Three years after the final defeat of Zaha Torte, peace has returned to Spooner. Sorcerers everywhere have re-signed the peace treaty between themselves and the commoners, and the Sorcerer Hunters have had little to do but enjoy the tranquil days provided at the pleasure of the gods.

But they have not wasted this time…well, for the most part. The leader of the small group, Carrot Glaces, has returned to his home with Tira and Chocolate Misu, where Tira has opened a small healing practice. Gateau Mocha, for all he despised Carrot, found that he missed the company of his old friends, and moved himself and his sister as close as he could to his allies without appearing conspicuous or weak. This leaves Marron, the strikingly beautiful magic user, and younger brother of Carrot. Not incredibly surprisingly to his father Onion, Marron grasped the opportunity to pull a disappearing act in the relative calm - here one day, gone for the next three months.

They let him go, sure in their deepest hearts he would come back to them soon. 'Wanderer's spirit,' Onion had declared it, thinking sadly of the spark of mischief in Apricot's eyes - eyes that were so very similar to her son's.

True to his unspoken word, Marron did come back, but something was subtly different about him, something that would inextricably bind them to fate…

Marron's robes brushed against the doorframe as he entered the house of his childhood, and the slight rustling noise alerted the slender female figure hunched in deep concentration over some article on the table in the kitchen. Tira's head jerked up in surprise, and, finding the source of the disturbance, her face broke into a comically large smile under her glasses. She let the herbs she'd been painstakingly shredding fall where they landed, ran the short distance between the table and the doorway, and hugged the tall figure without hesitation.

"You're back! We knew you'd come back! Where have you been?"

After a moment of stiffened confusion resulting from the rambunctious display of affection, Marron softened, patted her shoulder and smiled gently.

"Hello to you too, Tira."

She released him and looked happily into the golden eyes.

"Well? Where'd you go, what'd you do, and what did you bring me back?" Tira giggled childishly.

"Nowhere important, nothing special and…um…" he reached behind her ear as one might trying to amuse a child, and pulled out a single daffodil. "Here."

"Smart ass."

Marron arched one graceful, questioning eyebrow, and smiled inwardly as Tira blushed, realising who she was talking to.

"I should probably go and -" Marron jerked his thumb toward the opposite doorway, having sensed the presence of his brother and father.

"I'd say so. They've missed you, you know?" Tira moved to follow him out the door, trailing him by instinct and long knowledge rather than sight as she fingered the soft petals of the daffodil. Something was bugging her about it. Something wasn't right. Then it occurred to her.

"Hey, Marron? Don't you have to use wards-"

"MARRON!" Carrot's cry of happiness interrupted Tira and he pulled his little brother into a fierce hug.

"Hey, Niisan."

Carrot loosened his grip, and clutched Marron by the shoulders, staring critically into the serious face.

"There's something…different about you." He stared harder, and shrugged his shoulders in resignation. "Nah. I'm seein' things."

"Mage," a deep voice growled from a chair. Marron's face blushed a deep pink.

"H-hai, father. I was hoping to keep it as a surprise."

Onion ran his hands through his hair and snorted in amusement.

"Imagine that. Not only do you haunt me by looking so much like your mother, now you're going to stay that way for good." He looked up at his youngest son, pain flashing momentarily in his eyes before he hid it and nodded his head in acknowledgment of Marron's new status. "Next thing you know, you'll probably end up a -" Onion's eyes fell on the insignia of a bracelet his son hadn't had when he left, and deteriorated into muttering his thoughts aloud. "Sweet gods…How did you get…couldn't be…but it is…Marron, did you find yourself a…new job?"

Marron hung his head in a sudden fit of shyness and mumbled incoherently.

"Marron. Get out from behind the hair and answer me. Are you a-"

[They can't know, father. You're aware of that,] came the thought into Onion's mind, swift and strong and pure. [I'm just an apprentice…are you angry with me?]

[No, Marron. Congratulations. Sumimasen.]

"Is Marron a…" Carrot tried emphatically to prompt his father.

"Nothing. Never mind, I'm seeing things and it's hereditary, Carrot. See? You're starting to take after me already," Onion grunted. The big man rose too quickly from his seat and walked stiffly inside.

Carrot shuddered visibly and made Tira laugh.

"So, you're one of those stuck-up all-mighty Mages now? Looks like a pretty good excuse for a party, if you ask me." Carrot raised one eyebrow, looking for support from his companions.

"Great idea! I'll go tell Gateau," Tira declared, and ran through the house, gathering her cloak on the way and heading in the direction of the blonde strongman's dwelling. Carrot snorted in disgust.

"That's not healthy, Carrot," Marron chided softly.

"Neither is vanishing off the face of the planet for a season, coming home and freaking out your father," Carrot spat back, and immediately wished he hadn't when Marron's head went down again as he turned away. He sighed. "Sorry. But does this mean free sake now?"

