”Pop?

“No, that’s stupid,” Chagatai scrunched his particularly dirty face at Poppler. The young boy sat in a leafy push, his woolen pants pulled up to his knees and torn silly from the poking branches. He had foregone his loose shirt hours ago, leaving his naked torso scratched up and muddy. In his hand he held a slightly curved stick, or what he had called ‘the perfect stick’ when he had found it.

Poppler whizzed close and crackled quietly, and Chagatai nodded, “Good idea, he won--”

A twig snapped outside the bush and Chagatai’s face turned into a wicked smile, just as wide and cheshire like as his mother’s. With a screeching battlecry he jumped from his hiding spot, stick swinging wildly.

THWACK

The stick cracked across the back of a younger sibling, Li. The white haired child instantly broke into a loud wail and Chagatai cringed, “LI! Where’s Wenbo?”

“H-He... “ There was a sniffle, “We-went back in-insiiiide!” Li broke out into tears again, a blush of swollen red appearing around his collar. Chagatai scrunched his shoulders with guilt, “Oh come on Li, it’s not even that bad. I was just playing.”

Li just looked up at Chagatai with angry eyes, reddened with tears. He had eyes the color of heliopolis and freckles of gold glittered across his shallow set nose. He looked a lot like Momma Xiaoli. Chagatai sighed.

“You know Altansarnai plays this game just fine, she’s only three years older than you,” Chagatai defended.

Li frowned deeply, “Momma says I’m too little! Don’t hit the too little ones, Chaggie!”

“Fine, be that way,” Chagatai threw his stick on the ground, “I was just playing is all.” The two stared at each other for a while.

“Want to come help me ambush Wenbo?”

Li nodded. Poppler crackled.

---

“Temüjin! I told you not to play with it!”

Wenbo sat with an angry frown on his face next to the toddler Temüjin, who was still whacking his balled fists at what was once a small mud wall, and a pile of planks and building blocks.

“Now my city is in ruins!”

“Waaah!” roared the little Temüjin as it flattened a mud barracks.

“I’m telling mom!” Wenbo shouted. The toddler, arguably more frightened at the shout than the threat itself, gave him a quivering look and began to whimper. Wenbo groaned curtly and picked up his little brother. “... Yeah, you wouldn’t understand that, huh… Ai, could you come over here?”

Three small girls looked over at Wenbo, one of them standing up. She looked to be only a little younger than Wenbo himself, dressed in a blue woolen robe. She brushed her alabaster hair behind her ear and gave Wenbo a groan.

“Do I have to?” she muttered.

“Please?” Wenbo held the squirming toddler out towards his sister. “He’s ruining my city.”

“You and your dumb cities…” she said with a roll of the eyes and came over, took the toddler and went into the largely expanded family house. Wenbo put his hands on his hips and frowned down at the wastes of mud, stone and wood that had once been his magnificent work. He looked over to his other two sisters who seemingly were making small pots and bowls out of clay. The youngest, Bayarmaa, seemed to struggle with the proper placement of the straws in the pot’s skeleton. His week’s masterpiece having been levelled regardless, he went over and reached out to the girl.

“Hey, let me help you,” he said with a smile. Bayarmaa gave him a wide-eyed stare before carefully offering him the pot-to-be. With a few deft pulls and tugs, Wenbo had properly aligned the skeleton and left it for her to complete. He offered it back to her again.

“Here. Follow that seem as you braid the straws, and it won’t happen again.”

“Th-thank you, Wenbo,” Bayarmaa said with a smile. Wenbo nodded first at her, then at the elder sister, Laia, before walking off.

“LOOOOOOOK!” Altansarnai came storming through the gates of the estate. Her trousers were coated with red and dried blood covered her hands and arms as she held up a freshly killed quoll. Hermes walked behind her, a proud smile on her face and a basket of fresh kills.

The blue-haired girl presented the defeated quoll over her brother and sisters, “I am the master of the wilderness.”

“AH HA!” Chagatai suddenly pounced from behind a pile of drying straw. Altansarnai flinched and dropped her quoll, her fist coming up as she closed her eyes.

WHAM

Chagatai coughed as her balled fist rammed into his gut and he croaked, “Good... one.” Li peeked out from behind the straw, a wondered look on his tiny face as Chagatai fell to one knee.

Hermes rolled her eyes, “You two, always at it.” She scooped up the quoll and plopped it into her basket. She rested the burden on her hip as she surveyed her children. Chagatai looked up at her with a wince of pain but a small smile, Altansarnai standing proud. Hermes’ eyes fell on the mess of mud and wooden debris, “Oh Wenbo, what happened?”

Poppler whizzed by Hermes and circled Wenbo with a crackle. Hermes rolled her eyes, “I can only imagine what he is saying.”

“Nothing bad, momma,” Chagatai folded his hands after dusting himself off.

“Temüjin ruined it,” Wenbo said sourly and crossed his arms over his chest. “Mom, why are babies always so…” He clenched his fists. “Why--”

“Temüjin?” Hermes looked around, “Where is he?”

“He is in the house, momma,” Bayarmaa hummed as she plotted clumps of clay onto her pot.

Hermes looked back at Wenbo, “I’m sorry, my little honeypot. Maybe Temüjin can play with Li for a little… but baby, don’t forget that you were the little one who used to whack me on the head with a spoon. Give him time to grow up.”

Hermes cocked a brow and let her basket of quolls fall onto her butchering table, “Anyone want to help?” Chagatai ran over eagerly, scooping up a ceramic knife. Altansarnai jostled for her own on the other side of the table. As the two got to work, Hermes pressed her back against the table to look over at Wenbo, she folded her arms inside her cloak.

“How is my little baby anyways?”

“Mooom! I’m--...” He stopped himself and sneered. “... I’m fine. It’s just that, ugh, now I gotta start from the bottom again and--” He pocketed his hands in his robe and wriggled his nose at some bypassing dust on the wind. He looked over at the butchering table and raised a brow at Altansarnai’s attempt to bite the skin off her quoll. “You’re doing it wrong, by the way…” he said with a sigh and went over.

“I know!” Altansarnai frowned and stopped. She stared daggers and Chagatai gave Wenbo a knowing look from behind Altansarnai’s back. As his sister stared on, Chagatai started to make funny faces at Wenbo.

Wenbo’s serious demeanor began to gradually crack apart, snorts of laughter escaping as his mouth contorted into strained, flat smile - one that his eyes could do little to hide.

“W-what?” Altansarnai growled and looked behind her. Chagatai sucked in his lips and made a straight face. Altansarnai groaned and punched Chagatai’s side. The little warrior smiled wide, “For the twins!” He cried as he shoved into Altansarnai. The two fell to the ground, kicking up a small bit of dirt.

“Hey!” Hermes shouted over the wrestling match and the two froze. Chagatai rolled away from the scuffle and sat up.

“But mom,” He defended.

“Chaggie.” Hermes tilted her head.

“For the twins…” Chagatai sighed and stood up defeated.

Then, in a flash of movement, Wenbo snatched the quoll that Hermes had been careless enough to look away from and set off into a sprint towards the dining hall. “The twins will never surrender!” he shouted as he waved the bloody quoll about, spilling all over his sleeve, Poppler crackling madly beside him. He managed to ascend the tiny stone up to the main door to the house, when it was pushed open in a gust of wind by a frowning Xiaoli. Behind her sat Zhongcheng and Ansong, a brother and a sister both frozen in the middle of making dumplings, staring at the bleeding quoll carcass in Wenbo’s hand.

