Upon coming into contact with the token, Oddir was nearly overwhelmed with the magical energy pulsing from the silver ring, that gleams like water being stuck by light. Oddir reaches behind him, removing the amulet from around his neck. Holding the amulets icon, which was that of a book written in flame, he stuck it into the center of the token, where it had clicked nicely into place. Reconnecting the two ends of the necklace, he stood up with his chest held high.

She looks to Esdel and nods. “Have heart.”

Then to everyone she gestures for them to gather and as they do, the world around them melts and the fountain’s form reshapes into what appears to be a doorway. There is nothing else, save thirteen souls and an impossible world.

Chimodo feels a single tear fall from his eye at the goddesses words. He looks down as pride began filling his chest, horrid visions consuming his brain. His grip on his companions hand loosens as sorrow creeps into his face. "I am here now, and I will protect you no matter what." Chimodo lets these words spill from his mouth, his low tone could give anyone shivers. He squeezes the young girls hand once again, lifting his head to look deeply in her eyes, feeling ever ounce of this dramatic moment.

She goes to each, reverence in her voice as she lays a glowing hand on each creature’s head. “Before me is Ronin Darbinyan, who to other may seem cold, but I see his heart. I name him the Soul Seer, for he chooses selflessness in a world where we are likely to care only for ourselves.” “Before me kneels Temple Vice, whose temper is often her strength. I name her The Heart Fuse, for she will never forget that love’s calling is why we must find the burning anger to go on.” “Before me is also Oddir Magnusson, who seeks to be a shaman in a world who steers from faith. I name him The Artifacto for he seeks to know and will one day seek to tell.” “Before me is Esdel Alypus who found sorrow in the voids. I name him The Seeker, for despite loss of hope, he has never stopped wishing to look. Do not, my child, underestimate the will to look. It is those who refuse to see and learn that will fall today.” “Before me is Basil Bacik who like the great clams in deep water must keep their exteriors hard. I name her The Caretaker for she is true on her inside and has given second hope to another who without her spirit would be lost.” “Before me is Chimodo Fark, and while he might have lost a piece of himself, I have it here in me. He has once before fought at the sides of brothers and sisters who without him would be slain. I name him The Hero of Minds, for he has sacrificed what was himself for our sake, and so that we may fight on, he is here again.” She kisses the top of this man’s head as if she knows him. “Before me kneels Eartha Starry who is bold in everything she chooses to do. I name her The Compass in the Dark, for she will aid us all to navigate where there is nothing to hope for.” “Before me I see Titania Aquaria who is both quick and skilled. I name her The Waterborn Heart, for she is rapid and elegant like the blood of this world.” “Before me I see Trendran Frankles who looks on the inside as a gem does. I name him The Ruby Prince, for he would sparkle in light and darkness with a red of true passion for what he seeks.” “Before me is Apollyon son of a King he does not serve. I name him The Prince of Paths, for he blazes anew wherever he goes and more importantly, would make them for another so that we may all be free.” “Before me is Seline Nuers who would not forget her family. I name her The Nightingale, for it sings a beautiful song that might light even the darkest times.” “Before me kneels Ember Orina who would travel across our world to seek what she has lost. I name her The Blue Spirit, for she is full of bold zest that would not settle for another man’s life.” “Before me there is also Zarina Vatovia who may not find words for her thoughts, but will find action when it is needed. She has bled in my name before and so I name her The Voice of Nira, as she would speak for me from a heart of friendship.” To each she gives a small token. A medallion with an empty center. Around the outside is a ring of silver that glows slightly and is enchanted with the runes of loyalty, love, and benevolence notable as the runes marked into the walls and roads of the city itself.

Laughs lightly at all the concerns and questions, but answers nothing and comforts not.

“Come, now, my children and kneel.” She raises her arms for all to take to a knee before her.

The air grew heavier each time the woman spoke. Every breath Oddir took felt every from the weight of the words being spoken. The water had begun to move the Welkyn Stone to the hands of a scrawny Resveld. Oddir looked to the scrawny man and said "Well, what do we do now, chosen one."

“There is but one way in and one way out of this dark place,” she says straining to stand. “You must venture to the four corners of the round place where no mortal should go, for this place is made of betrayal and anguish.”

From the fountain, the blue glowing water rises and the Welkyn Stone solidifies from the water, floating over to Chimodo Fark.

“You need not all of you be swordsman or mages or even bold. While this world is full of darkness, it is also wise you listen to one another, for its very nature will test your soul.

"And so where you are weak, another is strong. This is mortality. This is why I have called you, my children. Too long have I let the world be blinded by their own selfish stories.