That night, the old Sorcerer Hunters celebrated Marron's return with what became a small feast, and more than generous amounts of alcohol. Marron, of course, drank nothing of the bitter stuff, and despite his companions' efforts to spike his drinks, remained the only completely sensible one among them. As usual, he sighed.

And, as usual, having drunk enough to kill an ox, Gateau became more and more blatant in his attempts to get Marron's attention.

"Can you still heal?" Gateau asked the beautiful young Mage, squatting in front of him and looking as serious as intoxication would allow. Kami he's beautiful, he thought to himself. Not handsome, but almost the definition of beauty. Why won't he look at me?

"Of course. If anything, I'm stronger at it now," Marron replied cautiously, regretting it the instant he saw Gateau's delighted expression.

"Good. 'Cause I've had this really sore…" Gateau's voice was muffled by the shirt he finally had an excuse to remove. Carrot looked furious, Tira and Chocolate rolled their eyes at the display, Onion raised an eyebrow, and Marron slapped his forehead in exasperation.

"Well, I never knew you swung that way, Marron," an unfamiliar voice interjected.

"Huh…?" six sets of eyes swivelled around to focus on a figure which had draped itself casually in a chair, but only two sets of eyes recognised it for sure.

"M-Milphey?" Carrot questioned uncertainly.

"No, baka. I don't even look remotely like him. Why does everyone say that?" the Milphey lookalike stood up and pirouetted, showing itself to be female.

"You couldn't be anyone but Milphey's brat - you're almost as much of an exhibitionist as him," Onion gestured to Gateau, who stood half-naked and stunned. "How have you been, Minda?"

Minda broke into a beautiful smile and surprised the small assembly by hugging the big man as though she'd known him her whole life. When he laughed in delight, she broke free and blinked herself to stand in front of the open-mouthed Carrot, where she gripped his chin and forced him to study her face, almost nose-to-nose. A familiar and rather disconcerting pose.

"I don't really look like papa, do I?" a voice of sugared innocence asked as she trailed one manicured fingernail down his throat.

Carrot didn't need much persuading, and he looked, hard. At a first glance, Minda was the living spit of her unlikely father, but on closer inspection, she was incredibly pretty and far more feminine with sharply defined features, longer strawberry-coloured hair without the wave of her father's and the same glowing golden eyes that sparkled with potential mischief in the moonlight. Carrot absorbed this with a practiced eye, while the restraining hand on his chin began to wander, joining the other one to continue tracing the contours of his neck. Even without the electrifying touch, this was almost too much for him to handle. His voice rose two octaves and he was left besotted.

"Nah, you're much prettier," he squeaked.

"Good." Shortly, sharply, and with undeniable energy. She dismissed Carrot without a second glance and turned back to Marron. "Sorry to break up the party, but we've gotta go. Duty calls and all."

Marron tried in vain to stifle a sigh, which didn't manage to escape his father's sharp hearing, let alone the honed senses of Minda, who cocked her head curiously.

"Listen, Minda," Onion cut in. "Is it really important? He's only just come back to us. Tell them he's drunk and useless if you have to. For me?" he looked at the young face pleadingly, and found purchase when she sighed audibly.

"I suppose not. It's just watch, and there's a meeting going on that should keep the others there until way after our shift. You know how they go on," Minda giggled guiltily and shrugged her thin shoulders. "Wait a minute."

She closed her eyes and relayed the information to her father.

"He says its okay, I was right, and to blow Carrot a kiss." Carrot blanched beyond pale and groaned. "But he also said you'll have to be there early tomorrow. Is that fair enough, Marron?"

Marron nodded and she folded her arms in a gesture of finality.

"Alright then, I'd better go." Minda blew a kiss to the group, turned around and vanished the way she'd come in a cloud of pink-tinted smoke.

Chocolate stroked her chin in deep thought.

"Hang on a second. If Onion knew about 'the way they go on' and they knew each other, Milphey's in the picture and Marron works with them…" she glanced at the insignia on the bracelet Marron wore. Even though it was partially obscured by his sleeve, the symbol became suddenly familiar and she gaped, openmouthed. "You're a Haz Knight?!"

His secret exposed, Marron decided it was time he told them everything. Well, as much as they need to know, he thought wryly. "…Apprentice. So is Minda. That's where I've been. I took my rites of ascension, and they sought me out."

He turned his head away and the dark veil of silky black hair instantly hid his expression, but even that barrier could not hide the smile that graced his face.

"Are you sure you should come?" Marron asked his friends for the third time in as many minutes, disturbed by the early morning and their insistence.

"Marron, come on, we hardly ever go up there anyway, and it'd be good to see Big Mama and Dota too, even if she does have wings and…" Carrot trailed off, lost in daydreams of strange, beautiful women. Marron sighed.

"You'll get me into trouble."

