Nuria and the Sands of Time

      In all the things I’d been living for

      Wish I could have made it last

      ‘Cause, wow, time sure does

      Move fast”

      - “Move Fast”

      Lyrics and Vocals by Ashley Quick

      Product of Kiko Lake Music Group

     “They say time heals all,

      But these wounds remain.

      Who is there to call?

      When no one remembers

           your name?”

      - “After All This Time I Still Miss You”

      Lyrics and Vocals by Ashley Quick

      Product of Kiko Lake Music Group

          Year Four

           The campfire has been burning all day despite the sweltering heat because she said the fire makes it feel more like the holidays. A medium sized cactus has been transplanted into an old ceramic water jug and decorated with stones on strings. The room, an antechamber in an ancient temple, has been decorated too with dangling stones and cactus flowers. Nuria sits cross-legged on her bed pallet with a journal and pen but really she’s watching her light faerie companion, Xoe, as she carefully arranges three parchment wrapped cubes around the holiday cactus.

      There’s no way there’s presents in those, she thinks. Xoe finally stacks the presents to her liking and stands up, dusting off her hands. She turns and catches Nuria’s gaze.

      “What?” She asks in her light, breezy voice. A small smile plays on her lips.

      “There’s no way there’s presents in those.” Nuria says, never one for subtlety or mincing of words.

      “Oh, no?” Xoe exhales loudly through her nose. “Guess we’ll just wait and see.”

      Nuria’s heart races as she regards her research partner and best friend in all her shining light and warmth. She never would have expected to bond so closely with her partner on her very first research expedition but Xoe and Nuria just seemed to instantly fall into sync with one another. A tiny bit of her heart wished they had met during their time at the Faerie Academy but things like that couldn’t be helped she supposed. At least they had each other now.

      “Well, how long do we have to wait?” Nuria asked with a smile and closed the journal on the unfinished holiday card she’d started. “You know, the Advent Calendar gives out gifts everyday.”

      “So excited for an “empty box”, are we?”

      “I’m just saying that-“

      “We’ll wait for the Winter Solstice, it’s a light faerie tradition.” Xoe gave a small shrug.

      “What about fire faerie tradition?” Nuria dusted off the back of her pants and looked up at Xoe who had begun to walk toward the temple proper and, in turn, their research site.

      “Is the fire faerie planning to give any gifts? Because I don’t see any.” Xoe turned over her shoulder and raised a sassy eyebrow.

      “Oh, they’re coming.” Nuria hurried to catch up with her. “I’m gonna give the best, greatest, most astounding gifts”

      Hidden under Nuria’s pillow, wrapped tightly in dried cactus skin, was the new Ashley Quick CD. The faeries’ laughter echoed around the Temple of the Sun and, for a time, things were good.

     - - -

          Year Twenty Four

           The hotel suite was bitterly cold. Nuria opened her eyes and saw her breath in the golden light of dawn. She had cast a spell on the room as soon as she checked in to keep the temperature chilly. She liked the cold but it was also the only safe way for Nuria to sleep in a place like this. The silky pink drapes, fuzzy pink rug, and Faerie Queen size bed were all highly flammable and she had trouble controlling her flaming wings while she was asleep even after all these years. She got up, stretched, and made her way about her morning routine. Once refreshed, Nuria scowled as she scanned the room for any forgotten possessions. Hopefully this was going to be the last time she saw this room. She pulled open the pink and white door.

      Quick and quiet, quick and quiet. She thought as she closed the hotel door behind her. This floor of the hotel was reserved for faeries and she knew it was heavily booked for the Valentine’s Day celebration in Faerie City. Nuria didn’t care to make small talk with her fellow faeries at the best of times but especially dreaded answering any questions regarding her presence in Faerieland or her Valentine’s Day plans.

      Nuria hurried down the cloudy carpeted hall toward the elevator and stepped inside. She pressed the button for the lobby and waited. In the steel reflection of the elevator she couldn’t help but notice how dishevelled she looked. Her black hair peeked out from under her headscarf in long wiry strands and her umber robe was frayed on the cuffs. She tucked the hairs back in and let go of any thought of the cuffs, there were more important matters.

      The elevator doors opened with a DING and she strode out into the lobby of the hotel. Ornate hearts of ruby and crystal hung high in the air around the lobby. They hovered up and down slightly with their enchantment which caused them to catch the light even more. Nuria rolled her eyes. It was beautiful, sure, but something about commercialising love never sat quite right with her. Or maybe, she had just forgotten the whimsy of loving and being loved in return. Nuria passed through the lobby and out the revolving glass door without stopping at the front desk. They would figure out she was gone.