Now you must work together to restore what was once true. The natural order of benevolence. You must free us all from a coming hell.”

Eliana stands there just listening to the words pouring out of her mouth thinking of how her voice is so beautiful.

“Aaaaare there soooooo little whooooo wishhhhh to live?” She says, speaking in a low voice that seems to cause the water in the fountain to pulse in a faint, blue light.

But she does not wait for an answer.

“This city you call Elantris was once my home. It looked nothing like your walls and rivers. There was no Maladrin. There was no Reseveld.

There was only unity in my home, and my home was pure.”

The water continued to glow as she spoke, and around them the whole night was still.

“But then there was another. Not me, not unity. There were two. There was division. There was---my brother and he was full of jealousy and hate.

“This is city was built not to survive, not to honor me, but to keep him where he was vanquished.”

She breathes deeply, some pain in her face as she seems to weaken and slump against the fountain.

“You must go---to that world where he is kept. The stone---the Welkynd stone---is all you will need to get there.”

For one moment. he was in the cathedral, but the moment passed as he appeared before what remains of Nira's fountain. From the fountain, a woman, with skin as dark as chocolate, clad in specs and gold and eyes white as stars. Oddir stood there, unable to move or speak.

Eliana turns around and freezes. She stands there just starring in amazement.

And in the bustle of exiting feet and shifting voices riddled with fear, a faint light glows from the ceiling. High above each of them, the shimmer turns to glow turns to bright light turns to a flash that is all consuming and sweeps away any sense of the cathedral.

As the brightness dissipates, the few who’d stood find themselves in outside and near the fountain, now cracked in many places and ill-defined along its stone edges. Once white, the marble sculpture had faded to nearly grey, and at the center of the city, all around it had begun to affect the buildings and streets it was closest to.

There, from behind it tall but crumbling spout, stepped a woman of dark skin, embellished by spec of gold and plain white eyes.

“Be it done. The rest of you must go and prepare yourselves in case these few might fail.”

Determination, and lust for glory, began to emit from him. He lifted his staff and slammed the bottom onto the ground with a thundering sound. "I swear to the gods that I shall not let those who are unworthy of entering Nira's great city dare touch it! They shall crumble like sand fighting the ocean's wave and the rivers will run red with their blood!" Oddir announced, as he knelt before the priest.

“But now I ask of each of you, hearts full enough to serve among the first chosen for Elantris,

Are there any here so bold as to take up the call and fight today?

Tonight? To not wait but to go?

To not sit idle while freedom slips from our hands and into another? I ask you not if you are skilled, wise, or powerful. I ask if you choose life or if you choose what is surely to be our demise.

Are there any in this assembly who would stand now and speak their name before the witness of those they will save? To join together and put an end to something that once it begins may never stop…”

He pauses, obviously asking for volunteers on some special point to which he alludes but gives no detail. His tone implies that there is great danger. The room is silent; a pause stifles over the assembly as heads turn to see who might take on such a task without any information beyond that it could save us all….

“As many of you know, this great city is warded and cannot be found by those unchosen by the goddess. I am here today to speak gravely of such truths, as Nira’s power fails as the central fountain crumbles.

“Recently, Clerics in her name have fought to retrieve a Welkynd stone that might restore the fountain to its pristine form. Troubles remain however, how the gem is to be used. We have tried what we can, researched, tested, and---there is yet to be improvement.

“The fountain still falls. And so truly, you must all prepare for what is most likely this city’s first stand against its oppressors. An army of men seeking to hold the walls of Elantris themselves. Templars must prepare to fight. Inquisitors must prepare to face the darkness. And Clerics must listen for their calls to rise up.”

He stops and looks around the room, a faint smile forced on his face out of obligation in his status as a clergyman.

The reports of an impending attack had spread through the city before many of the Templars had even had their first meal after their return.

A small scouting party reported the hundreds of horsemen and thousands more footmen behind coming fast to the gates of Elantris. It was rumor that they would be unable to find the city at all, as long as the wards held.

Powered by the Fountain of Nira, the wards around the city were what had kept the ones she did not choose from entering Elantris in the great migration. It was in this way that she had chosen each of the members now assembled in the great cathedral.

“Let us all speak honorably and hear with cautious ears what I have come to tell you,” the head of the Clergy said with his same enchanted voice. The sounds and echoes of his words boomed from the main hall’s great ceilings and walls, and at once the room was quiet. The last dozen or so people found their seats and in his pause, brought their conversations of armies, fountains, and the goddess to a sudden close.

“I have come today to tell you news of the city. Grand—dark, but hopeful, news.”