOT.   They were really impressed so.. they invited me to the Tower, as a special student."    "What?"   Moira said, her voice incredulous.    "Yes."   Fa' Sonata said, her smile broader.   "And the Tower is so close to Rodan, that I thought.."    "NO!   Mother had me tested by the Tanes, and I have magic talent too!   A LOT of it!   And I've been asked to be a Cenrum at the Glory Tower too!"    "..really?"   Fa' Sonata said, her voice is a bit stunned.    "REALLY REALLY!"   Moira said, now waving her hands about furiously.   "WE'LL BE STUDENTS TOGETHER!   WE CAN BE ROOMATES!   THIS WILL BE GREAT!"    Moira was off the handle for another five minutes.   But as the young curly haired blonde girl excitedly babbled about the fun they would have, the trouble they would get in, and the boys they would meet, Fa' Sonata actually seemed to grow less and less excited.   Moira was so pumped, however, that she never seemed to really notice. Firefly: Hyp    "...and give my best regard to mother, for I am certain she is troubled at this time.   The pain when a parent outlives their child must be grevious indeed.   I am a father, and I can relate.    I cannot stress enough my grief, or the intense regret that I feel at knowing I will not be at my sister's funeral.   My duty here is important, however.   The Phyrex are still at large, their servants still hiding underneath rock and tree.   Our victory over the Phyrex is short lived, and I must be sure to keep the dangers of the rogue magic users at bay so that what happened to my sister does not happen to others.   And so I swear it, upon my return, I will hunt for the Phyrex monster that did this to my sister to the ends of Gnall, and when I find it, for it must certainly be a monster, I will pay it back tenfold.    I sign this letter in both ink and tears.    Until Then,    Larke-no Tlinn"    Larke looked over his scrawl once more, reading it carefully to make sure it sounded sincere, before he folded it carefully and scribbled an address on the front.   News of his sister's death had been sudden, but expected.. to Larke at least.   He could only hope she hadn't suffered too much.   Larke knew what kind of sick and twisted monsters the Hyps could be.   Despite everything, Larke did love his sister, and he felt her loss.    Satisfied his letter was convincing, Larke stood up and opened his coat so he could place the parchment on the inside pocket.   As he reached inside, however, his wrist was stopped dead by a grasp colder than ice, slick with slime and hard like steel.   He jumped in surprise, almost schrieching.   The pale thing in front of him grinned a tight-lipped smile, entertained by the soldier's fear.   At last the monster let go of Larke, and he likewise pulled his hand back, rubbing the wrist hard.    "You scared the shit out of me."   Larke spat.    The monster grinned wider, further stretching the skin on his face.   The monster appeared like a weak imitation of a human.   A skeleton, wrapped hastily in elastic muscle and skin, with a little blood added for afterthought.   It had a small, crooked nose, ears that were too far back on Its head, eyes sunken into the skull.   But it was the eyes.. the eyes that truly bothered Larke.   They were like nothing he had ever seen.   Orbs of dark clouds that sifted and drifted across a glassy surface.   Looking into them made Larke want to vomit, but like a bloody battle, he couldn't help but watch.   Ironically, the creature seemed to be trying to make up for Its unsightly appearance by wearing clothes that were at once both colorful and ridiculous.   An outrageously large hat topped his head.   His body bore a jacket more fitting to a circus than to a shadow assassin.   His pants weren't pants at all, but large poofs of green and red stripes that went down to his knees and then suddenly tucked into a pair of bright red leggings.   The creature was.. unsightly, to put it mildly.    "Have you found them yet?"   It was amazing that anything the monster said could be understood.   It's voice was akin to breaking sticks and an entire garrison of swords being drug across a large slab of chalkboard.    "No."   Larke said.   He didn't want to seem to intimidated by the monster, but so help him, he felt like pissing his pants and running, not necessarily in that order.   "But I've put everything I have into it.   We're combing everything between here and the Bloodbane Mountains.. if they're here, we will find them.   I guarantee it."    "That's not good enough."   The creature said sickly.   "Silja-nu wants them dead.   Wants them now.   You're gonna have to do better, and do better now."    "P.. please."   Larke said, fear suddenly taking a grip of him.   "Please.   Give me more time.   We will find them.. I promise.   My parents... aunts, uncles.. cousins! Nephews!   Please, take one of them.   Give me more time."    "I don't plan to mess with your extended family, and the thought of killing your parents bores me."   The creature yawned, and then managed a low pitched cackle as It leaned closer towards Larke.   "After yesterday, you're fresh out of siblings.   I read your letter, by the way.   So you plan to pay me back tenfold, eh?"    Larke nearly wet himself.   "You.. how did you.."    "I am as much a part of the shadows as the darkness."   The creature said simply, as if explaining that water was wet.   "I find your attempts to comfort your family amusing, little bird, but maybe you should just tell them that they would all be alive and well if you would just do your job."    "Wha.. what?"   Larke muttered.   Now he was sweating.   "No, please.. take someone else.   A little more time."    "Someone else?"   The creature said, It's voiced a sick parody of charming.   It scratched its chin, in mock thought, with a bony finger.   "Well, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews.. I don't give a damn. They don't please me.   But.. your wife."   Larke's eyes widened.   This pleased the monster, and It chuckled dryly again.   "No, no.. your daughter.   Oh, what is she?   Thirteen now?   And like a ray of sunshine..."    "No, please."   Larke said    "Like fresh spring."   The creature cackled, overjoyed by Larke's panic.   "I will defile her, and then I will make her suffer.. suffer tenfold for what I did to your sisters and brother.   They had a merciful death, compared to the one your daughter will be graced with."    "Please!"   Larke fell to his knees.   "Please, don't touch her..."    "You WORM!"   Like a coiled snake, the creature lifted Larke up by the collar and threw him towards the back of the room.   His drafting table tipped over, throwing papers throughout the room and catapulting a bottle of black ink towards the monster.   It bounced off the creature's ear, landing on his shoulder and dumping thick black down his shoulder.    Stunned and afraid, Larke continued to plead.   "Don't harm her.. please.. don't harm her..."    "Your time is up!"   The creature spat.   "Silja has been more than kind with you, and you throw that kindness in her face!   I have been given permission to do whatever I deem necessary in my mission, and now I think it's about time to end you, you miserable little cretin.   Now, stand up and die like a man."    "WHAT THE HELL IS SILJA'S PROBLEM!?"   Larke cried out.   Far beyond the verge of tears, he was crying like an infant.   "WHY WOULD ONE OF THE LAST OF THE PHYREX WANT TO HUNT DOWN HER SURVIVING FOLLOWERS?   WHY?   Why.. can't she just let them go..."    "A Lord General of Gnall asking such questions."   The creature sneered.   "You were appointed by your 'great' First DeLaykrinn to slay Phyrex, and now you try and justify letting them live.   Now, stand up and die like a man."    Larke drew himself to his feet slowly, now fully aware of his inevitable death.   He continued to sob as the monster drew closer.   His end near, he now had only one wish.   "Please.. please leave her be..."    "Your daughter?'   The creature snickered.   "Oh, don't worry... you'll die quick.   After that, though, I'm going to be a little hungry for more.   Your daughter will still die, don't you fret about that."    Larke tried to scream, but the monster's hand was already tight around his throat.    The next morning, Lord General Larke-no Tlinn would be found dead in his quarters, his room showing signs of a struggle.   His head will be attached to his neck by a mere sliver of thread, his insides lying on the floor beside him.   He will be lamented as a great warrior, a man who did much to help the vigilante DeLaykrinn overcome the evil Phyrex and return peace to Gnall.   His wife will be stricken ill with grief, and would finally kill herself three days later, upon news that her daughter had been found raped and tortured in some serene woods less than thirty miles away from her home.    The creature, known only as a Hyp, would head towards the West, now satisfied that the Phyrex It hunted no longer lived on the Eastern side of Aryth. Firefly: A Day Outside the Tower    Neither girl was a stranger to big cities.   Central Marabon was not so far from where Fa' Sonata once lived, and she often visited there with either her mother or father.   Likewise, Moira lived near Rodan, though it was far enough that she was lucky to go to the city but twice a year.   Both girls had seen the big cities of Aryth, had strolled down roads paved with rock, had seen buildings several times higher than their own homes.   But there was a difference between living near a city and living in one.   Especially when that city wasn't technically a city, but the Glory Tower.    A towering testament to the the union of the Tanes of West Aryth, the Glory Tower was a piece of seamless marble that had been carved into a Tower that was the highest and largest structure in all of Aryth, and was even impressive by Outland standards.   It was made to house all the Tanes of Aryth as well as any students and visitors that might be passing by.   In the current day of Kupopolis, the Tanes have suffered greatly at the hands of war, and are down to a few handfuls.   A little more than sixty years ago, however, the mana rich land of Aryth had provided the Glory Tower, home in some respect to all magic users of Aryth, with a veritable population of talented magic users.   The Tower was filled to the brim with activity, both with magic users and visitors come to ask favors or even merchants and colporteurs who prey on the thick, diverse population.    This was the new home of Fa' Sonata and Moira.   They had asked to share a room, and were graced with a beautiful room (on a high floor, which was unfortunate since Aryth had no elevators) with plenty of space and windows that faced towards the East.   Every morning they could look out their morning to see the bright Arythian sun passing over the massive, ever-changing Bloodbane Mountains.    Their room was also a splendid affair, decked in gold with bright sarha curtains and lush green carpet that seemed closer to walking on air than the real thing.   Stones and minerals that would be considered precious anywhere else in the Web were a common commodity in Aryth, so when the Tanes decided to build their Tower they also decided to decorate it elaborately.   There was not a bedroom, bathroom, or broom closet that was without   at least gold trim or an elaborate design of gems.   Far from being gaudy, the halls of the Tower instead shone with a consistent elegance.   Even the wealthiest, most jaded noble in all the Web of Worlds would be unable to walk closed-mouth throught the massive Glory Tower.   And yet despite it size it was always clean and in good repair, due most likely to the large amount of Cenrum the Tower had training underneath it.    The first day the girls saw their room, they were thrilled.   They thought they were set to embark on a magical journey that would refine them and turn them into wise women who spoke with respect and intelligence, just as the Tanes of the day did.   Of course, their journey through the Tower would do just that, but it was not an easy path to follow.   By the end of the first week they were no longer so thrilled about their beautiful room -- they only used it to sleep in.   