          - - -

           “THE RISE OF FAERIELAND!”

      The poster proclaims loudly across the bottom. The bulk of the hideous thing is situated with a painting of Queen Fyora surrounded by Faeries of all elements. Nuria regards the “art” with a grimace as she waits at the Faerieland Library service desk. Despite her distaste for the motivational poster she finds her eyes drawn to just above Fyora’s right shoulder where Generic Fire Faerie #1 and Generic Light Faerie #2 are sharing a laugh. Light Faerie is sort of hunched with laughter, looking up at Fire Faerie who, in turn, has their hand on Light Faerie’s shoulder.

      A chilled breeze rushes through the area. The poster flaps loudly against the wall, a plastic Christmas Fir bobblehead bobbles back and forth on the desk. The scent of fresh ink fills the air.

      “This place is highly flammable, you know. Maybe think serene thoughts while you’re here.” The voice comes from behind but Nuria doesn’t turn. The Library Faerie comes around the desk with one small, old book and sets it in the space between them.

      “Sorry.” Nuria grumbles.

      The Library Faerie gives a light laugh and then with a wave of her hand she’s holding a steaming hot cup of tea.

      “Anyway, I found the two volumes you mentioned you’d read already. The only other semi-pertinent text was this. Would you like to check it out?”

      Nuria looks down at the small book and suddenly feels very old. Faerie Folklore, the title reads. The soft brown leather of the cover is bent, creased, cracked, and wrinkled. Nuria’s breath catches in her throat. She knows that if she were to let herself feel the frustration, anxiety, and longing that is bubbling on the surface of her soul she could burn the whole building around her in moments. Instead, she does what she’s been doing for years and allows herself to sink beneath the sea of self. From this place deep within herself she is able to interact with the world in a kind of instinctual way and guard herself and others from the flames.

      “No, thank you. I don’t think that one will help me.” Nuria says and glances at the clock behind the desk.

      “Hm, well, you never know.” The Library Faerie flips the book open and stamps it with a satisfying CLACK sound. She slides the book across the desk to Nuria. “Speaking of, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you around the city. Do you have somewhere to stay and celebrate?”

      “I’m not staying, I have a meeting with Fyora.”

      “Oh, better not keep the Queen waiting then.” The Library Faerie laughs again in her light, breezy way. “If you change your mind, I’d love to have you. Then, I wouldn’t even need to light the fireplace.”

           - - -

           The walls are pale pink, the floor is pale pink, the chairs are white but they are flecked with pale pink. Nuria sits in one of the ugly, uncomfortable chairs and regards the large standing clock before her. It’s pale pink, of course, and the swinging mechanism is an artist’s rendition of Fyora’s Rod. Nuria’s knee bounces fiercely.

      The clock reads 4:43 P.M. NST. Thirteen minutes late to a thirty minute audience. Nuria took a deep breath in through her nose and held it before blowing out through her mouth. She looked around the small room again. The attendant or secretary sat behind the desk and flicked their small, suspicious eyes at her. She was a Faerie Bruce with large glittering wings and an even larger belly that her flippers came to rest on when she wasn’t writing. Her small beak was set tightly as she alternated looking at the papers on her desk and eyeing Nuria. Nuria decided to stare at the clock some more.

      If she doesn’t show then it’s off to Shenkuu. It’s that simple. Fyora isn’t integral to the plan but her power and knowledge would be really, really helpful.

      Every Faerie knew that Fyora was the secretive type. Her Hidden Tower was just the beginning. A simple ruse to think you’ve figured out the mystery. The real secret was hidden to all but Fyora and her flock of faerie petpets who scoured Neopia for books and other forms of knowledge.

      If it’s real, if time itself is in fact a type of magic, Fyora will know about it. She’ll know how to access it.

      She gritted her teeth. Her eyes could have burned holes into the clock's face but at that moment the door opened and two large Wockies, one Faerie and one Electric, entered in heavy armour. Their fur ruffs poofed out of the armour and made them look much cuter than Nuria supposed they intended. The Faerie Queen, Fyora, herself followed closely behind. The Bruce attending sat up straighter and cleared their throat.

      “My queen.” The Bruce put a flipper over their heart.

