He was walking through the garden, and she was watching him right from the window of her room. And she knew that it wasn't over yet. That it had just begun. Today, 20 years ago.

The End

Glossary

Alpha – Leader of a Senseque pack

Alpha bond – connection that a pack member has with his Alpha, which brings some advantages within the pack rank; only an Alpha or someone with the alpha can make or voluntarily break this connection

Alpha gene – gene that can be inherited if both parents are Senseque and at least one of the parents carries the gene; gene that allows control over other Senseque

Amphetrite – water goddess

Beta – pack members who are closest to and advise the Alpha; children of the Alpha as soon as they transform for the first time; spouses of the Alpha; stronger and more assertive than lower pack ranks

black moonstone – type of rock that Ruisangors use to protect themselves from the effects of sunlight on their skin; note the differences between Legacy Ruisangors and Transformed!

Celestia – mother goddess of Moenia, Amphetrite, Haizea and Tanazar

Circle – predominant union of all Quatura within a defined area

Code – written agreement, established between the Alphas of the world to protect the existence of the Senseque species

control stones – crystal used by Quatura to better balance their magic; magic storage function; is activated during a rite of passage and only works for the matching Quatura

Councils – controlling opposition to the Circle; protection of the Circle; consisting of Air Quatura

Delta - Pack members who protect the pack and obey the Alpha or the Betas; majority of the pack

Discipulus – Quatura whose elemental powers are strong enough to be trained; in training for certain ranks and specializations; are taught by Oraculi and Domini

Domini - Leader of a Circle; often an Earth Quatura

DLSC – DeLoughrey Science Center

DUIO – DeLoughrey Underground Information Organization

Elemental test - test that shows how far the magic in a Quatura has already developed; often necessary to climb ranks

Haizea – air goddess

Legacy Ruisangors – Ruisangors born with the Ruisangor gen, transformed and possessing psychic powers; very different from Transformed Ruisangors

Moenia – temple of Quatura, earth goddess

Naturalis – parts of the body that are used in rituals (e.g. hair, blood)

Novices - Quatura who have completed the rite of passage but are not yet trained, either because they have not yet passed the element test due to weak magic, or because they are completely new

Omega - weaker Senseque that are not able to defend the pack; young Senseque that are not yet able to transform

Oraculi - Teacher within a Circle for a specific element; teaches Discipulus in one of the temples in the forest, on the coast or in Moenia;

Quatura – elementals (earth, water, air, fire)

Receptum – DeLoughrey Manor

rite of passage - ritual that young Quatura between the ages of fifteen and twenty must undergo in order to bind their elemental magic to a control stone; Quatura tradition to rise to Novice rank and therefore become part of the Circle

Ruisangors – a specific form of vampires

Salma - alchemical pale white potion used to erase memories; emotion-dampening effect

Senseque – Werewolves

Servus - Temple servants who mainly attend or practice rituals or perform their duties within the Circle; majority of Circle members

Tanazar – fire goddess

Tempesta – art of controlling storms, which Air Quatura can learn at Discipulus rank; defense tactics of council members

Transformed – Ruisangors who were born without Ruisangor gene and became Ruisangor through a transformation by a Legacy Ruisangor; strong difference to Legacy Ruisangors

Umbra – forbidden magic

ungifted - someone who descends from a Quatura lineage but does not possess an element

Thank you!

...that you give this book, and with it the first of many books from the Maezosverse, a chance. Buckle up. It's going to be a wild ride, and I'm incredibly excited to break and mend a few readers' hearts.

Thanks to Ami for keeping me grounded in reality when escapism hits too hard again. Without your support I wouldn't be half as far. Ana hbek.

Thanks to Lizzy, my alpha reader, critique partner, best friend and the person who motivates me not to give up on bad days. Without you, this book definitely wouldn't have come out.

Thanks to Celeste. I wouldn't want to miss your motivation and your daily advice on writing problems.

Thank you to Redd, Sitarra and Selene for your support, your hype and the friendship I've found through you in the writing community. You are irreplaceable and I am looking forward to seeing your books on my shelf one day.

A special thanks also goes to Sarah (whydoihavetoart) for agreeing to create the covers for my books. I would never have believed that someone could create such damn cool covers.