Falling Ashes

‘Where is she going to go?’ asked Jack. ‘She’ll be arrested.’


Cecilia shook her head. ‘Frankie has seen a group of Mages with Avalon. She has a small army. There will be at least twenty Mages with her by the time she arrives.’

‘Who are they? Where did they come from?’ asked Kenneth.

‘They are followers that she has collected along her journey here, and they are willing to fight for human rights. It is crucial that we liaise with her army when the attack begins.’

Jack and Kenneth glanced at each other.

‘She’s heading straight to the Realm Headquarters?’ Jack asked.

Cecilia nodded. ‘The dream transcript says that Avalon will waste no time in attacking. She will arrive at dusk tomorrow evening.’

‘We are going to meet her there?’ asked Kenneth.

Cecilia nodded. ‘We must time our arrival precisely. There are over one hundred H.W.L members. If we arrive too early, we will raise the alarm.’

‘How do we know what time?’ Jack asked.

‘Xara Swanson will have multiple projections of herself on the lookout. She will be able to relay the message to us within seconds as she will be working at the Realm at the time of the attack. However, she will be in a stasis chamber, which she cannot exit without a second person to help her. Jack, if you can release her before the attack begins, Xara will be able to join us quickly.’

Kenneth and Jack nodded in unison.

Jack chewed on his lip. ‘Tomorrow at dusk, you said? I’ll be on guard duty that evening.’

Cecilia nodded. ‘It’s important you attend your guard duty, as to not raise suspicion.’

‘What should I do when the infiltration begins?’ asked Jack. ‘They’ll try and kill me if I jump ship-’

‘Jack, you’ll need to be inconspicuous. Team up with the other healers as soon as you can. It is imperative that they do not suspect you.’

‘We’re not … trying to kill them, right?’ asked Jack.

Cecilia smiled kindly. ‘Not if we can help it, Jack. Life is precious, and we do not wish to harm anyone. But we need to find the cure and the human registration documents, so we can find out where our families were taken, and who they were sold to.’

‘How do you do that?’ asked Kenneth.

‘Each human is branded with a serial number,’ said Cecilia, ‘according to our inside intelligence.’

Jack recalled, Korra and Alastor had wanted to brand Avalon.

‘Seven-eight-one-two,’ said Kenneth, closing his eyes. ‘That is the number branded into Helena’s neck.’

Cecilia nodded. ‘The Realm doesn’t use the Humans given names. Instead, they are tracked with a serial number. From there, we’ll be able to discover where they were sent, and who bought them. We’ll track down every human that has had their memory wiped, and give them the cure.’

‘And what if they try to stop us?’ asked Jack.

‘Jack … they’re not going to try and stop us … they’re going to try and kill us.’

Jack had no response to this statement because he knew it was the truth.

‘I can’t believe Avalon is doing this,’ said Kenneth. ‘She’s going to get herself killed.’

‘Don’t try and stop her, Ken,’ said Cecilia sternly. ‘This needs to be done. Without Avalon, the human rebellion cannot take place. She is the reason we have united against the Realm.’

‘A nineteen-year-old girl won’t make much difference,’ said Kenneth.

‘You underestimate your daughter,’ said Cecilia, folding her arms across her chest. ‘She holds great Power. Her fire will signal the start of the revolution. When other towns and cities hear of the attack, human supporters will rise against the government.’

‘You really think she’s going to start a revolution?’ asked Jack.

Cecilia nodded. ‘It has been foreseen.’

Kenneth crossed his arms over his chest. ‘According to this girl named Frankie, you say?’

Cecilia nodded. Frankie’s predictions were always right.

‘A woman we haven’t even met. Someone who doesn’t come to the meetings-’ said Kenneth.

Cecilia sighed. ‘I trust Frankie and know she is telling the truth. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a lot of things I need to prepare for before tomorrow.’

Annoyed, Kenneth stood up and left Cecilia’s study, Jack slouching after him.

Once they were gone, she let out a long breath, placing her face in her hands. Cecilia groaned. She hated lying – it was so against her nature, especially as a truth-seeker. But she couldn’t tell Kenneth, or Jack. It would destroy them to know the truth. The truth about what Frankie had seen.

Cecilia opened her desk drawer and pulled out the letter written by Frankie after her latest vision, which had been just last night. She began to read it for the umpteenth time.



Cecilia,