“Wenbo!” she shouted. Wenbo gulped with a quiet ‘uh-oh’.

“Oh, you’re in for it now,” Altansarnai mocked from over by the table. Hermes hushed her, a scared Li clinging to her hand.

Wenbo rose a defensive finger, but Xiaoli held out a stern hand, her brow furrowed to the point where it almost covered her eyes. “Give it here,” she said sharply. Wenbo obeyed mechanically and Xiaoli held the carcass a distance from her body. She grimaced at it and looked back down at her son.

“Wenbo, look what you did to your clothes…” she muttered and shook her head.

“It’s my fault,” Chagatai blurted in Wenbo’s defense. The shirtless warrior shuffled over, “Wenbo was just building his cities.” Hermes crossed her arms and looked up at Xiaoli.

Wenbo looked over his shoulder at Chagatai with a concerned frown, wagging his flat hand over his throat. Xiaoli’s eyes blinked over at Chagatai, then at the part of the garden where the ruins of Wenbo’s civilisation laid. She sighed and walked over to the butchering bench. Wenbo followed along with a hanging head. Meanwhile, Zhongcheng and Ansong shrugged at one another and went back to wrapping dumplings.

“I killed that one, momma,” Altansarnai said as Xiaoli got closer, “Real quick too.”

Xiaoli cocked her head to the side and smiled. “Our little Alta’s getting so fast, isn’t she?” she giggled and knelt down to nuzzle the cheerful girl. “At this rate, you’ll be as fast as your mother soon.” She rose back up and deposited the quoll on the table again. She gave Hermes a weary look.

“Well, killing them isn’t everything,” Chagatai muttered and crossed his arms jealously.

Hermes gave Xiaoli a tiny frown and put a hand on her son’s shoulder, “Don’t worry Chaggie, you have your own skills.”

“I could do it,” Chagatai shrunk, “But Altansarnai doesn’t have to listen to them before they--” He frowned. and Hermes patted his back. Altansarnai rolled her eyes.

“I know,” Hermes straightened out, “Anyways-- Xiaoli?” She looked over at Xiaoli.

“Yeah?” Xiaoli said.

“I’m thinking we should send Wenbo and Chagatai out to the gardens and then to do some shearing. Make up for what they ruined, maybe a little work will ease their abundant energy today,” She eyed the two.

“Mom! We were just playing!” Chagatai defended.

Wenbo stuck a protesting finger into the air. “We haven’t ruined anything! Others have ruined our--”

“Mhm!” Hermes looked at the half wrangled quoll, “I suppose Temüjin wrestled my quoll from the butcher table. You boys know that there is no rough play around the knives.”

“Altansarnai hit me first!” Chagatai whined, “You were there!”

Hermes looked over at Altansarnai then back at Xiaoli. At this point, Li was hiding behind Hermes leg.

“Hap-hap!” Xiaoli snapped at Chagatai. “You know what, I think that’s a stellar idea, sweetgrass,” Xiaoli let out and smiled warmly at Hermes.

“But mom--!” Wenbo began, trying to wriggle out of Xiaoli’s grip. Xiaoli sucked a sharp breath in through her nose, knelt switfly down before Wenbo and glared into his eyes. “Garden. Now.”
“Yes, mom,” Wenbo eventually groaned and shuffled towards the gate, nodding Chagatai along.

“Ahhh, snapfruit,” Chagatai groaned and sulked off with Wenbo, Poppler following along. Li peeked out from behind Hermes’ legs.

“Do I have to go too?”

Xiaoli looked down at Li and cocked her head to the side. “Do you want to?”

Li nodded his speckled face.

Xiaoli sighed. “Alright, but take Ai along with you. Someone has to keep you three in check.”

Li ran as fast as his little legs would go, quickly snatching Ai’s hands in both of his and tugging her along, her groaning all the way.

---

Whereas the garden had started as a humble patch in front of the gates to the mansion, it had since been moved to the nearby grasslands. A few tree-eaters that Chagatai and Wenbo had convinced to stay were lethargically chewing on chopped-up pieces of lumber stacked into small piles. The vegetables were arranged in neat, satisfying rows ontop of tilled earth. Wenbo pouted his lips and kicked a rock.

“You didn’t have to back me up like that, Chaggie,” Wenbo mutter, albeit in a voice that seemed much more grateful than his words.

“You know I always have your back, right or wrong. We are The twins.” Chagatai smiled wide, “I have you, brother.”

“Me!” There was a huff, “too!” Li panted as he ran up to the others, Ai strolling behind.

“Oh yeah? From behind Mom’s back?” Chagatai teased, the joke going over Li’s tiny head.

“Yep!”

Wenbo snickered. “Li, you gotta be more brave than that! Challenge a bit, you know!”

“Like you did with Mother?” Ai said and rolled her eyes.

“Yeah…” Chagatai picked up a hoe and rubbed the back of his neck, “Wen, I don’t think grabbing that quoll was the best idea. You know how quick mom is-- I’m surprised we are just gardening.”

“W-well--!” Wenbo gave Chagatai a look of betrayal. “I thought we were gonna do something big, you know! I didn’t know Mother was in the dining hall. I thought she was up taking care of Temüjin!” Chagatai shrugged and struck the earth.

“No, I was!” Ai snapped and put her hands on her hips. “Now are we going to shear or what?”

“Just don’t shear Old Tenchu,” Chagatai broke up a root, “He doesn’t like it. He says he is too old for it now.” Poppler crackled.

“Yeah, yeah, we know,” Ai muttered and took a stone sickle from the neatly arranged tools placed inside a tiny shed next to them. Wenbo winced and shrugged at Chagatai, mouthing something about the morning, peeing and fruit juice.

“Ai!” Li clung to his sister, “I can’t shear, I’m too little!”

“You always say that,” Chagatai stood up straight, “Go get a basket or something and try and find berries, you remember the ones?”

“Blue!” Li ran off to find a basket. Chagatai shook his head and jutted his chin at Wenbo.

“Do you want to go exploring tomorrow?”

Wenbo smiled wryly. “You bet. Need some new rocks for my new city anyway. Preferably red ones - the palace shall be made out of the finest clay and jewels!”

“Oh!” Chagatai pinched his chin, “You know… I know exactly where to get the best red rocks.”

Wenbo snapped his fingers. “Then that is where we’re going! Wait, where is it?”

Chagatai rubbed his arm over his mouth as he spoke, “errr… moving mountains.”

“No! You can’t go there,” shouted Ai and pointed a stern finger at the two of them, the tree-eater next to her nearly jumping with fright.

Wenbo groaned. “Ai, it’ll be fine! We’ve been there before.”

“And you almost got killed!” Ai snapped back.

“Not ‘spose to go there,” Li waddled up with a half full basket, “Momma said.”

“We didn’t almost get killed,” Chagatai whined, “At best we got a scraped knee or two from a tumble. You make it sound like the Warden in all his might descended upon us.” He nudged Wenbo, “Right?”

“Yeah!” Wenbo agreed. “A twisted ankle and bruised elbows. No biggie!” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Besides, it’s just for some rocks. It’ll be just like a stroll in the woods, if anything.”

“I’m going to tell mom and mother if you go,” Ai said strictly.

“You wouldn’t dare,” Wenbo said and squinted his eyes menacingly.

