All was quiet in the village.

Jaden lowered his head. There was nothing he could do to make them see how he felt or how much he wanted them to be with him again.

He looked back up. 'They will die for taking you from me,' he said.

They would not hear or understand him, but he needed to tell them, to feel that the ghosts of yesterday might somehow know that they would not be forgotten, and the crime of their deaths would not go unpunished.

As he turned to walk away, he felt a tug at his arm, gentle at first, then stronger as it began to shake him. He turned back to his right, but saw nothing there, as if it were an invisible force trying to get him to stay with his family.

His eyes eased open as he woke from the dream, allowing only a little of the light to seep in.

'Jaden.' He could hear a woman calling him. 'Jaden, wake up!'

Through small openings, he could make out a figure in front of him. He closed his eyes again, wanting to return to where he had seen his family, to feel that he was at home.

'Jaden, please wake up,' the woman persisted.

'What do you want, Traveller?' he asked sleepily. 'I will talk to you about the rings in the morning.'

'It is morning, Jaden. I let you sleep all night.'

Jaden became completely awake. 'Tarsha?' he asked in surprise.

The old woman nodded. She was sitting in front of him and wearing the same clothes as she had worn in Callibra. Her hair was as tangled as ever and her face had only been briefly rinsed, much of the dirt and muck of travel remaining in the lines around her eyes and lips. 'It is good to see you alive,' she said. 'I was afraid you had not made it.'

Jaden looked around him. He was still inside the hollow of the mountain; the lush gardens, stone shrines and flowing waterways looking vibrant under the glow of the sphere above. He was still alive. The water had not poisoned him. He coughed loudly as he sat up. The sickness remained, but he did not feel as badly as he had before he slept.

Jaden rubbed at his right eye before trying to make sense of anything. It almost didn't seem real. How could this place exist? How had he managed to find it? He thought it more likely that he would have died in the storm, or become too ill from the cold to live on until the next day. But here he was, dry, warm and safely inside a mountain that not only had amazing gardens and stone structures within it, but also the most beautiful statues he had ever seen. The faces of the statues came to mind; he remembered seeing them through the curtains of water, trying to place where he had seen them before. They were familiar to him somehow, he knew that, but he couldn't think how. The man, he decided, was unrecognisable, looking like no one else, but the woman ... she was real to him. He glanced around the hollow once more, the light stinging at his tired eyes and forcing him to squint. But he had seen enough. He knew the answer.

The statue was of Raquel.

'This place is Daijuarn,' he said.

'It is,' said Tarsha.

'How did I get here?'

Tarsha made herself more comfortable on the step below him, wincing in pain slightly. 'I don't know,' she said.

'How did you get here?' he asked.

Tarsha was distant for some time, and then as if she had finally heard him, she answered. 'You were being tracked-did you know that?'

'Yes,' said Jaden instantly. 'I mean no, sorry. I thought I knew.'

'Not just by me, it seems, but the Alliance. They are interested in you, for reasons I cannot guess. You'd best be more careful, Alliance scouts are not easily fooled. You should at least make some attempt to hide your way.'

'Did he follow me in here?'

'No. He will not be following anyone anymore,' said Tarsha, placing the rifle on her left upright so that Jaden could see it. 'You would have suffered the same fate had I not realised who it was in that uniform of yours. Where did you get it?'

'The fort,' said Jaden with a shrug.

'The fort?' Tarsha repeated, her eyes becoming alight. 'You were captured?'

'No, I climbed in. There were no guards on the walls.'

'Reckless,' said Tarsha. 'You are lucky to be here.'

'I wanted revenge, what else could I have done?'

'Followed your grandfather's advice, for one!'

'I'm here now, aren't I?' asked Jaden, almost angrily.