      Fyora nodded to the patriotic pet and then turned her gaze to Nuria who stood to meet her.

      “Queen Fyora, thank you for seeing me.” Nuria said softly and gave a small bow before touching her right hand to her chest as well.

      “Nuria, it’s wonderful to see you. Would you care to join me for a stroll through the streets? I’d like to look at the city with all the decorations and lights.” The Faerie Queen didn’t wait for a response and was standing before the open doors when she finished speaking. Nuria strode out onto the stone steps ahead of her.

      “Guards, we’ll be back shortly.” Fyora followed Nuria at a leisurely pace.

     - - -

           The sun is hanging low in the western sky and the entirety of Faerieland is bathed in its warm, buttery glow. The streets are bustling with activity as Neopets of all shapes and sizes go about their shopping and errands. Two tall, lithe figures make their way down the clean stone street of Juppie Avenue towering above the Neopets. Fyora in her flowing purple gown and Nuria in warm umber robes.

      “I believe I’ve made you talk small enough.. You must have something important you’d like to talk to me about.” Fyora stopped in a secluded space where the shops seemed to secret them away from the world.

      Here we go. Nuria took a breath.

      “I want to know about Ahternity.”

      “Oh…” Fyora said in a soft voice. Her head turned ever so slightly and her eyes turned sad and inquisitive. They seemed to pierce Nuria’s own gaze.

      “What?” Nuria rolled her eyes at the concerned furrowing brow of Fyora’s. It was odd to see the perfect smooth skin with any sign of consternation.

      “Ahternity is a mythical entity, a supposed Faerie with power over time or the flow of time.” Fyora said carefully.

      “You think they are just a myth?” Nuria met Fyora’s eyes again with her best pleading look. Come on. Please.

      Fyora sighed and began walking again at a leisurely pace.

      “There are texts that say-”

      “Are they real?” Nuria pushed.

      “Why do you ask?” Fyora didn’t stop or turn but her tone was harsher than before. “Why the sudden interest? Because of what happened out in the desert?”

      “You have no idea what happened out there.” Nuria tried to keep her temper in check.

      “Not for lack of trying. You chose not to come back, you chose to exile yourself to wandering the desert with your grief. I tried- ” Fyora cut herself off and turned to face Nuria again. Her eyes betrayed her guilt at losing her temper but Nuria knew she wouldn’t apologise for telling the truth, no matter how painful.

      “Yes,” Fyora spoke again, softly. “I believe they are. I’d read about them, as I was saying, but after Kaia revealed herself I took a deeper look into the myths.”

      They came out from the shadow of the buildings and into a small courtyard. Benches, trees, and flowers marked the pathways. A banner hung over the large dress shop across the courtyard “Tell Them You Love Them!” Fyora made her way to a large bench near a bush of crimson red roses. She sat down and the flowers seemed to turn themselves toward her. Nuria stayed standing and crossed her arms anxiously.

      “And you found something?” Nuria prodded when the Faerie Queen had been silent for a moment.

      “I did.” The Faerie Queen regarded her nails but Nuria felt the tendrils of her royal magic on her spirit. A Faerie’s magic was an extension of themselves and they could share feelings, thoughts, power if both faeries willed it. Fyora’s magic, however, held some small dominion over the other Faerie’s magic and could encourage them to share small bits of themselves. Nuria resisted the shiver that wanted to run screaming down her spine. She felt her wings flare as she tried to push the foreign magic away.

      “I feel your sadness. Your grief and anger, too.” Fyora’s eyes bored into Nuria’s own.

      “Please, just tell me what I want to know.” Nuria turned away and found a small shop window display to focus on. The window was filled with terrariums and plants. She could see a cactus much like the one they had hung ornaments on all those years ago. She felt her sadness slide along the curve of her skull and down her spine like cold water

      “Time is, in fact, a type of magic. That much is confirmed by Kaia’s ability to see moments in the future.” Fyora met Nuria’s eyes again. There’s no way she knows, Nuria thought.

      “I’m not asking about Kaia. Vague visions aren’t going to help me.”

      “I’m afraid that’s all I have for you, Nuria. Ahternity is just a myth. Kaia is the Time Faerie of Neopia, it just doesn’t look the way it did in the stories. I’m sorry.”