“She can’t,” Chagatai smiled smugly and nudged Wenbo, “Remember when she was butterfly watching… aaaaannnd someone saw her go too deep into the woods? The sparkles were in the air and everything.”

“Sparkles and everything,” Li repeated for little reason as he mushed a berry between his fingers.

Ai’s face turned near-completely red, her lips pressed together as her black eyes flamed with embarrassment. Wenbo snickered.

“Oh yeeeaaah, I think I remember something like that… So, we got a deal, Ai? We won’t snitch if you don’t.”

Ai cast her gaze down. After a moment, she let out a sharp “fine” and turned back to the tree-eater she was shearing. Wenbo grinned widely at Chagatai and winked.

“So tomorrow after morning chores,” Chagatai nodded.

“Can I come?” Li sparkled.

“No,” Chagatai shook his head, “You’re too little.”

Li frowned and went back to his berries. Chagatai looked back at Wenbo, “If we do it quick, we can come back before dinner and everything.”

“Then it’s settled. Let’s finish this up and pretend like nothing happened - maybe they’ll ease up tomorrow’s chores if we’re good now?”

“Maybe,” Chagatai thought about it, “Mother made sweetgrass pudding for tonight, you know.”

“O-ho-ho-ho,” Wenbo voiced with a blissful smile. “You bet I could smell that all the way into the courtyard. We’re eating dumplings, too!” A quiet rumble revealed just how hungry he actually was.

“Alright, let’s do this fast and properly - I am starving.”

“No dessert for the twins,” Li pouted, “You got in trouble.”

“Bah,” Chagatai waved a hand, “Mom will forget about that, and mother seemed to be in a good mood. Let’s do this.”

”POP!”

“Spit.”

Vrog gnawed the splintered bone in his mouth, cracking through it with a sound that would have delighted him at any other time, but now simply brought frustration. The best part, the marrow, was open right there, and just needed to suck in to…

He retched and spat the chewed splinters, held together in a globe of noxious sludge. Useless. The things inside him were as dead as they could get, but somehow they continued to make him feel full. Nothing had helped with that. Not digging around inside himself (trying to tell their remains apart from the rest was useless at this point), not diluting them with drink, not burying them in other tastes. It seemed that the only thing left to do was wait, and he’d be burned if he did not hate waiting.

Growling “Gut that dream” to himself for the thousandth time that day, he kicked aside the tattered remains of the gigantic bird and speared his tongue into the air, turning towards the edge of the mountain cliff. Broad views were of little use to him, but the cleanness of the air up there had one advantage. What few smell trails reached there were easy to pick apart, like - that one. His toothed tongue wove through the breeze, following a curiously familiar scent. Something like the inner rot of those four-eyed creatures. One of them there? It was far from the lair he had found, but that might not have been the only one.

The rot had tasted good, Vrog remembered. Nothing had helped with the nauseating feeling inside him so far, but if anything would at all, it could well be that. Trying would not hurt, at any rate.

Not him, anyway.

Leaving behind the mangled carcass and a nest of wantonly smashed eggs, he began to leap his way down the mountainside. The source of smell was somewhere there ahead, growing stronger by the step. Whatever it was that had exuded it could not escape him now.

At the base of the mountain, Laurien washed herself in a large creek, or rather took a swim, letting the water cool her off. It had been several days since she left the Shengshi’s ship, and oh how she longed to return, but the excitement of the journey was overwhelming. She had traveled further north-east since starting out, feeling that it was the best course of action. She had no idea where to start looking anyways.

Dislodged stones rattled down from above, followed by the screech of metal on rock and the heavy thump of something landing near the shore. A massive shape covered in filthy armour hobbled closer to the water, moving with sharp, decisive gestures despite its unnaturally asymmetrical features. Its visor-covered head sluggishly turned from side to side before fixating on her. The hideously long, slender fingers on its right hand, all the more ghastly in comparison with the thick, stunted left, scraped the ground, then the water, before abruptly withdrawing.

Something flew through the air and landed near Laurien’s head with a plop.

“It’s just you?” the being gurgled from under its helmet, “Gut it. Just thought I’d found something good.”

Laurien had turned her head when the thing landed on the shore near her. Her eyes went wide, trying to discern what exactly the creature was, or what it was supposed to be. It looked sickly, no… right down disgusting and that stench. She tried not to gag. So fixated on the creature, she barely noticed the plop next to her, but after it came, she blinked. Her head began to work overtime as she realized how far away from her weapon she was.

Then it spoke, and it’s voice sent shivers up her spine. Slowly she stood up, the water coming to her chest. She squinted her eyes as she spoke. ”Uh, who are you supposed to be?” she said cautiously.

“If I got a scrap every time some slaghead asked that, I’d be making myself another skin soon,” the thing growled, “I’m Vrog. Bet that doesn’t mean much to you, so I better say I’m-” the long-fingered hand reached up to the visor, “-this.”

The faceguard was torn open, baring a chaos of teeth, jaws, welts and sores floating in an unholy mire of festering scum. Surrounded by bone and filth, a monstrously wide mouth spluttered through its mesh of skin and fangs. “And what’re you?”

For the first time in her life, Laurien was frozen with horror. The kind of which if only felt when having seen something so repulsive, and vile, you couldn’t think of it in your wildest dreams. She opened her mouth to speak, but no sounds came out. She needed to think fast, but the girl could only stare at Vrog’s monstrous visage. Her mind was screaming to do something, anything, but her body wouldn’t budge. She needed her weapons, get the weapons. That was the key, just breath. Breath deeply. You are better than this. she told herself, Say something! Think of your duty.

And Laurien blinked, and a great breath escaped her lips. With a shaky voice, she said, ”I-I’m… Laurien.”

Vrog’s teeth gritted against each other as his jaws edged from side to side with a sickening fluidity. It was as though under what passed for his face there were no solid flesh, but more liquid rot that flowed smoothly with a will of its own. “Guess it’s too much to hope that everything that talks can do it good,” he scratched the recurve tips of two clawed fingers against each other, “but you’re just being spitting stupid. Think ‘I’m Laurien’ tells me a lot?”

His maw opened wide, and, more hideous yet than the parody of Laurien’s voice that had preceded it, a length of black tongue burst out, more similar to a thick tentacle studded with tooth-like spikes than to what it was supposed to be. Darting like that of an overgrown toad, it unfolded into something that could by no means have fit into Vrog’s mouth and swung for her neck, trying to wrap itself into a noose around it.

”Wha-” she began before being cut off by the tongue. In an instant, Vrog’s tongue shot over her head, grazing he top of her hair and cutting a few strands as she fell into the water. In an instant, she was half swimming, half running for her weapons. They leaned against the a nearby tree, and she cursed herself for being unprepared and having them so out of reach. She turned to gaze upon Vrog, weary of another attack. She could feel it in her bones, something was not quite right about this one and he seemed powerful, far too powerful for her. The only chance she had was the dagger, sword, and if he had a soul, she could use her abilities on him. But there was no time to check, not now.

The tongue coiled back upon itself and disappeared into the maw, impossible though that might have appeared. Vrog’s jaws moved as though chewing something, and another whistle pierced the air close to Laurien’s head, followed by a small splash. The entire bulk began to shuffle along the bank, following her movement with little haste.

“Let’s try this again,” again a whistle and a plop in the water, this time close enough for her to feel the shearing of the thing’s flight, “what are you really?”