And that was for, at most, six hours at a shot.   Then it would time to get up again and go to mana lessons until they were ready to pass out.   Peculiarly, Fa' Sonata and Moira never shared the same classes.   Fa' Sonata's classes must have been harder than Moira's, though, since everytime they returned to the room, Fa' Sonata looked like she wanted to crawl under a bed and die.    Eventually, though, the Glory Tower blessed them with a great gift: A day off school.   Most aspiring Cenrum opted to use the day to sleep.. and sleep some more.   Moira planned to do the very same, but Fa' Sonata would have none of it.   When Moira had expressed concern to her friend that she would have to leave all her friends in Marabon behind, Fa' Sonata simply shrugged and assured Moira that she had always been able to make friends fast.   But Fa' Sonata had not made many new friends since arriving at the Tower, most likely because one hardly had time to talk to another.   Fa' Sonata was ready to make friends.   Fa' Sonata wanted to go out on the Tower grounds and mingle.    So there was no sleeping in.   Well, there was a little, Moira insisted they at least get eight hours of sleep instead of the usual six.   But after that,     Elegant little Fa' Sonata and the portly Moira hit the town.    Both were awestruck at first.   The Tower grounds, much like the Tower itself, was an elaborate bit of landscaping.   The streets were not merely made out of cobblestone, they were made of seamless segments of smooth rock that neither chipped nor split no matter how many horses or carts passed across them.   Neither girl remembered ever seeing the grass cut, yet everywhere it was perfectly level and a lush green.   Lining the streets were series of flowers, simple in their color and arrangement.   They were no match for the Marabonian Flower Fields, of course, but their orderly nature was more suiting to the Tower than the wild, chaotic collage of colors that was Marabon.    But then, if the streets were a worthy of a second look, the people on the streets had earned a second hundred.   Every nation and every end of life was represented on the streets, from smiling, chattering Reinian musicians to stern looking Truklanese soldiers to boundless colporteurs to tan skinned Marabonians to topless Camooran.   The girls both stopped several times as they walked around the gargantuan perimeter of the Tower to both wordlessly ogle at a wirey, colorful juggler or some wares being offered by a local trader that appeared to have no practical use, but were very nice to look at.    Moira tried to drag Fa' Sonata to one such merchant who was selling something that looked like a fairy carved from wood.   Fa' Sonata tried breathlessly to remind   Moira that there was no such thing as fairies, but the other girl simply wouldn't listen.   Half way through the eager walk, however, both girls shrieked in startlement as an entertainer somewhere to their left noisily belched up fire.    The girls looked over at the ensemble, Moira in surprise, Fa' Sonata in eagerness.   The firebreather, a skinny little man with dark skin, smiled at the sudden attention he was recieving from the two little ones.   "Something I can do for you?"   He said.   As he finished, he burped another spout of flame.   Moira positively shrieked.   Fa' Sonata grinned.    "I can do that do, darlin'."   She exclaimed, thumbing her chest.   "And better!"    "Can you now?"   The firebreather said, his doubt painted plainly on his face.   "Well then, let's see it."    Fa' Sonata rolled up her sleeves and rubbed her hands together.   Moira stepped back -- this was something she had not seen from her raven haired friend, and the firebreather was scary enough.    Fa' Sonata closed her eyes in a moment of focus.   The moment stretched on until it seemed like nothing would happen.   The firebreather leaned forward expectantly, and Moira raised a hesitant hand towards her friend, still not daring to take a step.    And then, the square lit up with a huge FWOOMP!   Fire exploded from Fa' Sonata's hands.   It was extremely brief, like a lightbulb exploding, but the flames leapt two stories high.   Miraculously, nothing caught on fire and no one was harmed, though the Marabon girl had succeeded in getting a great deal many people's attention.   She smiled in earnest, taking in the attention.    The firebreather laughed heartily, a sound unbecoming of his skinny frame.   "That WAS nice.   I certainly don't think I'll ever be able to burp up anything of that caliber.   And.." he then looked towards Moira, who immediately wanted nothing more than to run away.   "How about you , little lady?   You look like a Cenrum too.. maybe you have a trick you'd like to show us."    Moira glanced nervously at Fa' Sonata, who was still basking in the limelight, and then timidly shook her head.    "Oh, come on."   The firebreather repeated, now ready to step off his stage.   "You must have something.. even a little something... the crowds just love to see little girls doing big magic!"    "Oh, you must have something Moira."   Fa' Sonata said, grinning to her friend from the side of her face.   "Even you can't be that incompetent."    Moira swallowed the lump in her throat.   Sonata was right, of course, she had learned a thing or two but.. nothing like that FIRE!   And displays weren't really Moira's thing either.. she preferred to watch rather than to perform.   Still, she could feel a hundred eyes bearing into her.. and worse yet, her best friend, happily taking in the attention, soaking it up like a sponge, grinning from ear to ear.   It was embarrassing, standing next to such talent, and just having to blush away.    Taking in one last hard swallow, Moira set her hands in front of her.   She closed her eyes, and went through the steps just like she had been taught.   Focusing.. losing her sight.. until she no longer sees with her eyes.. but she can still see mana.   The building blocks of the universe, the strands that make up everything, the very fabric of space, time, and reality.   What Moira saw didn't really look like any of that.. she just saw little glimmers of light.   Her vision was supposed to get clearer as she got better.   There was only one strand she had been able to touch, though: Light.    She strummed the thread of light mana cautiously, and was rewarded with the slightest of motions.   More confident, she reached her will forward and carefully pinched the side of the light, bringing it towards her.   She pulled more, though it quickly started to feel taut, but soon she felt she had collected a nicely sized ball where her hands were outstretched.   Taking in a deep breath, Moira slowly opened her eyes.    There, in her hands, was a ball of light.   Just a plain, simply ball of light, but it filled both her hands.   She smiled in relief, a drop of sweat snaking its way of her brow and down her chin.   The fireeater laughed loudly, and Fa' Sonata smiled and nodded.   It wasn't anywhere near as amazing as Fa' Sonata's fireball, but at least she had something.    "Can you let it go now?" The firebreather said.    "Wh.. what?"   Moira said, a bit surprised.   She had worked so hard to get the ball of light...    "Just let it float up.   Let everyone see it!"    "Oh."   Moira said, smiling shyly.   Letting go was easier than getting hold.   She slowly let go of the strands of mana in her "hands," and watched as they detached.   The ball of light dimmed somewhat, and then started to float into the air.   Small flecks of light   seperated from the ball and vanished as they returned to balance with the rest of mana.   Still, Moira had made a large enough ball so that it would last a while -- as it passed the first floor of the Tower, it was still flickering away.    "Watch this!" Fa' Sonata said, and shut her eyes and reached a hand forward.    It was another long moment, one that Moira didn't think her friend was going to pull through, but soon the ball of the light lit into flames.   It was an eerie but surprisingly novel effect.   Fa' Sonata had created a ball of fire that followed around the ball of light, giving it the appearance of white light in flames.   Moira gasped, and then smiled, seeing her spell and her friend's working together in sweet unison.    "You've created another sun, lasses!"   The firebreather chuckled.    "I think we should call it a firefly."   Fa' Sonata suggested, smiling at her friend.    Moira's chubby face nearly split in two as she grinned back.   "Yes, yes I think that would be nice!   Our own little firefly."    As Moira watched her firefly float up, almost to the second floor of the tower, it suddenly fizzled out as though it had been doused by water.   Moira yelped and stared at Fa' Sonata in confusion.   The Marabon girl, however, was already looking furiously in another direction.    Moira followed Sonata's line of sight to a grassy patch just next to the Glory Tower, somewhere underneath where their firefly had been floating.   Dancing around, a thing training sword in his hand, and making nasty farting noises was a boy.   He was barely distinguishable from such a distance.. so Fa' Sonata grabbed a reluctant Moira by the wrist and started to march towards the dancing boy.    As they drew closer, Fa' Sonata's pace slowed.   This wasn't what she had been expecting.   The almond eyed Marabon girl had been expecting a short brat, but this kid was the same age, maybe even a year or two older, than Sonata and Moira themselves.   He watched with amusement as the two girls marched over, chuckling under his breath, hands curled into fists at his hips.   As they drew close, it became obvious that this boy was also quite a bit taller and bigger than either of them.    Fa' Sonata didn't seem to care.   "What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing, walking around here putting out other people's spells!"    "A wandering ball of fire."   The boy laughed.   "You must be new here.   I just saved both your asses.   If one of the Tanes see a ball of fire wandering around the Tower, they'll get right mad.   And, you bet yer' arse they'll be coming straight for you too, now!"    "We wouldn't get caught." Fa' Sonata said smugly, emulating the boy's stand-offish stance.    He merely smirked.   "Is that so now?   I don't think you give your elders enough credit, then."    "Or maybe it's you who isn't giving US enough credit, darling."    "My arse."   The boy laughed.    Moira was stunned, watching the two in their exchange of wits.   For the first time, though, she found herself really LOOKING at the boy.   She felt her cheeks blush.   He had dark hair, almost as dark as Sonata's, high cheekbones, bright blue eyes, and a muscular build.. well, for one in his early teens, anyways.   He was CUTE.    If Fa' Sonata noticed, she didn't seem to care.   "You boys.   Running around, picking on the girls... with your little toy swords!   You should be ashamed!"    "I ain't kiddin when I tell you that letting spells like that float around is askin for TROUBLE!"   The boy stamped his foot to accentuate his point.   Even his voice, some strange mixture of a boyish high pitch and a manly low tone, was cute.   "Listen to me, now, I've had my arse striped once or twice for doing just what you did right there."    "Darling, that's just because you didn't have the common sense to save your own 'arse' when you needed to!"    "And you're much better!"   The boy laughed, cocking his head back.   "We'll see what you think after you get your arse strapped, now!"    "I'll have you know, I have been placed ahead of most of my class."   Sonata said, stepping towards the boy.   She spread her arms out in a gesture meant to give herself as much praise as possible.   "And I already surpass the skills of many of the Tanes.   I am Fa' Sonata.. the GREAT, not just another Tower-struck Cenrum wandering the stone paths of the perimeter on an afternoon off.   I can take care of myself."    "Is that so, now?"   The boy said cheerfully, yet dubiously.   He then nodded his head slightly, crossing his arms around himself.   "Well, I'm just here to become a magic fencer for Truklan, but I'm betting I'll see quite a bit of you.   The name's Peihl."    Before the end of the week, Fa' Sonata had officially hooked herself her first boyfriend. Firefly: Between Women and Girls    "Darlin', darlin', darlin'... you need to pull yourself out of those books."    Moira managed to open dreadfully saggy eyes wide enough to look at her roommate and smile timidly.   Fa' Sonata looked ravishing tonight, as she did always.   She was dressed in something from her Marabon homeland, a dark crimson red top and pants with sarha trimming that was baggy in some places but tight in all the right spots.   Fa' Sonata had grown into a body every bit as perfect as could be hoped for.   Other Cenrum and even Tanes were often caught staring at the young girl as she walked from class to class in the Tower.   It had gotten so bad that Moira couldn't even let herself be seen around her friend anymore, so ignored did she feel.   She went out less and less, as Sonata was the only real friend she had.   These days, she spent most of her time in her bedroom studying, absorbing herself so much that she would forget to eat or sleep.    "Coooooome ON!"   Fa' Sonata said shrilly, playfully grabbing the arm of her best friend.   Moira was nearly dragged off her seat before she manage dto gain control of her own body again, recomposing herself in her desk chair behind a modest oak candlelit desk that served as her famliar study friend.   Fa' Sonata, upset her attempts weren't working, put on her best pouty face.   She stuck her plump bottom lip out as far as it would go, squinting her eyes just right so that they actually appeared to be frowning.   The face looked ridiculous on a countenance as unblemished as Fa' Sonata's, and Moira couldn't help but snicker.    "Come on."   Sonata said, sighing in her near defeat.   "You can't sit here forever. Look at yourself, you're wasting away!   You've got to come out and have some fun!"    "I'm sorry."   Moira said, trying to sound honest as she dodged her friend's invitation.   "I've.. got a lot of studying to do."    "Study what!" Sonata sneered, though she tried to sneer politely.   "All you do anymore is read those damn books.   Darling, you have to come with us!   There's gonna be a Reinian Theater on the outskirts of the perimeter tonight and.. ohh, come on.   There will be cute boys there and everything!   If you don't come with us, darling, you'll be SO sorry!"    By us, Sonata was of course referring to Peihl, who was waiting patiently towards the back.   The years had been just as kind to him as they had been to Fa' Sonata.   Peihl had outgrown cute, he was now entirely too handsome for his own good.   Where boys and men would curse Peihl for being the favored of the awe inspiring beauty of Fa' Sonata, the girls and women ground their teeth together whenever they spotted Sonata, for she was the one who had stolen Peihl when they were still but children.   They were the Ken and Barbie of the Glory Tower.    They made an odd couple, however.   When they were children, they were a perfect match, running about and causing mischief.   It was all Moira could do to keep up with them.   But as Fa' Sonata became more wild and rambuctious with each new year, the harsh training of a magic fencer seemed to calm the wild in Peihl.   He was always more reserved and cool headed, as opposed to the mischevious trouble maker he had once been.     Despite how different he had grown, Fa' Sonata was still besotted with him.   Sometimes, she would keep Moira up until dawn, talking about how amazing their wedding would be, and how wonderful Moira would look as a bridesmaid.   In the dead of autumn, when leaves of every color carpet the earth, near a spring that Fa' Sonata had grown up in.   The Marabon Flower Fields would serve as their backdrop.   Fa' Sonata would wear white, adorned with all her favorite flowers, topped by a floral tiara.   Peihl would be dressed handsomely in his Truklan uniform, prim and proper from head to toe.    As troublesome as Moira often found it to face the next day of schooling with only an hour or two of sleep, she would still lay awake smiling, listening to Fa' Sonata unveil her master plan again and again.   It was a beautiful thought, and Moira still had fond memories of the Flower Fields, and of Sonata's onetime home, that lingered with her though she had not been there for several years now.   Of course, every time Fa' Sonata would end it by mentioning the fireflies, a whole batch of them she would have caught and released just as the wedding ended.   After mentioning that, Fa' Sonata would seem to blush, embarrassed at her own sentiments, and would simply mention how unbelievably perfect and gorgeous Peihl would look.    That same Peihl who had unwittingly had his entire future planned for him finally laughed lightly and shook his head -- he was starting to grow a little impatient, truth be told.   "Come on, Sonata.   She isn't coming.   Leave her to her studies."    "You're a big POOP!"   Sonata said, stamping her foot.   Moira merely continued to smile timidly.    "You should take a few examples from her, now."   Peihl chuckled.   "How is that we never see you studying?"    "I do quite fine without studying, thank you very much."   Fa' Sonata said, sticking her nose in the air and crossing her arms beneath her breasts.    "Indeed." Peihl said, his voice amused.   "Well, in that case, we better not keep you too near the books princess."    Fa' Sonata looked at Peihl with a devilish smile and a mischevious glint in her eyes.   "Yes, you ARE right darling.   Let's go."    Fa' Sonata looked behind and waved a frustrated goodbye to Moira, who weakly waved a goodbye of her own.   When both left and the large wooden door closed behind them, Moira found she no longer had the desire to study.   Her weariness at last getting the best of her, Moira rested her head on her forearms and fell asleep." Firefly: Wanting to be Wanted    Sonata coughed quietly as a small cloud of thick, dark blue smoke snuck its way into her open mouth as she tried to sleep.   She awoke dully, her senses slow, colors dancing in her eyes.   She tried to stand, but found her body would have nothing of it.   She felt numb all over, and   her lungs itched.   Slowly realizing what was happening, Sonata settled for crawling.   She blindly stumbled across the thick grass underneath her favorite tree, a large and mighty ash tree overlooking the cliff into the stream that ran by her "home."    As her sight, among other senses, finally came back to her, Sonata saw that her suspicions were correct.   Her mother and father were both huddled over a pile of flowers they had started burning, happily taking the smoke in their mouth and nostrils.   With each breath, their eyelids fluttered and their lips curled up.   It was like a smile, but Sonata didn't think she could call it so.   It was eerie.   But they would do it every day.   Sonata wasn't sure why, as the smoke made her sick.   But ever since they had borught the girl here to "live," they would spend part of the day in the Flower Fields, searching and never speaking, and then they would burn them.. and just sit there, smelling the smells.   Sonata couldn't even remember her mother's voice anymore, it had been so long since she had said a word of sense.    Sonata couldn't stand to watch her parents anymore, so she curled up by the side of the cliff and stared into the water far below her.   When her parents first brought her here, Sonata had been amazed by these sights.   She would visit the Flower Fields every day, and every night sit here and stare into the water, being soothed by the sound of it rapidly flowing beneath her, and eat whatever meal had been given to her.    But the girl quickly realized this was not enough.   As she stared happily into the water, her parents started disappearing.   When Sonata was finally able to find them, it was as if she never existed.   Both mother and father stared off distantly, not even responding when Sonata pulled at their pant legs.   At first Sonata simply worried, but by the third night, she was brought to tears.   She cried but feet away from her parents, and still they ignored her, just staring out into oblivion like stupid beasts.    Here in the Flower Fields, there was no one to talk to.   The Flower Fields recieved dozens of visitors each day, but none of them came near Sonata's neck of the woods.   She would head back to central Marabon, just a few miles away, but she was only six, and certain she would get lost.    Unable to settle for solitude as her only friend, Fa' Sonata would lose herself in the Flower Fields.   She would speak with the flowers, and name them.   She would share her secrets, and her fantasies.   Her hopes and dreams.   The Flowers were excellent listeners.   They never asked questions, merely swayed in the wind, either with boredom or enthrallment.   The colors and scents of the endless, seamless flora became her new friends.   She wished for more, but she could not stand the empty feeling.   She needed an escape, even if it was a bunch of plants.    Sometimes, though, she would perform shows for them.   Great galas that would do for any Reinian show.   She would describe creatures of all shapes and sizes with fantastic excitement and a touch of magic that only children know.   She would pretend she was a runaway Tane of great powers, joining a group of travelling minstrels just to entertain the people around her.   She was loved and adored for her magic, and she would always steal her the show with her grand finale.    "Watch This!" She would scream to the flowers, and raise her arms into the air.   She thought as hard as she could, until her mind hurt and her blood raced with excitement, and then fire would explode from her hands.   It was a trick that amazed Sonata herself every time she did it.   She wasn't sure how or when she discovered she could throw fire from her fingertips, but she practiced it every day. Never around her parents.. for it was a freakish ability, and they would want her less.   Despite this, it was something Sonata felt she had to do.   It made her.. special.    And then she would burn her friends.       It was nothing personal.   But slowly, one by one, she would pick a few flowers from the ground.   Ones that looked similar to the flowers that her mother and father brought home for burning.. normally the pink ones.   Then she would burn them, slowly, to make them suffer.   Not to inhale their fumes, but to watch them wither and die.    Then she would sit down in a clearing, where there weren't a great deal of flowers.   She would rest her chin on her knees and tell the flowers about one of her other great fantasies.   How she would one day master her gift, and burn the Marabonian Flower fields to the ground.   To reclaim her parents.    She would apologize to the flowers for the act she had planned, but it was never an honest apology.   She considered the flowers her friends, but the friendship was not mutual.   They listened well, but they never talked back.   They did not want her.   Sonata would not regret destroying them all to get her parents back.   To be wanted again. Firefly: Ashes    Fa' Sonata nearly tripped over her own feet as she raced back towards home.   Never had she imagined her first trip to the Central Marabon City all by herself would be so fruitful!   Her parents had not given her permission... but then, they had spoken hardly a word to her since they had arrived.   But they would listen to her now!   They would listen, because Fa' Sonata WAS special!   She had proven it today!    As Sonata's tiny legs carried her down the hillside that served as her home, her steps slowed.   Both Father and Mother were missing from their usual spot just outside the flowers of the Marabon Flower Fields.   In their usual spot of rest was a large pile of ashes, a larger pile than usual.   There was not a trace of either one -- they must have returned to the Flower Fields in search of more to burn.    Sonata couldn't believe her bad luck.   