      No, no. Nuria turned and shut her eyes tight to stop the tears before they could start. Fyora was silent behind her but her magic still mingled with Nuria’s. Wait, she thought. She felt Fyora’s magic, honed in on it like a strand of thread under glass, and knew that the Queen was lying to her. Nuria had spent years in solitude and was incredibly in tune with her own roiling waves of self. This sadness, this pause, wasn’t her. Fyora’s magic was manipulating her somehow.

      She’s lying. Nuria’s eyes snapped open and her wings began to crackle loudly as they burst with heat and flame.

      “Fine.” Nuria turned sharply to face the Faerie Queen. “Great. I’ll be going then, see you next year.”

      “Wait!” Fyora cried out but Nuria was already striding out of the courtyard as quickly as she could. “You should go see Kaia!” The Queen’s voice sounded softly behind her.

      Sure, Fyora. I’ll fly right over to Shenkuu and have Kaia read my tea leaves.

     - - -

           Night had settled over Faerieland. The crescent moon was at war with the clouds and seemed to be losing. Soft pink light emanated from the street lamps and caught on the glass snowflakes and crystal ornaments that hung everywhere. Tiny refracted lights danced across the streets and walls. From the rooftop of a small apartment building, a lone figure regards the city with scornful eyes. Her wings blaze like braziers in the night.

      You can’t hide this from me, Fyora. I need the truth about Ahternity, I need to see the magic of Time.

      Nuria’s eyes were alight with her magic and memories of the Lost Desert, a place of mystery and magnificence, as she scanned the cities’ skyline. There was an old legend told in Sakhmet about a city turned invisible that was sacked by a clever warlord. The warlord had noticed that no petpets flew through this large space of the horizon and determined where the city was hidden. Nuria feared the Faerie Queen would have thought of something like that and made the vault incorporeal instead but hope still burned in her chest. If only she could find it.

      There. Her wings roared with flame as she spotted her prize. Just northeast of the Hidden Tower was another structure made invisible by magic. This time much more powerful magic but still there was a stillness about that space that was uncanny when regarded for too long. This structure wasn’t a tower but rather a squat cylindrical building.

      Nuria threw back her hood and beat her wings as she rose into the cool night air. She took off in a fiery streak toward the secret treasury of the Faerie Queen.

          - - -

           Nuria takes deep, slow breaths as she stands in the shadow of the Eyrie statue above her. The night is nearly silent except for her breathing and the soft beating of wings. Three small shapes flutter across the moon and then dip low between the soft pink streetlights of Faerieland. As they grow nearer they become more clear. And, she can hear the stifled laughter.

      They’re children. She observes the giggling group from her hidden perch. The children, two Faerie Ogrins who shared identical white birthmarks on their faces, continued their hurried flight through the city and away from Nuria and her goal. Nuria steps out of the shadows and floats back around to her target.

      Alright, come on out then. She thought and pulled on the eighth brick in the nine hundred and fifty second row from the bottom of the building which hid a spell trigger to, hopefully, open the door into the Faerie Queen Fyora’s secret vault. She’d circled the building for quite a while before she found the small spell trigger. It was actually her frustration and the blazing of her magic with it that revealed the hidden brick.

      As expected, the bricks around the trigger began to move as well allowing Nuria entry into a dark passageway seemingly made of marble. Her wings brushed the cool stone and it sent a shiver down her spine. She could hear her heartbeat and wondered if it was echoing off the marble walls and floors, alerting anyone who might be lurking ahead. Thankfully, the tunnel was short and she finds herself gliding out into an open, empty cylindrical room.

      Nuria allows herself to float down to the ground and pulls back her hood. She regards the empty room around her with confusion. This isn’t at all what she’s expected.

      Where are the guards? The books? She finds her feet turning her in a tight, anxious circle and it takes her mind a moment to catch up to her instincts.

      It’s a trap! She flutters her wings and rises a few feet off the floor in anticipation. She’s looking for an incoming magical attack or a monster. The small glass orb that rolls across the floor toward her doesn’t trigger her instincts right away and, by the time she raises a hand to cast, it explodes a few feet away from her. The blast merely rocks her and pushes her away a few feet but from the broken glass orb Nuria can see dark purple magic pouring out and developing form and tendrils.

      Nuria’s wings blaze and begin to pour fire down to the floor and the foreign magic. The tendrils recoil and dissipate but another ball rolls across the floor. Nuria, ready this time, extends a hand and broiling blue flames engulf the glass, melting the ball and the weaker magic away.

