By the time that breakfast was ready, I had cast as many faerie fires as I could manage around the camp to provide some light and warmth and ward off the strange mist as best I could. I placed most of them around the wagons and the central fire, but I had some set in a perimeter around the camp as well. Without straining myself, I could cast a little over two dozen rose-hued balls of fire.

It was not my mana reserves that it was straining though, the strain was more mental as I had to focus on keeping so many of the fires going in a fairly large area. My mind felt like it was being stretched thin, and I had the distinct feeling that if I allowed myself to become distracted, several of those fires around the outer perimeter of the camp would go out. Between that and trying to find some sense in the ebb and flow of the magical miasma around us, I was not up for idle conversation while eating my morning meal.

So, I almost missed it when Tanna’s eyes lit up with an eerie glow and she spoke in a voice that I had only heard speak through the Seer once before, a voice that was patient, loving, and yet deadly serious with the warning she offered:

“Beware the Gïr’Näuthrok, my children, for you are in its mist. That mist befuddles the unwary, and it senses all that the mist touches. The only escape is death, yours or that of the creature which stalks you even now. It is an ancient creature, older than the Gods, perhaps older than the world itself. And yet, it is unnatural beyond measure, it has no place in the natural order of this world, twisted by the primal magic of our world’s beginning. It devours living magic, and the Fae are its favorite prey.

It would devour you all in time, but if it stays true to form, there are three who it hungers for most. The Ravieri Bard, her Blade-bearer apprentice, and most of all, the mana-touched child. Be cautious, for to die in its grasp is not like death or Fading, your souls would not pass on, nor would you Fade to become part of the Weave, you would be cast into oblivion, your existence forever extinguished.”

I believed that cryptic warning was all we would get, but one thing was certain. Kalara and Master Niryln were in danger from that thing. I was too, it would seem, but I was far more concerned about the safety of my still sleeping daughter and Master Niryln than my own. I stood up, intent on running toward our wagon to check on them when I felt an unyielding grip on my shoulder holding me back.

Turning, I saw that the one gripping my shoulder so firmly was Tanna. Her eyes were still glowing, and she still spoke in that other voice as she said, “Your courage is well and good, Kaelyn Darkbane. That and your strength will be needed to protect your troupe and escape this situation. You and your betrothed have passed my first trial, the Trial of Compassion, and I would set the others now. For your Trial of Love, the two of you must protect your child and your troupe by slaying the Gïr’Näuthrok. Your Trial of Nature lies to the north, where there is a hidden valley. Within is a mountain protected by a magical barrier. Investigate it and find a way inside, to the last refuge of the Sa’vash. They have the means to change the course of the war to come.”

Tanna’s body sagged a little as her eyes stopped glowing, and I had to grab her arm to keep her from stumbling as she came back to herself. “Are you okay, Tanna?”

She gave me a tired smile and nodded. “Aye, Kaelyn, I’ll be fine. I gather I had another vision?”

“Something like that,” I agreed as I helped her back to the spot on a log where she had been sitting previously, between her husband and our troupe Healer, Wilden, and their eight-year-old daughter, Jaya. Then, after a look at all the others gathered around the fire, I said, “I should go check on Kalara and the others. I do not want to risk anyone leaving the wagons on their own while that thing is out there stalking us.”

“Aye, that’s a wise idea,” Uncle Bryden agreed. “We should check on everyone who is still abed, in groups. Then we should gather everyone here so they can all eat breakfast, and we can make sure everyone is accounted for.”

Everyone around the fire nodded grimly and got to their feet at that suggestion, even the kids like Sten, Jaya, and Shava. As the latter quickly fell in step with me to check on Kalara, Vesha, and Master Nirlyn, the other members of our troupe split off into groups to look in on the others who had not shown up for breakfast yet and were hopefully all still asleep in their respective wagons. As I stepped into my wagon, with my cousin right behind me, I breathed a sigh of relief to see that everyone was present.

Everyone was awake and out of bed, and Vesha was currently helping Kalara to get dressed. I quickly warned them all, “Nobody is to go anywhere alone; danger lurks in the mist outside. We will explain the situation over breakfast.”

The Master Bard and my intended were both suddenly very alert at my words while Kalara looked at the door in uncertainty and fear. As soon as Vesha finished getting her dressed, I picked my daughter up, holding her protectively to my chest while whispering assurances that I would not allow anything to happen to her. If that ancient thing was going to try to eat my daughter, it would have to get through me first, and I knew that Vesha, Master Nirlyn, and Shava probably felt the same way.

Once the others were fully dressed, we all stepped outside together, and Master Nirlyn immediately hissed under her breath. “Aye, sumthin’ is out there alright, an’ this mist is filled wi’ magic. ‘Tis makin’ it hard fer me t’ see anythin’ else.”

“Can you spot whatever is out there?” Vesha asked as she hovered protectively behind me.

