Many hours later, if you watched closely, you could have seen a slight figure in green slip her way through an ancient forest that was creakily swaying with the breeze.

She ghosted toward a small grass nest in the trees to a bigger figure who had flowing brown hair and even sharper brown eyes (though they could grow very soft when she wanted), where she was outlined by the noonday sun. 

The bigger figure was dressed in green, and her hair fell in slight waves down to her waist. The smaller figure had long brown hair, the same as the other one, but had kinder and wider eyes, as if seeing wonder in everything.   

“Hey, Ela. Got any news?” The taller greeted the shorter. 

“None, ‘cept the usual, Eya. They know we’re around again. Oh, and I saw two other figures. Might’ve been Moonclan, the way they were moving so stealthily, and disappearing in the background and ev’rything.”  Ela replied. “Do you think we should show?”

“Not yet. Anyway, history lessons.” 

“Ugh. Seriously! Right when we’re at a Big Discovery?”

“What Big Discovery?”

“That we could potentially show.” 

“Ela, we already ruled that one out. But anyway…”

“According to your foresight…” Ela said hopefully. 

“Well...if you finish quickly with your history and whatnot, we might be able to follow them. I think something bad is going on, but we’ll see.” Eya replied.

 Ela took a deep breath. “Well… there’s Skyclan, Fireclan, Earthclan, Waterclan, Moonclan, and Starclan. There’s supposed to be a 7th clan, but we already know what that is. All Hinathoron can fly, but Skyclan is the best at it. Skyclan can also control air. Fireclan can sense heat, control heat, and are heat resistant. Earthclan can move rock and stone, and their hands can crush anything. Waterclan is basically the opposite of Fireclan. Moonclan can make things disappear and create moonlight, and Starclan has control of starlight and can capture starlight particles, as well as separate light from the darkness.” Ela said, all in one breath.  

“Good.” Eya said approvingly. “Now which clan balances which and why?”

“Starclan balances Earthclan, because Starclan freezes when it doesn’t know what to do, and Earthclan goes head-first into things. Moonclan balances Skyclan, because Skyclan goes wild and Moonclan tends to fade into the background. Fireclan balances Waterclan because Waterclan calms Fireclan’s temper.”   

 “Good.” Eya said. “Now let’s move on to stalking lessons. I’ll come with you, and we’ll trail those two Moonclan you mentioned and see if your eyes are as sharp as you said.”

“They are!”

“Well, ok, let’s get going!”

They went through the trees silently, and came upon the two girls. 

Ela pumped her fist, seeing they were Moonclan. Their names were Aya and Ava. 

  Eya and Ela moved behind them silently as Aya and Ava made their way to a small track that was almost hidden out of sight if you weren’t looking for it. It shimmered in the sunlight that seemed to fall like a curtain. In fact, if you weren't a Hinathoron, you couldn’t find it. If you were, it was hard to find. Aya and Ava quietly walked their way down there, with Eya and Ela shadowing behind, and all of a sudden they came into a large clearing with the sun overhead. 

Several grass nests were woven in the trees, and they were connected by vine bridges. A large tree that was hollow at the base was buzzing with activity. Children ran to and fro, and overall there was ordered chaos. Then the illusion smashed like glass on the floor as an urgent voice called. 

“The Lapisilu is stolen!” And everything went to unordered chaos. With screaming and running like crazy the norm. 

The Lapisilu was usually kept in the large tree in the center, but they saw it was gone when they walked in for a meeting.       

“Your foresight is correct. The worst thing that could ever happen.” Ela said with cheerful sarcasm, in complete contrast to the atmosphere at the moment.

“What do we do?” Eya wanted to know.

“YOU ARE ASKING ME? Don’t you know?” Ela said. Her bigger sister usually knew what to do.

“I want to know what you think. It’s always good to have your gut feeling confirmed.” 

“Let’s track the thieves.” Ela said, pointing to where three shadowy figures were creeping away.  

“Seriously!” Ela complained as she and her sister made their way up the mountain after the three shadowy figures.

“They’re all Earthclan, and I think the leader’s Allura.” Eya interrupted. 

  Aya and Ava, who were tracking Allura and her two companions, did not see Eya and Ela behind them. 

“That is the lamest plan ever!”  Ela continued. 

“What do you mean?” Eya asked.  

“I mean, those sneaky Earthclan, those diolits (you really don’t need to know what that means) hand it off to a Morilie, who, ‘coincidentally’  tried to make genocide both us and humans, and what’s more, that’s-”

“-shhh. At least the other Hinathoron didn’t lose their heads.” Eya said calmly. 

“True. At least our leader had the sense to send two Moonclan after them.” 

“Aya and Ava, to be exact. They’re very good too.” 

“But Allura, Allura. What was she thinking, stealing it?” 

“Allura probably met a Morilie, and got tempted by the offer of power. She wanted to become the most powerful of the Hinathoron, and that would mean she would need to be in the 7th clan. The Morilie through their dark arts could corrupt the Lapisilu. They can make it such that Allura would be the only one to see the symbol of the 7th clan, and that would mean she could usurp the leader of the Hinathoron’s seat of power.” Eya explained.   

“Aren’t we supposed to be advisors to Merlene? So how exactly do we exceed her power?” Ela said, her brow wrinkling in confusion.

“Always address her by her title as leader. Her title is Onacaea, leader of the Hinathoron. And yes, we exceed the authority of the Onacaea, but we prefer to be advisors. That’s how the 7th clan saw it, but you could always take it the wrong way.” Eya explained. 

“Like I said, do all Earthclan have rocks for brains?” Ela huffed in frustration. 

“No. Do you remember Alanna? She was an Earthclan, and she held off an army by sliding a large stone off the mountain to block the pass. Takes a lot of force. And skill.”

“True.” 

Aya and Ava stopped in front of them. Eya and Ela’s whispered conversation was broken by a haughty voice, close to all four girls on the peak of the mountain. Aya and Ava also stopped talking about the tracks. 

The haughty voice belonged to none other than Allura, who was standing next to a Morilie. Her other two Earthclan companions were standing well back, far enough so they couldn’t see the Lapisilu. It looked like they were scared. It was never a good idea to make Allura impatient, or worse, angry. 

 Aya and Ava crouched on the other side of the clearing, in a tree, and Eya and Ela were hiding somewhere in between the two pairs of girls.  

“Are you done yet?” They heard Allura bark at the Morilie. 

“Patience, my lady.” the Morilie said in a fawning voice, as he crouched over the Lapisilu that was hidden by his shadowy black cloak. You couldn’t see his face, but his voice dripped like oil, contrasting with Allura’s haughty voice.  

“I want it done NOW!” Allura screeched. Definitely angry.  

“Well, this takes time if you want this to be perfect.” he snapped, losing his patience with the impatient Allura.

“I don’t have time, and there can be one less Morilie today if I feel like it.” she said, enunciating every syllable. 

“Ok.” he muttered, shutting his mouth and working quickly, muttering a few things over it. 

A few minutes later, he announced that he was done. 

“Okay, girls, take a look.” Allura said to her two companions. A glint of grey-silver caught Ela’s eye, as she watched apprehensively.  