      “No more tricks, show yourself!” Nuria’s magic fills her voice with a booming authority that echoes off the empty, round room over and over.

      “Hey,” A voice pierces the room. It sounds male and something else, something odd. Mirthful? “We’re just doing our job.”

      A figure appears along the far wall in front of Nuria. They’re pulling back the hood of some enchanted robe or another. We get it, Fyora, you turn things invisible. Nuria sighs at the appearance of the stranger. A, rather large, Starry Bruce stands before her with a smirk. He’s almost as tall as Nuria herself and his stars glitter and shine as he moves. Nuria mirrors his movements and they begin to circle each other.

      He’s confident. Just keep him talking and get him in a good position now. He’s probably thinking the same thing but those bottled spells aren’t going to cut it.

      He stops moving and her wings blaze as she does too.

      “Maybe you can help me?” She starts again, her eyes seeking something in the coal blackness of his. “I don’t want her treasures. Just an answer.”

      He smiles and reaches into the pocket of his cloak.

      “Don’t.” Nuria says softly but the magic in her voice makes it echo around the room.

      He’s fast, she doesn’t even see him throw them, but she’s faster. The three glass balls hover in a burning blue inferno between them. Melted magic and glass spill to the floor.

      “You-” Nuria is thrown forward by a blast from behind and goes head over heels. She corrects herself in a weightless somersault and comes around in a blazing fury. She screams in frustration. Fire spews from her hands as she spins in the air, once, twice, thrice, before coming to a stop.

      She regards the blazing room, the wounded Bruce who lay beneath her, and the new assailant. Nuria grits her teeth and analyses her new and yet vaguely familiar enemy. The Bruce was a mystery but everyone in Neopia knows Roberta the Hero of Neopia. The only Neopet to ever truly defeat a Faerie in a magical duel.

      “Shouldn’t you be running a book shop?” Nuria asks. She does her best fire faerie smirk but her heart pounds in her chest.

      “I can kick you out of here and be back in time to restock.” Roberta’s voice is friendly, jovial. They’re just doing their jobs. Nuria glances at the wounded Bruce across the room and raises a hand. Roberta’s wand comes out singing.

      “Wait!” Nuria calls out and casts the Healing Warmth spell she learned long ago. The Bruce grumbles and clicks his beak but otherwise doesn’t stir. “Tell him I’m sorry, when he wakes up.”

      “Tell him yourself in your audience with Queen Fyora.” Roberta counters quickly but she too takes a long look at her healed companion.

      “Roberta, I don’t want to fight you.”

      “Then don’t. Let’s go and I’ll tell the Queen you were amiable.” Roberta lowers her wand to her side.

      “You don’t understand and I… I can’t explain. This is important. Maybe not to Neopia but to me.” Nuria meets Roberta’s stellar sapphire eyes and does her best to plead her case with them. She knows that Neopets are emotional creatures and they are capable of great feats of love and kindness. She feels guilty trying to manipulate and scheme her way to her goal but something in her is resolute.

      It is important. She is important.

      “I lost someone important to me. Someone with whom I experienced things that changed me forever. I have to know if there’s a way to get them back. Fyora has an answer here, somewhere, I know it. Please.”

      “Things change, Nuria. People…” Roberta pauses for a moment. “People go away. We all have to live with that.”

      And, what if it was him? Nuria thinks, her wings blazing. Her heart pounds in her chest and she knows it’s a risk to bring up Roberta’s old companion but she’s so angry.

      “And, what if it was him?!” She yells at the small Acara. “What if it was Ser Tormund?”Roberta’s eyes go wide and she stares at Nuria for a long time. It seems as if aeons pass between the two as they stand in the stone room. The fires have gone out, the smoke has dissipated, and the Bruce guardian seems to be happily dreaming away.

      “Alright.” Roberta stows her wand in her pocket. “What is it you’re looking for?”

      Nuria’s entire body seems to relax and her wings warm the chilling air of the room. The Acara guardian slowly crosses the room toward the fire faerie.

      “I’m looking for information on time as a magical force or…” Nuria sighs and draws in a sharp, short breath. “I’m looking for Ahternity. Do you know of any texts that mention them?”

      Roberta’s ocean eyes shine as she takes a long look up at Nuria.

      “I think the Queen has something you’ll be interested in.”

