The actual entrance to the Mother’s Womb was small and slim, but it got bigger and branched out deeper inside. “So, this is what the Mother’s Womb looks like from the inside. Honestly, it didn’t look like much from the outside, but guess the inside is a different story. You can fit a whole castle inside this place,” said Leo, looking around curiously.


    “Don’t be fooled by what you see. This place connects all of creation. Every corner hides a secret passageway that could lead to anywhere in Areliam,” said Calaren with respect in his voice.


    “Leo, if you are done sightseeing, and Cal, if you are done playing tour guide, then can we please figure out our next move. I don’t wanna be stuck here when everything calms down and they realize we bailed on them. Knowing them, they’ll probably blame the whole thing on us and put a kill on sight order on us,” said June with worry in her voice.


    “Don’t worry, a lot of lives are being lost outside as we speak. With all the cave-in wounds and glass cuts, most of the dead will be unrecognizable. With any luck, they’ll think us dead,” Leo said calmly.


    “That still leaves us to figure out where to go in this maze of a place,” June said frustratingly.


    Before answering his mother, Leo closed his eyes for a few moments, lost in deep thought. Then he raised his right hand and uttered, “When surrounded by darkness, look to the stars for guidance,” all the while still keeping his eyes closed. As he said those words, nine-pointed star symbols, etched in the cave wall on the right lit up. Leo opened his eyes. “We have to follow where those symbols lead us.” Then, he ran inside the womb following after the path shown by the stars with Cal and June right at his heels. The Hearth-Bringers kept running deeper and deeper inside the womb, until finally they reached a large rock with a huge phoenix symbol in the middle of an infinity symbol on it blocking the way forward.


    “That phoenix is the being representing the Pathfinders, and the infinity symbol represents Anorea and the Paradigms,” said Cal while catching his breath.


    “So, the nine-pointed star is not the only symbol of the Pathfinders? Then do all Veiled Ones’ families have multiple symbols, and who are the Paradigms again, Pa?” asked an intrigued Leo.


    “No, son. Some like the Gainsworths use their animal representation of cats also as their symbol. As for this Pathfinder symbol, if you think about it, it makes perfect sense, as we Veiled Ones respect our lineage. That is why we are the only ones who have last names to honor our clans, while the Anon and Elementals do not. It is said that the pathfinders were the first to discover phoenixes and tame them. Since then, the Pathfinders started using the phoenix symbol in addition to the nine-pointed star as their symbol. As for the Paradigms they were one of the Veiled One clan of old.” answered Calaren.


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    “Boys, this is not the time for a history lesson on Veiled Ones. Since the path led us to this dead-end, we need to find another way to get out of here first,” said June. Ever since they entered Mother’s Womb June had looked back uncountable times in fear of someone coming after them. All she wanted to do was reach the safe place Leo alluded to before. Any delay in that, including Calaren and Leo’s chatter about Veiled One symbols, irritated her immensely.


    “Have no fear when Leo is here, mother. If I’m not mistaken, phoenixes represent fire, right? Well, stars represent fire too. So, let’s light one, shall we?” said Leo while reaching into his father’s pockets to take out his lighter. Once he had the lighter, Leo lit it and went over to the phoenix symbol to check it more closely. As soon as he drew near, the symbol caught fire from the lit lighter. After catching fire, the whole symbol blazed brightly for a brief moment before the symbol parted midway, creating a doorway to enter the chamber inside.


    As the whole family went inside they heard the door shut behind them and saw the chamber they stood in being filled with mirrors with the nine-pointed star symbol etched in them. “So, all the mirrors here were created by the Pathfinders.” stated Leo.


    “All the magic mirrors in existence were created by the Pathfinders for various reasons, chiefly among them was to travel to different places in Areliam. These mirrors are reflective of Pathfinder teleportation abilities. See, the fastest thing in the universe is thoughts. It used to be that, once you think of a place to go in your mind, the magic mirrors reflect it and you can enter the mirror on your side and come out of any reflective surface on the other side. However, after the Pathfinders lost their powers, travel between places is only possible through magic mirrors. Each of these mirrors must represent places all over Areliam. Now, all we have to do is just figure out which one to use to get to safety,” explained Calaren.


    “Boys, it’s still not the time for lectures of any kind. Let’s talk about how we know which mirror pathway leads to safety instead?” said June sternly to keep Leo and Cal on point.


    “That one in the leftmost corner of the room,” said Leo.


    “Oh, and how do you know that?” asked June.


    “It’s a hunch, and since all my hunches have been right so far, this one will be right too,” said Leo confidently while walking towards the mirror. However, he stopped midway to look at the mirror in the middle of the room. It was showing a bizarre scene. The king of Anons was standing over a baby girl with a knife in hand.


    “Oh, Anorea! What is he doing? Why is he trying to kill a baby?” asked a horrified June, unable to look away from the scenario. However, as soon as the king was about to strike the blow, the earthquake, that up until now only affected the grounds outside, came inside the Mother’s Womb. All the mirrors started to rattle, a couple of them began to crack.


    “We don’t have the luxury to worry about others. We have to get out of here fast before everything collapses,” said Leo before taking both his mother and father’s hands and somehow making it to the leftmost mirror. He pushed June inside the mirror first; Calaren went next instead of Leo, accidentally losing his footing and falling into the mirror due to the earthquake. Leo followed him but not before he took one last look at the mirror in the middle showing the baby girl whose life was endangered by the Anon king. “Live, you little troublemaker, live,” said Leo as he plunged into the mirror.