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of the room with a seventh at the center; he had found the Prophets at long last!
    —
Lyarran Throne World Havyiin
    Iana felt a cold chill over her skin as she lay in bed; a chill that she had not felt in ages. It wasn’t caused by the wind or a change in temperature; it was a reaction to something her body was telling her was happening. Quickly, she sat up and rubbed the goose bumps on her arms and legs; the touch of her fingers on her naked skin was soothing and helped ease the almost creepy sensation she struggled to understand.
    Most times, the Empress would have visions that told her the future course of things, but lately they had been quiet. Aen had been the cause of that; ripples across the ocean of the universe had muddled the reflections of what was yet to come for her to see. Without these visions, she felt exposed and helpless; unable to regain control of an Empire spinning so rapidly out of her reaches. But this, this was a feeling she had felt before.
    Her mind raced to remember; ten thousand years of memories began to sort rapidly in her mind’s eye. Then she locked into it; the last time she felt this chill was when Bryx - a refugee from his young life in slavery - had stumbled upon the shores of the world of endless oceans and found by those who had raised her. They had delivered him to her a short time later; first as a protector and then later as a confidant and a friend. It was the last time someone had ever set foot on the lost planet of the Prophets!
    She searched out with her mind and heart; trying to connect with the one who now stood on the forbidden shores. Even she didn’t know how to find the planet, but her fears were that someone had landed there with evil intentions. The Prophets had no way of defending themselves; no weapons to fight off whatever would mean to harm them. It took a few moments, but she felt herself guided in her search as a feeling of helping hands brought her down on the blue pearl of a planet and landed her at the top of a stairwell looking down at a being dressed in the armor of a Forgotten.
    Iana’s heart sank; the Prophets were no match for a warrior of the assassin’s capabilities! Then she watched as the creature began the climb and as it closed in on where she stood and noted that the faceless helmet that left the Guild killer anonymous was not being worn. The being was not one of the Forgotten, but was dressed as one for some reason. Time sped up once more and the man stood just two steps down from her. Iana recognized him almost immediately and her fear faded quickly!
    Before her stood Aen, but he did not see her as he usually did when she visited him as such. Instead, he seemed to be wrestling emotionally with something internal she could not see. His mind was blocked from her, the Prophets chose to keep his thoughts from her. As he started to climb the last two stairs, Iana felt herself whisked away and gently placed back in her body. Once more she was in her bed back on Havyiin and alone in the dark of her chamber; more puzzled than alarmed now. Just as she was about to reach out to Aen once more to learn why he was there, a voice spoke in her mind as she did to others.
    “ Darkness grows in the light of Lyarra; the Gods watch but do not intervene .” It whispered to her. “ The Harbinger comes to us to mend what is broken, but will not find the salvation from his struggle. It is only after all you know has ended, that you both will find what is lost together. You will watch your death from afar as you sift through the ashes of a dark past to conquer the storm that rages across Lyarra’s grace .”
    A tear fell from her eye; the Prophets had spoken to her and showed her what she could no longer see. She remembered one of the visions she had of him ending her reign as Empress and saw the symmetry with what had been just told to her. All she knew was about to change forever, but like Aen she would be able to be freed from the pain by a death that wasn’t.