- And this is also something for potion making? – Nick looked at a little jar with some interest.

It was filled with tiny, beautiful brown-red crystals but smelled rather unpleasantly, like rotten eggs.

- Kala namak. You can use it for potions, of course, but I would still strongly recommend using it simply for cooking, my friend. It’s Himalayan black salt. Can you put it to other salts, please? Second shelf right.

The second shelf right was already overloaded with other various little jars. Sam quickly examined all of them: “Fleur de Sel with Roses”, “Lemon Salt”, “Kalahari Salt”, “Smoked Salt”, “Rocky Mountains Salt”, “Blue Persian Salt” and many, many more.

- What do you need this all for? – asked Sam scratching the back of his head.

- You know, there is a particular reason why my food always tastes that good – mumbled El.

She was sitting on the floor with her legs crossed and sorting out little boxes with quite questionable contents. Then she put three boxes and a glass with some thick, brown-green liquid aside. The redhead stood up and placed her findings on the kitchen island in front of the boys. She had already put there several other bottles and glasses.

- Yesterday you've read about sleep potions. Today you have a chance to turn theory into practice. An old lady from around here suffers from insomnia and is seeking help. So be careful. Remember, if you mess up, you'll kill the poor old granny.

Both boys stared at El with huge eyes full of horror. The necromancer had quite extreme ways of motivating people.

- Oh, come on, calm down. I'll check, of course. Even my irresponsibility has some limits – said El.

The witch made some place for the boys and sat down on the sofa. Nick, as concentrated as he always was, was surely much better at measuring the right amounts of correct ingredients. Yet Sam, being more relaxed, had better access to magical energy.

El had already told the brothers: knowing spells and potions wasn't enough for magic. Humans can also learn those things, but they will never be capable of creating magic. According to the witch, magic works like any other form of energy following the conservation of energy law. Nick and Sam hadn't studied physics so far. El had to explain: "Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be transferred or transformed."

As far as the boys got, words and liquids don't possess any own energy. To make them work one must give those things magical energy. And that was exactly what the main difference between humans and magicians was. El also had to admit, that the boys weren't particularly humans, so they were capable of working with magical energy. This news was a fair reparation for the fact that Nick and Sam's parents left for almost a week.

- Okay, enough. Granny is already dead. You should be more careful with the fluorite dust - El took a bowl with the boys' creation - Not bad to begin with, though. Now let's go to your place, it's time to sleep.

The next morning started in hectic. The boys had a long day at school ahead of them. Despite the fact, that both could think only about new spells and ancient legends they had read about, their math teacher had another opinion on what kids were supposed to think about.

- How many tests do we have to write every week? - Sam breathed out loudly.

- Right now, my friend, I would rather prefer to write a math test instead... - said El as she was putting on her blazer.

Both boys gave her a look of sorrow. They knew: the witch was definitely a humanitarian. Her numerical system consisted of one and many. There must have been a valid reason for her to say something like this.

When the boys finally left for school, El took a sip of tea and drew her bloodline sign with her finger in the air. A small ball of lightning appeared at that very place and a portal opened up.

The redhead was standing in the middle of Arcada's office at the council hall. Her teacher wasn't here yet. El put her cup on his table and checked books that were carefully stacked there. In few minutes a heavy wooden door opened up with a thud.

Arcada was wearing a dark gray suit that looked like one of those that were fashionable at Terra Maria in the 19th century. El, knowing this man for years, could easily imagine how much time he had spent on choosing and preparing every single piece of his clothing for today. A lot of time.

- Glad to see you - Arcada’s voice gave out his victorious delight.

- I’m reaching the limit of broken promises to you this year. I want to keep some for later.

Arcada stroked his neatly curled mustache. No matter what the reason was, he was satisfied with the result. The old wizard straightened the stack of books on his table and moved El’s cup away from them.

- We need to go now. Try to think at least twice before you say something at the meeting – Arcada patted the girl on her back.

- See, now I’ll have to give you one more promise, I’m going to break. The limit is getting closer and closer.

The sound of footsteps echoed along the dark corridor. Stone vaults, decorated with fancy carving, were lit up by the weak light of wooden chandeliers. El noticed two silhouettes nearing an enormous wooden door at the end of the gallery. As Arcada and his ward came closer, El could clearly see who those two were.

One was an old woman in a long, green, velveteen dress. She was leaning on an ornate cane. The woman seemed to be pretty small but only due to her old age. Dark gray eyes, set deeply on her wrinkled face, were observing everything around with some kind of arrogance and extreme confidence. The woman’s companion was also short, but not because of his age. Generally speaking, looking at his unpleasantly sickly sallow face one could never say how old this man was. His face didn’t have any expressive features and his slim body seemed to be a little bit disproportional.

