Zinu grabbed his hand, effectively pulling him out of his thoughts. "We are traveling far to the west, to the lands of Clan Krayven."

Nix nodded. He knew where their lands were; it was high in the mountains next to the peak that Elynmoor had been placed on. "I'm ready."

The temperature dropped several degrees as Nix found himself in the foothills on the outskirts of Clan Krayven's territory. They were inside a small circle of rocks; Nix was instantly reminded of the traveling circles that the Ashobel used in Colonial.

"I will need a few minutes before we progress further. You will have to wait here." Nix stepped away from Zinu, although he trusted her, the ability to respond to problems required additional measures.

[Nether Walker]

Nix pictured Leva's desk, and a moment later appeared in front of his surprised minion.

"Nix!" Leva stood up and walked around the desk to greet him.

"Ducky says hi." Nix handed her the Nether Rat puppet that they used to map new areas for Leva. "Maybe you should just hang onto that from now on."

Leva nodded in agreement and took a seat on her couch. A moment later, the Nether Rat she inhabited looked up from her own lap. "Ready."

[Nether Walker: Return]

Nix arrived back at the Krayven Clan lands, the Nether Rat puppet perched on his shoulder. An instant later, a breach opened next to him, and Leva stepped through.

She smiled slightly when Nix handed her the puppet. "I'll take good care of it, Nix."

[Summons: Ducky]

Nix watched as Ducky appeared, her face lighting up when she saw Leva. He motioned toward Leva, "I don't need anything, figured you might want to hang out."

Ducky nodded and grabbed Leva's hand. "Take us to the Turtle House!"

Leva opened a breach to Ionova and waved. "Thanks, Nix. Let me know if you need backup."

A moment later, the two women disappeared, and Nix was left with Zinu. While she was waiting, she had summoned a small mountain pony.

[Summons: Nightmare]

Nix mounted the demon mare and turned toward Zinu. "Going to tell me what this is about now?"

Zinu nodded and started walking her horse up the steep trail. "How much do you know about the Everspire Clans?"

Nix had Nightmare walk beside the smaller horse so that he could converse easier. "Nothing really. You coat yourselves in that mud to ward off magic attacks, and you are the weakest of all the clans. No offense."

Zinu shook her head sadly. "It's true; we are pathetically weak in comparison to the other clans. They would have long since wiped us out if we hadn't moved."

Nix understood that much, but not the reasoning behind it. "Why did you move?"

Zinu considered the question for a moment. "Our Totem was dying."

Nix knew the term but hadn't heard it mentioned in Colonial. "Explain Totems."

"Each Clan has a powerful Totem. Essentially it is a powerful beast that looks over the Clan."

"Normal beast? Or a magical one?"

"Magical, sometimes elemental." Zinu paused a moment before continuing. "Ours was an Earth Elemental knows as an Ecclesia."

Nix shrugged slightly, "sorry, no idea what that is."

"Ecclesia resides in the earth; they can be hundreds of feet in length." Zinu glanced at Nix to gauge his reaction, but his face was expressionless. "You would probably say that it resembled a very large snake."

"I see."

"Our strength was tied to the creature. When it began to weaken, so did we." Zinu frowned at the memory. Slowly over several months, their natural protections and buffs failed one by one. They began to be targeted by the other clans.

"I don't see how I can help."

"You see the mud that coats me? Do you know why my Clan uses it?"

Nix nodded. "It carries protective measures against magic."

Zinu shook her head slightly. "Although your words aren't incorrect, the root of their meaning is. The mud we wear is taken from the area surrounding our Totem."

The foothills leveled off for a while, and Nix spotted roving guards and a large camp. Zinu took him to a large wooden post that was intricately carved with symbols and letters that Nix didn't recognize. The red-earth surrounding the Totem was disheveled slightly. A large ring of black rocks enclosed the area, and an older man stood outside the circle, slowly raking the ground with a long rake.

Zinu gestured toward the wooden post. "This is all that remains of our Totem. At the end of its life, it saturated the ground with its essence. Even that is nearly spent."

"Soon, the sacred ground around this totem will be plain mud, and Clan Krayven will be forced to live in the cities." It was the old man that spoke; he carefully placed the rake on the ground. It was easily the longest rake Nix had ever seen, capable of reaching to the center of the circle without crossing the ring.

"Nix, this is our Clan Chief, Guyanar." Zinu placed a hand on the old man's shoulder; it was apparent they were close. "This is Nix, the person that I've told you about."

Nix bowed slightly and accepted the old man's hand. Although his hands were small and weathered, there was still strength in them. "I don't understand how I can help."