The two other Earthclan girls took a look, and out of nowhere, Allura drew a knife from her sleeve and killed them. 

And as the Morilie gaped, she spun around and did the same to him. 

“There’s only one Onacaea, and that’s me!” Allura said triumphantly.  

Aya and Ava got offended at that. Hello, there was still Merlene! 

“Merlene’s the Onacaea, not you!” Ava said heatedly, stepping out into the open, Aya one step behind her. 

Allura turned around in shock. She’d been tracked! She calmed herself. There were only two of them. “Say that again.” Allura threatened, regaining her composure. 

“Bloodthirsty and greedy.” Eya muttered as she drew her bowstring from her hiding place, with Allura proclaiming aloud in the background, as Aya and Ava continued to argue with her.  

“Like I said, do all Earthclan have rocks for brains?”

“No, I told you they don’t. Oh, that’s good, Allura. Keep talking like that.” Eya said sarcastically as Allura talked to Ava and Aya like they were idiots or something.  

“She’s seriously lacking in knowledge. What’s she thinking, talking to Moonclan like that? They could just make the Lapisilu disappear. Rocks for brains?” Eya whispered sarcastically. The two of them were often very sarcastic. It was second nature.  

“And she’s going to get her payback. When they make the Lapisilu disappear, we shoot on the count of three.” Eya said.  

“Isn’t that bloodthirsty?” Ela wondered.

“Well, we’ll knock her out then.” Eya amended

“Isn’t that merciless? She’s going to die anyway.”  Ela asked.

“And isn’t that bloodthirsty?” Eya said, smirking. 

Aya and Ava made the Lapisilu disappear along with themselves. Allura was stunned, and began screaming for them to come and face her. 

Just then, an even taller, darker figure than the Morilie lying dead on the ground stepped out of the tree line behind Allura. 

“You lost the Lapisilu! I have no use for failures!” she said, stabbing Allura and killing her.

Eya dropped her bow in shock, and then she winced. Did that person hear that? But unless she was mistaken, that person was…

Ciara! Head of the Morilie! She had come back!

Ciara whirled her head around at the sound that Eya had made, but relaxed as she realized no one was there in the clearing. She disappeared. 

“Who was that?” Ela asked in a small voice, hoping that whoever she was thinking the figure was would not be true. Eya, however, dashed that hope to bits.  

“Ciara. Head of the Morilie.” Eya answered, distractedly. “Come on, we need to tell the Hinathoron that Ciara is back.”  

Eya and Ela quickly got up out of their hiding place, and nearly ran down the mountain in their haste to tell Merlene of the new and very dangerous development. 

•§•

Eya and Ela quickly walked through the Hianthoron camp, gently removing the people in their way, and ignoring the stares. Aya and Ava were back already, and the Lapisilu was in its proper place in the meeting tree, restored from its corruption by the Morilie. The Lapisilu was a dome, 15 cm high, and 30 cm wide. It was transparent, and hard like diamond, but not sparkly.    

As they entered the meeting tree, Merlene stood up. 

“Do not enter.” she said, in a low voice. Quiet, but dangerous. Everyone stood up, ready to kick them out. 

“We have an urgent message for the Onacaea.” Eya said, ignoring Merlene. “Ciara is back.” One by one, they sat down with despairing looks on their faces. All of them looked to Merlene for what they should do.  

Merlene sucked in a breath and spoke. “The Lapisilu is back, and it is restored from its corruption. But first, take a look at the Lapisilu, and tell me what you see. After you tell me that, we’ll see what we can do about what we can do about Ciara.” 

“Isn’t that the thing that marks you as a certain Clan? Like if you’re a Waterclan, you see water?” Ela said, pointing. 

“Yes. But don’t point.” Eya said. 

“Well, what do you see?” Merlene prompted. If they saw something, they were Hinathoron. If they didn’t, that meant they weren’t, and the Lapisilu would wipe their memories on everything regarding the Hinathoron, which made sure nothing bad came in. 

“What do I see? All seven signs of the Clans, that’s what!” Ela said happily, then caught herself, and looked around sheepishly at Eya. “I blew it...didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did. But it was bound to come out sometime, with your words taking up space.” 

“And I do keep your know-it-all attitude from surfacing, even if you’re timeless.” 

“Wait, if you can see all seven signs then that means…” said Mira, a Waterclan.

Everyone held their breath, as Ela spoke. 

“You just found the Oryaclan, or the 7th clan.” Ela chirped.

As soon as they said the word Orya, suddenly, everyone could only see floating inside the Lapisilu, which they realized must be the 7th clan’s sign. It looked like the picture shown below, two squiggles interconnected with dots on either side, and it was constantly spinning. Everyone stared at it for a couple of minutes. 

•§• ←Oryaclan Sign

         “Now that’s what’s supposed to happen.” Eya said calmly, as if it happened every day. 

         “What do you mean?” said Merlene, still staring at the Lapisilu.

         “As in, when the 7th clan comes around, the Lapisilu turns into our Riani.”

         “Riani?” Mira echoed. Apparently that word was not known. It was an ancient word.  

         “The Crown-gifts.” Ela explained. That was the meaning.

         “The what?”  Aureia said. She was of the Fireclan.

         “Let’s start from the beginning. Enoui, the One, gave his creations gifts on the day he saw fit. He gave the humans something more precious, being the dearest, but we won’t get into that. He gave the Hinathoron Riani, or gifts. They are hidden by Enoui, and will only show up in times of great crisis.” (Pretty sure I’m confusing you, right?)

         “Then the Lapisilu is a Riani. Do you have any clue where the rest of them are?” Merlene asked.

         “No, but you could look at the Old Book.”

Merlene was confused. Why would she need to look at the Old Book because this girl Eya said so? Even if she had given good advice why should she listen to her…but she was Oryaclan. It would be better to open the Old Book. 

         “It changed!” Merlene said in astonishment after opening the Book. The Clans’ descriptions about themselves had changed to the Rhymes.  

“The Book changes according to what is important right now.” Eya explained, then read the Rhymes aloud. 

         If you can swim through the sky blue river, 

You must look for a golden feather. 

Hidden under a tree,

You will know it by its leaves.

If you can make disappear the things you wove,

You must find a crescent moonstone.

Atop a rocky tower

which meets the silver flower.

  If you can make the boulders move,

You must find a cube. 

Hidden in the most barren land,

Buried ‘neath a foot of sand.

If you can make fire sweep the land,

You must find a phoenix fan,

Inside the heart

Of the hottest mountain.

If you can make the water whirl,

You must find the largest pearl. 

In order to get it, you must do

You must dive down to deepest blue.

If by the stars the time you know

You must find a ball in which stardust glows.

And at the 6th hour of the night of the winter solstice,

You will find your wish. 

If you are of the Oryaclan,

Guard it well. 

Be brave,

Be true,

Be wise. 

“Phew!” Merlene exclaimed. “And there’s a riddle for you!” 

“Well, at least this gives us more clues than I thought. Just locating them will be hard.”  Eya said, then hesitated. 

“Is there something else?” Ela wanted to know. 

“Well…” Eya hesitated again. 

