"Unsui'ahm dita, Dransis!"

  "These voices again..."

  "Tresh'oalna un? Un kiolama hasioma'tolo!

  "They sound..."

  "Tondlo ahi!"

  "Like they're about to fight..."

  "Uno oalai ahrik, Hylimdem! Tondlo uhmo undeta holiaco! Esp-"

  And once more, the words cut out as the bright lights of Hylimdem's room shone into its eyes. Laid on its back, it rested the back of its hand on its forehead, squinting at the lights as it tried to remember the meanings of the words in its head. But nothing came to it, just further layers of confusion on top of the many mysteries it already had to deal with. Atleast it had gleaned a name for itself, though it still didn't understand why it kept shivering...

  "Looks like you're awake Hylimdem. You sure need alot of sleep"

  The voice rang out through the room from its corners without warning, to which Hylimdem stood and swung its head around almost instantly, an alert expression on its face.

  "There's those fast reactions. Calm yourself, it's just Hovi, I'm talking to you remotely. Take a look in the corner of the roof above the door for me, will you?"

  For a brief moment, Hylimdem stood still, confused on what to do. It eventually decided to listen and looked in said corner, and sure enough... a white box with a number of little black dots on it. It let out a sigh,

  "That's what that box does? It talks to me? For you?"

  "Well... technically? Anyways, would you be okay if we run a little test? We need to see your reaction to Magic before we take you out that room."

  "Do I have a choice?"

  "Nooootttt really. Head down, please."

  Another sigh rang out in the room in response to Hovi, who was sat just a few metres away from Hylimdem in the side-room. She had a dopey smile on her face, taking a look at Gezo, a male researcher who looked very similar to her.

  "Seems its getting a personality, right Gee?"

  "It did wake up 3 minutes ago Vi, cut it some slack."

  "But it sounds like me! It's taking after me!"

  "It sounds nothing like you. Its known you for 7 hours."

  "Sounds everything like me, dunce. Oh, right, could you fire the Magic vents? It'd be really sad if it couldn't deal with atmospheric Magic."

  "Isn't it made o- nevermind, nevermind. Standard procedure, I get it. Give it a countdown, please."

  "On it. - Right, Hylimdem, on three."

  Hylimdem, contrary to the previous request, looked upwards at the speaking box again,

  "What do you mean on three?"

  "One, two, head down, three!"

  On Hovi's voice hitting three, Hylimdem felt a heavy air fall, its hair flying about in the raging winds the air brought about. Dots and lines of myriad colours flew around it, seemingly refusing to get close, whilst its body started to shiver uncontrollably. At this moment, it figured out what had been causing the shivers throughout its body - Magic, raw and unfiltered, seeping through the walls as people walked by outside. It had to shut its eyes as the wind dove into the room directly from the vent it had been looking at. No wonder the Anshoran had told it to look down...

  "How do you feel, Hylimdem?"

  "I-I'm okay, but th-the colours and shivers a-are a bit much."

  "Shivers and colours, huh? - Gee, turn it off. Need to note that down."

  "Atmosphere test's off. Colours I get, but shivers are new."

  "Seems like a genetic response, from its past as a Lyi. Naturally Hylimdem would be sensitive to Magic, though as a danger-sense now compared to the life-radar it had as a Lyi."

  "That's interesting. Anyways, results?"

  "It's capable of withstanding atmospheric pressure, so we can let it out to meet others besides me anytime. Though, I wouldn't let it outside, not just yet."

  "You have a soft-spot, Vi."

  "Maybe, but remember that its young, too. Send for the tailors, please. Get them to lead it in here, aswell."

  Hovi took a look at Hylimdem, a tender look in her eyes. She really couldn't let it outside as much as she wanted to, what with the military wandering around the outer facility to keep an eye on the rabid wildlife from the Lyi attack. Watching as the tailors led the creature out of its room for the first time, she had many thoughts swirling through her head, almost all referring to what would happen should its Lyi heritage act up. Pushing a button to hide the window into Hylimdem's room, replacing it with an image of a snowy forest, she spun around to face the door.

