Her chest swelled with a mix of dread and excitement as she ran her fingers over the old, yellowed pages. Everything she had been searching for could be before her and she paused a few moments to gather her courage.

And finally, by candlelight, she began to read.

Sapphire’s hands tightened on the worn leather as she immediately recognized a name.

Mikel.

Mikel, the man who had so boldly loved a Shadow Witch many moons ago. The man who had written passage after passage before disappearing entirely – like an ember lost to the wind.

Kya was Mikel’s twin sister, and her journal was overwrought, with frantic questioning and searching for her lost brother.

My brother is an earnest, noble man. There is no malice in his heart. He deserved to live out his days here, with me, with our family. Where is he now? It’s been fourteen days since we last saw him. Fourteen days. Where is my brother?

Sapphire flipped through the pages. Kya grew more desperate with each one. But when three months had passed, Kya’s focus switched to something more sinister.

A Shadow Witch he loved. Tell me, did they seal him away with the rest when they built the Shattered Lands? Did they penalize him for following his heart? Did they punish him for what he could not control? Oh, Mikel, I will find justice for you. I will leave no stone unturned.

The woman had been braver than anyone Sapphire had ever known – facing long nights seeking out answers where she shouldn’t have been. She searched the country for her brother, for closure, and it never came. Sapphire felt like she had ingested poison at the realization that Kya had died no closer to answers.

I hope a day comes when the barrier is brought to the ground. I hope those that took him from me lose something precious so they may share my pain. I hope a day comes where the answers I need are revealed. I will be watching from the other side.

And Mikel, I hope you are waiting for me.

That was Kya’s last entry. Sapphire could barely keep herself steady as tears rolled down her cheeks, and she took a few moments to remember the brave twins to whom life had been so unfair. It was late, but her mind was buzzing. It had been some time since she had been able to beat the exhaustion, so she reached for another journal.

Marca, a man who was Fireborn and a distant cousin of Evera, had written his own journal forty-two years after the barrier had been built. He had an analytical mind – writing both fact and opinion. He kept a running log of those banished to the other side:

Shadow Witches, practitioners of Dark Magic, those who aided them, and those that turned against the armies of the Elders.

And maybe Mikel? was added to the list in smaller letters.