“Morilie?” Merlene guessed. Eya nodded. 

“Great. Seems like for every Morilie that’s gone, ten more spring up. And they will probably try to grab the Riani before we do.”

“That’s the way it happens, right?” 

“Well, no use moping. Let’s try to get it and evade them at the same time.” Mira said.

“Or in simpler terms, GAG.”  Ela said brightly, in response to Mira.

“GAG?” Halla wondered. She was Earthclan.

“In more confusing terms, THAGAG. In plain words, The High Art of Grabbing And Going.” Eya clarified for everyone. 

“Well, then let’s do it.” Aureia said. The conversation continued in the meeting tree until late morning.  

“Don’t we need to figure out where everything is though?”  Mira asked. 

“Well, the Skyclan’s Riani is a golden feather buried under a tree with leaves.” 

“Why don’t we fly around and see what strange trees we see then?” said Merlene. 

So Aella, a Skyclan, took a flight around, twirling through the sky and trying to spot any strange trees.

When she landed, she reported that there was a single tree with golden leaves. And the other trees all had red leaves, orange leaves, or brown leaves. 

“Ok, so….” Merlene said. “I don’t see how we’re going to get the feather without uprooting the entire tree. And then attracting everyone’s attention. Plus, how did you see it? How come other people didn’t?”

“You have to fly directly above the tree at exactly noon. Some flew out a few minutes before or after. The top of the leaves are red, and the bottom is gold. You only see the leaf is golden if you look at it at exactly noon.There’s a small hole under it, and I think you could just reach in and grab it.” Aella answered readily.  

“Take someone to cover you.” Merlene cautioned.   

“Right.”

“Got it!” Aella said triumphantly a few minutes later, holding aloft a golden feather. The golden feather floated toward the Lapisilu, and a thin white thread connected the feather to the Lapisilu. 

“Its real name is Laquis.”  Eya said.  

“How come there were no Morilie?” 

“They probably didn’t realize what we were doing. Though by now, they probably do realize because there has been a shift in the earth. They are probably angry.”  

“Ok. Moving on. The next one to find is a crescent moonstone.”

If you can make disappear the things you wove,

You must find a crescent moonstone.

Atop a rocky tower

which meets the silver flower.

“Atop a tower which meets a flower?”  Aureia said in confusion. 

“Umm, no offense but I think the silver flower means the moon, and the tower is a mountain that looks so high, it seems to touch the moon.” Selina, one of the Starclan interjected. 

“Ok, what’s the highest mountain?”  Ela asked, flipping through a book on mountains. 

“I think it’s Minbara.” 

“Right, let’s fly.” Aya said brightly, and took off. Ava nodded and followed. 

By the time they got there, it was night, and sure enough, Minbara looked like it was piercing the full moon. All of a sudden there came a sharp cry, “Arpho! Thief!”

“Quickly now. You get it, and I’ll go and distract them.” Ava said, thinking quickly. “Of course, they’re the thief.” She flashed a quick smile as she left. 

Aya nodded, and raced to get it. Ava pulled out a shard of metal, and flashed it. 

“Over here! I’ve got it.” she called. Maybe they couldn’t hear her, but they could definitely see the flash of what seemed like moonstone. 

Two black figures rushed toward Ava, but as the Morilie got close, she threw the metal shard, and the wind carried it far off. The figures changed direction, and that left Aya and Ava free to go and complete their task.

“Got it!” Ava said, as she landed. The moonstone connected with the Lapisilu by a white thread. 

“Real name is Sarisil.” Ela proclaimed. 

“Anyway, while you were gone, we figured out some. But I think it’s time we sleep.” Eya said. 

“What!!” Many voices protested. 

  “We think clearer after we sleep.” Merlene said gently. 

“But...but...but…” Aureia spluttered, and then tried to stifle an enormous yawn that Aureia felt split her head open. 

“Proves my point.” Merlene said calmly.  

“Ok.” Ela said sulkily, and went off to rest.

A voice rang out as they went to sleep.

As you fly in the sky,

Don’t forget this lullaby. 

The stars will shimmer and twinkle,

The moon will wax and wane,

The sun will rise and set, and

The waters will come

And hum a lullaby,

The earth will sing, 

And a new day will rise.

“Where you learn that one?” Ela said sleepily. She was so sleepy that she forgot how to put sentences together. 

“That song dates back to the first day we rose and flew. It’s said it was sung by the wind.” Eya said thoughtfully as she watched Ela drift off into peaceful sleep.

“Rise and shine, let’s figure the next riddle out.” Ela said excitedly, as she walked into the meeting tree the next morning and looked at the next riddle. 

If you can make the boulders move,

You must find a cube. 

Hidden in the most barren land,

Buried ‘neath a foot of sand.

“We figured that it has to be a desert, but there are so many! And if some are sandy, then we’re going to take forever finding it!” Aureia moaned. Ela’s face fell. 

“Maybe figuring out the amount of rainfall in the whole area over the time now? Like a map measuring the amount of rainfall.” Halla wondered. 

“True. Could work. Any in the Old Book?” Mira wanted to know. 

“Well, it seemed to change while we were sleeping, and I think I found one. It’s on page 348.”  Lana answered. She was the sister of Halla.  

“Why is the driest place in an oasis? Where it’s crystal clear that where there’s an oasis, there’s got to be water!”  Mira said, confused. 

“The land is most barren, like the rhyme said, but there’s still pockets of water. And if the cube that controls earth is there, it should dry up.” Lana replied. 

“There’s also a footnote to say most think that place is haunted by shadows, so I’m guessing the Morilie are there, and since they can’t dig, they’re waiting for us to dig it for them.”

“Why can’t they dig?”

“They really don’t like getting dirty. Or maybe because after they’re dirty, they have to take a bath. Like as if they never grew up or something.”  Mira said, smirking. 

“Great!” 

“So how are we going to get it?” 

Silence reigned, and it was broken by Halla, an Earthclan. 

“Do you know what the cube looks like, Eya?” she asked.

“I have a hazy image. The most I can make out is that it’s made of brown tiger’s eye stone.”

“So get a block and carve it into a cube.” Lana, another Earthclan, answered. 

They carved in a cube, and Eya added some fancy stuff that everyone thought would fool the Morilie.  

Halla and Lana flew off to the oasis in no time, and began using their powers to dig in the sand. 

“Got it!” Lana whispered, pulling up a cube from the surface.   

“Good. Run!” Halla said, as Lana took off, and everyone could see the cube she held. And the Morilie went after her as Halla watched. 

Lana was getting tired, so she dug a tunnel, covered the dirt, filling up as she went, and the cube fell out of her pocket ‘by accident’ and landed on top of the tunnel. The Morilie snatched the cube minutes later and recoiled in shock and anger. The cube that Lana dropped was fake!

“Lana ran.” Halla said approvingly as she came back,

“Good.” Merlene said, and then made way as a tunnel was dug, and Lana popped out of it. 

“Oh, here’s the cube.” Halla said, handing Merlene the actual cube. 

“They fell for it completely!” Lana cried as she got out of the tunnel. “I ran with the fake one, left it on top of the dirt, and they totally missed the actual cube!”  

