When next I awoke I was lying in a strange bed with glowing lights underneath, though the lights did not hurt my eyes, this time. The unbearable sensation of burning in my veins seemed but a dim memory as well, and as my mind began to clear I took stock of my situation. 

First, I stole a glance at my wings, the very source of our magic, fearful that they had been damaged beyond repair, and let out a shaky breath to find the membranes intact. I vaguely remembered lashing out with my power, blind with rage and pain. Somehow I had been brought to this place against my will, by enemies I know nothing about, and if they can stop a Sorcerer of the First Order, they must be very powerful indeed.

"Know your enemy," I thought tersely as I started to move my limbs, not surprised at the lack of restraints. If they had wanted to kill me, they would have already succeeded.

I laboriously pulled myself up, and cursed inwardly as the room swirled around me. Suddenly a firm hand gripped my shoulders and I tensed, barely holding my power in check.

"My apologies for this," said a man's voice. "The sedative should be wearing out soon."

Did he mean the potion I was injected with during my tirade? It struck me then that I could understand him, or enough to know what he meant, but as to why he spoke the language of the Ancients was a puzzle to me.

"I promise you that you will not be restrained again, for any reason other than the safety of my people. Will you give me your word in return?"

I looked up at the owner of the voice. He was a young man of average height and build, with steady, grey-green eyes. Again, the absence of wings and the strangeness of this place told me I was in a very different world entirely. Reluctantly, I nodded.

"My liege was right, you do understand our language,"  the man said with not a small measure of relief. "I am Gerrian, personal aide to His Highness, the Emperor of Ardais. He regrets the painful circumstances that brought you to us, but you would not be of any help to your world by dying needlessly."

I glanced sharply at him. How do they know so much about us? But the compassion in his voice held my anger in check.

"How many of your people have perished, to sacrifice their lives so that others may live a few more years? There is not a power that exists in your world that can stop the inevitable demise of your sun."

Images of lost family and friends flashed before my eyes, their magic burnt out forever to feed a dying star. I clenched my hands tightly. "What is it that you want? Obviously you wouldn't spend such considerable effort to summon me here without a reason."

Gerrian nodded slightly, looking at me straight in the eye. "The Emperor would like to make a bargain with you. If you stay and learn our ways, never to return, your world will be saved. We can restore your sun to what it was before, young and vibrant."

That stopped me for a second, before I laughed incredulously. "All this in exchange for my cooperation? I find that hard to believe."

The man shrugged. "You've got nothing to lose, only time. If you were given this one chance to save your people, would you spurn it? But, believe what you will. You have only to say a word and we will return you to your home, whenever you wish."

And so I remained, little more than a captive in this strange world, this world that possessed an other kind of sorcery that baffled my intellect and alternately attracted and repelled my senses. I was moved to a suite of rooms, all very well-appointed, with locks and shields that I could dispel with a gesture but never dared, for I was literally a prisoner of my own word. My people have but three years before our sun burns out entirely, eighteen months in Ardaisian time, which was how much time I have left to learn whatever it was the Emperor wanted me to learn.