Emma's stomach roiled at just the thought of eating the loaf of bread that Nathan examined so nonchalantly. She tried not to think about how old it must be; the invisible germs and pathogens that could be clinging to the breadcrumbs.

And yet, no matter how much they tried to talk him out of it, Nathan was determined.

"You're sure about this?" Britt asked for the hundredth time, not even trying to hide her disgust. "We still have plenty of food. There's no reason to dip into the mummy stash just yet."

Nathan shook his head, not taking his eyes off the loaf. "I'm dying of curiosity. Everything in here looks brand new. It even feels brand new, listen to this." He lifted the bread to his ear and squeezed it, letting loose a chorus of crackles that did sound appealing.

Mummy bread, Emma reminded herself. Not for eating.

"Besides," Nathan continued. "If anything goes wrong, I'm sure you have a rune or two that'll fix me right up."

"I don't," Britt said flatly. "And even if I did, I wouldn't waste it on you."

"Eat it or don't, the suspense is killing me!" Andrea snapped.

"Don't encourage him!" Britt said.

"I'm not encouraging him," Andrea said. "But if he's going to do it, he should get it over with."

Emma considered jumping into the conversation, but she didn't think anything she could say would change Nathan's mind.

"Here goes nothing," Nathan said, ripping a large chunk off the loaf and sticking it in his mouth.

Emma gagged, covering her mouth with a hand.

"You're not gonna puke, are you?" Nathan said through the bread in his mouth. "Because that seems a little dramatic."

He was looking a little green himself. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowing with visual effort.

He choked, beating his chest with a fist to dislodge the bread from his throat. Emma opened her mouth to ask if he was okay, but Nathan shook his head, holding up a finger for her to wait.

"Note to self," he said, his voice strained by his effort to breathe. "Take smaller bites."

Britt smacked him on the shoulder, growling in annoyance.

"Is it good?" Andrea asked when Nathan had recovered. "It doesn't taste like moldy cheese or anything?"

Nathan shook his head. "It tastes find. No mold. no poison. No death hexes. Not very impressive though. It could use some butter."

"Well, I'm not eating any of it for a few days at least," Britt said, crossing her arms. "Some poisons work slowly."

Nathan shrugged. "We all gotta go out sometime. I'd rather go out eating food than dying of boredom in that library." He took another bite of his bread. "Speaking of, did you guys find anything interesting?"

Britt's mood improved drastically at the mention of the library.

"I found several books on runes!" she said, pulling two out of her Inventory and placing them on the table in front of her. They both had plain brown covers with no ornamentation or titles. "There are two types of runes, apparently. The ones I've been learning are called Essence runes or Emberian runes. They channel Essence from the air into magic.

"The second type is called Miasmic runes or Ashen Runes." She tapped the second book with her finger. "Instead of Essence, they channel Miasma."

"Black magic?" Nathan guessed, taking another bite of his bread. "I thought Miasma interfered with spells."

"Not according to this." Britt opened the book, reading a passage aloud.

It is well known that Essence and Miasma have a negative reaction when they come in contact with one another. The exact cause of this reaction isn't well studied, but the widely held belief is that the opposite nature of the two energies creates a vacuum effect, and the resulting implosion in space creates an equal and opposite effect in the matter that comes in contact with that vacuum.

"English translation?" Nathan asked.

"It means that when Miasma and Essence meet, things explode," Britt translated. "Like my fingers."

Nathan frowned. "Right. Well, we already knew that much."

Britt continued reading from the book.

The people of Ashen and Ember have long since held the belief that the opposing energy to their own is a form of evil. Until very recently, Miasma was seen as the opposite of life, the death of all things, but with the expanding understanding of our neighbors, the Corvi, we have come to realize that it is not opposite of Essence, only different from it.

With the Ashen runes, Miasma can be used for spells much like Essence, though the process of creating those spells is more internal. As a Lerian, I am unable to describe the feeling of Miasmic creation, but in this book, I aim to discuss the essentials because I truly believe that an understanding of Miasmic Runes could lead to a more thorough understanding of the relationship between Miasma and Essence.