Once again Laurien froze in her path, having felt whatever the projectile was flying past her. She knew he could hit her, and she knew if he did the damage would would be severe. She turned to face Vrog, but began to walk sideways to the shore. She was nearly there.

”I already told you, I am Laurien. What more is there to know, beast!” she said defiantly.

The collection of fragmented mouths shook and scrunched together in a nauseating display. Though it was difficult to say for certain, it was a fair guess that it might have been a grimace of distaste. “Dumb as slag, are ya?” the mouth’s motions were almost perfunctory, in spite of the tone. Its words rolled out between the rows of teeth without much care for matching the lips’ mimicry. “There’d be a deal more to say anyways, but the part I care for is-” the tip of his tongue flicked out, “why’d you smell almost the same as something I’ve eaten a far spit from here?”

One of her feet touched the sandy shores of the shallower water, as she stared down Vrog, now almost directly across from him. She squinted her eyes as her face flashed with anger at the name calling. At least she thought it was intended as insult, the creatures speech pattern was strange after all. Another step and both her feet found footing on soft grass, as she continued to back up towards the tree. She began to shake her head at his question. ”I have no idea what you’re talking about, I smell fine.” she said sarcastically.

“Figures,” Vrog spat a large split grey seed to his feet. “Bet you wouldn’t even’ve felt it, not with that lump on your face. Doesn’t matter.” With the crack of several somethings snapping at once inside his body, he abruptly jolted upright from his half-crouch. His arms flexed outwards, flicking their fingers in sequence. Their tips, hooked on one, straight and pointed on the other, glistened in the high daylight. “Hope you taste better than you talk. Maybe I’ll be done quicker.” He paused mid-step, ruminating on something, then spat another seed and resumed his shambling advance. “Hah, who am I kidding?”

Her eyes grew fierce as she turned around, and with a burst of speed kicked off to the tree where her sword leaned. Vrog twirled his right hand, and suddenly it was holding a dagger with a short, broad blade. Snarling, he pounced forward with unsuspected agility. Unaware of her divine adversary, Laurien was almost at the tree when something sharp and pointed cut into her right calf like a knife carving butter. She let out muffled scream as she fell forward into the dirt, reaching out for her sword. An iron grip closed around her leg, as the blade rose again and stabbed towards her arm. Before the blade could land, Laurien used her free leg to kick at Vrog, in a desperate attempt to shake her attacker off. It struck coarse, hard metal. The density of the mass she felt behind it betrayed the creature’s immense weight. He grunted, but did not bulge.

Then the blade came down, pinning her arm into the dirt. Laurien screamed in pain, desperately trying to kick Vrog regardless of his weight. With her free hand, she tried to pull the sword out of her arm. The hand holding the weapon released its grip, leaving the blade embedded in her flesh, and reached past the crossguard with its abnormally long fingers, searching for a grip on the arm. At the same time, both claws heaved upwards with tremendous strength, moving to hurl her whole body sideways against the ground. She barely had time to grab the blade before she was lifted and then slammed against the ground, knocking the wind out of her. She tried to breath, but she could only inhale as the shock hit her. Loose fingers grasped the hilt of the cruel dagger still, but her grip was unsteady and she was dazed.

A cold hand reached for her throat, scratching and cutting in its careless slide. The grasp on her leg was released, only for the now free claw to rise over her with yet another almost identical dagger and arc downwards, aimed for her shoulder. As the blade entered her shoulder, she exhaled and screamed out in pain again. She tried to kick Vrog off of her again but it did little, then her grip hardened on the dagger, and with her free hand she went to stab Vrog in his face, or what she thought was his face.

There was an eerie silence as the blade sank smoothly into the putrid sludge, punctuated only by a single surprised grunt. Then, in a spray of rot and fetid spittle, the flesh around the dagger burst open, swallowing the blade in a pulsating fissure that suddenly gaped between two ragged edges. Rows of mismatched teeth tore through their surfaces, and the newly-formed mouth snapped closed around Laurien’s wrist. She let out a blood curdling scream, as she desperately tried to rip her hand free from the creature’s maw. She couldn’t win against this thing, not even her abilities were working, it was if this creature before her would divine in itself. She was going to die and be eaten by the putrid thing. And Laurien began to panic as she struggled, bleeding and in pain.

”F-Father! Oh gods, please help me!” she began to cry.

Vrog’s free mouth twisted into a dubiously expressive snarl. While it was clear that it betrayed some feeling, what exactly that was remained as opaque as his armour. “What’re you wailing for now? I haven’t even gotten started!” he cackled. “Ya know, maybe the thing with my guts is all in the mood. Eating straight away mayn’t help, but cutting you up first? Could cheer me right up.” He dangled his knife dangerously close to her eyes. “Worth a try anyway.”

Laurien’s eyes grew wide, and her voice died in an instant as a cold realization came over her. She had so much to do, and promises that would never be kept, because she was going to die. Something told her to keep fighting, that this was not the end, but her blood loss was making her weak, and both of her arms were useless. But try she did, because she at least wanted to die fighting. And then, like the sound of thunder, something slammed into the water next to them, sending a great wave washing over the two, scattering her things.

Almost thrown off-balance by the impact, Vrog staggered sideways. Both his mouths momentarily gaped in surprise, releasing Laurien’s deeply gouged hand. Moving with uncanny speed, he vaulted aside, aiming a swift kick at her flank to sweep her away while his right hand flicked down his visor. The left readied its weapon in a rough, but stable battle-stance.

She rolled into a tree with a grunt from Vrog’s kick. Now clutching her gouged hand, her eyes fell upon the creek, or what was left of it. She held her breath, fearing another foe, but her eye grew misty as two eyes that remembled her own peered forth. Her father had come, and he did not look impassive, or blank, but expressed a profound anger as he stared daggers into Vrog.

”You dare attack a child of mine?” came his cruel words as he walked towards Vrog with open hands. There was a whooshing sounds, like a blade being swung and her greatsword flew into his right hand. From his left, another sword materialized, identical to her own.

”Foolish.”

Vrog’s head leaned sideways as far as his stump of a neck would allow. His frame drew backwards for a moment, but defiantly slumped ahead again. He pointed an accusatory finger at the advancing god. “You’re interrupting, you know,” he growled, “Don’t want to sound like an uneatable scraphead, but that’s spitting rude. Who even the gut are you?”

”I am Orvus, the God of Desolation.” he spat, before in a split second he was before Vrog, raising both blades high before bringing them down upon him. The monster barely had the time to lift his dagger, narrowly catching one of the swords. The weaker iron blade shattered under the blow, leaving a notch in the now useless grip. Meanwhile, the second sword found no other resistance than a hastily swiping vambrace. It grazed the arm and bit into the creature’s shoulder, filth spraying from the dent in the yielding armour.

With an audible snap of his teeth, Vrog leapt backwards in almost froglike fashion, raising his right palm as he went. “God? Hey, alright, wait. Don’t rush into this.” He craned his wounded shoulder aside and tapped a finger on the now clearly visible symbol of a closed fist etched on his armour. “You really don’t want to.”

Orvus did not hesitate as he slapped both blades together and pointed them at Vrog. They began to glow and crackle with scarlet energy. ”But I do.” he said, before unleashing the beams in Vrog’s direction.