- Iduna, Ephir – Arcada bowed his head in greeting.

- Ah, you are exactly on time, Arcada. Just as always – Iduna smiled restrainedly – Eluta, you will also join us today?

Eluta…The redhead hated being called by her full name. That always brought back some unpleasant memories. Once again Iduna managed to irritate El with only one phrase. That’s why instead of answering, the girl just nodded.

- Well, then we can enter the conference hall. Ephir, open the door.

The small sallow man pulled his head into his shoulders and grabbed a massive iron doorknob.

The walls of the conference hall were covered with noble wood. Wooden tribunes, decorated with red velveteen, were surrounding the council Head’s chair that looked more like a throne. Several small balconies hung over the sides of the hall. Those were the places for delegates and other important visitors.

Members of the council slowly filled the hall. Iduna knocked her cane on the floor starting the meeting.

The first part of the meeting was simply boring. Terra Unitatem struggled with drought. Its delegates asked to send there some magicians of elements, who could bring water. Terra Semitas accused Terra Ores of financial fraud in the manganese ore trade. Discussion of all those undoubtedly entertaining topics gave El enough time to make a sketch of her semester work. The necromancer set her priorities: a problem of translation in sentiment analysis definitely needed her attention much more than minor disputes between Terras.

- Those disgusting creatures! If they keep attacking us, it will become impossible for us to stay unnoticed by humans! - words of a delegate from Terra Kalendas returned El's thoughts back to the council.

- In recent times we get a lot of complaints about such attacks in on-magical worlds - one of the elders concluded - HE is out of control...

- Actually... - started El - last week I also had an unpleasant interaction with some trashers at Terra Maria. But to be fair, I didn't feel any traces of HIS magic.

- You are young and inexperienced. HE could have used some disguising spell you simply don't know - Iduna's cold words hit El painfully.

Arcada placed his large hand on the redhead's shoulder and whispered:"Don't". His kind look calmed El down a little bit.

- If You want to believe so, Head Iduna - she huffed.

- Last time we managed to capture one of those creatures - Iduna kept speaking without paying attention to the young woman - and I asked my assistant to examine it. According to the results, this thing was a product of an ancient forbidden dark magic, wasn't it, Ephir? - She shot a strict cold look at the small, hunched man.

- Yes...yes, Head Iduna, that's what I concluded! You are absolutely right - he mumbled quickly.

- This leaves us no doubts. I'm afraid Ephir was right; we must create a new legion of magicians to fight those things and their creator.

A timid whisper ran through the hall. The Monster above all monsters was famous for his ruthlessness towards his enemies. Many elders would prefer to let HIM invade few more Terras, rather than start a war with this man.

- Let's vote! - commanded Iduna.

Eight to six. The decision was made in favor of the creation of the new legion.

Arcada patted El's shoulder once again and slowly moved towards his office. The girl needed some time to calm down, this meeting had left her highly unsatisfied. She jumped on the windowsill and crossed her legs.

- You should pay more respect to Head Iduna! - a voice rang out next to her.

A small girl glared at El with a stern look. She was a child but dressed in a pompous, strict dress that would be more suitable for an adult. The same could be said about the way her long blond hair was styled.

- You are just jealous because you are not like her! - said the small girl arrogantly.

- Ancient, boring, and annoying? Don't worry, my friend, one day we will all be there - the necromancer pronounced it slowly and leaned on her hand.

- How dare you! - the child seemed to be deeply insulted.

- Ada, you are playing with fire.

Ada got the hint. The little girl stared at the fellow older witch arrogantly once again and quickly ran away. Yes, arrogance was definitely a family trait that Andara got from her beloved grandmother, Head Iduna.

The rest of the week El spent looking after the twins. She didn't have any mood to go to Nulla Meridianus again. The boys felt her slight tension and sadness and tried not to ask many questions. In fact, Nick felt it and stopped his less empathetic brother every time he demanded too much.

Luisa and Finn stayed shortly in Gruyère on their way back home, so they brought El a huge box of fresh Meringues à la double crème. That was a deadly amount of calories and exactly what the redhead needed to improve her mood.

The last couple of days was surprisingly (and suspiciously for those places) warm and sunny. Sam grabbed his ball and followed Nick. He was very busy explaining to his twin how they are going to get a fortune from selling their old Pokemon cards. So, when Nick suddenly stopped, Sam bumped into him, rubbed his nose, and kept talking again. It took him a few more seconds to understand what had happened.

A little girl was standing in front of El's door. It could have surprised both boys much less, but the stranger was dressed way too weirdly. At least, the twins had never heard that long silk dresses with butterfly sleeves were popular among girls of their age.

