When the spacecraft landed on Earth, the nine Nerys believed they were safe. The life forms that inhabited that planet were more backward, but very similar to them. They didn't have powers, but they still had talents that made them unique. There were people with musical abilities, others were good at preparing delicious foods, still others at painting or creating splendid clothes.
It took some time for the nine to settle in among the Earthlings. As the months went by, observing their behaviors, however, they managed to integrate almost perfectly, to speak their language.
They reduced the use of their powers to a minimum, so as not to arouse suspicion and draw more attention to them than necessary. Caleigh was forced to wear a headdress to hide his ears and Alyah was forced to do the same, his hair was too unnaturally colored and people kept staring at him every time he walked by.
They began to feel safe, to start again after all the pain they had faced, when they realized they were not the only ones who had escaped the explosion. Phyliss had saved himself and, having identified the route they had taken, he had come to Earth to hunt them down again. He wanted to pick up the experiment where he left off, he was determined to gain his powers. And to do so, Phyliss convinced some shady Earthlings to join him, with the promise of magical supernatural powers if they helped him.
The nine Nerys decided to separate, to take different paths, to survive until the day predicted by the Oracle, when they would return to the planet Nerissa, risen from its ashes.
They lived hidden among humans for centuries, producing new generations of Nerys who would one day inhabit Nerissa. The half-Nerys perfectly retained the abilities of their ancestors and, for this reason, constantly lived in danger. They had to learn to secretly exploit their gifts.
Phyliss and his henchmen were always on their trail ready to make their life on Earth hell.
Of the nine, unfortunately, only Caleigh had survived and would be able to see the long-awaited day of returning to Nerissa.
«Now you know the truth, now you know why it's important for you to get along.» Caleigh reiterated to the students gathered in the gym. «Each of your abilities makes you special, but not better than others. You are all equally important to the system. The Elders were wrong, they pitted us against each other, and many paid with their lives for it.», he took a pause. The memory of the family and friends he had lost was indelible in his mind. «If the Elders hadn't wasted time looking for non-existent threats, they would have noticed the real danger much sooner. I hope you don't make the same mistake. You are our future, don't let the sacrifice of all those Nerys, of Nemlyth, be in vain.»
That name obviously didn't escape the ears of those present. It was probably in honor of her that the institute was named so.
«But if the powerless come from Nerissa like us, will they also come with the convergence?» asked a girl in the crowd.
Caleigh shook his head. «They won't be allowed to. It has been foretold that only those of the nine clans will ascend. The light of convergence will erase the memories of those who chose darkness.» he replied. «The Hebs here will become simple earthlings, they will no longer be a threat. It will then be up to you, in the future, to educate the powerless people who will be born on Nerissa, to prevent a new catastrophe.», he scanned the crowd waiting for further questions, but no one spoke. «Now you can go. My story is finished.» he said and then turned away from the microphone. He turned his gaze to the members of the Council. «Thank you for everything you have done up to now, but we'll take care of it. You can enjoy your last days on Earth peacefully.»
The Nerys exchanged confused looks, although they were relieved to no longer have to constantly stand at attention. Nathan looked the most upset. He had just started to make himself useful and his intervention was no longer of any use. Dawn patted his hand. «You still have to keep training.» she whispered to him.
Caleigh laid his eyes on that boy, intrigued by the color of his hair. He tried to figure out which clan he belonged to, and when he noticed the light reddish, almost blonde color at the roots of his dark blue dyed hair, he realized who he was descended from. Then, he started staring at him, with a truly annoyed and suspicious expression. «I hope you won't make the same mistakes as your ancestor.» he told him.
Nathan looked up at the old Aderyn. However, he didn't have the courage to open his mouth and ask questions. He felt quite in awe of him. It was Dawn who spoke. «We are not our ancestors.» she said.
«That's true, Nemlyth.»
Dawn gasped. She had never liked that name – it was too strange to use it on Earth – but now that she knew who it belonged to, she felt even more uncomfortable wearing it. Ellen noticed the expression on her friend's face and decided to approach and intervene. «Her name is Dawn.» she said as she reached Dawn from her seat.
«All Glawog female offspring bear that name.» Caleigh said. «It is like this by Erleen's will, so that no one would forget her sacrifice.»
Dawn stood up. «I respect her sacrifice, but the name I go by now is Dawn.»
At that point, Caleigh said nothing else, he took his leave with his men and, finally, Nathan found the courage to speak. «What did he mean? Why was he looking at me like that?» he asked, rising from his chair.
Dawn shook her head. «I don't know.»
The principal approached the group of young Nerys. He had an envelope in his hands which he handed to his daughter. «Maybe these will answer your question.»
Dawn looked inside the envelope. There were some papers with messy writing that she couldn't decipher at that moment. They looked like notes. «What are they?» she asked Allen.
«Pages from Erleen's diary.» the man replied. «Caleigh wants you to have them. You are the last of the Glawog, it's up to you to keep them.»
Nathan instinctively turned to look at Dawn. «The last one… ?» he let out aloud.
Dawn ignored the question and turned back to Allen. «Fine. I'll read them.»
The principal patted her arm. «Okay.», then he turned to the other Council members. «You can go now.», he said goodbye to his daughter and let his assistant teleport him away from the gym.
Ellen put a hand on Dawn's shoulder. «Are you okay?»
She nodded. «Don't worry, everything's fine. You go and prepare dinner, I'll join you later.» she said. «I want to read these first.», she raised her arm to show her the yellow envelope her father had handed her.
«Alright. See you later then.»
Dawn walked away, before Nathan could offer to go with her. It seemed like she needed support. And he was just about to follow Dawn when Ellen stopped him. «Don't. This time it's better for her to be alone.» she told him. In those years, Ellen had learned to read her friend's face. She knew when she preferred not to be disturbed. Especially when it came to her ancestor. «She will join us as soon as she finishes reading, let's go eat now.»
Nathan nodded. «Alright.»
Jeb took them straight to the kitchen, so they would avoid the crowd of Nerys still leaving the gym.
Sam and Oswald began preparing dinner while the others set the table.
Ellen approached Nathan, still looking thoughtful. «You don't have to worry about her, believe me she's fine.» she repeated to him. «You're not used to seeing her like this, but it's not the first time for us.»
«What do you mean?» Nathan asked as he continued to distribute the plates.
«Once upon a time, she was like you.» Ellen replied. «She tended to distance us and not want to deal with certain topics. When people talked about her powers, or her ancestor, she just ran away. Like when she summoned the wind that time, remember? It took time before she opened up to us. After the construction of this institute was finished, her father did everything he could to help her recover from Chad's farwell.» she told him. «The Council was created above all so that she would stop isolating herself. I think that's why she put so much effort into you.»
Jeyson came up behind them and put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. «What are you talking about? What is all this melancholy I feel?»
«It's nothing, Nate is just worried about Dawn.» Ellen reassured him, pinching his cheek. «You have no reason to be jealous, little kid.»
«I'm not jealous and I'm not a kid.» Jeyson stated.
Ellen smiled. «Yes you are, brat.», she pinched his cheek again, then she turned to the others. «Now everyone at the table.»