Was this really happening? O’Kairyn didn’t know. What he did know rested in he saw moments later after three more blazing grey lights bolted from the forest to the remaining three Ordin who thought they had a prayer of escape.

A figure – a single individual – stepped from the cover of the woods.

There was a grey mask over their face and armor he had never seen before strapped to the frame of this figure. A hooded cowl rested over their shoulders and just barely over the mask. There were no eyes on this mask, but this figure didn’t need to see to possess the intimidating presence they brought with them.

Grey flames licked the edges of the armor and seemed to swirl around this individual. A single dagger clutched in hand, they crouched and directed their attention to the sole remaining Ordin among the group.

There were rumors… but to see it… to see an Ordin turning on their own, especially an Ordin with Essevi… to aid an Imitari… was overwhelming, breathtaking even.

The Ordin, seeing his fallen comrades, clenched his teeth and roared as he charged the figure with the jagged short sword in his right hand. O’Kairyn stumbled to the edge of the cage and watched as the figure crouched and, at the last moment, rolled toward the sword, sliding the dagger up the length of the blade before slipping it over the guard and slicing a thin strip from the top of the Ordin’s fingers.

The flames around the figure blazed brighter as the Ordin howled in pain and swung wildly, but the figure laid backward against the ground before springing up and in one, swift motion, shoved the dagger under the jaw until the tip cracked through the top of the Ordin’s skull.

The figure, standing next to the Ordin, was moderate in stature, but obviously more lithe. Letting the Ordin fall to the ground, the figure stood perfectly still before directing their attention to the small cage still dangling aloft.

This figure stepped up to the cage and stared long and hard at the figures inside. Haryk, now beside himself, skittered to the furthest corner while O’Kairyn could only drag himself closer.

“W-w-what are you doing? Get away! Murderer!” wailed Haryk. O’Kairyn forced himself to his feet to come face to face with this new Ordin figure. Unlike any other Ordin he ever faced, this one possessed an alluring presence. Also, unlike any other Ordin, O’Kairyn knew this figure’s name; at least, if the stories were true, he knew their name.

“Shena Dorra,” said O’Kairyn, barely able to draw breath as he stood near such a force. The figure simply nodded once before lifting their right hand and pointing at O’Kairyn’s injured arm. The Imitari knew without being asked what Shena Dorra wanted and obeyed without question. He forced his arm through the bars, clenching his teeth as pain twisted its way through his limb.

“What are you doing?!” shrieked Haryk, now speaking in Tarian. “It’ll bite off your…”

But before Haryk could finish his sentence, the figure, Shena Dorra, gently touched the injured arm with the tips of their gloved fingers. Haryk watched, paralyzed in fear, as O’Kairyn’s arm burst into grey flames, but O’Kairyn made no sound. Was it shock that O’Kairyn was experiencing? Haryk didn’t know.

All he knew was in a momentary spark of bravery, he leaned forward and grabbed O’Kairyn’s free arm and tugged him backward away from the masked Ordin surrounded by grey flame.

“Hurry! We need to put it out. We need to…”

“It’s okay. I’m alright,” said O’Kairyn, voice saturated in wonder. He rotated his left arm and watched the armor burn away while his arm remained untouched. The deep bruises and pain subsided as the flames seeped into his flesh, healing him. He directed his attention back to the figure, who was still just outside the cage and, in reverence, fell to his knees and bowed.

Haryk didn’t know what O’Kairyn was doing, but it was obvious he knew something about this figure. Following O’Kairyn’s lead, Haryk also sank to his knees and bowed.

“Thank you, Shena Dorra. Please, let me help you bring justice for my people. Use me as you see fit,” said O’Kairyn humbly in Common, keeping his eyes averted and speaking as though this were a prayer to the Spirits. How could he not? His once hopeless heart, which had accepted death, had been ignited once again, and it was because of this person.

Then, in Tarian, Shena Dorra replied.

“Keep at your good work and bring every Imitari to the West. Flee. Save and protect them. The worst is on the horizon.”

Their voice was low and sounded like the whisper of a crackling flame.

With that same single, swift motion, jabbed the dagger clutched in their hand in between the bars, breaking the lock in an instant. Their hands reach above and cut the rope keeping the cage aloft. Then, they lowered the cage to the soft earth below. Before turning and walking toward the still burning wooden cart, they scratch a few of the symbols and sigils with the edge of their blade, breaking the seal on O’Kairyn’s Essevi.

O’Kairyn went to step out of the cage when Haryk reached forward and grabbed his hand.

“What are you doing?” he asked in Tarian. “You’re just walking out there? With that other Ordin?”

“Yes,” stated O’Kairyn briskly.

“But… that Ordin has Essevi. That means…”

“I know what it means,” O’Kairyn interrupted. “But I also watched this Ordin attack and kill its own. They healed me. One of us had to die, yes, but they are protecting us with that ability now. I will take an Ordin turncoat over an Imitari traitor any day.” The comment was meant to sting, and O’Kairyn would apologize later. For now, there were more important things to do.

With that, he stepped away from Haryk. Connected once again to the extraordinary gift he possessed since birth, O’Kairyn stepped out of the cage, fearless in Shena Dorra’s presence, and watched as they sheathed their weapon and walked into the burning grey flames surrounding the cart. They began setting the cages trapping the Imitari inside just outside of the cart on the ground; and, to O’Kairyn’s amazement, every single Imitari was untouched by the fire.

He knew now that the flames were not only a diversion, but a deterrent. It was a defensive play, keeping the Ordin from entering and abducting any more lives. O’Kairyn worked frantically to break the locks and scatter the sigils keeping them hostage.

As he helped usher others away and guide them toward the stream for them to cross, he saw Haryk surrounded by individuals who he could only assume were his family. A smile tugged onto his face, relief forcing a clenching ache in his heart.

His eyes then turned to the woods just in time to see the fading grey flame of the figure vanish from sight.

Shena Dorra.

Grey Flame.

The Ordin Betrayer.

Guardian of the Small.

O’Kairyn wished he could’ve thanked them once more, but something told him this was not the last time he would see this individual. Though hundreds of questions surged in his mind, his heart told him that this Ordin understood that what was happening to the Imitari was wrong, and that justice would be swift.

More importantly, Shena Dorra’s words rang in his ears.

Bring the others to the West.

Save and protect them.

The worst is on the horizon.

O’Kairyn could only pray to the Spirits such things would not come to pass and wonder what Shena Dorra knew that the Imitari hadn’t discovered yet.