"Please? We never do anything fun any more," Tira whined, minus the huge glasses for a change.

Marron sighed louder in defeat. "You realise there will be nothing for you to do up there?"

Carrot nodded emphatically. "'f course. Bring on the boredom!" he declared, placing a hand on Marron's shoulder. Marron rolled his eyes as he realised how they expected to get to the Stellar Church and its grounds. He shrugged his shoulders, waved a farewell to his father and teleported, his friends holding on in uncertain discomfort.

The Stellar Church looked like a tornado, wildfire and tsunami had hit it all at once. The great pillars were scorched and crumbled, and the impeccably manicured gardens were charred to the point of nonexistence, the gnarled, blackened skeletons giving the impression of a centuries-old ruin as opposed to one of a few hours. Marron opened his eyes and drew in a sharp breath as he surveyed the damage.

"Must've been one hell of a party here last night," Gateau mumbled in awe, scratching his head.

Marron shivered, and shook his head. "No. This place was hit by powerful magic - I can still feel it. None of it was good," he added ominously, and almost to himself.

"H-hello?" Chocolate called out nervously.

One of the piles they'd taken as wreckage moved, minutely and obviously with great effort, as though disturbed by the wind.

"Gods, are they…?" Carrot scuffed hesitantly over to one of the crumpled heaps, pulled back the cloth covering its face and hissed in disgust. There was no mistaking the insignia on the headband. The Haz Knights were dead. He stumbled back, tripping over Gateau, who for once caught him, set Carrot back on his feet and didn't call him an idiot.

No, Marron thought frantically, this can't happen. They can't be dead! He loosed his senses desperately, searching for signs of life. Just as he was about to give up, a single, weak thought glimmered on the very edge of his mind.

[Marron…help…]

He opened his eyes unseeingly and ran blindly towards the source. Someone was still alive, and it gave him hope. He slowed to a halt as he passed a multitude of figures - doubtless the caretakers and others who frequented the place - and settled on the huddled figure he'd thought had moved before. Marron pulled back the hood to reveal the anonymous pile's face.

"Minda! What happened here?"

She looked up at him through pain-bleared eyes, heedless of the blood streaming from a cut high on her temple that marred her otherwise untouched face.

"You…came." She peered into the worried face, and adopted a weak and senseless smile as her chin dropped onto her chest. "They won't wake up, Marron. Make them wake up."

Marron brushed the loose wisps of fairy-floss coloured hair out of Minda's eyes and gripped her chin, holding it up again. "I can't do anything until you tell me what happened."

With great effort, she raised one shaking hand and let it fall on the wrist supporting her chin. Then she showed him. Marron's senses were bombarded with painful screams, burning smells and a thousand different images of suffering before Minda collected herself enough to replay the scene that had caused the devastation. Slowly, a surrealistic vision of the hours of Marron's absence was played to him in an array of flashes. The Knights, leaving their meeting, bidding farewell to Mama…a crack of lightning…Sorcerers, ten of them, summoning some great force…a terrible, demonic roar of laughter as the Knights fell and were consumed by it…each and every face drawing their dying breath…Cinnamon…Chiffon…Karuua…Milphey, wounded but not dead, calling out to Minda for help…a flash of steel as a sword pierced his back, silencing him forever.

Mama stood on the threshold of the Church, looking terrified for a change as her efforts to subdue the bestial apparition had no effect. One Sorcerer broke off from the pack, opened a locket and placed a powerful magic seal on her, knocking her unconscious. He slung the woman's deadweight over one shoulder and rejoined the group as they turned to leave. Fear…such terror…

Then a different type of pain, as Marron watched the lead Sorcerer, the one who had slain Milphey, turned to face Minda. 'My, pretty little thing, aren't you?' he hissed lustily as he sized her up. 'You're lucky, I could never hurt such a lovely face.' The dark force that had hovered above the slain Knights turned on her, whipping her around, and shot itself at her back. He heard her scream, felt her empathised terror, and almost blacked out in sympathy as he felt her do so in her vision.

Marron broke the girl's hold on his arm and stroked one of her cheeks, willing her to have strength. Murmuring, he quietly and coldly relayed what Minda had shown him to his companions, who stood in dumbstruck silence.

Gateau scuffed one boot on the damaged marble tiling.

"So, what do we do now?"

Marron's brow furrowed in concentration. "First things first." He reached one hand behind Minda, who struggled to stifle a whimper.

"Marron, don't try to lift –" Carrot started, and received an uncharacteristically poisonous glare for his troubles. Marron pulled his hand out, and showed his brother the dark blood that dripped from his pale fingers.

"I said first things first. Tira, help me roll her over, please." Tira nodded wordlessly and cradled Minda's head in her lap as Marron's hands began to glow, healing the terrible wounds the dark magic had inflicted on her.

"It's…it's not possible," Marron whispered.