The massive body shuddered as the blast struck it, the almost thundering reverb of the impact fading into a loud, fiery fizzle as acrid black smoke billowed up to obscure it entirely. The stench, even from a distance, was eye-watering. Something waved inside the writhing cloud, dispersing it into wisps that, perhaps mercifully obscuring most of Vrog’s form from sight. The half-melted, half-charred parts where the beam had struck that emerged when the fumes briefly cleared around his midsection were worse yet to the eye than the smell was to the nose.

“Don’t get it?” the gnashing sounded more angry than anything, “If that’s your daughter, ‘s clear where she got her spit-brains from. I got higher-ups. I’m useful. You kill me, and you’ll be in for a bad time.”

Orvus slammed both ends of the blades into the ground before him and opened his arms wide. ”Your threats are meaningless, spouted about to save yourself like anyone would care if you died. You are nothing but a blight of flesh and teeth, gnawing at anything weaker than you. At the first sign of a challenge, you cower like some mongrel pup. Unbefitting of an avatar. I do not think Narzhak would think that very highly but who am I to punish another’s pet? But as you wish, since you did not kill Laurien, I shall allow you to leave my presence. But know this, ‘spit-brain’, harm another child of mine and you will not be so lucky next we meet.”

“I got more than flesh and teeth, you know,” Vrog seemed to vibrate in place for a moment, scattering the remaining smoke, before opening his helm-guard. His tongue darted down to feel about his wounds with its tip, clicked and withdrew. Oddly, it did not stop him from speaking as it moved about. “No brain, though, so joke’s on you.” He paused, scratching his head. “I think.”

With a few more leaps, more limping than even his asymmetry would have accounted for, he was back on the slope he had descended from. He struck a hand into the rock, preparing to pull himself upwards, but stopped in his tracks and turned his head back. His lack of eyes made it difficult to say whom he was addressing. “Don’t take it personally, I’d’ve loved a rematch. Just when things’re less, how’d say it, loaded.” He began to clamber up the cliff at an insectile scurrying pace. “I’ll let you know.” And off he went.

But before he could climb any further, a whistle sounded in the air, before the new desolate blade embedded itself into Vrog’s back, pinning him to the cliff face momentarily. Another second went by, and Orvus’ voice could be heard next to him. ”Yes… You did not kill her, but you did maim her...and now, you will have more then teeth and flesh.” and then the blade shattered, releasing Vrog from it’s grip as the pieces turned to dust and began to sink into the avatar.

Orvus was high above him now looming like a vulture. ”Dust for blood.” came his hallowed words. He then began to fly off in the direction of Laurien, but his voice lingered around Vrog, ”Remember, harm another child of mine and your punishment will be far worse.” before vanishing.

Grunting, the brute pulled himself higher still and over the upper ledge, with nary a sign that being impaled, however shortly, had inconvenienced him. Something, however, felt off. He licked the tips of his teeth, scraped his stomach and hummed in bemusement. His tongue reached for the bird carcass he had left behind, scattering the flies that had flocked to it in the interval, and tore a piece from it. He drew it in like an angler would reel a catch, preparing to bite down into the still fresh meat - but his teeth closed on nothing but dust.

He vaulted over to the body and ripped out another chunk. As soon as it touched the interior of his mouth, he was spitting dust again. The next attempt fared no better. Nor the next. Nor the next.

“Well spit.”

---

Laurien awoke with the sun rise, groggily and her head pounding. She blinked her eyes, coming to the realization that she was propped up against a tree, still next to water. A great pool had formed where her father had landed. Her Father! She looked about again, seeing that her items lay next to her and she wore the cloak, but no sign of Orvus. She tried to get up but felt exhausted. Both her arms hurt, and her hand… She rose it with a grunt to meet her face. The wound had stopped pleading, in fact it looked like it had been cauterized, then cleaned. It was highly ugly at the moment, but perhaps it would scar into a eery beauty. She began to check her other wounds, finding much the same had happened, cauterized and cleaned and more scars.

”I was wondering when you would wake again, Laurien.” his voice broke through the silence of the woods, and came closer as he floated down from the trees. Orvus looked much the same, if not sad. ”I am glad to see you. You did the right thing, praying to me, child.” he said, touching down in front of her.

She opened her mouth to speak, her throat still felt raw, but speak still she did. ”He was so strong… so vile and I… felt so powerless. What was he?” she asked as Orvus sat down.

”An avatar, a piece of a God left to its own devices. Autonomous, they embody an aspect of ourselves. He came from Narzhak, God of War, but his purpose was something else.” Orvus said softly.

Laurien nodded, ”His name was Vrog. Did… Did you kill him?”

Orvus shook his head, ”No. I would have liked too, more than you know but I stayed my hand.”

Laurien squinted her eyes, in confusion at first but quickly turning to anger. ”What do you mean you stayed your hand? He lives? That means… What if comes back? What if he tries to eat me again.” she shivered, unwelcome memories flashing before her eyes.

”He will not, otherwise I will kill him. I told him to never lay a hand upon any of my children. If he breaks such a thing, simply pray and I will come. Regardless, what happened? Why did he attack you?”

”I don’t know why.” she shrugged, ”He kept spewing about a foul taste and how I reminded him of it, or something. He didn’t have a reason, he simply found me and I was caught unaware and away from my weapons. You know the rest.” she said ashamed.

Orvus said nothing for a moment, looking upon Laurien’s face with a soft expression. ”You would have died even if you had your weapons with you, and ready to fight. His class of enemy is second only to Gods, Laurien. Do not be ashamed in asking for help if it means you get to live.” he let out a sigh. ”I was unaware such threats existed in the world, your normal gear can only help you so much. You need… something more. Sharper and deadly, even to divine flesh. I will think upon this and when I have a solution, you will be the first to know.” he said thoughtfully.

Laurien sighed, defeated by his words. Her shame was lessened somewhat, but she still felt like a failure. ”Okay.” she said bowing her head.

”I… Know where Arya might be found.” he said suddenly.

She snapped her head up at Orvus, her eyes twinkling. ”Where? How did you find out?” she said excitedly.

”She is on Tendlepog, the land created by K’nell. He told me…” his voice abruptly cut off and he stood up, turning away from her. This left Laurien highly confused, and, using the tree as support, she stood up as well.

”K’nell told you? How? When?” she asked. Her father said nothing and did not turn around. She tried to float herself over, but it was no use. ”Father!” she said again.

Orvus turned around slowly, his gaze full of sorrow. ”Silver is dead.” he said. Laurien blinked, the weight of his words crushing her, and throwing her off balance. She couldn’t believe what she just heard, but as she looked at Orvus, she knew it to be true. Tears began to pool in her eyes. ”How could you let that happen?” she said shakely.

”K’nell came with the other Li’Kalla shards. He was going to put her back together, and Silver was willing.” he said emotionlessly.

”So K’nell killed her?” she gritted, her fingers tearing into the bark of the tree as she used it for balance.

But Orvus shook his head. ”Then who did!” Laurien shouted.

”I did.” came his weak reply.

Laurien froze, her body beginning to shake as the gravity of his words took hold. She felt betrayed, and angry and at a loss for words. Her knees buckled and she fell on her knees, crying now. She let out a terrible wail, a loss and pain and when it was done she looked at Orvus with fiery eyes.

”Go away.” she said, ”Go away and don’t come back!” she screamed at him through tears. She couldn’t hardly look at him, she was disgusted, far more than she had been at the sight of Vrog. Somehow, through all her physical injuries, this hurt so much more.