“Real name is Onomar.”  Eya commented as the cube connected with its fellow Riani. 

“Then the next one is to find a phoenix fan.” Aureia said. 

If you can make fire sweep the land,

You must find a phoenix fan,

Inside the heart

Of the hottest mountain.

“Cool! We will find it in the hottest volcano.” Enya, a Fireclan, exclaimed. She was sister to Aureia, and both were confident of their abilities to go under a volcano and come out perfectly fine.  

“Hottest volcano according to the Old Book is Uramon.” 

“Are you sure you both can survive such heat?” Mira said anxiously.

“We have a plan, don’t worry.” Aureia said.

“That doesn’t help me a bit. Anyway, stay away from Morilie!” Merlene said. 

Aureia and Enya went and managed to stay away from the Morilie, even though the Morilie were chasing them, they didn’t get caught. When they got to the volcano, they were shocked to see the Morilie fall behind, and stay away from the volcano.

“Must be afraid of heat. Anyway, get under.”  Aureia said.

“Hold that phoenix fan tight, it might cause a wildfire if you wave it around.”  Enya cautioned.

Then they both went under. Aureia and Enya went halfway, and then Aureia half-threw, half-pushed Enya down to the bottom, where Enya picked up the fan. At this point Aureia was down there, and pushed Enya up as Enya dragged Aureia up, and they burst up to the surface, where they stayed for a few minutes catching their breath. 

“Ready?” Aureia asked, slightly worried that Enya wasn’t ready yet.  

“Ready.” Enya nodded consent. 

Then they both shot up and flew like lightning. Their appearance was so startling, that the Morilie drew back, not considering the fact some lava flew with them as they took off. 

“Good.” Merlene said, as they landed. 

“Real name is Surenar.” Ela said happily as it connected.

“Four down, two to go. And the Morilie are getting better, so let’s hope we can avoid them.” said Merlene. 

“I’m tired. Let’s take a break.”  Aella said, stretching herself in the meeting tree. 

“Let’s get a snack.” Aya agreed.

After an hour-long break, they went back to the meeting tree where the riddle awaited.  

If you can make the water whirl,

You must find the largest pearl. 

In order to get it, you must do

You must dive down to deepest blue.

“Water. That means you dive down to the deepest trench, which is the Revialin Trench.” Merlene said slowly. 

“Ok.” Mira answered. “I’ll go then.” 

“Aww...can’t I go, sister?” asked Mayim, tugging on her sister’s sleeve. “I go pearl diving sometimes!” 

“But it’s deep. This isn’t the same as diving at a pearl bay.” Mira argued. 

“The deepest I’ve been is 6.8 miles down. And I’m small.”

“There’s that 0.2 in there I’m worried about. And also being small means you have less lung capacity.”

“But I stayed there for 30 minutes. 30 minutes, Mira.” 

“On the other hand, Mayim can help you come up once you’ve got it, Mira. She doesn’t need to go all the way down.” Merlene said gently. 

“That works.” Mira admitted.

“Yes! I’ll do my best.” Mayim promised. 

“Which is all I want you to do.” Mira said affectionately. 

So Mira dived down, and Mayim helped her come up. And Mira held a large sea blue pearl. Now the question was how to get back.

“The Morilie don’t like water, so traveling in water seems to be the best option, right?” Mayim asked.  

“That’s true, and there should be a river that feeds into the ocean.”  Mira said.

“Yup, just keep swimming.”  Mayim chirped.

“And hopefully it gets warmer. The sea is cold.” Mira noted. 

“Well, then, swim!” 

When they got back, oohs and aahs met them as they held up the pearl.

“It also appears that they’re afraid of water, too.” Mira said, as the pearl floated over to join its companions. 

“Its real name is Earluin.” Eya said. 

If by the stars the time you know

You must find a ball in which stardust glows.

And at the 6th hour of the night of the winter solstice,

You will find your wish. 

“The sixth and the last. Finally.” 

“The solstice is a week away, so we’ve got time.” said Merlene, with a sigh of relief. “Now we can relax a little.”

A week later…

Selina and Tara were at the fringe of the Hinathoron camp, waiting for the solstice. 

“There!” Tara pointed. 

The two crawled toward it. When they got there, the Riani was broken, and the light had left the ball! A laugh echoed in the dark.

“Poor you. You’re doomed.”  

Selina and Tara’s hearts sank. There was nothing they could do. 

Merlene was fidgeting, if it was even allowed for an Onacaea to fidget. 

“Where are they? They should be back by now.” she worried, still fidgeting in her chair at the meeting tree. 

“We’ll just have to wait.” Eya advised. “We don’t want anyone getting caught.” 

Just then, Selina and Tara came in, downcast. 

“You couldn’t find it?” Merlene rose. 

“No, we found it, but the Morilie got there first and broke it.”  Tara explained. 

“Now there's not much we can do.” Aya said. 

“Let’s see if they left anything behind.” Eya offered, walking toward the spot where the ball had been hidden. 

All that was left were pieces of glass that Eya called adamant, and several little shadows just flitting around. Selina frowned in concentration. Then her frown turned upside down, and she wiggled her hand. No one noticed.   

“See, no light left.” Tara said. 

“Hmm, try again.” Selina answered, holding the star particles in her hand. 

“Woah, woah, back up.” Tara gasped, as little droplets of light fluttered in the air.

“Starclan can separate light from dark. Once I took the shadow away from the starlight, it was easy. Usually, that’s not something we practice, so I forgot about it.” 

“Yeah.” Tara said, her brain catching up with her. The Morilie broke the ball and mixed the light that had been inside the ball with the shadows, thinking that was the end of it. But since the Starclan could separate the light from the darkness, all would be well. 

“So now all we need to do is create the ball, put the light in, and we’re good.” Merlene said. “The Fireclan can make the ball. Does anyone have adamant?” 

“Hold on a second.” Halla answered. She held up tiny crystals of adamant she had gotten from the ground. Adamant was usually everywhere in little crystals and it took an Earthclan to get it out of the ground.“Got it.”

The next day was mainly spent learning more about the Starclan, and also watching the Fireclan make the adamant ball. Finally, as night fell, it was finished. 

As it came out of the forge and cooled, Ela said, “Its name is Elenafa. And we finally got all of them!” 

As Elenafa joined the other six, it was connected by a white light, which extended over the entire camp, formed a force-field, and then disappeared. 

The older ones herded the little ones to beds in the trees while Merlene and Eya sat in the meeting tree, talking. 

“Force-fields? Against Morilie, I guess.” Merlene mused.  

“Good.” Eya replied.  

So they were at peace again.

Almost. 

“Umm…Merlene?” Enya poked her head out the meeting tree the next morning. 

“What?” Merlene asked. 

“The Old Book changed again.” Enya reported. 

“To?”  Merlene asked. 

“Just one single page.” 

“You gotta be kidding.” 

“Yup. The page has weird writing on it.” Enya reported. 

“Ok…” 

This is what it wrote;

Oryir and lasu, hiwa, yi caenel, nastri, nenua, isiwa, alakem, and eleyen.