"So, spells are like baking soda volcanoes." Nathan said. "Neither baking soda nor vinegar is bad for you, but when the two come together, they react and explode."

"Sort of, but the reaction is more like a propane tank and a bullet," Britt said, closing the book. "From the descriptions i'm reading, we've gotten off lucky with a few minor injuries."

Nathan shuddered. "Maybe you should take the runecrafting outside from now on."

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"I'm using one of the spare bedrooms, actually," Britt said, putting both books back in her Inventory. "They're heavily warded. Whatever was going on here, they were worried about magical fallout."

"So, Britt's got some new runes to play with. Andrea, did you find anything?" Nathan asked.

"You know, you could just go find your own books," Andrea pointed out.

"And deprive you of a chance to explain all the cool stuff you're reading?" Nathan asked in mock horror.

Andrea rolled her eyes. "I didn't really find anything interesting; a few books on local flora and fauna that don't match the Island at all, from what I can tell. There were also some ledgers for supply runs and salaries. This place was a research outpost of some kind and there were literally hundreds of people on the payroll, so either there were more outposts like this, or the job had high turnover."

The other three turned to Emma expectantly.

She pulled several books out of her Inventory and laid them out in piles on the table.

"Experiment logs," she said. "Several different researchers, all dated within the same year, if I'm reading the dates right. There's about fifty more in my inventory, so I haven't had the chance to go through them all, but they might give us an idea as to what's on the other side of that door." She nodded in the direction of the hallway.

"I'm not sure I want to know," Nathan said, wrinkling his nose. "Whatever it is, it's stinking up the hallway. What if it's just the garbage dump?"

"Or the outhouse," Britt suggested with a similar level of disgust.

"I'm more worried about biohazards," Andrea said. "If the experiment they were conducting is beyond that door, it would have to be dangerous to warrant that level of security. I don't think we should open the door until we know what's behind it."

"Well, there's only one way to find out then," Emma said, emptying the rest of the journals onto the table. "Everyone pick a book. This'll go faster if we all work together."

They each grabbed a book—even Nathan, though he didn't look happy about it. Emma grabbed the one that had the earliest date and opened it to the first page.

Date: 4.3.2798 (Ashen Calendar)

Gavric Romaran, Director of Research

Today marks the first day of the Ashen and Ember Joint Energy Management and Filtration System project. (Denna insists that we should come up with a more suitable name, but I see no reason to change it at the moment. Perhaps I will change my mind if she brings me a name worthy of my attention.)

Everyone is settling in nicely, but as the very first joint venture between Corvi and Lerians, there's bound to be some growing pains, and tensions are running high…

* * *

Gavric stowed his things in the nightstand next to his assigned bed. The room was nice enough, albeit a bit plain. Most of the funds allocated for the project were being funneled into the research itself, so a few sacrifices would be necessary to make sure everything ran smoothly. There was no telling yet how long the project would take, but Gavric prayed to the gods that it was finished within the year.

They needed this; now, more than ever. None of the nobility—not in Korsa or in the neighboring countries—were willing to admit this, but Ashen was on the brink of collapse. The dungeons, meant to filter Miasma out of Ember, were not created with Ashen in mind. The adjustments made to Ashen's side of the breach did little to minimize the effect of Essence on Ashen.

The Lerians would have you believe that the dungeons worked equally, but it was Corvi that had to risk their lives to push Essence into the dungeon filtration system. Whenever the dungeons pushed Miasma back into Ashen, a small amount of Essence was sent back with it.

'A reasonable margin of error', they called it. But that small amount of Essence was poisoning the landscape; destroying crops and killing animals. The vast majority of dungeons were dead zones, held in check by wards and filtration spells that were barely keeping up with the demand.

The few dungeons that had been adapted to better filter the Essence out of Ember—created with the help of a Corvi technician instead of an all-Lerian crew—were used for travel between the worlds. It kept the Lerians from realizing how desperate things had truly become. The misguided and foolish plan was put into action by the royal family of Korsa, who thought the way to solve their problem was to make friends with the royal family in charge of the dungeon creation. But their methods were too slow, and their decision to avoid asking the Lerians for help outright would stall change so long that there would be nothing left to save by the time it finally came.