  Hylimdem's eyes fluttered as the two new Anshorans hauled it to a different room. As the door opened it saw Hovi and another Anshoran that looked distinctly similar to her, though more bulky and with significantly shorter hair. It saw a great landscape past them, though it could somehow tell it was slightly off- afterall, it had just walked from that direction. It paid no mind, however, as it focused more on the Anshorans. Right on cue, Hovi stood up to meet Hylimdem,

  "So, Hylimdem, would you say hi my brother Gee over there?"

  "Hi, Gee."

  "It's Gezo, Hylimdem. And you best remember that too when we're at work, Hovi."

  "Right, right, Gezo. Same thing. That aside, what did you see in the Magic winds? What colours, specifically?"

  "I saw... gold and white dots, red and green lines... but that's it."

  "Lines, huh? The dots are normal, that'd be Lightning and Force, but lines... haven't heard of that this side of the border atleast. Might be more on it at Poenticivt."

  Hovi patted Hylimdem's shoulders, looking the creature in its eyes,

  "But, my little bird, that's of no matter for now. Seeing as you're similar enough to us, and able to speak, me and Gee ov-"

  "Gezo."

  "Me and Gezo. We've taken the liberty to get you an identity. We... didn't exactly have much in the sex department, considering you're... blank. So we've marked you down as female based on appearances alone. Hopefully that ends up being right, if we find another of your kind. Anyways, anyways, you're officially Hylimdem Avia, a female Espi. Avia from the wings, it means Bird, and Espi from your Magical nature, meaning... Magic. It's a generic term from the East, but we felt it was fitting. Sound about right?"

  "Avia and Espi... it sounds right. This means I am a 'she' then, correct?"

  "Its our best guess. I know it sounds a bit silly to you, but it is important for us to establish that. Right, pop on those clothes the tailors prepped for you, I'd like to bring you out for a little."

  "You sure about that, Hovi?"

  "Relax Gee, I'm not bringing her outside."

  "But you just sa-"

  Hylimdem glanced over her shoulder at the two tailors behind her whilst Gezo and Hovi started to argue with one another. Both were holding dark pieces of attire, one for the top half and one for the bottom. Ignoring the voices in the room, she let the tailors dress her; though, they clearly had a bit of trouble getting the fabric around her wings. It took a minute, not that she minded, before she was finally dressed in the warm, black fur coat with fairly small holes for her wings. She definitely felt much less cold than before, and even her shivers subsided slightly. Maybe they were from the cold. She took a moment to get used to the feeling of moving around in the attire, turning to the arguing Anshorans again after she was done,

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  "You said we were going to go somewhere?"

  "And that's why biology is a cr- Oh, Hylimdem, sorry! Sorry, we forgot you were there, right Gee?"

  "Blasted psychotic Espiologist, you started that."

  "Oh lay off it, you hellion. With me, Hylimdem, we have a library to explore."

  Hovi grabbed the clearly confused Espi, dragging her out of the room to leave behind a seething Gezo, who reached out to a keyboard and started typing furiously.

  Much to the south of where this scene was happening, a grandiose city with buildings of marble and streets of amethyst hung imposingly in the sky over the landscape, its shadow hiding another of its ilk nestled in the mountains beneath it. Countless Anshorans wandered throughout the streets, some dressed in plainclothes or faded robes in the city below, others dressed in silky mantles and golden armours in the city above. At the peaks of the four cardinal directions in the lower city, four towers stood whose ceilings just barely reached the lowest low of the city hanging in the sky. Chains of an unusual translucent blue hung from the towers to anchor the sky-city, and from the centre of it all rose a fountain bearing water of myriad hues, bathing the landscape around it in an incandescent kaleidoscope of colour.

  This was Poenticivt, the home of Espiology and birthplace of Magic on Anshora. Its steadfast ward conjured from the fountain at the centre of the city shielded the locale from any threat, or ally, that dared to attempt enter the city without authorization. In the lowest halls of the sky city, where the four tower's chains met, three Anshorans were having a vivid exchange with one another.

  "We cannot allow these Lyi attacks to continue! Silah of the North has fallen now, a key meeting point for our Ice type Mages! Who'll keep Riach in check now, the Northern Survival Troupe? They can barely protect themselves from it, let alone the entire North!"