- Who are you? - Nick asked carefully.

The girl raised her eyebrow but didn't even turn her head to the boys. She kept silent.

- Hello? - repeated Nick.

The girl kept silent.

Sam knew a more effective way to make that strange girl talk.

- Hey! - screamed the girl as Sam's new ball hit her in the arm.

- He asked: who are you? - Sam repeated Nick's question twice less carefully and twice more loudly.

- That's none of your business, humans! - huffed the girl.

- If you are looking for El, she is not here. She is at the university - patiently explained Nick.

- And just like you, we are no humans! - Sam already figured out that this weirdo had something to do with magic.

The girl finally turned her head to the boys. Her huge gray eyes carefully examined those two.

- Yes, that's right, no humans. But you are still not my equals.

- But I can still throw this ball again at you - Sam frowned.

- When will Eluta come back home? - asked the girl.

- She prefers to be called El - corrected Nick - she usually returns at around seven.

- Are you her servants?

- I will definitely hit you with that ball again! - Sam frowned even more.

- We are her friends! - corrected Nick once again - What do you need from her?

- I have an important letter for Eluta - the girl strutted.

She wasn't supposed to tell them, but the small witch desperately wanted to show those two ill-mannered boys what an extraordinary status she had.

- Then just leave it in her postbox - suggested Nick - and you better do it quickly. You don't look very suitable for this Terra.

His words definitely deeply hurt the strange girl. Mostly because Nick was actually right.

- What’s your name? – said Sam and sat down on the step.

- Andara.

- Do you want us to show you El’s postbox? Because she still hasn’t put there her name tag – Nick kindly looked at the small witch.

Ada didn’t want to admit the fact, that she probably could have needed some help from those two almost humans. She turned her head away from the boys and didn’t say anything.

- Come, it’s downstairs –Nick waved at the girl.

Technically, the letter was very important, and Ada’s grandmother asked to give it directly to El. On the other hand, waiting for three more hours wasn’t particularly a great perspective.

- But this is a really important letter! – stressed out Ada on the way downstairs.

- Sure, nobody will touch it in the postbox – Nick tried to calm her down.

- Where do you come from? – as always, his brother had a whole bunch of questions.

- From Nulla Meridianus, the capital of all dimensions – said Ada proudly – My family is very important there!

El told the boys a little bit about Nulla Meridianus. It was the first dimension to be created. When its star exploded, ancient magicians covered the main city with the magical dome, and now this huge piece of land was hovering in the endless void. This sounded more than fascinating so the twins decided not to lose their chance now and asked Ada to tell them more about that place.

- So, you’ve never been there? Have you even been to any other dimension in general? – asked the girl.

- No…- both boys said sadly.

In fact, only Nick was truly sad at this moment. Sam saw an amazing possibility for him and his brother.

- But you know this place very well, right? – he asked Ada.

- Sure, I was born there!

-That is really cool! I bet you are one of the coolest witches there! – Sam looked at her with a lot of enthusiasm.

- Of course, I am!

- I see. You are much more powerful than we are… Nick and I still have to learn a lot.

Andara was definitely enjoying this discussion. Maybe, eventually, those brothers weren’t that ill-mannered.

- Well, you two will never be as good as me but you can keep trying – smiled Ada.

- I hope. But so far, we have enough powers only for basic spells. We can’t even open portals – once again Sam pretended to be upset.

- Oh, portals are advanced magic, you can’t master it that easily – the small witch shared her expert opinion.

- Really? That’s so sad. Other dimensions sound to be way more interesting than our Terra Maria – Sam really made some effort to look even more upset.

- Maybe you will see them one day – Ada shrugged.

- Nah…Definitely not soon. El won’t take us. Sometimes she can be very boring – sighed the boy.

Andara knew that she wasn’t supposed to suggest something like what she had in her mind. She was an obedient child and had never broken a single rule. On the other hand, she had also never heard somebody calling her cool. She would never admit it, but Ada had always dreamed of being cooler than El.

- Maybe…I don’t know…- she hesitated.

Nick slowly understood why his brother had suddenly become so nice to that strange girl. As the older and more responsible twin, he knew, it wasn’t good. But the temptation was too great.

- What “maybe”? – asked Sam in the sweetest voice he could ever produce.

- I could show you a little bit of Nulla Meridianus. But just a little bit – Ada still wasn’t sure.

- Really? – Sam screamed happily – That would be so cool!

- You think so? – asked the girl.

- Sure!

Sam gave his brother a strict look.

- Yes, cool – Nick nodded.

- Okay, but really, just a little bit – said Ada opening up a portal.