“What in the world does that mean?” 

•§•

Meanwhile, Ciara had felt the concentration of power somewhere, and muttered something along the lines of fools and idiots. She knew the Hinathoron were trying to stop her. She thought she had finished them when she had broken the Starclan Riani, the Elenafa. Well, that didn’t seem to work. However, if she could steal the Book that gave them instructions, they wouldn’t know what to do! 

She called in the Morilie that controlled Allura’s body, and said, “Go to the Hinathoron camp, and steal the Book they have in their meeting tree.” 

The Morilie bowed, and went to do her mistress’s bidding. 

As the Morilie went into the Hinathoron camp, she heard someone exclaim something that sounded like the Book had changed into one page. That would make it all the easier. 

She crept into the meeting tree, swathed the place in darkness, cast a fume or two, stole the page, and left. 

•§•

The Hinathoron were gathered in the meeting tree, trying to understand the line of words. All of a sudden, darkness settled, and they all choked on fumes. By the time the darkness and the fumes had left, the page with the words was gone.  

“What! Morilie again?? UGH!!” Aureia said, then mastered the urge to punch the table. 

“Ok...think, Aureia. What can we do?” Merlene said reasonably. One of her best talents was to remain level-headed in a crisis.   

“Go after them!” Halla suggested. 

“The page can be burnt. Once the page is burnt, the Old Book is gone and then we’ll be even more lost.” Mira said, putting cold water on that.

“Then I don’t know!!” Aureia said hopelessly. 

“Well...Eya? Please? Pretty please??” Ela said, looking at Eya. 

“Um...do you think I should?” Eya replied. 

“Well, Eya, we can’t know otherwise.” 

“What if….” Eya said nervously. 

“Don’t say what if. We’ll try to eliminate all variables, then try.” 

“Ok...who’s going?”

“Wait...what are we doing?” Aureia broke in, looking between the two Oryaclan.  

“I can time travel-” Eya began.

“So you can go back in time and see them write it!” Aureia finished. 

“Never mind. It’s decided.” Eya said, resigned, as voices surrounded her. 

“Come on, everyone, let’s hold hands and go!”  Ela urged. 

So everyone jumped in - unaware of the dark form that jumped in after them as the hole closed. 

900 years in the past….

“So what’s it like? Can they see us?” Merlene wanted to know as they landed in a clearing as the hole closed behind them.

The clearing was soft with green grass under their feet, and they were surrounded by apple trees and other trees like elm, which provided plenty of fruit as well as the ability to make a grass nest up in a tree, like the Hinathoron were used to living in.   

“No, they can’t see us, so we can move around without anyone noticing.” Eya replied.

“Good.” Ela said.

“Over there!” Mira pointed to a large grass-nest. 

They went inside a large grass-nest, and found eight people, bent over something.

“Calm down, Kiran. It takes time.” Alanna said, as Eya and the others listened. Alanna had dark skin and even darker hair. 

“That doesn’t make me any more patient.” Kiran retorted.

“Maybe this will.” Alanna said, causing a block of earth to come onto Kiran, covering all but his head. Alanna was an Earthclan.“Now you can’t move.” 

“Girls.” said Kiran, looking at Mellan, and rolling his eyes. Kiran had fiery red hair. 

“Boys.”  Aysel said, looking at Rin. Aysel had night-black hair, with white skin. 

A few minutes later…

“Why!!!” Alanna huffed, as they came upon a riddle that she couldn’t decipher. 

“Calm down, Alanna.” said Kiran with a smirk. 

“Ok, fine.”  Alanna said.

“It’s not so bad.” said Dara, brushing her star-like hair. It shone and twinkled when the sun hit it.

“Easy for you to say. All you read is poetry.” said Kiran, doubtfully .

“And all you read are battle sagas. In the form of poems. Why are you complaining?” Rin asked acerbically. She had brown-black hair, with streaks of blue in it. 

“Girls.” Kiran grumbled.

“Boys.” Alanna said.

“Calm down, everyone.” Amari said, effectively ending the conversation. She had brown hair and brown eyes.

Many moments later…

“Thank Enoui!” said Kiran.

“For giving us, ahem, a lot of patience, and the necessary skills.” Alula said. She was Amari’s younger sister.

And they all sat back, looking at it. A beam of light came, and stitched the book together with 7 threads woven into one, and sent something into it, causing the book to glow momentarily, and then fade. 

“Right, let’s go get a snack!” Alanna said, rising.

“Sure thing.” Kiran said. 

“And finally you two agree on something!” Mellan said. He had blonde hair, which contrasted with his deep brown eyes.

“No we don’t!” they both said at the same time.

“Shut it, you two. I’m grabbing a snack. And if you want to stay and argue, that’s fine with me.” Rin said.

The First Hinathoron all got up and went to grab a snack. 

Then the other Hinathoron that had time traveled opened the book, and quickly copied down the line of words while Alanna and the others were having a snack. 

“I have a question. If the 7th clan was here at the beginning, then where did it go?” Mira asked.  

“And how did they get chosen in the first place?” Aella asked. 

“Do you think they’ll notice if I take some food? I’m hungry.” Mayim wanted to know as they sat in the grass nest of the First Hinathoron.

“Well, pick a fruit from off the tree.” Eya suggested motioning to the tree they were in, which was an apple tree.  

“Umm...Eya? I just figured out a Morilie managed to jump in with us and…” Ela began.

“Don’t worry, he’s trapped. So we’ll fight him on the way back. Let’s see….the First Hinathoron are 15 years old at this time, so let’s go 1 year further back.” Ela said. A portal appeared and they jumped in. 

1 year earlier…

They entered into chaos. Quite literally. Screaming. Shouting. Punching. Stabbing. Killing. Explosions. And war. Lots of it. And all those nice things you expect to see when you come out of a portal. 

“Duck!!” Mayim yelled, as some kind of metal pointy things whistled over their heads.

“The cave there!” Aella pointed to a nice-looking cave.

“It’s full of the Morilie!” Aureia shouted, as the Morilie swarmed around it.

“There!” Mira yelled. 

They dodged and ran to another empty cave, and hid. 

“If this is what they grew up with, I’m not liking it!” Selina said.  

“Warp space, Ela! To Helcenix!”

“Ok! I need directions!”

“Right, down, up, push!” Eya called.  

“What is that??” Mira asked. 

“Directions to get us to-” Eya got cut off by an intake of breath from the group. 

They had landed in Helcenix. 

“To a certain place.” Eya finished. 

Helcenix was up north. It snowed all 12 months, with some more heavy than others. Occasionally, if they were lucky, they got cold blue skies. Naturally, everything was made of ice. It was very cold there, and the upside was that the Morilie didn’t come and molest them. 

“This is where Rin was born. She is 14 at this time, I think. She was born with the power to control water. She’s in the courtyard practicing.”  Eya explained, somewhat like a tour guide. 

They found her practicing with water, and falling several times, losing her balance.

“It's relatively peaceful.” Mira said.

“Yes. That’s a good thing.” Eya replied. “She’s going to go through a lot of falls before she perfects her water technique. Let’s move on to Lachaval.” 