     - - -

           The hourglass hangs weightlessly in the air. As far as Nuria can tell no spell holds it up or enchants it to float. It simply is weightless, an idea. It’s time. No metal or wood adorns the hourglass or holds it in place. It is simply one elegant piece of glass with grey and gold sand. As it turns head over head, the sands mix and mingle together. One shining golden and lively, the other dull, grey and lifeless.

      “Ahternity’s hourglass. The Sands of Time.” Nuria’s voice is barely a whisper. “I can’t believe it’s real.”

      Nuria had allowed herself to follow this path, the only one available, for quite a while but she had never truly let herself hope. But now, here it was. Here’s a chance. Either the hourglass leads me to Ahternity, or I learn to use it directly and take myself back to Year 4. Back to the Temple of the Sun. She can feel the heat of the desert sun on her neck even now when she thinks of that lost, forsaken place. The place she found herself. The place she lost everything.

      “Thank you, Roberta.” She turns toward the talented Acara witch. “I’m going to find Ahternity, and I’m going to help someone very important to me. I owe that to you. Someday-“

      “You’ll come to Brightvale and tell me the story.” Roberta laughs and lays a soft paw on Nuria’s forearm. Nuria can’t remember the last time she was touched but it feels nice. Comforting. “It’ll be alright. No matter what.”

      Nuria smiles down at the Hero of Neopia, and, possibly, her new friend, and then turns and steps forward to take the glittering hourglass in her hands.

          - - -

           Luckily, Nuria hadn’t checked out of her hotel room the previous afternoon as she needed a place to bring the hourglass while she figured out how to use it. Up on the very top floor, a floor reserved for Faerie guests, Nuria was far from the only guest but had managed to lay low. She had three floor-mates, Jhuidah, Psellia and Mira, who had all booked a stay in order to celebrate Valentine’s Day in Faerie City.

      Nuria, however, desired nothing more than to leave the city for somewhere else entirely. She sat on the large blue and white couch in a pose of meditation as she regarded the magical hourglass that rotated weightlessly, endlessly in the centre of the room. A thick haze of incense smoke filled the room and several ornate glass bottles littered the end table filled with potions of various colors.

      So far, nothing she had tried elicited even the smallest reaction from the hourglass. She’d tried reversing the rotation physically, magically, and diplomatically but the hourglass didn’t seem phased (or sentient) at all. In a moment of desperation, she’d spoken the words she and Xoe had seen engraved in the Temple of the Sun all those years ago. She heard the magical authority in her own voice as she spoke but the hourglass apparently didn’t. For all she knew anyway, those words could be an ancient shopping list.

      At some point, Nuria knew, Fyora would realise that the hourglass had been taken. She’ll know it was me, obviously, and have no trouble finding me. In fact, Nuria was surprised she wasn’t here already. She sighed, somehow she needed to figure out the mysterious power of Ahternity’s Hourglass before Fyora figured her out. She tried to remember any details of the myths about Ahternity actually using the hourglass but couldn’t recall any specific rituals or anything else mentioned.

      Alright. From the top.

      One, Ahternity is a Faerie with some power or influence over time. They live outside of our reality in the Sands of Time which is described as a great desert.

      Two, Ahternity has an hourglass that holds the Sands of Time. A part of the desert that they live in. Some kind of magical, physical representation of time.

      Three, the myths say Ahternity can move through time as easily as they walk through the desert.

      Nuria unfurled her legs and stood. She walked close to the hourglass and peered into it as she’d done dozens of times before. Her wings blazed from black coal to embers to flames in a matter of moments. She felt the heat on the back of her neck as much as she felt she knew what to do next.

      They’re in there. The whole desert is in there.

      Nuria’s hands filled with the heavy weight of magical fire and the room seemed to dim as her wings and fists grew brighter and hotter with the flames.

      Just then, a foreign yet familiar tingle of magic touched her own and she knew.

      She’s here. It’s now or never.

      With a wail, Nuria threw both hands of magic fire out at the hourglass. At first, nothing seemed to happen. She watched in awe as the hourglass turned lazily head over head as blazing blue flames engulfed it. Then all at once, the glass cracked and all that magic poured out like a tidal wave.

      Nuria’s body was rocked with the wave of force. She tried to hold her ground but was blown back against something very hard. Her eyes fluttered and she attempted to stay awake as wave after wave of powerful magic washed over her. It seemed to her that she was being worn down by the magic as rock was worn down by the wind and sand. She felt as if she would soon be worn down to nothing and still the magic poured over her faster, faster, faster…

     To be continued…