  The blonde-haired female Anshoran of the group roared, a clear hatred in the blue eyes that could be seen through a slit in her luminous silver armour. A compass on her helmet had an arrow pointing to the boldly engraved N.

  "Calm yourself, North Custodian. I've heard tell from NET that their mother organization seems to have found the next step in the bleedin' unrester life-cycle. It's been established as passive, praise the twins."

  A male Anshoran spoke this time, draped in long, black robes that were a match for his hair, almost entirely composed of feathers from a raven-like creature; though clearly it came from a beast of much greater stature. He bore a compass engraved into his cheek, with an arrow pointed towards the E. Presumably, this would be the East Custodian.

  "Ah, the NST's prime Espiologist's little pet, correct? Atleast that's how... Mizem, was his name? How he reported it, and he did not seem particularly keen on Magical Beasts being seen as equal to us, with that disdainful look he had in our streets."

  The last of the group spoke, of much shorter stature than the other two. He bore brown hair and green eyes, and wore the same style of clothes that a member of the lower city commonfolk would. On the back of his neck, a compass tattooed with no particular direction laid, having no indication of the Custodian he may be.

  "She is called Hylimdem, as Gezo has reported it! She was the original purpose of this meeting, besides. Gezo has just reported in that she saw lines in the atmospheric Magic, which is certainly most unusual. Your thoughts, Arch-Custodian?"

  "Conceptual Magic then. An interesting talent to have, though it's never been truly brought to fruition. We can just write it off as Magic hypersensitivity, that type of Magic is something the third moon does not let us be privy to."

  "Y'reckon we should just blow up the bastard moon? I'd love to see that Magic come to fruition!"

  "East, you know we've tried that before. It may be a glass polygon rather than an igneous orb, but its still a moon! It's been around for nearly eighty-thousand triplet cycles, besides."

  "Cease, the both of you. Its rare enough that we gain a Lightning sensitive Mage among our ranks, let us just be happy with that."

  The Eastern Custodian clicked his tongue, muttering something under his breath before walking out of the room with faint yellow winds emanating from the bottom of his feet. He was clearly the type to anger easily.

  "Who knows if she'll want to join us, Arch-Custodian? I imagine she feels quite at home in the North by now, not that I blame her."

  "We're still missing a Western and Southern Custodian, Shae. The West direly needs a new Lightning Mage, besides. Do you remember how many we have amongst our ranks?"

  "None. We have hundreds of Ice Mages for the North, Wind Mages for the East, and every Mage is a Force Mage for the centre. It's just Western Lightning and Southern Water that we lack, though we Ice Mages can stand in for Water temporarily."

  The two looked out to the Southern and Western towers, which had a much weaker shine to them as compared to the incandescent fountain in the centre, the icy-blue hue of the North and the washed yellow of the East. A faint melancholy could be seen on the face of the Arch-Custodian, though nothing could be gleaned through the sturdy helmet that Shae of the North wore.

  "We should let her grow in her own time. Once she's a Sixth-stage, reach out to her, would you? She won't be useful to us until that point."

  "Not an Eighth-stage?"

  "She's a Magical Beast, Shae. Her Sixth is more like our Ninth, and considering her heritage, maybe even closer to the likes of a newly-minted Archmage. Besides, there's no possibility of her being a Circuited Mage, so she'll have greater strength than the rest of us in the first place."

  "Here's hoping, Arch-Custodian. I've heard Bea is getting restless."

  "I'll deal with the old fruitbat should it cause trouble. Archbeasts may die faster to their own element more than any other, but an old Force Archmage like me should be able to handle one of their ilk. If I can keep a Twinspawn like Hidiria sealed for 70 years, I can rip their ilk to shreds in a day."

  Before Hylimdem's eyes, an imposing library unfolded, the countless books on its shelves bearing down on her like some eerie beast. Almost all of them emitted a small gust of wind, and she could see some gathering those unusual white and gold dots that she had seen earlier. Though, she didn't see this scene for long, as Hovi ferried her into a side-room filled to the brim with much more ordinary books. As if a weight was lifted off her shoulders, Hylimdem found herself able to walk much more easily in this room, especially as compared to the mammoth room from before. It didn't take long for Hovi to find a table for her, and to sit her down.