As if sensing Jaden's new mood, Tarsha quieted, while Jaden looked away from her then shook his head before placing it into his hands. He hadn't meant to sound so irritated. This place did something to him. For all its beauty, it made him feel strange, on edge, almost anxious. There was something about the false light and the feel of the air that would not allow him comfort. None of it felt right. It was not real, not by nature, of alien design. This was a place made by those who had failed to help his people when they were attacked, and had failed to help him when he had fallen over the waterfall. He could sense it.

'How did my grandfather know of this, does he know the Daijuar?' he asked, trying to take his mind off the nagging sensation building within.

Tarsha refused to look into his eyes, staring somewhere off in the distance. 'I do not know his true association with them, but he has been my source of knowledge for many years.'

'Why did he want me to come here?'

'That is something we will have to learn on our own.'

Jaden stood and walked down to the fountain, looked inside to see the statue of Raquel and then turned toward the gardens behind him. There was fruit on the trees, and many of the smaller plants he now noticed were vegetables and herbs. There seemed everything one needed to replenish their health.

'What is this place?' he asked, approaching the closest tree. 'Do the Daijuar live here?'

'At times, perhaps,' said Tarsha, her voice clear in the stillness of the air. 'I believe they would call it a monastery. Look,' she pointed upward to the centre of the hollow, 'that is a Taj Mylun-a synthetic sun, a tribute to the power they use and a means of rejuvenation for them. It will give light long after we are gone, maybe even forever, and keep these plants greener than any others you will ever see. The temple here is for meditation, or perhaps sleeping, I do not know. There is much I still have to learn about them, but by that symbol you see above here, you can be sure it is of Daijuarn design.'

Jaden stared at the symbol of the two entwining serpents, and then at the markings below. He then looked at the loh-korah. His grandfather had given it to him and told him that it would help, somehow. The symbols were the same as he saw now. The loh-korah must have been Daijuarn. Perhaps that was why Raquel hadn't been too interested in helping him. She might have already thought another of her kind had taken him under their guidance.

Jaden approached the temple doors slowly, his eyes set firmly on the markings to either side.

'What are you doing?' asked Tarsha.

Jaden did not respond. He scanned over the walls where two silver plates existed on either side, and then brought his wrist up to his chest.

'These symbols match,' he said.

'What? Show me,' said Tarsha, getting up slowly and walking toward him.

Jaden noticed that she had been hiding a wound on her left side, the blood seeping through her clothing at her ribs.

'You're hurt,' he said.

'Never mind that now,' said Tarsha. She took hold of his wrist and began meticulously searching over the loh-korah before doing the same to the wall in front of them. 'Well, it seems you are right. Your grandfather must have given you the key to this place.'

'What do you mean?' asked Jaden.

'Go on, try it,' she said. 'Put the loh-korah over the symbols and rest your hand in the groove above.'

Uncertainly, Jaden turned his wrist around and did as Tarsha had said. Nothing happened at first, but moments later the symbols connected together as if by a magnet and his arm became held tightly against the plate. He tried to pull away, but the force was too strong.

'Don't fight it,' Tarsha comforted. 'This is Daijuarn, it will not harm you.'

Jaden glanced at her, wanting to say something, but was distracted by an unlocking sound.

'There we are!' said Tarsha triumphantly, and she walked to the doors and tried to push them open. They didn't budge, so she began to try to pull them apart instead. 'You must not have done it right,' she said, having no success. 'Try again.'

Jaden did as she wished, and again he found himself held to the wall before the same unlocking sound came. Tarsha attempted to open the doors, but still there was no change. The doors remained shut.

'Show me,' she said in frustration, checking over his wrist. 'The symbols match, it should work!' She placed his wrist against the plate, but was still unsuccessful. 'Try this side,' she said, moving over to the left.

'The symbols don't match,' Jaden protested. 'Do we need another?'

'No,' said Tarsha. 'At least, I do not think so. Come, try.'

No sound came from Jaden placing the loh-korah against the silver plate on the left, nor did it hold his arm in place.

'It's no use,' he said, 'it won't work.'

'Give me another look.' Tarsha examined every detail there was on the wristlet. 'What is this dent?' she asked after a moment, pointing to the centre of the loh-korah.