Orvus looked down at her, one small tear falling down his face and shattering before her knees, as he took off in a burst of speed into the sky.

---

The door to the house opened softly, revealing the quietness and dust that covered things. Orvus peered in, unable to cross the threshold. Once he had thought leaving would have solved all his problems, now he returned, having done nothing to show for it but slaughter and cause pain. He bowed his head, then took a step inside and another. He crossed into the room, looking at nothing as he went before coming to a stop in front of the table. He lifted his head to see the familiar orb, still floating in the spot he had left it in. Orvus sighed.

”Hello little Orb.”

The orb seemed to soak in what light it could, refracting the gloomy atmosphere into tiny runes upon its surface, "Hello, how are you?"

”Not well.” he stated, the words sounding cold. ”I left to forget, yet I return having failed.” he said again, pulling out a chair and taking a seat before the orb.

The orb seemed to think, if it could, and then suddenly broke into more runes, "Why forget, when you can accept?"

”You always have a way with words, little one.” Orvus stated flatly. It did have a point however. Why was he trying to forget when everything reminded him of her? But to accept it, meant that she was truly gone. She was gone though, wasn’t she? Silver was not coming back, no matter how much he wanted it to be so. ”I suppose you are right. It’s just… Difficult to do.”

"When is it easy?" The runes glittered.

He cocked his head, surprised by the answer he received from the orb, before nodding. ”It never is.”

"Why not?" The runes persisted after a long pause.

”I do not know. I am a God. One would think we would have all the answers, but we don’t. We don’t and we never will. You’d think I wouldn’t have emotions, being what I am, feeling as I do, but I do have them. I’ve changed from the first day I entered this place, I know that, but I did not expect how these changes would come about it. A dream, a daughter, a friend, another daughter, and now a son. She almost died, you know. Laurien, and I was so angry. Protective even. I did not want her to die, because… I care. I’ve always cared… even about Arya. And now Laurien hates me, and Arya… I have no idea.” he blinked, another tear falling to the ground. He did not watch it shatter. ”I am sorry, little orb. That was… probably a lot for you to process. If that’s what you do.” he said softly.

The orb rotated in place for a while, the mist wrapping around it. Finally the mist parted and the light hit it again. A scattering of runes fell upon the surface, but one in particular stood out: an open hand.

"But you love them?"

”There was a time when I would have said no. I would have said that I could not feel such things but i’ve felt joy, happiness, contentedness- and many more emotions that I never thought possible. I’m beginning to feel things I did not think I ever would be able too. I think I do, little orb, love them. If you knew what I’ve done and who I’ve hurt, you would call me delusional and a monster. But for some reason, I think of them and that is what I feel.”

The orb immediately followed up with a new order of runes, but kept the hand, "What is love?"

Orvus slumped in the chair, letting out a sigh. He had been foolish to think that the orb knew what he was talking about, now he had to explain it? ”Well,” he began, ”Love is something that is… Hard to explain. You have to feel it for yourself to truly know, I think. It’s like, wanting what’s best for your children, doing anything for them, protecting them but letting them grow all the same. Like a flower or plant, you nurture them, watching them grow and you grow to care for them deeply, you want to see them bloom. That is but one type of love, little orb.” He was rather surprised by himself and the answer he had given, but it felt right somehow.

"Does it end?" The orb asked, light bending inside it.

He glanced down at the table, ”The love one has for their children never ends, but other types can end.” he said.

"Then is it love?" The orb pushed.

”I’m not sure little orb, you’re asking the wrong person about love and what it is and isn’t.” he mused.

There was a gentle pause as the mist overtook the orb. After a while, the mist parted again and light bent into glittering runes, "What should I ask you?"

”I have a better idea, why don’t I ask you something?” he asked the orb, sitting up in the chair and placing his arms on the table.

The orb seemed to crackle with light as it soaked in all it could. No runes appeared, but neither did the mist, as if it was waiting.

”Why did K’nell leave you here?” he asked.

The orb seemed to pulse for a while until finally it resigned and the light bent into more runes, "Why." The snake eating its own tail appeared, "When. Where. What. How." the final rune was the hammer he saw the other day. As if to finish the sentence, runes appeared between them all. "What if I was always here?"

”What do you mean, always here?” he said, sitting up straighter as he squinted his brow at the orb.

The mist appeared for a while until finally it parted again, runes breaking from the light, "Why don't you remember me?"

A confused expression ran across his face, as he thought about what the orb was saying. ”I’m sorry little orb, I do not think we have ever met. If we have, then I have no memory of it.”

"What else do you think of me?" The runes glittered.

”You? I hardly know who you are. You ask me questions and I answer them, and when I ask you questions you give me cryptic responses. I think you are curious, more than anything, but I want to know more. Who are you? Where did you come from?” he said.

The orb fell dim for a while, perhaps the longest it had ever fallen dim. Finally it lit up again and a certain warmth radiated from the tiny orb. A hand appeared on its surface, its skin of cosmic light. Slowly it came to touch an orb of fractured light. The two runes shimmered away and the orb stayed in place, rotating.

He leaned in closer to the orb, his eyes going wide as he watched it with curiosity. He reached out to touch the orb, whispering, ”Beautiful…”

A warm sensation traveled up his arm and into his head, as if seeking a certain approval. Orvus knew this feeling once before, a tiny spark right before he had fallen asleep so long ago. It asked him to close his eyes and against his better judgment, against his mind screaming no, of the dream that he had received from K’nell so long ago, his curiosity got the best of him and for the first time in an age, Orvus shut his eyes.

It was different: as his eyes opened, he knew he wasn't truly asleep and yet here he was-- dreaming. He stood on a endless void of nothing, a strange silhouetted figure staring back at him. The figures form was obscured in a flowing robe of colours, beads, feathers and dust. The sleeves of the robe were pressed together, hiding any hands as it waited patiently.

He looked around at the nothingness, feeling a strange pull. It was familiar to him yet, now it felt wrong, somehow. As his gaze turned to the figure, he gazed upon its form for a long time before speaking. ”Are you what is inside the orb?”

The figure raised a hand and under it appeared an endless overlap of scenes -- all increasingly familiar. He saw every second of his dream, and even a scattering of dreams he never knew he had. Woven between them there was a certain light that his eye could recognize, if only barely. Noticing his gaze, the figure pulled up three characters from the scenes. One was Rowan, one was Big Hank, and the other was one of the pull Oxen. They glittered in front of Orvus and the figure folded its hands back into its robe.

The god's eyes saw past the physical appearances of the mirages, it slowly sinking in. They were blueprints, exact instructions for a god on how to bring them truly to life. He could see it, inside, complex memories in each, life histories. It was infinite and all before him.

At once he felt a series of emotions as the images came before him. He had told K’nell that he had been unworthy of such a thing, yet, now looking at them in appearance… A certain longing took hold of him. He saw their entire lives, memories, and it was beautiful. The god fell to his knees before the display, overwhelmed by the raw data. They were at his fingertips. His gaze fell upon Rowan, and he was taken aback by just how beautiful she was. Her smile was joy, itself.

Reluctantly he turned away from her and looked back at the figure. ”Am I truly worthy of such a gift?” he asked it.

The ever familiar runes glittered across the sky, "Are you?"

”I want to be.” he said.

"How will you know when you are?

”I… I don’t know.” he said sadly.

