text: Roh stood in the woodland behind Oma's Temple, Kadaan at his side. Anavha shivered behind them, though he was wrapped in a large dog-hair coat. Saradyn had insisted on coming, though Roh could not think of anything in particular he could help them with. Intimidation, maybe. An extra fighting arm. Though Roh knew that if it came to close combat, they would have already failed. With only one chance, though, Lilia and Maralah had insisted on many redundancies.
  
  "You didn't have to come," Roh said to Kadaan in Saiduan.
  
  "You needed a parajista."
  
  "We had a number of other parajistas," Roh said softly. They were waiting for the spread of Maralah's fire to wake up the temple and distract the Tai Mora. Lilia had wanted them to move immediately, but Maralah urged them to wait for the temple to light up. From here, the top of the temple appeared very far away.
  
  Roh held out his hand. "After, I'd like–"
  
  "Let's not talk about after," Kadaan said. "We go forward."
  
  Roh watched the top of the temple again. Lights began to flicker in the long series of slanted windows that marked corridors and foyers. Flame-fly lanterns roused to wakefulness.
  
  "Another few minutes," Kadaan said. "If we move too quickly, they'll still be close enough to reach us."
  
  "Are you ready, Anavha?" Roh asked in Dorinah.
  
  He nodded.
  
  Kadaan was the more skilled parajista, so he pulled Para first, weaving an intricate web using the Song of Davaar and the Song of the Wind. Roh held out his hand for Anavha. Saradyn grimaced, but came forward, and Kadaan wrapped them all into the blue mist of Para's embrace.
  
  Anavha closed his eyes and began to tremble. He wouldn't be able to see the threads of Para any more than Roh could see Anavha using Oma's.
  
  Roh sent a second thread of Para's power across the vast distance, tying it off at the crenulation that marked the end edge of the glass over the Assembly Chamber.
  
  Then they were flying, weightless, with alarming speed. Anavha held onto Roh. Saradyn gaped at the ground as it disappeared beneath them.
  
  "Wonderful!" Saradyn yelled in Dorinah.
  
  Roh kept his gaze on the temple, looking for defensive threads of Para's power. On the other side of the temple, over the plateau, a great bloom of blue mist crackled. Roh felt the wind it generated, and pulled Para to try to counteract it, but Kadaan hissed at him.
  
  "Don't do that again," Kadaan said. "I have it."
  
  They alighted on the slippery glass of the Assembly Chamber. As Kadaan released his spell, Roh called a focused tornado of air and smashed through the ceiling while also damping the sound of the crash of glass. It was eerily silent.
  
  Kadaan swung down first, weaving a defensive wall spell as he leapt.
  
  Saradyn went next, landing heavily on the table at the center of the room. Roh stuck his head further in, trying to see who was inside. Kadaan held the defensive wall in place; someone was yelling. Roh heard it through the defense.
  
  "Stay here," Roh told Anavha. "I don't want to risk you."
  
  "I don't want to be here alone," Anavha whispered.
  
  "I'm right down here!" Roh said. He sent a whirl of Para's breath below him to break his fall, and landed softly on the table.
  
  Kadaan held a shimmering defensive wall around the table, pressing back a single woman who was nearly crushed against the far wall. Roh thought it was supposed to be empty, though.
  
  "Where are Lilia and Taigan?" Roh asked.
  
  Saradyn pointed at the door to the chamber. Smoke swirled under it from the stairwell.
  
  "What's burning?" Kadaan said.