Gavric closed the drawer and headed out into the main area. The cabin itself was rather small, but the spatial magic used to expand it made the inconspicuous little cabin into a decent research facility. Everyone would be gathered in the dining hall for the welcome speech and assignments.

"Gavric! There you are," Mabel said tightly. "We're all itching to get started."

The woman's Lerian form was lighter than Gavric's. Her long blonde hair contrasting with golden skin. She glanced nervously at a group of people in the far corner, all huddled around a table and talking amongst themselves. It took Gavric a few moments to figure out what had her on edge.

These were the real Lerians.

Gavric pretended not to notice Mabel's pleading expression. If this project was going to be a success, everyone would have to leave their prejudices at the door. That was true for Lerians and Corvi alike.

Growing pains were inevitable, but outright stupidity would not be tolerated.

"All right, everyone, listen up!" Gavric called, walking to the slightly raised platform at the front of the room. "I trust you were all informed of what task we are undertaking, and I would caution that this project is the first of its kind. There is real danger in what we're doing, so we must proceed carefully."

"Already failed that when we let the Lerians in," someone in the front muttered a little too loudly.

The group at the back heard, sinking further into their huddle as if trying to avoid notice.

Gavric singled out the man who had spoken; a large Corvi that hadn't yet transformed into his Lerian form. Wispy tendrils of black smoke billowed at his side, swirling around his bare feet.

He looked proud of his comment. Gavric would fix that shortly.

"You," he said, pointing at the man. "Name and role?"

"Chesha," the man said, bobbing slightly. "Miasmic rune technician."

"And why, Chesha, have you not shifted yet?"

The acid in Gavric's tone seemed to have been missed by the confident Corvi.

He scoffed. "If the Lerians can't handle us in our natural form, this project is doomed from the start."

Gavric's heart sank. This was the kind of person he would be working with? He was promised competent researchers, not recalcitrant children.

"You are on Emberian soil," Gavric said, keeping his voice steady. "Employed in a research venture that is not sanctioned by any government on either side of the boundary. If we are questioned, we are calling this project a geological study of the local mineral deposits." He tilted his head, injecting benign curiosity into his voice. "Do you know the one detail that would cast doubt on this reasonable explanation for our presence here?"

Chesha shrugged. "The number of people?"

"The number of Corvi!" Gavric boomed, catching the man off guard. He backed up a step, nearly tripping over the table behind him.

Gavric stepped off the platform and walked over to Chesha, his footsteps crackling with power.

Chesha had nowhere to retreat to. He cowered backwards from Gavric as the crowd parted and backed away.

"The fate of Ashen hangs in the balance here," Gavric said, his voice low and frigid. "When you are in Ashen, you can look however you want, but in Ember, you are Lerian. Do I make myself clear?"

Chesha shrank a few inches, every trace of his previous confidence withered away under Gavric's scrutiny.

"Yes sir," he muttered, not meeting Gavric's eyes.

"Good." Gavric returned to the platform to dead silence. This wasn't the first impression he had been hoping to make, but if he had to scare them into collaboration, then so be it.

"We will be splitting into eight shifts," he said calmly. "Due to the unbalanced ratio of Lerian to Corvi, each shift will have five Corvi and one Lerian. While you are in the lab, you will follow the safety procedures to the letter. We aren't on vacation in a foreign land, we are playing with nature. Any missteps and we won't be the only one's caught in the explosion."

He waited a moment to let that sink in before nodding. "You can check the bulletin board in the library for your assignments. Come to me with any questions or concerns. If you would like to leave the project, your memory of it will be erased and you will be returned to Ashen with a small sum of money to compensate you for your time here."

Gavric had never been the best at speeches. He left it there, heading in the direction of the research lab. Preparations still had to be made for the first shift.

There was no margin for error here, failure could mean the death of both worlds, and Gavric would not have that on his conscience.

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