She had run all the way home, quite a trip for a girl so young, just to share this exciting news.   And Moira would be visiting next week... Sonata could tell her too!   No doubt Moira would be amazed by the news.   Not everyone knew someone who was going to become a Tane at the Glory Tower!    "MOOOOOOTHER!"   Sonata yelled out, hoping desperately to receive and answer, but knowing in her mind she would not. "FAAAATHER!"    She yelled out a few more times.   After the fourth cry, she paused to catch her breath, worn both from the yelling and the running.   It was then that a soft melody seeped into her ears like unsuspecting mist.   It seemed to be coming from the north, from the tall hill that bordered the Flower Fields that could almost be considered a mountain.   It was a haunting melody, both entirely too familiar yet amazingly foreign at the same time.   Mesmerized by the melody, Sonata walked towards its source.    Further up the hill, where the grass started to become sparse and replaced by stretches of hard, brown rock, Soanta found what she was looking for.   A woman, dressed in clothes like rags and dancing madly and clumsily about.   She seemed to be teasing the cliff's edge, dancing along its side and almost daring to plunge herself over, and then spinning back away.   As she retreated from the edge, she laughed a great melodious laugh, and then would sing her song again.   It was a nonsense children's song, one that Sonata's mother used to sing to her when she was young.    "I wish that I was a star, to give the world to you.    I wish that I could ride a cloud, to see the whole world through,    At the very least I would wish myself a bird...    and fly the skies with you."    It must have been years since Sonata had last heard that song, and even then she would have been too young to remember it.   But she still found herself humming along, even remembering a word or to.   It was strange, and it felt surreal so that Sonata seemed to forget what she had even searched her mother out for.    Her mother...    Sonata was surprised it took so long to recognize the one who had given her life.   In all this time since Sonata had made friends with the flowers and then Moira, Fa' Sonata felt that she never really looked at her mother.   In her dreams and memories, her mother was a dark angel with hair that was like the night spilling down her shoulders and eyes so full of warmth and care that the little girl felt she could melt right into them.   This mad dancing woman was no angel.   Her hair was like dried straw, sunworn and unwashed.   Her face was hollow and gaunt, not smooth and pristine.   And her eyes were like empty cavities without a soul, so completely unliked Sonata remembered that it startled her.    Had Sonata really left her parents to be so alone?   Was she really so unwanted that they had to turn to this?   Why hadn't they simply gotten rid of her?   Fa' Sonata's exciting news seemed dead on her lips, but she reminded herself that this might bring retribution.   She would be a Tane!   This made her something special!   Tentatively stepping forward, Fa' Sonata started to recite her news.   "Mommy.. I went towards Marabon today.   Please.. don't yell at me, I know I wasn't supposed to go."   Sonata seriously doubted her mother was going to yell at her, but it felt comforting to be scared.   " I never made it.. but on the way, I ran into a Tane on a prairie road.. and.. I showed him a trick."   Sonata wasn't ready to unveil that just yet.   "And.. mom.. mommy?"    Sonata's mother had been staring blankly over her daughter's head, but suddenly, as if broken from a spell, she looked down at her daughter.   Sonata found it unnverving and freakish at the same time, so much that goosebumps started to appear on her skin.   In the next moment, it was gone, and her mother began to dance and sing again.   "I wish that I was a star, to give the world to you."    Sonata felt queer, but she continued.   "And.. mommy, he said I have amazing potential!   And that I'm invited to the Tower!   Mommy, I'm going to the Tower!   I'm a Cenrum!"    "I wish that I could ride a cloud, to see the whole world through!"   Sonata's mother spread her arms to her side and started to run around like a child pretending to be a bird.   Sonata watched, tears welling up in her eyes.   By the mana, what had she done?    "And.. mom.. I'm gonna leave soon.   I told the Tane where we live, and he's gonna come here!   And take us.. mommy?"    Her mother was drifting dangerously close to the cliff's edge now, her arms still wide at her sides.   She strolled up and down the edge, staring down into the crevasse below, so far that the sound of the water rapids cutting through the rock formations was barely audible.   Sonata felt her body tense.   She could barely speak now.   "Mommy... I.. I..."    "At the very least I wish myself a bird..."   Sonata's mother was absolutely grinning now, leaning into the strong wind of the high hills.    Sonata couldn't take it anymore, and cautiously started walking towards her mother as she choked back frightened and confused.   "Mommy, come on, I'm trying to tell you something... I'm special now.   I have.. I have.."    "And fly the skies with you."    The last refrain was barely a whisper, and then Sonata's mother launched herself from the cliff, truly thinking herself a bird.   She slowly waved her arms as she took to the sky.   Gravity quickly took its hold of her, dragging her body so that it was perfectly paralell with the cliff as she raced towards the water.   Yet the delusional woman continued to flap her wings, the wind rushing by her ears only proof of her journey through the clouds.    Sonata screamed some uninterpretable sound as she fell to the earth, staring in horror over the cliff as her mother propelled herself towards the rapids.   Some kind of magic must have been at work as she watched, for the entire world seemed to slow, making the scene of Sonata's plumetting mother last long enough so that she would be able to burn the memory into her mind, able to replay it in her dreams no matter how hard she tried to forget.    When the woman hit the water, it was head first, and the rest of her body fell limply into the water a moment later.   As the rapids carried her downstream, Sonata's mother's body flipped to its back, allowing her face to stare into the sky.   From this distance, racing down the white rapids of the water, she appeared almost to be her angelic self again.    The water carried her a ways until the river started to calm, approximately where Sonata's favorite tree was planted and rooted.   There was an outcropping of rock there, which caught Sonata's mother so that the rushing water could not take her away any further.   Lying with eyes closed and and a broad smile, her mother might have looked beautiful there, were it not for the odd angle to her neck.    An hour later, Sonata was finally able to find her father about a mile into nowhere within the Marabon Flower Fields.   He was still dazed, just as her mother had been.   No matter how Sonata pulled and pleaded, no matter how she begged, he would not respond to her.   Even when she described, with uncontrollable sobs, what had happened to his wife and her mother, he wandered away like a zombie.    At last, scared but unable to simply do nothing, Sonata returned to her tree to fetch her mother from the water.   The current was slow enough so that even the little girl was able to drag her mother out.   She was cold to the touch, and her joints were stiff, but the water seemed to have revived her into something resembling her mother again.    After getting the body back on to the earth, Sonata felt compelled to run away, to hide underneath her tree.   But still she stared at her mother, looking so terribly close to the way Sonata wanted, the way Sonata remembered.   Night fell, and Sonata had not moved.   When the sun came up again, the body was nowhere to be found.   Sonata could not remember nor had she ever asked herself what had become of her mother's body.   It was something she had worked hard to forget and had, for the most part, been successful.    The air smelled thick of ashes the next day. Firefly: Plea    "Again.. Focus, Fa' Sonata, focus."    'I would focus if you'd just shut up, you old coot.' Sonata thought to herself.   But still, she redoubled her efforts, trying with all her might to see the mana around her.   But when she opened her eyes again, there was nothing.   Well.. perhaps not nothing.   These were the rather cozy quarters of a Fire Tane that had agreed to tutor Sonata.   He was a wirey old man, and didn't seem to enjoy Sonata's company one bit.. but he was persistent.   It seemed to Sonata that the grizzled man had nothing better to do than to sit around with her and to chastise her again and again when she failed to touch mana.    Or even to see it.    "I still don't see it."   Sonata repeated, a bead of sweat slipping down her nose and into her lap.    "What's wrong with you!"   The old man said.   Had he been younger, Sonata was betting he would have managed a roar, but as it was he sounded like a bitching old coot.   "You couldn't bend a hair of mana!   What the hell are you doing here, anyways?   I'm beginning to doubt you can manipulate mana at all!"    Sonata's teeth clenched together.   She had tried talking back to the old codger before, but it had merely ended with her cleaning an entire floor of the Glory Tower herself... one of the highest floors.   She was almost ready to light the old duff up.   "Maybe, darling, if you offered better instruction than just yelling..."    "It's like trying to explain to a baby how to crawl."   The man said snidely.   "And what a lick of good that would do.   If you've got the talent, you should be able to see the mana around you as readily as the sky above you!"    "Well, I can't."   Sonata cringed.   That admission seemed to hurt more than the old man's rantings.    "That's obvious."   The old man said with satisfaction, finally agreeing with the teenage Cenrum.   "I'm going to talk to the High Tanes, and request you get out of here."    "But.. you can't do that!"   Sonata squeeled.   "I have the gift.. I have.."    "You can make big fires."   The old man snapped.   "Whoop-dee-doo, girl.   Go light bonfires for the Reinians.   That's about all your ridiculous amounts of fire is good for, girl.   No one needs fire like you've got.   We're better off with flints and stones."    "But..."    "Forget it, girl, we're not going through this again!   The Tower is a place of learning, not a vacation grounds!"    "Please, just a few more months!"   Sonata said.   Her prior ferocity was gone, replaced by a tone of genuine pleading.   "I can feel it.. I really can!   It's coming to me!"    "I don't believe that for a second."   The old man said, though his voice has softened a little.    "Please!"   Sonata sobbed.   She crawled to where the old man was standing and wrapped herself around his ankles.   "PLEASE!   Don't send me out!   I can learn!   I know I can..."    "Well..."   The Fire Tane said, scratching his knotty chin, "You're asking a lot of the Tower to keep you here.   This is not a charity or a staying house..."    "Please.." Sonata repeated, her voice nearly lost to her whimpers.    "Fine."   The old man finally ceceded.   "But you'll have to.. do some things for me if you want to stay."    "Anything."   Sonata said.   She could only guess what that meant, but she would do anything.   Anything.   "Thank you.. I'll do anything."    And so Sonata remained in the Glory Tower. Firefly: Fishing for Phyrex    So.. Jinasto-no and Stander-no had fled to the West along with a few of the last Phyrex.   Then they disappeared without a trace.   The monster found it amusing that two of the most powerful Runals in the history of Gnall would have to run so far to escape with their lives.   The retribution of DeLaykrinn had been swift and deadly to the Phyrex.    The foolish Phyrex, on the other hand, were not so used to being on the lower end of the food chain.   