“Punch, right, left, punch!” 

And they landed in Lachaval. It was a town built with high walls, and plenty of watchtowers. All doors were made of heavy wood, reinforced with iron. All men were fighters, and women were long range fighters. Even the youngest knew how to throw a stone accurately. 

It was good they had such things, because suddenly there broke out a skirmish between the fighters on the wall tops and the invaders down below.  

“This place is less peaceful.” Mira noted.

“Well, they’re generally more of an annoyance to their conquerors, who I believe are Morilie in disguise.” Eya informed them. 

“Ooh-la-la! Liking it!!” Aureia clapped her hands. 

“Kiran is 14, and chafing to be out there with what he calls his fire-burning.”

“What is that?” Enya looked confused. 

“Old way of saying firebending.” Ela said. 

“So what does Rin call it?” Mayim wanted to know. 

“Water-pulling.”

They found Kiran punching, and kicking with fire coming out of his hands and feet. 

“This is best for offense. Now let’s move on to Kemerra.” said Eya. 

“Stomp, stomp, slide, push!”

Kemerra was solidly built of hardened rock. Everything there was rock, and the rocks were red jasper. There was a fight in the distance, but nothing like Lachaval, where it was almost an invasion. 

They found Alanna practicing, mainly using her lower body. 

“This enables you to be patient and wait for the right moment to strike. She calls it earth-pushing.”

Aella dodged a rock Alanna sent unwittingly toward her. 

“Let’s move somewhere where we’re a little less likely to be crushed.”  Eya said.  

“To the city of Suriwa.”  Eya told Ela, who nodded. 

“Swirl, push.”

Suriwa was on a mountain with terraces next to the mountain rock that was carved out for a city. It was white quartz, and nearly blended with the mist. 

They found Mellan practicing to float and push air, at the same time remaining completely defensive, even while he was pushing air.

“That’s Skyclan. Simply evading and confusing the opponent.” said Aella, with pleasure.

“He calls it air-bending.” Eya informed. 

“Finally!! Something a little normal.” Mira exclaimed. 

“Let’s move to Fenithil.” Eya told them.   

 “Swirl both hands creating a M shape, cross them, down, slide.”

“Complicated.”

“The moon changes.”

Fenithil was completely made of silver and moonstone. There were arcing white roofs that were inlaid with silver, and the moonstone inlays shone like the moon with a hint of blue.  

They found Aysel in full daylight practicing to blend in with the shadows of the city, and then gather moonlight into her hands, swirling it in an M shape. All of a sudden, she lashed out, causing the moonlight to harden and become whips. Aysel called them moonwhips. Fenithil was rather calm and tranquil, though it was also rather busy if you looked harder. 

“Wow, that’s sudden.” Ela remarked. 

“The moon changes. She calls it moon-changing.”

“Why?”

“She’s changing the moon by bending it.”

“Let’s move to Elenastra.”

“Wiggle your fingers, and push. Slightly! Otherwise you’ll push us back to Lachaval.”

Elenastra was a smaller city compared to the others, and it was made of colorless labradorite, completely translucent. However, they put goshenite in between the labradorite, and so it took a while to get used to looking at the city because all the materials refracted a bit of the sunlight. 

“It twinkles at night.” Eya informed. 

They found Dara struggling to control starlight, wiggling her fingers and moving her hand in circles at the same time.

“This totally explains why most people don’t understand Starclan.”  Selina noted. 

“In order to control starlight, your hands have to move in circles. Literally.” Eya explained. 

“And continual crossing of the hands is needed.”  Ela chimed in. 

“What does she call this one?”

“Star-blinking.”

“Let’s move to Oryaem.”

“Down, up, swirl, wiggle, punch!”

They found Amari and Alula in a clearing. The clearing had a small house just built of opal that was iridescent and shone with all the colors of the rainbow. Plenty other opal was scattered around, making the clearing look very beautiful. 

Amari was making a tree die and grow at alarming rates. It grew to its full size in 1 minute, and died in another minute. Alula was making herself move across the clearing without moving her legs.

“They’re the only ones who have this power at this point.” 

“What do they call it?”

“Time-controlling, and space-warping.”

“Then what?” Altair, brother to Aella, asked as they traveled through a space portal.

“They fought against Ciara, who in return destroyed all their cities, which is why they’re no longer standing. However, now we know them as the 7 Wonders of Teranye.”  Eya said, as they flew through the portal and landed onto the ground. 

1 year later…

They arrived just in time to hear Ciara screech and fall in a chasm. 

“You may defeat me now, but I’ll come back!” Ciara cried.

“Like they always say!” Kiran called back, smirking.

“I always manage!” she yelled, and could not be seen or heard anymore.

“Well, she did. Eventually.” Mira murmured. 

The Calalie bowed to the First Hinathoron, and then the Calalie vanished. 

“Well done. I want you to write a book about it. It will help you and your descendants.” Enoui said. 

Then the 8 Hinathoron left for the grass-nest and they were back where they started. 

“Well, where are they now if they live forever?” Mayim asked. 

“Well, they eventually went to live with Enoui. Every Hinathoron will eventually do so.” Eya answered. 

“How do you get there?” Enya wanted to know. 

“Enoui knows, and he takes you there when he thinks you should go.” Eya answered.

“How did they meet? And who were the Calalie?”  Aella asked. 

“They met each other because Enoui told them to. They became friends, and set out to defeat Ciara. They did so with the help of the Calalie, who are Enoui’s helpers, and also Ciara’s former siblings.” 

Merlene looked at Eya when she heard that. 

“We’re probably not getting help from the Calalie.” she said. 

“Why?” Celene wanted to know. She was a tiny Moonclan.

“Because it caused a lot of damage to Teranye, causing mountains to become islands and things like that. Also, Ciara probably is going to try something more subtle.” Eya answered for her. 

“When would she make those plans though?” Altair wondered. 

“Um, maybe the year 359? That’s when we kicked the Oryaclan out because we thought you were having too much power. Then Ciara could take advantage of our division and start making plans. And sorry about the expulsion.” Aureia said sheepishly. 

“It’s alright. We’ve got more to worry about than past fights.” Eya answered reassuringly. 

“More specifically, how about Sevenmonth 31, 359?” Tara piped up. She was a Starclan.

“Great! Let’s go!”

Sevenmonth 31, 359…

They found themselves in the fortress of Ateranor, and watching Ciara’s thoughts flit across her mind. Eya had basically invaded her mind. 

Ciara was pleased. Never a good thing. Her being angry was also not a good thing. In general, everyone went out of their way to avoid her, except her most trusted lieutenant, Kek, and even he had his share of terror. 

The Oryaclan was kicked out, and she intended to keep it like that. Whereas practically she knew it was impossible, in her perfect world, she would make the humans her slaves, the Hinathoron would perhaps be her retinue, and the Morilie her army. Then she would challenge Enoui, and her other weakling brothers and sisters would come to her and beg for forgiveness. Yes, that was it. However, for all of that to work, it required one thing. A jewel. Her Jewel, to be exact. It had to be made, and soon. It was good that Ateranor was virtually invisible by her dark arts. Especially the high parts. Especially there.