The figure spread its arms as if saying 'well there you have it, then' or perhaps a 'then you know where to start' but either way as it did, the scene began to fade and at last a sentence appeared that held no question, finally a straight answer.

"The choice is yours."

Orvus blinked and he snapped from his daydream, his fingers around the orb. The visage of Rowan smiled at him briefly before sinking back into the fractured light that bent in the orb. He bowed his head, and slowly released the orb to sit back in the chair. Was it selfish if he wanted her with him? The woman he had only known from a dream? What would Arya, Laurien, even Ikarus, think of him if he did such a thing. Could he bring himself to be happy, while his daughters hated him? What would Rowan even think of him? Here he was a god, here he did not look like his appearance from the dream. Would any of them accept him for what he was? Could he?

It was temptation. His notion of self worth suffered from the consequences of his actions past and present. A part of him realized then, that he could never be worthy, at least not to his own standard. If he even had such a standard. What was he to do? And her smile came to mind once more. A smile he could only bare to see if all was well in his own life, he didn’t even look remotely like she did anyways.

He stood up, and turned away from the orb. Not yet he told himself, it was not the right time, but soon. He had other tasks at hand, and he did not want to disappoint another. He left the orb behind, and closed the door to the house behind him. He sat down on the porch steps, intertwining his fingers together. His thoughts ran rampant, but there was no use dwelling on his own happiness. His thoughts fell to the battle with the avatar, this Vrog. Laurien’s weapon, her sword, would have proven incapable wielded by her.

No, she needed something more. Something with enough power to be feared upon sight. She needed a sword that was an extension of herself, through mind, and body. It was time to get to work.

---

---

After several long days traversing the Qiangshen Mountains, the Dragonborn duo had finally reached greener pastures. They were both exhausted and extremely famished. The large egg they snagged from the terrifying Snodo was enough to keep them satisfied for two whole days, yet soon they once again began begging for deliverance. It wasn’t until they discovered a rich jungle, as well as a running stream, where they would finally be rewarded for their harsh efforts. They didn’t hesitate to bathe in the cool stream and eat the local berries and fruit that they could find. Afterall, they well deserved it.

It was the perfect location for them to settle down, at least for the time being. Still, they needed to survive off the lush land. Through trial and effort, they began to build their shelters out of the large sticks and leaves they harvested. At first, they were nothing more but simple tents and they’d had to sleep on the ground - a risky proposition against predators of the night. Yet Michallis’ strength and dexterity allowed him to innovate their design and eventually plant their shelters in a large tree. Thus, their humble tree-houses were born.

And while Michallis worked on the heavy brute work, Minerva would work on the more basic tasks. She would forage for berries and fruit and scout the area for anything unusual or new. She would also gather herbs and spices, in which she utilized them and mixed them into make-shift bandages and medicines. Often she’d test them on her partner. There were some combinations of herbs that produced potent healing balms and oral drinks, whilst a few would almost kill her husband. Alas, they learned, forgave, and moved on.

Within the following weeks, the Dragonborn had knowledge of the surrounding lands within several miles from their home. In addition, they created better tools from better materials and soon would create weapons in order to hunt for more nutritious and hearty meat. Compared to the rest of the world, they were essentially isolated from the conflicts of other gods - perhaps for the better anyways. All they saw was each other and they were perfectly content with such a lifestyle.

Then there came a day when something new happened upon them. In the middle of the hot, steamy afternoon…

While Michallis was resting from a long night of guard duty, Minerva proceeded to go on her daily foraging expedition. She now wore light leather clothing - covering only her breasts and her nether regions - and wielded a stone spear. It seemed unnecessary for them to wear such attire in a place of solitude - where no one but the native wildlife could see them - but they believed it would provide them with some protection anyways. Her tail swished through the dense growth as she proceeded to pick various berries and fallen fruit on the ground. She hadn’t seen any animals in which she could catch as of yet but a snapping of twigs caught her attention, followed by the unmistakable sound footsteps.

Minerva’s ears twitched as she turned to the direction of the sound. Something was nearby. Of what she had little idea, but alas she couldn’t leave the opportunity of a good hunt. Normally Michallis was the one to be in charge of hunting animals, but on a few occasions she would be successful in killing a small boar or nabbing a lizard or two. This however thing sounded a little larger. She instinctively crouched low to the ground as she silently followed the sound of dead leaves crunching in the distance. Her footwork was careful in producing the menial amount of sound possible, as not to disturb whatever was walking through. The closer she approached, the louder she heard the rustling.

Once she felt like she was in position, Minerva emerged from the undergrowth and threw her spear blindingly at whatever was in front of her with as much strength as she could muster. There was a large THWAK, as the spear embedded itself into a tree, followed by an audible gasp from whatever she had thrown at. Next thing Minerva knew was a low, humming sound in the air that grew louder for a brief moment, before a beam of scarlet energy shot past her, vaporizing the undergrowth before it cut off abruptly. Then there came the sounds of running, and before her came a tall, cloaked figure wearing stars. A hood obscured their face, but it wielded a black, smoking sword almost as tall as Minerva was in her right hand and in her left, was the spear she had thrown. The figure stopped when she saw her.

Out of all the things she expected to see, the last thing Minerva had on her mind was seeing another humanoid figure cloaked in a star riddled hood. When it fired her energy beam, the dragonlady was forced to roll out of the way, feeling the heat of the explosion close behind. She rolled back onto her feet, only to hear the quaking footsteps rumble towards her. As Minerva readied in a battle stance - low to the ground with her claws extended - she once again saw the figure emerge from the foliage. Yet now it wielded a giant blade, one almost as large as Minerva herself, while it carried her spear in the other. However, it strangely didn’t attack the smaller dragonborn, only stopping to gaze down upon Minerva.

The dragonlady was initially speechless at its arrival. She instantly knew that it was no mere animal - rather it was a being of high sentience of some kind.

”W-What are you?” Minerva asked confusingly - her speech having improved significantly since her birth - as she inspected the unknown figure, ”Why are you here?”

The tall figure lowered the blade it wielded once Minerva spoke, and then dropped the spear, before reaching up to pull it’s hood down, revealing a very strange, eerily beautiful face. Her skin was inky black, while her eyes were glowing ivory white, yet still conveying intelligence. Her face was oval and she had high cheekbones. Her hair was a deep, rich purple, displaying the same star lights as her cloak but with swirls of other fantastical colors and it fell down her back like a lion's mane of thick wavy hair. The woman narrowed her eyes at Minerva.

”It’s not very polite to throw things at others.” she said, her voice exotic and sweet, with hints of melodious undertones but still conveying strength. ”As for what I am, I could ask the same of you. And I could also ask why you are here but for now, my name is Laurien. What is yours?”

The dragonborn faltered at the exposed figure belonging to Laurien. Up to this point she had never seen anyone close to looking like her. Not even Michallis mentioned anything as unusual when he was out hunting. Still, the fact she could speak was somewhat reassuring. Minerva took a deep breath before introducing herself.

”My name...” the dragonborn responded cautiously, only slowly straightening her form, ”Is Minerva. I thought you were some kind of animal with all that thumping around you were causing.”

Minerva would sniff at her, trying to identify any familiar smells, yet was unsuccessful. This Laruien was completely unique in every way and unlike anything she smelled before.

”Clearly you are something... more.” she said before making herself look more formal in appearance.