  "I thought we should let you in on a few things you should watch out for when you eventually leave our shelter. I'm not sure if you can read, so I'll do it for you for now, but we have an important book here for you, if you'd just give me a moment to find it."

  A much more serious expression was on the woman's face now, which confused Hylimdem. Was it not just a book? Though, the confusion faded as Hovi pulled a very thin book from the tallest shelf, its black cover somehow radiating an aura of hatred despite its inanimate nature.

  "This is a journal written by a Mage, named Choho, from an age past, before the era of the Glass Moon and the extinction of the old Anshorans that it wrought. He used Darkness magic, something that's been long out of our grasp, and that's what's causing the abhorrent ambiance around it. It's called 'Choho's Hunt', and as you can probably imagine, it's related to you."

  "In what way?"

  "A creature much similar to you is described in it, and I thought we may be able to glean some things from it. Though, we still don't understand most the journal. There is one page written in Kingslanguage, fortunately it is the start."

  "Please, read."

  As Hovi opened the book, the dark air around the book crystallized into an unusual throne with a feather laid on top. Laying the book against the throne, Hovi began the short read of Choho's Hunt.

  "Today is the seventy-forth day in the third cycle of the twin moons. I have tracked the Lyi to its destination, a lower city of our south-western continent. I can see the fires from here, and it looks like the nearby mountain manor has been crushed too, I estimate seventy, maybe seventy-five thousand deaths. I plan on waiting out the Lyi's death, their strength never ceases to amaze.

  Three days have passed, and the Lyi is most certainly dead. I found an unusual creature dead at the height of the Betel, it is similar to us Anshorans. It possesses a sexless body, and has sharp ears with holes in both. Besides that, it seems to have no special features. Perhaps this is the next stage in a Lyi's life and something went wrong. Mayhaps burning the Betel interrupted it?

  I have waited by the corpse for seven days now, and no changes have occurred. It is truly dead, and no Lyi is emerging from the corpse. Despite this, it shows no sign of rotting, and no beast dares approach the corpse. This is a surprising result, at the very least.

  I could not suppress my curiosity. I cast Void's Stolen Memories, and have seen through the eyes of the Lyi. Their mind... it is pure ire, spite and rage. Like a feral beast that can only think of its prey. And this language... it rang through my head constantly, to the point I can understand it. It is far more refined than our Kingslanguage. I shall attempt to pen it from here."

  Ending her reading there, Hovi closed the book, the throne dissipating as quickly as it arrived. Hovi had a dejected expression, looking directly at Hylimdem, who seemed to be staring into space. It didn't take long for her to snap out of it, however, and she met Hovi's gaze dead-on.

  "What is this Betel that Choho described?"

  Hovi's expression moved to a more rosy look, betraying her elation at Hylimdem. She had expected the Espi to come out of that much more depressed, seeing as the birth of their species came at such a price and the girl seemed to be distinctly less murderous than her old form.

  "The Betel is a mound of every corpse that a Lyi creates when it has finished its slaughter. It dies on top of the Betel, which in time leads to the disintegration of the Betel itself and the surrounding landscape, molding out a blank field who's size is dependent on the amount dead. We call it a localized extinction event, or LEEs for short. Lyi attacks are usually discovered after this happens, though, so we never knew too much about it. Turns out that your people are the very mid-point of these LEEs, but Lyi attacks happen once every decade at best. We won't be finding another you for a while yet, little bird. Betels aren't exclusive to Lyi, though, most predators that favor eradication have a tendency to make them Old tradition is to burn them when we see them, though you need a Mage for that."

  "I see..."

  The Espi stood up, a raw look of pure rage on her face. Around her, very light winds moved the Magical particles surrounding Choho's Hunt nearer to her, though they weren't strong enough to detach them from the book. Even the particles in the main library, with countless more books wreathed in them, attempted to move closer to her body. The effect was not strong enough to see, but it made the Espi feel far more dreadful.

  "And how, Hovi, do I annihilate these beasts?"