Selina’s smile stiffened at those words. “N-no, I wouldn’t say that.”

{What is going on?} the white-haired boy asked, noticing the change in mood.

He didn’t seem to be able to understand English, so Howard wondered how they had communicated with the woman while traveling together. Or rather, how she had communicated with them.

“Oh, my bad. People like you prefer the word special,” the woman realized.

“Why do you seem so eager to start a fight?” Selina asked, “Isn’t this the first place you have been able to enter since coming here?”

“The fira tend to be like that,” Sanders replied before the woman could answer, “I am more curious as to how you got here in the first place. I have been checking but accidental passage shouldn’t be that easy to this world.”

“I am not entirely certain it was accidental,” she answered., “I was pretty desperate to go somewhere I would not be recognized as a fira. Not that it did me much good.”

Sanders gestured for her to go on, ignoring the glares of the children, who likely still didn’t know what was going on.

{She is telling her story,} Dorian made sure to tell them before anything happened.

“Getting here wasn’t that difficult, but I think that is recent,” the woman explained, “I tried to do the same thing before but it didn’t work. However, after I got here I quickly found out that my eyes would be a problem here as well. Still, with the colonies being so far apart it is much easier to hide here, and my fire magic easily takes care of the predators.”

“What is your fire magic like?” Selina asked with interest.

“Fire? I am not sure exactly what you are expecting. I can just control fire.”

“Yes, but can you summon it, or maybe breathe fire like a dragon?” Selina asked.

“Summoning isn’t the right word. I can influence conditions to start a fire, and then I can make that fire do whatever I want.”

“So you can summon fire!”

The woman sighed. “Fine. But I definitely don’t breathe fire.”

“How did you come to pick up the children?” Sanders asked.

“Ah, that,” she said, “Actually, I found them while I was wandering. They had run away from their colony because they were being hunted.”

“Do you know why they stuck with you? They don’t appear to understand what you say,” Sanders prompted.

“I suppose it is similar to dealing with someone who is mute,” she said with a shrug. She clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

“I see… Do you know what happened to the children in the colony?” Sanders questioned, “Other than the obvious, of course.”

“They are siblings. The one with white hair is the oldest, but the other two are twins. Apparently, he was ordered to dispose of his siblings so that their curse would not rub off on him and he refused.”

Howard winced. He had thought that Azul’s story was dark, but it was clear there were many Sages in this world that were heartless. The people of Feroz were supposedly peaceful, but that made them easily subject to the fear of what might happen if the peace were to end. That was one of the downsides of the detailed records telepathic marks made.

“You could have easily found somewhere to settle down,” Sanders muttered, seeming slightly confused, “Why didn’t you?”

“The children. I seem to be fine eating the plants outside of a colony but I have to trade with them often to get food that does not make them sick. Meat is fine but that is hardly a healthy diet.”

“The purification of the fountain,” Selina realized, “I wonder if they grow out of that naturally, or if it is something that has to be learned.”

“Or if it something that can’t be learned,” Howard added, “This isn’t the first generation they have relied on the fountains.”

“Then what about the Crimson Colony?” Selina asked Sanders.

“They have a fountain,” Sanders replied, “People who awakened to Dream can still be Sages. At least I assume so since the Sage there has red eyes.”

“By the way, what is your name?” Selina asked the woman, “And the names of these children?”

“My name is Nova, but I do not know the names of the children,” she answered.

Selina turned to the children. {What are your names?} she asked.

The white-haired boy scowled. {We don’t have names.}

Selina was surprised. {Do children not have names here?}

{Children are named after their ceremony,} Dorian explained, {It is possible that his two siblings don’t have names.}

{I understand,} Selina realized, {Then, how about we name you? We are Sages. If you are alright with that.}

The little girl with red eyes looked up. {Will you really give us names?}

{Sure,} Selina promised.

{Don’t choose them too lightly, Selina,} Dorian warned, {Names have a lot of meaning here.}

{A lot of meaning in what way?} Selina asked.

{A name is something like a pass given by the Sage that helps decide their future,} Dorian explained.

{Oh,} Selina replied, suddenly nervous.