“Nay, the magic in the mist is makin’ it too hard t’ see,” our Master said with a grimace. “My eyes are practically useless in this thrice-damned murk. I can barely see anyone, though I can see Shava’s sword, an’ Kaelyn’s familiar a bit more than everythin’ else, they’re still hazy, though. ‘Bout all I can see clearly is Kaelyn an’ Kalara, ‘cause their mana flow is much brighter than the mist. I might need someone t’ be my eyes.”

Vesha nodded, taking her adoptive mother’s hand to lead her as I whistled for Zaiya. We were halfway to the main fire when the mana-touched Tharian hawk-owl landed silently on my shoulder. She seemed as unsettled by this mist as I was, and I could feel her weight shifting ever so slightly on my shoulder as she scanned the mist around us with her bright green eyes.

Soon, the entire troupe was gathered around the fire, and thankfully, all of us were accounted for. As those who had not eaten breakfast yet did so, the rest of us explained our situation as best we could. We told them of Hagan and Mara’s failed attempts to leave our mist-shrouded camp, what Sharai and I had sensed, and then what Tanna had told us under divine influence. By the end, those of us with small children were keeping them very close and everyone was noticeably on edge, though it was only due to my faerie fires that I could see the others at all.

Tanna’s portent said that the Gïr’Näuthrok was most interested in the three of us with the most powerful magic potential, but that did not mean that it would not take the opportunity to prey on someone else if given the opportunity. The rest of the troupe might not be as magically inclined as Master Nirlyn, Kalara, and I, but most of us were still Changelings, and all Fae are inherently magical beings. There was a sullen and uncharacteristic silence among the troupe, made even eerier by the ever-present mist.

That silence was finally broken by Hagen. “We need a plan. We know little about this creature, and I am unwilling to just sit and wait. We have no idea how long it can keep this mist up for and we are running short on supplies since we had to backtrack and take this detour, and there are no villages in these hills to purchase more.”

“Aye,” Mara agreed with her husband and fellow scout. “We could make it to the capital if we were able to forage along the way, but we cannot do so while trapped within this mist. It only needs to wait us out and we will eventually weaken from lack of food.”

Neither of them had mentioned the possibility of eating the kirgen or owls, but they were as much a part of this troupe as the rest of us and we would not turn on our own, The only way that eating one of them became an option was if they were killed or wounded seriously enough that we needed to put them out of their misery. It was no different than hunting, we would only kill other living creatures with very good reason and then use every resource their death provided us.

“Aye, best to either reveal it or lure it into a trap so we can fight it on our terms,” Joak agreed.

“Xulyin, you’re an Undine and mist is a form of water, do you think that you can control it?” my grandmother asked her adopted daughter.

From what I could see of her through the mist, Xulyin looked frustrated as she replied almost immediately. “N-no, Maera. I… I have been trying since I left our wagon. Normal fog I would be able to manipulate easily, but this is not normal… it resists me.”

“Torr’s balls,” my grandfather cursed before reaching out to put a comforting hand on the Undine’s shoulder. “Keep trying, young one, maybe you can find an opening.”

They were all talking around it, but there was only one real solution, and it was clear to me: Someone would have to be bait and walk off alone to lure it into a trap, and I was our best bet. Of the three people who might provide a tempting enough target, Master Nirlyn could barely see in this murk, and I wanted Kalara kept safe and as far away from that thing as possible. That was not the only reason why I was best suited for this either.

Firstly, I had Neva’kul and my enchanted moonsilver armor to keep me safe. Secondly, of the entire troupe, I had the most combat training, and that and my armor and sword likely gave me the best chance of surviving against the Gïr’Näuthrok until help could arrive. Lastly, and most importantly, this was a trial given to me and Vesha by Hespira. If She had given us this trial, and another to complete afterward, then I had to have faith that She believed that we were capable of seeing it through.

“I will do it,” I said with a lot more confidence than I truly felt. “If I walk off on my own, I should be a tempting target for it.”

My words were swiftly followed by a wave of protests as Kalara clung tightly to me and shook her head rapidly against my chest. “No, Maera!”

“You are not fighting that thing on your own!” Vesha snapped, her face a mask of fear and concern.

“I did not say that I would fight it alone,” I countered, raising my voice to be heard over the clamor of other protests. “It has to be this way. I am the only one who we can safely risk who will be a tempting target and possibly be able to hold it off. I am the best protected as well, with Neva’kul and my armor. Hespira gave this task to me and Vesha as one of our trials, so she believes that we can do it.”

“Yes, she gave it to us.” Vesha retorted, stressing the final word. “If you go to face that ancient beast on your own, how do we know that I will even be able to find you in this soup when you need me?! If it’s using the mist to keep track of us and confound us, it can probably keep me from finding you! How can you even think of going to fight that alone?!”

“I will not be alone, my love,” I insisted, my hand reaching down to caress Neva’kul’s hilt as I used the other to gently stroke Kalara’s hair in an attempt to calm her. Then I looked around at the other members of the troupe and gave them as confident a smile as I could muster. “Do not worry, I have a plan.”