So many left behind

The camp was getting fuller by the minute. So many Fates had journeyed to come to Audubon with them. Every night since ReNew's recovery, Charlene refused to leave one soul behind.

She had sent out a message every night ever since the original message, letting every Fate know where they were and that they were welcome. Some guards even showed up.

Charlene was sitting on the sand dunes, knees hugged to her chest. One after another came to her—some bearing gifts, others seeking wisdom. She welcomed them all.

A barely visible figure appeared close by. Fading in and out. She could tell he was torn and in deep agony, or at least pretending to be.

"Hello friend, can I help you?"

"No you can't," he said, voice hollow. "I'm lost."

Black clouds started to form around them, curling low over the dunes like smoke from some unseen fire.

"Maybe I can help you?" Charlene kept her tone light, but her senses flared. "What seems to be the problem?"

"There's this little girl interfering with my plans. Can you help me?"

Lightning struck the desert sands. Pow!

Charlene waved her hands. The scenery flickered like film: mountain ranges, vast oceans, stormy beaches, bogs, and wastelands. The environment shifted in rapid succession, images stacking and layering to disorient the intruder.

"Who are you?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

The Fate looked around, trying to find a landmark, a foothold in the dreamscape.

"Tell me, child, where you are? It looks familiar, but I just can't place it." He tried to sound amused. But his tone was lined with menace.

The images stopped on a snowy mountain range. The wind howled, biting cold curling around Charlene’s figure. She stood with arms crossed.

"Sorry. My parents told me not to talk to strangers," she said, face curled in disgust.

"You can trust me. Your grandfather and I go way back, almost to the beginning." He smiled, oily and false.

Charlene almost threw up.

"If you know my grandfather so well, where is he now?"

"What do you mean...?" he asked cheerfully. "Your father never told you? He’s been recycled."

"That's odd." She tilted her head. "Him being an Original Immortal, that would be really hard."

"Clever little girl," he hissed, no longer smiling. "That was not a compliment. Someone’s been reading the archives."

"Nope. Wrong again! My grandmother told me."

His voice turned cold. "What are you talking about, you insolent wretch? The First Spirit doesn't just speak to anyone!"

Charlene’s smile widened. "So you do know my grandfather is an Original? Good to know."

He was fuming now. Energy crackled around him, twisting the clouds into sick spirals.

"Look! I will kill you, your father, and all your little friends," he snarled through clenched teeth. "If you don’t stop this nonsense. Return all my Fates home! There are consequences you can’t comprehend. War is a nasty business. This is your first and final warning, child."

Charlene blinked slowly. He was fully present now—no longer a projection, but manifest, face-to-face. She didn’t flinch.

"I know who you are, Torrock. Your rule in this realm is over."

She blinked again—and his world collapsed. The vision overtook him: the Grand Hall ablaze, the University he once gloried in reduced to ash. His corpse—infested and grotesque—lay rotting on its steps.

A cold chill ran down his back. "This can't be!"

Charlene's voice rang with divine authority. "This is your future. Be gone."

With a scream that sounded like cracking stone, Torrock was forced out of the dreamstate. But just before he vanished, his voice echoed like a curse:

"You can’t stop what's already begun... I’ll be waiting for you at the end."

She exhaled slowly. Her heart beat fast but steady. She realized now she was growing stronger. She had pulled a dark Fate into her dreamstate—and defeated him without a single blow. But she also knew… this had to be the last time. Not all would follow. Not all should.

Leaving most of them in the desert, wondering if they were left behind.

The one orb was in the sky. It was time to move on, Charlene thought.

Leaving so many Fates behind hurt her heart, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

"Good morning, Princess," Seth said, watching her pack up her blanket.

"Good morning, Dad."

"What’s going on?"

"It’s tough, but I’ve made a decision. Those who were coming are already here. Those who did not want to be here... will be left behind."

Seth was surprised by her starkness, but he knew it was right. "I’ll tell the others we’re ready to go."

"Thank you, Dad. I will address everyone before we leave."

"What are you thinking?" ReNew asked.

"We’re no longer walking."

"Come again?"

Charlene stood taller. "I said, we’re no longer walking to Audubon."

She climbed atop the largest boulder she could find.

Seth, Gilead, Idris, Heth, ReNew, and Professor E stood strategically in the crowd to relay her message.

"That’s her! The Fate from our dreams!"

"We love you, Charlene!"

They surged forward, but she raised a hand.

"Stop! Please. I have something important to say."

The murmurs settled.

"I’m sorry, but we don’t have time. I’m promised—I will greet each one of you once we get to Audubon."

"Why are we leaving?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Some of our families haven’t made it yet!"

"We can’t just leave them!"

Charlene raised her voice—not angry, but firm.

"I hear you all. And I feel the same way. Look to your left and right. Everyone willing to go on this journey is already here. I spent countless hours sending messages. Many refused to listen."

Someone shouted, "How do we know you’re telling the truth?"

"I will show you. Close your eyes."

She blinked, and a radiant light burst from her chest, washing over them. They saw everything—every message she had sent, every conversation, every rejection. Her heartache echoed through them.

Many dropped to their knees, crying. Others stood frozen as visions of their own families pledging loyalty to Torrock played before them.

She opened the portal. There it was—Audubon.

"Princess, that was amazing," Seth said quietly. "But how will you keep them from sensing the portal trail?"

"I’ll block it, Dad. But I have to tell you about the conversation I had with Torrock. You won’t believe what he said..."

Hundreds of Fates walked through the portal hand-in-hand—children, elders, soldiers, all united. Idris and Professor E counted them as they entered.

"How will we house all these Fates?" Idris asked.

Seth shook his head. He didn’t know.

Charlene and Seth entered last, relieving the others of their duties.

"How many are there, Dad?"

"Over two hundred thousand."

Seth looked around. "This is not the Audubon I remember."

"Gigi made some big improvements," Charlene grinned.

"Thank you, sweetheart!" Gigi appeared suddenly, glowing.

"Grandma! Gigi!" Charlene ran to her.

"Do you like it?"

Glass-windowed domiciles dotted the sandface. A new Grand Hall shimmered in the distance. It was a full city built from sand and spirit.

"What’s that over there, Gigi?"

"I’ll let your father show you."

Charlene narrowed her eyes. "Have you two been talking?"

Seth spoke first. "No, Princess. But it’s long overdue."

Gigi smiled. "I believe so."

Charlene linked arms with them both and pulled them toward the entrance.

"How do you get inside?" she asked.

"Allow me." Seth waved his arms like a sorcerer. "Open sesame!" He touched his mark.

The stone face moved, revealing vast underground caverns—waterfalls, gardens, halls, even a war room.

"All of this is yours," Gigi said. "This is where we brought the Original Fates. They chose other paths. But now... it’s yours."

Perfectly hidden, it was the ideal refuge.

"I almost forgot!" Charlene rushed off.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" ReNew asked.

"I forgot to close the portal. Or at least scramble its paths."

She blinked. The portal flared, then split into wild threads—different planets, outer space, dead ends.

"I would hate to be the poor soul that walks in there..."

The sky pulsed once with light, then faded.

A war had started. But the Realm was not lost.

Charlene was ready.