'I don't know,' said Jaden, now seeing the same discrepancy. 'I think I fell on something.'

'A fall would not have the force needed to make a dent like this. It looks like a bullet mark.' Her eyes flicked up to his. 'Were you shot?'

'No,' said Jaden, 'I don't think so.' He thought back to the attack. 'Something hit me, I think, and then I fell. It might have happened then.'

'I see,' said Tarsha, her attention back on the wall. 'Well, it may be enough to prevent us from getting in. In fact, I think we can say for sure we will not be entering today.' She sighed, glancing quickly over the temple, as if losing all hope in an instant. 'One day I will learn their secrets,' she marvelled, 'even if it takes me another fifty years.'

Jaden said nothing, as much from tiredness as not knowing what to do.

'Try once more,' said Tarsha suddenly.

'It won't work.'

'Please, once more. This time, make sure everything is perfectly in place, including your hand.'

'I did that last time.'

'Just do it!'

Jaden reluctantly put his wrist over the symbols, causing the same unlocking sound to come, and just as it seemed that this time the doors would open, suddenly the sphere above them began to emit a cool blue light, as if a cloud had passed in its way.

'What's happening?' asked Jaden.

'I don't know,' said Tarsha, backing away from the wall. 'Quick! Take your hand away, now! We may have made a mistake.'

Jaden did as instructed and moved back with her, but the light above continued to lose its power.

'I thought you said it would last forever,' Jaden pointed out.

'I assumed it would,' said Tarsha in disbelief.

There came a haunted wind in the hollow, whistling through the many stones and rustling the leaves of the trees and plants alike. There was a high-pitched ring, and then all sound dulled as if being devoured with the light. There came a rumble deep beneath them as the ground began to shake.

'You assume a lot,' said Jaden, trying to keep his balance.

'One must, when dealing with the Daijuar,' countered Tarsha, hanging onto the railing in front of them. 'They are an elusive kind.'

'What happens now?'

'Just hang onto something!'

Jaden grabbed the railing as the rumble continued to gain in strength. The entire mountain was shaking now, and it seemed its very walls would collapse around them. The light dulled even further, leaving them in almost absolute darkness, but no rock could be heard falling, nor did any cracks appear in the ground. The rumble appeared harmless.

In the distance, a slam of metal could be heard, and as the rumble calmed, there were footsteps, too. As the footsteps neared, the light above began to regain its original colour and brightness, revealing the footsteps to be those of three men all dressed in white, two of whom had finely chiselled features, the one on the right with dark hair, the other on the left with light. They flanked the man in the centre who was three steps in front and had long white hair and a short beard of the same colour.

'Grandfather!' called out Jaden, racing down the stairway toward the approaching men.

The men flanking him regarded Vennoss with interest and then looked at one another questioningly, seemingly ignoring Jaden running toward them. Jaden embraced his grandfather as they met, and then his grandfather held him strongly at arm's length, looking him up and down. Jaden noticed then that he was not smiling, nor was there even a hint of happiness in his grandfather's eyes.

'What's wrong?'

Vennoss looked past Jaden to Tarsha, who had walked painfully down to them.

'She's wounded,' he said, 'tend to her.'

The two men took long strides past Jaden, normal for people of their height, and helped Tarsha back up to the temple again, where they opened the doors easily with nothing more than their hands. When all three had vanished behind the doors, Vennoss looked back to Jaden.

'Where have you been? I told you to come straight here.'

The tone was harsh, almost of anger, as if Jaden had somehow done wrong.

Jaden was confused, unsure what to say. 'I came as soon as I could.'

Vennoss did not seem to believe him. 'Where did you get those clothes?'

Jaden took a moment to think; he wanted to say he found them, but knew he could not hide the truth. He wore an Alliance uniform. There was no way around it. His grandfather would see straight through the lie.

'The fort,' he conceded.

'What fort?' asked Vennoss.

'The one in Callibra. The one built over my home.'