Leaderless, they were snivelling cowards just trying to save their own skins, hiding in forests and dirtpiles outside of the land Viashin-no Laykrinn had claimed as his own.   Instead of reassembling, they thought finding Jinasto-no again, who had already run away from them, was their only hope.    So they came toe West, seeking a man who was likely dead.. and if he wasn't he was likely hiding.   Somewhere inside of this...    The monstrous Hyp ran his bony hand over the cold, dark stone surface of the doorway.   It was large enough to serve as the entrance to a goodly sized estate in Gnall, wide enough to fit four horses and taller than the monster by half of himself.   But a doorway was all it was -- a square archway that lead nowhere.   Solid and seamless, it could only be built by magic.   But why, and for what purpose?    The Hyp smiled.   That wasn't really important.   It had been fortunate enough to hear some people on the city streets speak of this strange, alien structure, which they had found in the borders of the Bloodbane Mountains while hunting for mutants created by Source.   They had decided to call the Tanes of the Glory Tower, somewhere to the south, to look at it for them.    Truklan, this place was called.   A large city of modest buildings, modest women, and gravel paths.   It had a decidedly militaristic air that reminded the monster of home.   The building It had finally had to go into to find this... doorway... was a fortress that would have done Viashin Laykrinn proud.   A strong and sturdy castle with walls built by hand, not magic, and a plainness and order to it that spoke volumes of the discipline of those inside.    Of course, their careful watch guards had been able to spot the Hyp as It snuck into the basement to get a better look at the doorway.   But that was excuseable, for the Hyp could travel silently through shadows, seen only if it decided to be seen.   It could kill just as stealthily as well.   Such was what Its kind had been created for.   In fact, all this espionage was beginning to bore the monster.. but It found what It had been looking for.    The Hyp knew better.. this gate.. this gate had been created by Jinasto-no.   To what ends was anyone's guess, but the Phyrex leader's signature was all over it.   No underclassed, crude magic user of this strange, western land would be able to make a relic like this.   But if Hyp knew about this thing after being here for only a few days, the Phyrex that were still hiding from It would know too.   The Hyp had managed to hunt and kill a great many of the Phyrex who had fled here upon Its arrival.   It enjoyed their suffering, but it was a mere appetizer.   There were more... one group left, maybe, and they were searching for...    ...for this.   The Monster rested a hand on the cold stone and smiled.   This was the bait.   As soon as these "Tanes" came to pick the thing up. the Phyrex would crawl out of their hole to strike, and the Hyp would be waiting.    "Hey... hey you there..."    The Hyp blinked it's eyelids, which looked so fragile it seemed they might snap off.   It must have looked quite the picture, standing there in its colorful outfit, a face for death and a hand fit for a clean picked skeleton, rubbing the side of a large doorframe.   "Something I can do for you, gentlemen?"   The monster asked, adjusting its ridiculously large, colorful hat.    "This is.. a restricted area."   Two men, fully armored and splendored in white and metallic silver, slowly descended the stairs into the basement of the Truklan Fortress that had been used to keep the gate.   "How did you get.. down here?"    The Monster didn't really feel like putting on a show or toying with these two fellows.   So it reached forward with its "hand" and snapped their life threads.   They died instantly.    The Hyp suddenly realized it probably had a great means by which to get the Tanes to Truklan, and thus the Phyrex out of their cave, much much quicker. Firefly: Natural Selection    Moira and Fa' Sonata shuffled into their bedroom, Piehl close behind.   As the fencer passed through the doorway.   Sonata sauntered to her bed and sat down slowly. her light frame creaking the bed slightly.   Moira looked like she would stay standing, but after pacing across the carpet for a few laps, she settled into the chair at her study desk, which creaked lightly in protest.   Piehl leaned against the   door as he closed it.   He let his head hang limp on his neck while he lost himself in thought.    Only these sounds, and a whisper of the breeze blowing in through the window.   Fa' Sonata eventually found even this noise too annerving, and truned around to shut the window, and the sound, out.    The Verund Cenrum had gathered a great portion of the Tower to come and hear him.   It seemed as the meeting started that there was good news to be shared by all.   Moira listened intently, hoping perhaps to hear about some great new discovery in the field of mana, uncovered by the Earth tanes.   Sonata, sitting in the seat beside her, merely seemed bored.   She kept trying to strike up a conversation with Piehl as the Verund droned on and on, but much to Sonata's chagrin, Peihl would simply wave off his girlfriend, intent to hear what the Verund had to say.    It took the aging Verund a good forty minutes to dispense with the formalities and finally reveal why he had called everyone to the Conference Chamber somewhere on the middle floors.   The City of Truklan had made a call to the Tower asking for their services.   This was not rare -- Camoore would often call upon Tanes to quell storms or bring rain, and all the nations (save maybe Rein) were known to call upon the judgement of the Tanes when settling civil disputes.   But this was a different matter entirely.    The Verund dictated a mysterious incident that had happened a few months ago.   A strange creature, which appeared to be nothing more than a sickeningly skinny, dirty Reinian, had gone on some killing spree in Truklan.   Neither sword nor arrow could slay the creature.. It simply walked up and down the Truklan streets, killing people at a glance.   Some It gored using a pair of ugly, rusty knives it carried around.   Others It killed with Its bare hands.   Still other It killed simply by looking at them.   And when someone bore down on the monster with a weapon, it would simply vanish, and appear elsewhere in the city to begin its attack anew.    It killed many.. well over a hundred, at least, though many more are missing and presumed dead.   Truklan had decided to call upon the help of magic, as their steel, which had never failed them before, was unable to defeat this villain, and they were convinced It was simply lying in wait to strike again.    This news in itself seemed somewhat surreal to the residents in the Tower.   All the people commanded to the conference were Cenrum years into their training, like Sonata and Moira were, or else full fledged Tanes.   It became obvious that the Verund intended to name those who would travel to the north at this very meeting.   Hand chosen men and women to hunt the monster, and retrieve some strange artifact the Truklan had uncovered.   The list was actually quite short, comprising of a few dozen names.   The shock came in that Moira and Piehl were both on that list.    "Why me..?"   Moira said quietly.   As she spoke, she weeded her hand into her hair, massaging the scalp at the top of her head.   "The only thing I've really learned to do in all this time is heal.   It's not that I wish you to go, too Sonata but.. why me, and not you?   I can't fight.   I've no interest in being an Air Tane."    "They probably need good healers.   They're harder to find than a fireslinger, darling."   Fa' Sonata didn't sound quite convinced herself.    "Who can guess for sure?"   Piehl said quietly, his voice a touch bitter.   "Maybe we're the ones they feel are expendable.   I know there are better fencers than me among our ranks."    "Don't you say that, darling."   Fa' Sonata said, smiling.   "You know damn well you're the sharpest they've got."    Piehl didn't look convinced of himself either.   Sonata kep smiling at him, offering that same devoted gaze of reassurance, but it just didn't seem to effect his spirits.    Sensing this, Fa' Sonata launched herself to her feet and started to march aroudn the room.   "Well, I'm guessing you'll be gone for quite a spell when you leave tomorrow.. so we should do what we can now!   It's a long trip up to Truklan, so you'll have plenty of time to get over a hangover..."    "No, Sonata."   Piehl said with a sigh. "No, not tonight."    "Oh, come on!"   Sonata said, trying to make her voice merry.   "Forget your troubles for a spell.   Let's hit the town and loosen up a bit.   All this glum drum..."    "I said, forget it Sonata."   Piehl said.   His voice was still gentle, but just firm enough that there was no room left for arguing.    Sonata, defeated, put on her best pouting face and started for the door."Well, fine then!"   She said a she opened the heavy wooden door that served as a second exit from the room and into the hallway.   "I'll just go out there and make some of my OWN fun.   WITHOUT you!"    By the end, the temper tantrum was genuine, and when the Cenrum violently pulled the door close it slammed with such force that one of th e pictures Moira had leaning on the wall fell down into the carpet.   It might have broken from the fall, but Moira couldn't honestly remember if she had noticed or not.   She just.. didn't want to think about anything.    "That girl..."   Piehl sighed, staring at the picture.   Moira laughed politely as if the fencer had meant it as a joke, but then he looked into her eyes.   His eyes were sincere, and hurt... and so beautiful that Moira almost felt her breath sucked away.   The fate of genetics was a queer thing -- with each passing day, it seemed Fa' Sonata and Piehl both became more gorgeous.   It was unfair, yet Moira had to admit life had not been so cruel as it had been.   She had turned out growing into her chubby body quite nicely, and now she didn't look so bad.. she was attractive, even.   She was still wider around the hips and waist than Fa' Sonata would likely ever be, but she had developed a serene look to her face and an intelligent stare in her eyes.   She was pretty, though not beautiful, yet she could still see men look at her from time to time.   It was attention she wasn't sure how to deal with.    Like Piehl.   He continued to look at Moira with those hurt eyes.   Moira wasn't quite sure what to do, and staring back into them was certainly not the answer.. it made her insides feel giddy, like she was back to being a young Cenrum barely able to make a ball of light.   Finally, it seemed to Moira that ignoring Piehl was probably the best answer.   But that was impossible.   He just kept leaning there, on the door.. looking...    "What?"    "Moira.."   Piehl said, gently.   "We're friends, right?"    "..right."   Moira said cautiously.   Something was bothering Piehl.   Moira didn't think about it much, but she spent nearly as much time with Piehl as Fa' Sonata.. even moreso, since she had taken to tutoring the young man through some spells he had been having problems with.    "Then I feel safe to tell you this."   He sighed.   "Even though you may hate me for it, because.. well, she is your best friend."    "This is about 'Nata?"   Moira guessed.   Well, it wasn't a guess, really.   Moira had spent so much time in her books while she was still young and ugly that she had no social skills to speak of, so still no friends.   Except for Sonata.. and Piehl maybe.   Moira looked to the ground at the picture that had fallen in the aftermath of Sonata's tantrum.   She could begin to guess what this would be about.    "Yes, it's about Sonata."   Piehl said.   Then suddenly, he laughed.   "You know, it seems so odd.   We were so perfect for each other, when we were kids.   But... people grow up.   I grew up.   I changed, and she hasn't."   Piehl sighed, hesitant to go on.   Moira tried to do nothing to promote him to continue on, but for some reason her curiousity was piqued, and she was surprised her ears weren't twisting in turning in an effort to catch whatever sounds Piehl breathed next.   "I've.. I've asked that we just be friends, but she won't have anything of it.   It's like this, Moira.   Except worse.   She has these terrible tantrums.   She throws things, she.. she gets so upset, she nearly starts on fire.   And when she finally calms, just when I'm about to leave, she breaks down into a miserable mess of tears.   And given the choice between leaving her there alone or offering what comfort I can.. well... Moira, she's still my friend.   I just couldn't leave her behind.   But then it starts all over again."    Moira was genuinely shocked, and she imagined her unhinged jaw showed it.   Sonata had said nothing of this, and Moira thought that her best friend told her everything.   She had certainly spared no detail when telling Moira of how Piehl would use to sneak kisses from her whilst they hid among trees, and as they grew older, Sonata could barely contain herself as she told Moira of the magic that she and Piehl would share when they were together, alone, when the sun went down.   She had thought the two were as happy as two people could be.    But then, maybe she didn't.   They seemed distant when they were together now, not the charming couple they had been for so many years.   Piehl was no longer the mischevious devil wandering around Tower grounds and putting out other people's spells -- he was a warrior, disciplined by Truklan code and worn by Tower instruction.   Sonata, on the other hand, seemed invulnerable to such discipline.   She had changed so little from when they were children, and Moira had never really taken the time to notice.    "I don't know what to say, Piehl."   Moira said, at last collecting her thoughts.   "I mean... you seem so dear to her.   I can't just betray her and tell you to abandon her."    "I know, and I would never expect you to do that."   Piehl said.   He finally left his spot leaning on the doorway and walked to where Moira was sitting on the desk.   He lowered himself to his knees so that his eyes were level with Moira's.   This close, the sight of him was breathtaking.   "But.. I can't spend my entire life chained to her, Moira.   It would be better for us to make her understand."    "Us?"   Moira said softly.    "Moira I..."   Piehl paused, uncertain he wanted to go on.   "I... I just don't think someone like Sonata is right for me.   I need someone I can grow old with, someone I can trust myself and my heart with.   Someone... like you."    Moira felt like her heart was going to explode.   She was certain her face was as red as a beet, and her breath quickened so much that she was surprised Piehl wasn't expecting her to pass out.   Her mind reeled as if though it had been physically struck.   How... how..   could she reply to such a statement?   "Piehl.. I.."    Piehl lightly, cautiously, reached forward and gently held Moira's hand in his.   The skin of his fingers was hard with sword callouses, but the texture did nothing to hide its warm invitation.   Moira lightly squeezed Piehl's hand back.   "This announcement.. that we'll be going to Truklan.. it got me to thinking.   And I realize I just can't keep going on with her chained to me like this.   At the very least, I had to let you know how I feel.   That's it.   You don't have to return the feelings.. and I don't want to come between you and Sonata..."    Moira stared into Piehl's eyes.. compassionate... and scared.   She wanted to pull away from his touch, to ask him politely to leave.   But she just couldn't bring herself to do it.   Sonata was her best friend but.. she had so much that Moira didn't.   Such beauty, such a background, such talent.   She was loved and appreciated by so many.   Moira had lived almost her whole life with nothing of value to speak of.   And here she had a chance to have true love, and she had to sacrifice that for a friend who could chain hearts behind her, like flies stuck to a web?   Was it so wrong to want one thing so badly?    "I feel the same way."   Moira finally said.   She slowly reached up and ran her fingers through Piehl's short cropped hair.   He was beautiful.. and she had wanted him for so long, but had never admitted it to herself.   Never, because she knew that she could never have him.    Piehl took some amount of courage from Moira's touch, for he brought his lips forward to meet hers.   This kiss was really Moira's first, and at last she understood the pleasures that Sonata spoke of so highly.   It was rapturous, like a drug, and Moira found herself immediately wanting more.   Her lips still tight against his, she fell off her chair and to her knees, levelling her stance with Piehl.   Likewise, Piehl collected the young Cenrum in his arms, and she grabbed him by the shoulders.   What began as a modest kiss became frantic with emotion, and then violent with lust.   Moira pressed so hard into Piehl she was almost afraid he might suffocate or at least lose his balance, but his hold was firm.   Moira's entire body, each and every nerve end, felt like it was on fire.   Some instinctive need had taken her over.   She wanted to feel all of it, and as her mind went wild, she grasped onto Piehl even tighter.    That's when, as certain irony would have it, a fuming Sonata walked through the door.   She had prepared scathing insults, mean simply to save face so she could be by her friends again before they left to the North, where uncertain death awaited.   The words died on her lips without so much as a muttering, however, as here eyes immediately took in the horrific sight before her.   Piehl and Moira scattered like dumb animals, foolishly thinking that somehow they might be able to smooth it over.   And as each came to their feet, panic and shock common between them, they shared a moment of silence, each looking to the other with a wide eyed expression.    He silence was broken by Sonata's horrific wail, which quickly faded   into a quiet echo as her feet carried her down the marble hallway of the Glory Tower.   Moira yelled after her, though she was certain it would do no good.   The taste of Piehl was still fresh on her lips, and her clothes smelled of soaked sweat just moments old.   Sonata would never listen to her.    And like a ferret that did not want to be found, Sonata disappeared.   Moira and Piehl looked for most of the night, but the Tower and its surroundings were impossibly huge.   She expressed her worries to some of the Tanes, but they seemed largely unconcerned by the going ons of teenage Cenrum with the mental images of an assassin made of the shadows was floating in their heads.    Sonata never returned to her bedroom in the Tower that night.   That night, or any other night. Firefly: Seduction    Moira found it hard to stay focused as she packed for her journey the next day.   Horse drawn wagons would be taking off for Truklan sometime in the early evening, and Moira had best be on them, or she would probably end up cleaning the Tower by herself for a whole week.   But still... where had Sonata gone?    Moira and Piehl had not seen each other since last night -- they had swiftly gone their seperate ways after looking for Sonata.   But both took breaks from their preparations to hunt for their friend some more.   No matter who they asked or where they looked, there was nary a trace of the beautiful young girl named Fa' Sonata.   Moira had begun to fear the worst.. that she had run off, had killed herself, any of a thousand terrible things that grew more and more horrifying as her imagination was given time to add details and suggestions.    Time is merciless, and the night came quickly.   Moira had tried to keep her packing light, and it was unburdened even more so in that her mind had wandered so much during her preparations she doubtlessly forgot a few things.   It would be time to leave soon, and she had best be ready.   Perhaps Piehl had good news.   Perhaps he would be able to calm her.    Moira made her way down the Tower stairs with her bundle of clothes and assorted items collected in her arms (She was still a Cenrum and so she had to live relatively high in the Tower, so it was quite a trip from bedroom to ground level).     The wagons, about five of them, were waiting for those who had been selected just outside the Tower's front doors.     Surprisingly, most of those selected were Cenrum -- there were two Tanes in the group, both of them Air.   The Tower must have been pretty relaxed about the entire monster situation, because they seemed to feel confident that two Battle Tanes would be good enough to get rid of the creature.   The rest were along for a lesson.    Moira picked the wagon that was closest to her and started handing a young man who was inside her things.   She looked around for Piehl, but could not find him anywhere.   Knowing him, he had been here a half hour ago to help prepare, and was already packed in and ready to leave.   Still, Moira wanted to talk to him before they left, to find out if he had been more successful than she had.    Apparantly it wouldn't be ncessary, though, as in the wagon across from Moira, she spotted another young woman packing in her things.   Fa' Sonata.    "SONATA!"   Moira called out.   Her friend didn't react   at all.   Well, maybe she was a little hard of hearing right now.. she couldn't have had a good night's sleep last night.   Excited and relieved, Moira ran towards Sonata.    As she drew closer, Moira felt a feeling of strangeness come over her.   Fa' Sonata didn't look like hell at all.   In fact, it looked like she was getting ready to go to some great ball.   She was dressed to kill, in a gown more suited to a Marabon celebration than a long trip to the north.   It was a dark, blood red, slit dangerously up the side to reveal a great deal of leg, and dipping down dramatically in the front so that Sonata's bosom seemed to be toying with the idea of popping out.   Her long, dark hair was collected into intricately made ringlets that circled her head and decorated her shoulders.   She was wearing makeup, making her already dark and long lashes seem to go on forever, and her already unblemished skin look like it was made of dark sarha.    "So.. sonata?"   Moira was stunned.   It was like a bizarre version of old times.   She was standing there, a radiant beauty, while Moira suddenly felt meager and insecure in a hastily procured coat and breeches.    "Oh, hello Moira."   Sonata said.   She smiled at her friend, but it did not touch her eyes.   "Turns out I will be coming with you.   I went to see my tutor last night and after some.. deliberation.. he agreed that it would be good for me to come with you."    "Wha.. really?"    "Yes."   Sonata said slyly, as she handed another small bundle to the young man inside the wagon.   "He was actually very impressed with my foresight.   The Verund as well.   They admitted they were being a mite bit foolish with their selection of personnel to slay this beast.   I mean.. you said it yourself, Moira.. what do they need a healer for?"    "I..."    "So I was invited to come along.. with a great deal of gratitude.   The two Tanes seem very happy to see me here.   Likely they had their doubts."    "Well... good then."   Moira said, trying to think of the right words.   Something seemed very wrong with Sonata today.   "I'm glad you'll be with us.. it makes me feel safer."    "Indeed."   Sonata said, smiling.   "You'd best get to your wagon.   We'll be leaving soon."    "Ah.."   Moira said dully, slowly back up towards the wagon that contained her things.    "Oh, and Moira darling?"    "..yes?"    "I don't know what kind of witchcraft you used on Piehl," Sonata said, her voice still amused and friendly.. and deceptive.   "but I'm betting you're the reason he's been acting so cruel lately.   And don't think you can get away with it, either.   He's mind, and I will have him back."    Something about the way Sonata said it, either her sincerity or her tone or her hidden malice, chilled Moira straight to the bone. Firefly: The Trip to Truklan    It was a quiet trip to Truklan.    Truklan was a good number of days from the Tower.   