She wouldn’t waste this opportunity. She had spent at least 100 years climbing up and out of the Abyss, 100 years gaining her powers back, and another 100 to gather her followers. She would succeed this time, and nothing would stop her. Not even Enoui, who obviously had no idea what she was doing.

Then the watching Hinathoron were swept away by a portal. If Ciara found out that they were poking around in her head, then Ciara would definitely kill them. They were going to watch what she was going to do, just not in her head.   

Sevenmonth 31, 359

“It’s dark. Does anyone have light?” Enya asked, as they dropped down again, this time outside the mountain. “I have fire, but it’s not bright enough.” They had emerged out onto a wasteland that apparently had little to no light whatsoever.  

“Don’t worry.” Celene answered. 

Soon it was bright with moonlight, firelight, and starlight. 

“Is the-” Ela began.

“The invisible dome is on, yes.” Eya answered. The invisible dome was there so they could travel while being invisible. 

“Alright. So, where’s the prime target?” Merlene wanted to know.

“Up top.” Eya replied, pointing to where there should’ve been a mountain according to the map. There wasn’t any, however, and Merlene frowned slightly. 

“I thought there was a mountain?” Halla asked, confused. 

“The view is blocked by Ciara’s dark arts. However -” Eya began.

“I can see it!” Altair said excitedly. 

“Me too!!” Mayim told Mira. 

All the little ones chroused their agreement, including Ela. 

“It’s strange how Enoui works.” Aella observed. She was a Skyclan, sister to Altair. 

 “Well then, lead the way, little ones!” Eya dramatically bowed to the little ones, allowing them to lead the way to the top of the mountain. “Watch out for Morilie. Like the one that got stuck in the hole trying to follow us.”  

They climbed to the top and peered in. They could hear chanting. A lone, single voice chanting aloud over a black jewel. Ciara chanted, “ Herumor, Calafir.” Over and over she chanted until finally, she exclaimed, “Tametta! I bestow onto you my power of darkness and shadow. You cannot be hurt by water, fire, heat, light, or weapons.” 

“Why don’t we just get the black jewel to try to break it and rid her of her power?” Enya asked impulsively. 

“That would cause a ripple in time, and if we change the past, we change the present.” 

“Oh.” Enya sighed.

“It’s alright. We just need to see where she hides it.”  Eya said encouragingly. 

“There!” Lana pointed. There was a niche, hidden right at the top of the precipice, where boiling fire and rock met. It looked about ready to crumble if anyone stepped on it. Annoyingly, Ciara floated in the air, and didn’t touch the rock. 

“Can she fall?” Tara asked.  

“Afraid that’s not possible.” Selina answered. 

“Alright, let’s go.”  Eya said, preparing to leave.

“Hold on. Go out a different hole. The Morilie who had tried to follow us got stuck in the previous hole, which turned into a ball, and I think it might be nice to leave that one there till the end of Time.” Ela said, smirking as she thought about it. 

“Sure.” Eya answered.

In the year 1000…. 

Whoosh. The Hinathoron appeared out of a portal, back at their camp. 
“Phew!” Aya said, relieved they were all back in one piece.  

“Is the Morilie stuck?” Ela asked. 

“Yes, it’s stuck in a ball.” Eya answered. 

“You’ve been referring to it as a hole.” Aya said, confused. 

“I open a hole in time, that looks like a cylinder you can fall through. Then once we’re all in the cylinder, I close the top of it. Then when we’ve landed out of the cylinder, I close the bottom. Since the Morilie was still in there when I closed the ‘hole’, it became a ball. If there is no opening, it’ll shrink and that Morilie will die.” Eya finished triumphantly, as all the Hinathoron laughed at the thought of a Morilie with a long flowing black cloak getting shrunk. 

•§•

Back in the ball….

The unfortunate Morilie felt herself getting squished and reshaped.  

“My lady!!! Help!!!!!” she wailed as she saw Ciara. The ball constantly shrunk if there was no opening. If Ciara couldn’t help her, no one could and she didn’t want to think about that. Besides, she had important information for Ciara. The Hinathoron, those annoying people, had spied on her!! She had managed to find a crease in Time, and slipped through that, and made her way to Ateranor in the year 1000.

Ciara heard her, and smiled. She cautiously smiled back. But that smile got wiped off her face and was replaced by terror.

“No, I’m afraid not. YOU INCOMPENTENT FOOL!!!” Ciara screeched, and then continued in a silky tone. “I set you a task. It was to destroy that Book. And what did you do?” she said. “YOU FAILED!!” 

The Morilie’s eyes widened.“B-bu-but-I have news. I-it’s impo-import-” she stammered in utter terror.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU IMBECILE!!! YOU FAILED!!! FAILED!!!” Ciara screeched, her voice rising several octaves in her anger. She stopped abruptly. Had she heard something? It was probably just the wind. The Morilie watched her, hope rising in her throat at her sudden stop in ranting.   

“And now you die.” she continued, waving her hand, and the Morilie’s hopes of living were crushed. 10 minutes later, the Morilie was a pile of black dust. 

It was a pity she didn’t listen to the Morilie. Or better yet, turn around to see what the wind was doing.  

•§•  

“So now we know where it’s hidden.” Ela said, back in the meeting tree.

“All we need to do is go get it.” Merlene said. 

“The first question is: who is going?”  Eya asked.

Silence reigned for a long age before it was broken. 

“The older ones can’t go, because we can hardly see anything on Ateranor.” Merlene said slowly.

“Ela could, I suppose. Along with her other friends.” Eya answered. 

“Sure.” Ela shrugged. She looked at all her friends. “You up for it?”

She didn’t need to ask twice.  

“Quiet. We’re not in time travel mode.” Ela whispered, as they walked along the dark road to Ateranor. 

“Would it be easier if we just flew?” Mayim muttered. 

“I suppose.”

The little group made their way up, quietly making sure they didn’t make tracks or bump into anything. They also carried a replica of Ciara’s jewel, also called the Morimir. They’d made sure it looked exactly like the original. It emanated power the same way, but it was a different power. They slipped through the opening in the mountain, and then they saw something. A throne. With a dark figure on it, addressing another figure in a weird-shaped circle ball. Ela looked like she was going to panic. 

“That’s the Morilie that got trapped in a hole! She must have found a crease in Time, slipped through that, and came to report!! On us!!”  Ela whispered.

“Look!!” Mayim pointed. Ciara did not seem to be liking whatever she was hearing. “Why don’t we go closer so we can hear better?”

They crept closer until they could make out words. 

“I’m afraid not. YOU INCOMPTENT FOOL!!!” they heard Ciara screech. 

“Hold on. That means she’s not listening to whatever she’s reporting and dismissing it as nonsense.” Celene realized.

“Under all this shouting,” Altair observed, covering his ears, “we could fly over to the niche and replace the jewel.” 

“What will we use as cover?” Enya worried. 

“It’s dark, with only one torch by her throne. We’ll use her weapon against her. Shadows and darkness.”  Tara the Starclan answered, happy with the irony of the whole thing. 

