He awoke suddenly, the silvery moonlight falling gently on his still form through the small window, which he had forgotten to shutter. All was silent, save for the steady tick of the small clock on his desk across the room and a very faint hum of machinery from somewhere far below, deep in the cliff that housed the Cobalt Guard's Talachian base.

Gyan Amsered sat up slowly, the covers sliding down from his sweat-soaked form. He was bare-chested, and his long, silvery-blue hair, usually tied back, now hung limply around his shoulders. Gyan wiped his brow with a hand that trembled with exhaustion. He glanced at the open window and sighed. The heat of full summer would soon arrive, and the gentle night breeze from the window was not really enough to cool his bedroom. Of course, some of his sweat was from anxiety, he admitted to himself, as was the shaking of his hand.

With a sigh, he levered himself out of bed and made his way across to his desk. Lighting a small lamp, he took a seat and rested his face in his hands, elbows leaning on the desk's smooth, wooden surface. He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that he was having nightmares...the stress of the whole operation was really starting to weigh on him. Sternly, he reminded himself that although much of this fell on his shoulders, he was not the only one making sacrifices for his goal. There was much at stake, and many of his followers were giving their all to ensure their success.

He could still see it, though, the flare of magical energies and the rising of the dome, the transparent edges of the magical barrier closing with a low rumble, shutting like a door that would never again be opened...the stars growing closer and the sky growing blacker as he watched the world fall away beneath him, continuing to revolve and change, passing before him as he stood pressed against the glass, watching, but never again able to touch it.

Was that truly what it had been like for Liete? He could imagine it all so clearly, and it haunted his dreams. Gyan couldn't help but wonder. If he had been the one born into an age of destruction, if he had found himself standing between Gaia and all his world's knowledge and history, what would he have done? How would he have answered? Someone had to be the caretaker, to guard that knowledge through the ages.

But for what? Liete had watched, waited, but never acted. All that knowledge, lost even as it was preserved. Alent died around her as she protected something that had become all but useless. Alent was nearly impossible to reach. What good was knowledge that could never be used? Wouldn't it have been better off destroyed? At least then her life might have been spared, for although she lived, could a life alone for thousands of years, on a decaying island above the sky, truly be called living?

It made Gyan shudder to imagine himself placed in such a situation. It was a wonder, really, that Liete had not gone mad. And if she had? What then? Too many questions, so few answers. He sighed, raising his head and leaning back in his chair, staring off into the silver-touched darkness.

A face appeared in his mind's eye, a tiny elfin face surrounded by a mass of blond hair...the girl, Erellisae. Gyan couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Liete had been just her age when it happened. Her innocence and joy...it would have all been destroyed, had it been Erellisae. For all he knew, it might still be. History had a tendency to repeat itself. What if it all came to pass again? What if this time it was Erellisae, or Gyan himself, who had to make that choice?

No. It will not happen again. Gyan clenched his fists, closing his eyes. I will undo the wrongs that have been committed, and I will prevent them from happening again. The world will not remain in peril because of the naivete of a handful of well-meaning fools. Even if I must make sacrifices...even if others must make them. But not that sacrifice. Never again.

It was not easy, though, to do some of the things that must be done. It had not been easy to abandon Mitsuo to the mercies of the Icarian Church, even with the safeguards he had in place. He had had to wait and see what happened, and he had also had to teach Cassidy a lesson or two. He was too lenient with the girl sometimes...but then, perhaps that was because he also had to be so hard on her.

Gyan shook his head. Sometimes it hurt him what he had done to Cassidy...she was a superb fighter, commander, covert operative. She knew more than most of the forces under his command, was more skilled at what she did than practically any of them. Yet she was only fourteen...no, fifteen now. Really, had she ever been allowed the opportunity to just be a young girl? To relax, to play, to learn what normal girls did, to giggle at handsome young men in the bazaar and go to dances and wear pretty dresses? Cassidy never dressed up except for political functions, and few of those, as her role as Rion didn't really recommend it, particularly not in female dress. Usually any parties or celebrations Cassidy attended were disguised as Rion, reluctantly wearing something slightly fancy and leaving as soon as possible...most often in order to perform some spy work or other covert mission.

Gyan loved Cassidy like a little sister, and although he had to be strict with her for the sake of his mission, it hurt him, sometimes, what he had to do to her. When this was all over, he resolved, he would make certain Cassidy had a chance to simply be herself. He only hoped she would be able to decide what that meant for her.

Enough worrying about Cassidy, though; the young girl known as the Janissary Elite could take care of herself. Besides, Nali would be there to keep an eye on her while he was at the main base. He knew he should try to get some more sleep before his departure on the morrow. Much waited that was still to be done, and although they were very, very close to achieving the next objective, it was a delicate operation that would have to be handled carefully.

Gyan stood and headed back towards his bed. He did not know if he would sleep, but he must try. Lying down and dragging a sheet over him, he stared out the window at the moon. A faintly glowing light flew past...a firefly, or a Night Spirit, perhaps? He would imagine it was a Spirit, imagine that it was a good omen for the next stage of his plan.

The time when everything was simple had passed, if indeed it had ever existed. Tomorrow, the game began in earnest. Slowly, Gyan drifted off, his breath faintly stirring the tendrils of silver-blue hair that lay on his shoulder. Sleep came, an uneasy rest, but nevertheless welcome.

Outside, a cloud silently drifted across the moon.