They could have arrived in Truklan much sooner, had they travelled using some form of magic, but the Cenrum along for the tirp were too inexperienced to keep up travel of such a long distance using just magic.   And so they travelled the old fashioned way, going north along the side of the Bloodbane Mountain range stopping every night to camp.    These stops were always the most taxing.   Everyone was given a task to perform, whether it be hunting or cooking or preparing the fire.   It was not the chores that Moira minded so much, for they were certainly milder than the average day at the Glory Tower.   It was Fa' Sonata.    The woman must have brought nothing but elaborate dresses and makeup in her bundles.   And every day, when she reappeared when the wagon's were drawn, she would step out of the back of her wagon looking like a radiant goddess.   Most people crawled out of their wagons with wrinkled clothes, saggy eyes, and a slow walk, but not she.   No one seemed to mention the impracticality of dressing as such on the journey, but then most of the men in the group took the girl as a feast for the eyes, sometimes shamelessly ogling her from afar.   Even if Sonata noticed these glances, she did nothing to discourage them.   But the Marabon girl never returned the attention of these onlookers.. her seductive stares and wry smiles were saved for but one man: Piehl.    Piehl, on the other hand, looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here.   He would dutifully go about his chores, which was usually hunting or cutting firewood.   Sometimes, he would even try and sit around the fire and drink with a couple of the other fencers that had been invited to come along.   But sooner or later, like a preying hawk, Fa' Sonata would come by.   The other fencers were no longer good conversation, for they would be staring at the scantily clad girl before them.   She would just walk back and forth, staring at Piehl... smiling... staring.   Piehl couldn't take it, and eventually just left back to his wagon, where he would turn in for the night.   As he walked away, Sonata   would laugh into her hand, staring at him slyly even as he walked away.    Eventually, Piehl just stopped making appearances.   He had not said a word to Moira since that fateful night.   Feeling little better than dirt herself, Moira refused to leave her wagon at all. Firefly: Firey Determination    "Something getting you down, little one?"    Moira had lost herself in thought, her head hanging from her neck, eyes staring blankly at the floorboards of the wagon as it careened and tottered forward on its journey.   The Air Tane had to repeat his question before Moira finally looked up, and had to recite it a third time so that Moira could finally interpret it.    "Oh.. nothing."   Moira said softly.   "I just get a little sick on long trips like this."    "Ah." The Air Tane said, returning to leaning against the wagon's side.   "Well, I do hope you get better soon.   We should be in Truklan later today, and we'll most likely begin hunting the monster immediately."    "Yeah."   Moira absently dug her fingers into her hair and rubbed her scalp.   Just her luck, she had ended up on the wagon that was housing the two Tanes who more or less had been enlisted to slay the monster.   They seemed nice enough, but Moira wasn't comfortable feeling so mopey around the authority.   One Tane was a man, dressed day in and day out in the plain yellow costume with white robe of the Air Tanes.   He was so concerned about everything and everyone's well being that it was actually annoying, and somewhat unbecoming of a man of his stature and authority.   The other Air Tane was a palish, blonde haired woman who said nothing.   She was never dressed in the garment of the Air Tanes, instead also being fit with a pair of pants and a loose shirt.   She was almost pretty, were it not for a crooked nose and a few wrinkles brought on by age.    The male had tried to strike up conversation with Moira once or twice, but she had been unresponsive for the most part.   A question in Moira's head she had, for some reason, not considered before suddenly jumped to the front of the brain, and she took advantage of the Tane's latest attempt to converse to ask it.   "If you don't mind me asking... how was it that Fa' Sonata ended up coming with us?"    "Fa.. Sonata?"   The Tane said.    "The Marabon girl."    "Ahhhh."   The Tane said.   That description had apparantly been enough.   "So, she was the one who wasn't on the list.   I really wasn't sure."    "Wha.. what do you mean?"    "Well, we were given a list of everyone who was to come by the Verund."   The man said, using his head to make a gesture that included the other Air Tane.   "And while we were preparing to leave, that young lady appeared with a written note by one of the Fire Tanes to allow her on this trip."    "That's all?   Wouldn't she need some clearance from the Verund or something?"    "Well, no.   If we can't trust the other Tanes in the Tower, who can we trust?   This Fire Tane is a long time Tane, I don't think we had any reasons to ask questions.   But... well, excuse me Moira, what makes you ask?   Are you and she having problems?"    Dammit, this man was nosey.   "No...."   Moira said, after pausing to think.   "Actually... she's my best friend."    Moira hoped that was enough to shut the Tane up, but she never found out, because in the next moment the entire Wagon lurched.   The woman Tane, who was sitting against the side of the wagon, was suddenly on her feet and very alert, and her partner no less so.   Moira had not been so graceful, and was only able to save her chin from being ground by the wagon floor by breaking her fall with her hands.    "Storms.." the woman muttered.   "..what in the hell was that?"    To answer her question, there was another tumultous noise.   It sounded like a tornado had whipped through trees, snapping their trunks mercilessly as it passed on.   From where Moira had fallen, it was easy for her to crane her neck out the wagon opening.   She was granted the terrifying sight of one of the wagons spinning through the air and crashing into a nearby tree, falling to the earth in splintered pieces. As it violently landed, one of the Cenrum inside was bounced off the earth with such force that he ripped through the wagon's covering and rolled some twenty yards before landing in a heap on the earth.   He was most certainly dead.    Moira yelped shrilly as the two Tanes leapt.. or more precisely, flew.. out of the wagon opening.   They landed on the ground, set squarely between where the remaining wagons ahd stopped.   The male Tane had his hands held out in front of him, and yellow sparks of lightning flew off his fingertips, parting from one hand to the other, and into the open air.   The other Tane, the woman, instead had a ball of water resting above one of her hands.   It was a trick Moira had never seen before, but she didn't exactly have time to be marvelled by it now.    "Where is the Gate?" It was a calm voice, but disturbing.   It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, as if the trees and sky were speaking.    The male Tane looked about ready to blast everything in sight, but the woman had kept her cool.   "What do you mean, 'Gate'?"    "Where is the Gate?"   The voice repeated.   "We know you have it.   Now give it to us, and no one else has to get hurt."    The female Tane was formulating another question, when the pile of fabric and wood that used to be a wagon started to stir.   Slowly, the torn fabric was lifted like a blanket to reveal someone hiding underneath it.   About four dead bodies, but one lived.   Fa' Sonata.    Her beautiful face was broken, a great gash torn into her cheek that bled red blood which contrasted heavily with her light brown skin.   Her dress was torn and matted, the back torn off so completely that it allowed little in the way of modesty.   The rest of her body was cut and bleeding, and her foot seemed to be bending the wrong way, but she was alive.   Alive, and stirring.   She looked dazed, but she managed to clear the debris from around her and stand.    "SONATA!"   Moira cried out.   Still, the Rodan girl could not find the courage within her to run after her friend.   Another look around revealed that the fencers had come out of their wagon and were lined up, hands on their sword hilts.   Piehl was there, and he looked very much like he anted to run after Sonata, but discipline and caution kept him in his position.    Neither the Tanes nor the mysterious voice in the woods said a word as the girl stumbled to her feet, fell to her knees, and then struggled to stand again.   The young woman, her eyes clouded by both temper and startled confusion, looked to the two Tanes.   "What did this?"   She said.   She then looked in amazement at her arms and legs, bleeding.. her foot, broken.    "Sonata, get over here now."   The male Tane said, lightning still crackling between his fingertips.   "You're in danger."    "What did this..." Sonata repeated.   Finally her fingers found her broken face.   She traced the frame of her countenance, and then brought her hand away.   Disbelieving, she stared at her hand.   Blood.   More hastily this time, she wiped her entire hand against her face.   It came away covered in blood.    "Sonata..."   The female Tane piped in.   "GET OVER HERE!"    But Sonata made no movement towards her allies.   Instead, her hands lit aflame as she spun around.   Reaching forward, she released the spell she had cast a thousand times into the thin forest behind her.   Quickly and violently, flames swept between trees and across mud, quickly enflaming the forest so far that where the trees became dense, there was only flame.    "SONATA!" The two Tane cried out, almost in unison.    But Moira could not take it any longer.   Her fear of the voice lost out to her fear for her friend, and she leapt from the wagon, crying her friend's name.   Sonata must have noticed, for before Moira could reach her, the Marabon woman turned around and   cast another fire spell.   This was one was quick, like an arrow, and directed to the ground right at Moira's feet.   Moira, startled, stopped immediately, just a pace behind where the grass had already burned down to embers.    "So..nata?"    Sonata's voice was as cold as ice.   "Stay away from me Moira.   I will not have you steal from me again."    "'Nata!"    "STAY AWAY!"   Sonata yelled through clenched teeth.   "I WILL KILL THESE BASTARDS!"    Her intentions clear, she turned from Moira again and ran into the forest, her broken foot only slightly decreasing her pace.   Moira screamed and started to run after her friend, but the male Tane grabbed her around the waist and drug her away from the forest, which then seemed to explode in violent flames.   Moira tried desperately to see Sonata past all the smoke and the orange flames and all her tears... but there was no one. Firefly: Needs    "Just Drink her already!"    "Shut up!"    The world was a very muffled place to Sonata.   She was tired, and he body seemed to want nothing more than to fall back into the blissful embrace of sleep.    "For mana's sake, Hail, you've never been the one to get weak at the knees at the sight of a pretty face!   Quit letting your dick get the best of you and just DRINK her already!"    "Would you just SHUT - UP!?"    What were they talking about?   What was going on?    Sonata realized she couldn't feel her hand.   Actually, she couldn't feel much of anything.   The last thing she remembered was.. running into the forest.   Oh, she had been so scared.   So frightened... and all of those Tanes and Cenrum, just staring on.   She remembered seeing herself, then.. she was ugly, and they had made her ugly.    "Did you see what she did back there, Hail?"    "Precisely why we can't kill her yet, you blasted moron!"    That had been enough to put her over the edge.   She knew she had been foolish, ever since this trip had started.   But still.. there was something int he pit of her stomach, some nagging feeling that would not go away, even when she slept.    "You don't mean..."    "We need her help.   If we can convince her... she'd make a fine member of the Phyrex.   She will see sense."    "That's not a very reassuring thing to say when she ran into a fire of her own making and nearly got killed."    Sonata was finally starting to pick words out of her surroundings now.   Two voices.. male.   Arguing.. over her?   Well.. wasn't this a fine treat.   They would probably kill her.   Fa' Sonata, the friendless and ugly, silently slain in a forest outside of Truklan.   But then, perhaps, death would finally get rid of this pain in her middle.    "Hail, you can't be serious.   She's from the West... these Runals.. or Tanes, as they call themselves.. they rule over here.   She does not need our help.   This world is right."    "We have to try..."   Sonata felt a hand cautiously touch her forehead.   "I want her to help us... and we may need her to help us."    ...    Need? Firefly: Abandoning the Monster    Staring into the wound, Moira began to work her magics.   She was becoming quicker with her magics now -- even as she began to focus, muscle knit with muscle and skin with skin to make the flesh of the Truklan warrior whole again.   The Tower teachings were necessary, but when it came to healing one simply had to practice on real wounds.   The Tower wasn't in the business of making wounds, but the Truklanese were in the business of recieving them.    "There you go."   Moira said.   She grabbed the man's shoulder, pressing the skin hard with her thumb.   The flesh was cold, but it always was after healing.   Satisfied that she had done good work, Moira released her grasp and leaned back on her knees.   "Good as new.   Make sure to get something to eat, now.   Healing takes more from you than it does from me."    The gruff looking man nodded, and without so much as a thank you grabbed his sword from the ground and walked off.   Moira took no offense at his rudeness -- the most seasoned soldiers of the Truklan military were not accustomed to something like gratitude.   Still, after five months of lending her services, a little more respect would have been nice.    Five months.. it had seemed like just yesterday that they had been attacked by the "voice" as they passed between the Bloodbane Mountains and a rather expansive forest on their way to Truklan.   Most seemed convinced that it was the creature that they had come to hunt, and so for the first three weeks they hunted for the shadow assassin in the forest alone.   Moira was not convinced, though.. she didn't think that one single assassin could be so.. destructive.   The way the the Truklan had described the monster that killed so many in the main city, the creature mad silent, almost elegant kills.. and was not capable of such destructive magics.    Eventually, the others came around to her way of thinking.     They searched the forest no longer, and instead concentrated their efforts in the main city, the plains to the west, and even the shallows of the Dasan Fjords and the base of the Bloodbane Mountains.   There was nothing, not even a trace of the assassin monsters.   Except for a few weak claims that resulted in dead ends, no one else in Truklan had reported seeing the creature since its terrifying attack.   Some already started to doubt it existed, and some of the Cenrum started to speak as if though the Truklaners had been exageratting the whole time.   The Tanes never jumped in to support this theory, but they both had their frustrations with staying in Truklan so long.    The Tanes had forced the Cenrum and fencers to make themselves useful, however.   That was how Moira had ended up here.   There was a rather remarkable wave of mana mutants coming down from the north these days, and it had always been Truklans task (and the reason for their country's militaristic design) to keep those monsters at bay.   They were stupid monsters, easily killed by trained warriors, but the magic properties instilled on them by Source made them more dangerous than average beasts, and this latest surge of creatures resulted in a great many casualties.   So, the Cenrum were sent to help with the fighting, the fencers going so far as to be included on the front line.    Moira herself never really saw the thick of battle.   She was a healer, and stayed behind to tend the wounded.   She wished she could fight, but she was lucky to be able to light a candle.. her talents were in the mana of flesh and light and water and other elements related in healing.   None of them made very powerful weapons.    "That's the last of them, Moira.   Get up, now, and let's find something to eat."    Moira looked up, wiped some sweat from her forehead, and smiled at Piehl.   Moira put her arm up in askance of Piehl, but he went a step further and actually picked Moira up from the ground.   She yelped and giggled until Piehl set her back down.   With her footing back, Moira giggled and quickly kissed Piehl on the lips.   He embraced her back, and when they seperated, she entertained his eyes with him as she leaned back in his hold.    "My brave warrior returns alive again."   Moira said, smiling.    Piehl smiled warmly.   "With our help, those creatures don't stand a chance."    "Indeed."   Moira looked her man over some more, and suddenly gasped as if something had bit her.   "Piehl!   You're hurt!"   She said, gently pressing the fabric of his undershirt, which was wet with blood.    "Don't worry about that." Piehl said quietly.   "It's just a small wound..."    "I'm going to heal it." Moira stated, breaking herself free of Piehl's embrace.    "Nonsense!   You're tired."    "Not that tired, you goat."   Moira stated angrily.   For the love... she spent all day lounging in Truklan while he went out to fight those creatures, and HE had the gall to call HER tired?   She pressed her hands against Piehl's side -- it was actually a bit trickier to heal wounds that weren't visible to the naked eye, and this one was hiding under Piehl's clothes, but Moira was confident enough in her abilities that she thought she could heal it.   And without any remark, she did.   Peihl sighed as Moira finished healing flesh and looked down to the sunny haired Cenrum, grinning and shaking his head.   Moira silenced his nonverbal criticisms with another kiss on the lips.    "Hey, LOVEBIRDS!"    Moira jumped, but Piehl just looked over her shoulder towards the man who had spoken.   It was the male Tane, grinning widely.   Moira still thought that one was too nosey.   "What can we do for you?"   Piehl asked.    "Just thought we'd spread the news.   I talked to the Premiere this morning, and it sounds like this surge of monsters is dying down.   And without trace of the monster we came to hunt, it's a safe bet it's not around anymore.   So we're taking that artifact off these people's hands and taking off for the Tower tomorrow."    "Really?" Piehl said, more to Moira than to the Tane.    "Well, what do you know."   Moira said happily.   "In another week I may be sleeping in my own bed again."    "Me too."   Piehl grinned, though it was obvious he wasn't speaking of sleeping in his own bed.    Something crossed Moira's mind, almost so fast she pushed it back.   But she couldn't bare to.   "Piehl..." she started slowly.    "Yes, I know."   Piehl said, already well aware of what Moira was going to request.   "We'll leave after you get a little rest."    They would look for Sonata one last time.   And if they didn't find her, they would have to head back for the Tower, leaving their friend behind... forever Firefly: Ambush    Moira was not surprised when the wagons were attacked.   In fact, seeing how ancy the two Tanes looked as they journeyed through the edge of the woods, Moira was sure it would happen.   It was suddenly clear what the attackers on their trip here meant when they demanded a "gate."   The artifact, in the same wagon as Moira, was nothing more than a very large stone doorframe.   The Tanes were certain it had magical properties, but that was a moot point: this was what the attackers wanted, and now they had it.   Both Air Tanes seemed ready to jump at the slighest sound as the caravan entered the woods.    It only took a few minutes.   This time the attack was far more subtle.   No wagons were flung into trees.   Instead, the wagons came to a sudden stop.   Some of the horses drawing the wagons winneyed noisily.   The two Tanes nodded to each other and stepped outside, far more calm than Moira could have managed.   Still, curiousity got the best of the Cenrum, and so she positioned herself carefully so she could dip her head out of the wagon entrance and look outside.    "Give us the gate, and no one has to get hurt."    This was a different approach.   The attackers had decided not to act as a voice speaking from the woods.   They had decided to put one of their own on the front.   But what struck Moira was how familiar that voice was.    "It couldn't be..."    And then, the voice came again.   It was distant, but Moira could not be mistaken.   "Give us the gate.   We will not plead with you.   Give us the gate now, and you will not get hurt."    Sonata.    Others had begun crawling out of their wagons to get a better look at what was happening.   Some seemed absolutely terrified.. they, apparantly, hadn't been graced with the inside track like Moira had.   Instead of timidly making her exit, Moira started sprinting full boar towards the head of the wagon train where the Tanes had gone.   As she caught up to them, however, her mouth dried and her feet stopped.   It was though she had been physically struck.    It was Sonata.   Just not the Sonata Moira remembered.   The Sonata who had left Moira had been a vain creature obsessed with her beauty.   She was an impossibly beautiful young woman.   A seductress who had been wronged somehow.    This was not a young woman.   This WAS a woman.   A vengeful, angry woman.   She smiled, but it was cold.   The Sonata Moira remembered had been dressed in an elaborate, revealing dress.   Her hair had been done up in excruciating ringlets around her head, each one placed perfectly with regard to all the others.   This Sonata was dressed more like a man.   She had tall black boots meant for hiking, plain loose brown trousers, and a sleeveless black vest.   He hair was a simple affair, her long dark strands all collected behind her head in a pony tail.   She was still beautiful, breathtaking even.   Her face was perfect, except for one long scar down the cheek.    "Moira.. darling..." Sonata said.   It was like the one time Cenrum was putting on a theater show.   "Glad to see you.   It's been a while, old friend."    "What are you doing?"   Moira said.   She tried to sound strong, but her voice was scared.    "I was just threatening to burn your wagons away if your two leaders don't decide to pitch over the gate to us."    "Us?"    "The Phyrex."    "What are you talking about.."    "I'm not in the mood for questions."   Sonata demanded, her tone putting an end to any chances Moira had of getting answers.   "This is very simple.   We want the Gate.   If you give it to us, we won't have to fight.   It's useless to you anyways."    "You're just a fireslinger, Moira."   The female Tane said.   Both she and her partner were poised in a classic Tane battle pose.   "Don't think for a second that we can't deal with you."    "Oh, really."   Fa' Sonata laughed.   A flame sprang to life on her fingertips.   She curled it up like a little ball, and played with it between her thumb and forefinger.   "You don't really think I'm alone, do you darling?   This forest is teeming with my allies, all of them staring at you..   just waiting for you to fuck up.   So why don't you go ahead and press your luck?"    "We're Air Tanes."   The male Tane said.    Fa' Sonata smiled wider, a grin threatening to split her face.   It made Moira's skin crawl.   "And we are much, much worse."    "Give them the gate.."   Moira said softly.   Her voice had a touch of panic.    "Be quiet, girl."   The female Tane said.    "GIVE THEM THE GATE!"   Moira repeated.   Curse mana, but she was starting to cry.    And Sonata seemed to fe