They flew close to the wall. Lana took out the real Morimir, put in the fake one, and handed the real Morimir to Ela, who could absorb the energy, and make sure Ciara didn’t sense anything unusual. Ciara all of a sudden stopped talking. They froze. Had Ciara seen them? Their fears were relieved as Ciara said to the unfortunate Morilie, “Now you die.” 

“Wrong.” Enya whispered. “Now you die.”

•§•

Eya felt Ela’s telepathic words. We’ve got it. Let us out, will you?

As the 7 younger Hinathoron popped out of the time hole back into the present, everyone was waiting expectantly in the meeting tree. They proudly held the Morimir up, and in response, the Riani vibrated and pulled a protective cover over Ciara’s jewel, and sent a warm feeling through the little ones who had time traveled. 

Eya all of a sudden frowned. 

“What, Eya?” Ela wondered. 

“Ciara can track us now. Because we have the Morimir, she knows where we are.”  Eya answered. 

“Bad move, bad move.” Aya shook her head. 

“Now she’ll probably wipe us all out, and then there’s nothing to stop her from taking over the world.” Enya sighed. 

“Could you destroy it? That’s what we wanted.” Merlene said, handing the black jewel to Aureia.

After inspecting it, she shook her head. 

“You all remember what she said. This jewel is not harmed by water, fire, heat, or weapons.” Aureia answered. Then she thought again. “But since it was made by a spell, it could get destroyed by a spell.”  

   “That’s it!!” Eya realized. “Remember? Oryir and lasu, hiwa, yi caenel, nastri, nenua, isiwa, alakem, and eleyen. I remember the translation. It means, “Rise and hear, children, of sky, fire, water, moon, earth, and star. Even though it has nothing to do with the Morimir, it has something to do with us. It named all of our Clans. It’s a twisted way of saying that we have to do something about some object, and I think it’s saying we have to destroy the Morimir.” 

 “Who's going to chant it?” Ela said, anticipation rising in her throat. It had to be Eya, it had to! 

Everyone waited expectantly as Eya answered her sister.

“You, of course.” Eya said calmly. The surprise in the meeting tree was never greater. 

“ME!!” Ela was shocked.

“Yes, you. And all the ones that went to retrieve the Morimir.” Eya elaborated.

“Why??” Altair wanted to know.

“If you can see the top of Ateranor, it is likely you will not be tempted to take the stone and use its power for yourself. That’s what little ones are like.” Eya explained.

“I am not little!” Ela protested.

“Fine. Young.” Eya smiled affectionately.

“So what are you going to do?” Celene asked.

“I think we’re going to fight, cousin. Just to keep Ciara’s sneaky eyes off you.” Aya answered Celene.

“Isn’t that right?” Ava asked.

“Exactly. All the older ones will fight, while you li - younger ones will be chanting.” Merlene said. 

“And I believe that if you put the Riani around the Morimir and chant the spell, the Riani should eventually destroy the Morimir.” Mira added.

“So that’s what they were really for.” Enya realized.

“Enoui thinks of everything, that’s for sure.”  Halla answered.

“Right. Let’s start preparing.” Aella said, rolling up her sleeves.

•§•

Ciara sneered in triumph for herself and for the stupidity of her enemies. Finally, they had revealed themselves. By taking the Morimir, she knew their location. And without the Old Book, they didn’t know how to destroy it! She would wipe them out, get the Morimir, and then nothing would stop her. 

A butterfly flitted in, and she snatched it in mid-air, and then cruelly squeezed the life out of it. She looked at the mangled butterfly. That would be what the Hinathoron were going to look like when she was done with them. 

She stalked out of her throne room to the top of the mountain where the Morilie were waiting. 

“To war!”  she cried. 

A dark morning rose, and the sun did not shine. 

•§•

But the Hinathoron were ready.

“Here they come.” Aella whispered softly to Selina, who passed the message on as they hid in the border of the Hinathoron camp.  

A dark horde was sweeping the land, and all green things wilted as they passed. 

Thankfully, the Morilie paid no attention to the humans. Ciara was bent on crushing the Hinathoron, and she couldn’t care less about anyone or anything else.

“Careful. Not yet.” Merlene warned as the dark army drew closer. 

“Wait for it…” Eya said softly.

As the Morilie advanced, Eya called the signal.

“Oryir!!!” she called. The Morilie hesitated at that word of power, giving the Hinathoron an advantage, which they took. 

The Moonclan stayed in the trees, whipping with their moonwhips and tossing them to the Skyclan. The Starclan caught any Morilie in circles of starlight for the Earthclan to throw. The Waterclan drenched the Morilie so that the Fireclan could efficiently make the Morilie go up in smoke and die. Eya quickly took care of anyone that slipped in between. 

However, because the Hinathoron were not committing their full force by allowing the younger ones to fight with them, they were slightly weaker, and Ciara felt it. She wasn’t going to allow this chance to slip through her fingers. The Morilie were pushing them slowly and steadily back toward the cave where Ela and the others were supposed to be destroying the Morimir. 

Eya thought to herself, “I hope they can destroy the Morimir in time before we all die.” 

•§• 

Meanwhile, Ela and the younger ones were taking deep breaths, calming themselves.

“Remember what Eya said. No funny voices, just talk normally. If the Riani starts to glow, shut your eyes, but keep saying the chant. Don’t let go of each other’s hands, whatever you do. Even if Ciara comes in at the head of a hundred thousand Morilie, and asks for our heads, keep chanting, and Enya, it’s up to you to whack her with your wide, flowing sleeves. Make sure to aim it in her face. Clear?” Ela said firmly. Even though the situation was grave, she couldn’t help adding a little humor, if only to ease the knot in all their stomachs. 

“All clear. Let’s do this.” Altair said. nodding. 

They all took a breath and began chanting. 

Five minutes later, the Riani started to glow. 

The young Hinathoron closed their eyes.

Ten minutes later, the Morimir started to glow.

They shut their eyes even tighter, and continued chanting. 

Fifteen minutes later, the Morimir started to crack.

And twenty minutes later, the Morimir burst, and the young Hinathoron opened their eyes and stopped chanting. 

The first thing they heard was a wail. A long drawn out wail of fury and wrath, yet somehow very distant. Even though their brains told them it was no more than 50 meters away, it sounded like it was coming from 50 kilometers away. They stared for several seconds at the ground where the Morimir should’ve been. All that was left was black dust, which got swept away by the wind and never seen again. 

“We did it!!!” Enya yelled, breaking the silence that fell over the camp.

“Yeah. You really did it.” Aureia told her, arriving on the scene. 

“We weren’t sure if we could hold on much longer, and then, poof, they’re all gone.” Eya said to Ela, brushing her hair. 

“Well, thanks.” Enya said shyly in response to Aureia’s praise.

“Hey, look! The sun is shining, and that means it’s time for breakfast.” Ela said cheerfully, as the whole camp dissolved into laughter, as Ela smiled happily because she lightened the mood. 

As they made their way toward breakfast, Eya took one look back.

And she saw something.

She saw a rainbow, signaling the start of a new day. 

She sighed in happiness.  

“Rainbows. Just perfect.” 

And that, she thought, was just absolutely, wonderfully, perfect.