Laurien nodded, ”All is well then. It was a good reason to attack, I was just… Being careless I suppose.” she said, slamming her sword into the ground and then rubbing her hands together. What followed was silence as Laurien seemed to undress Minerva with her eyes, before she nodded again. ”Minerva. A pretty name for a pretty girl. I’ll be honest, I’ve never heard of your kind before. You’re very… Hmm… Dragon like. Are you related to the dragons around these parts?” she asked, lowering her voice.

Minerva paused before nodding.

”I was… born from one.” she said slowly, looking at the scales cladded on her arms and hands, ”Well… me and my partner, Michallis. We emerged from the corpse of our dead mother… killed in battle… who we’ve not a chance to meet in life.”
”Dragon-born huh.” Laurien mused. ”Sorry about attacking you. You gave me quite the surprise and… One can never be too careful round these parts.” she said her face going blank, as if suddenly lost in thought.

Minerva nodded again in agreement. In such a vast and unforgiving jungle, one must always be on their toes in order to see the next day. Still the dragonborn couldn’t help but to inspect this new figure as well.

”And where did you come from?” she asked somewhat bluntly, ”You don’t look like anything I’ve seen before.”

Laurien blinked, returning her ever present gaze upon Minerva. ”I come from a place across the ocean. It’s where I was created, by my father, Orvus. You probably won’t see another like me, there’s only me and my sister, plus father who look as we do.” she responded with a frown.

The dragonborn couldn’t help but to notice the ever present frown that formed across Laurien’s face. It was a face she was all too familiar with.

”We are… also the only ones of our kind.” Minerva replied somewhat hesitantly, ”As far as we know, there’s no one else like us. We constantly compare ourselves to these dragons and yet… we don’t even understand how we came to be. We are so different from them… yet so very alike.”

”You should not compare yourselves to the dragons, Minerva. You may share some resemblance, yes, but you have a brain and know how to use it. If you were a dragon, you would have already attacked me, just as one already had, but the minute you saw me you stopped. That’s what puts us aside from the animals, we can think and act upon reason. But come now, can’t you make more of yourselves? So you don’t have to be so alone?” Laurien asked, sitting down and tapping her hand on the ground next to her, looking at Minerva with a soft smile.

Already feeling comfortable with her presence, the dragonborn relaxed herself as she proceeded to sit with Laurien on the rich soil. It was still strange to be communicating with someone else other than Michalis. After all he was the only humanoid person she ever really talked to, let alone seen. But Laurien’s demeanor was strangely… welcoming. She may be as dark as night, with almighty powers and a daunting height, but her voice felt like a warm ray of sunshine. It felt almost… motherly in fact.

”So... what do you know about these dragons?” Minerva asked curiously as she fumbled with a small stick, ”Like, where did they come from? Who made them?”

”Let’s see,” Laurien said, twirling a long strand of grass with her fingers, ”I know not where they came from, but I do know who made them. That would be Sartravius, a god, Minerva. Do you know much about the gods of this world?” she asked, looking down at the small woman.

The dragonlady shook her head naively at the question.

”I do not.” she replied, ”There’s still really much that I don’t know about this world.”

Laurien nodded slowly. ”I thought not, but I wanted to make sure.” she paused, looking up at the sky before continuing, ”My father is a god. The god of Desolation and Soul decay. Nasty stuff really, but he is… Not what you might think. Then there is Li’Kalla, goddess of rain but she is, err, kind of dead but not dead? Hard to explain really. Then there is Shengshi, god of rivers. His home his a massive boat that traverses the many rivers on this continent. If you ever run into him, make sure you are on your best behavior and refer to him as ‘holiness’ do that and he and his servants will treat you right.” she looked back down at Minerva with a smile then went on to tell her about the other gods that she knew of and what they held dominion over.

”...and last but not least, you need to be wary of Vrog. He is an avatar of Narzhak, and I was unfortunate enough to run into him.” she took a deep breath and shut her eyes. ”He was going to kill me, and then devour my flesh.” she said, holding up her scarred hand. The wounds were freshly healing, but like all her wounds, her scars were of pure white not unlike her eyes. ”I only survived because I prayed to my father. Gods are funny like that, I guess you can pray to them and they hear you but getting them to talk back is a tricky business. Never underestimate a god, Minerva. They wield tremendous power and could easily kill us with a thought.” she said humbly.

There was a lot for Minerva to take in, being filled with the bigger picture of the world around her. There were so many gods and goddesses, each controlling a different portion of reality. The mythology was rich in names and tales, she couldn’t quite recall them all. There were many to remember, yet the one god that stood out to Minerva was Sartravius, the fire god. If the dragons were created by him, does that mean he intentionally created the Dragonborn? Yet, they hadn’t encountered him yet, or as far as they knew at least. Perhaps they were simply byproducts having been accidentally brought into this world? This conversation created more questions than answers, but at least the major one had been addressed.

”So Michalis and I were born from Sartravius,” she responded, ”The fire god... ”

She paused to look at her scaly palms before she continued on.

”I do not know if I could consider this a blessing or a curse in not having met him yet.” she wondered aloud.

”Probably for the best, dear. Dragon’s Foot is in open war because of him, so. There’s been a lot of death. Oh, I almost forget about Katharsos! The god of death. So this might come as little shock to you, but when mortals die they go up there,” she said pointing to the sky, ”To the Sphere of death, and well, our souls will burn to give life to new souls. Poetic in a way. But really,” she turned to look at Minerva again, ”You should get as far away from this place as you can with Vrog about. He’s a monster Minerva.” she said sternly.

The dragonborn nodded at the dark woman’s warning. Just from its description and the wounds that scarred Laurien, Vrog was a dangerous creature to encounter. Perhaps it would be best if they migrated to another location. After all, both dragonborn were considering moving anyways to follow with the pattern of the traversing wildlife anyways. She looked up to face Laurien with an earnest expression.

”Where do you think we should go?” she asked her curiously, ”And where did you last see this ‘Vrog’?”

She squinted her eyes, as if trying to remember. ”Good question. He scampered off when Orvus came, but he is an avatar and if he catches your scent and… Well that was several days ago so he could be anywhere by now. If I were you, I’d go south-west, down to the river Nanhe, or further west along the mountains. From what I know of the east, the land is not fun. And down south there is a war going on plus a really big desert. I’m sure you can find a place for your own, and have many babies to occupy your time, Minerva.” she said with a small giggle.

Minerva chuckled lightly before finally standing up.

”Thank you Laurien,” the dragonlady responded gratefully, ”For explaining everything. I will make sure to follow your guidance. I hope we will see each other again.”

With a bow, Minerva began to take off. However, she suddenly halted before turning back to Laurien in an awkward manner.

”Oh and uh, can I have my spear back too? ...Please?”

Grabbing the spear Laurien stood up, and with a laugh handed it to Minerva. ”We will see each other again, little dragon. Stars be with you and your partner.” she said before pulling out her sword from the ground.

”Now, onto Tendlepog.” she said before rising into the air and waving to Minerva before disappearing from sight.

As soon as Laurien vanished from view, the dragonborn darted back into the bush as she rushed back to Michalis and her camp. She had to tell him of the revelation that had hit her and the threats that were both out there and coming their way. Not faltering once, Minerva finally returned to her camp far faster then she realized. What would’ve been a good half an hour when walking, seemed to have turned into a brief ten minutes. She climbed the thick gnarly branches using her hook-like claws with great haste before landing upon the tree house foundations.

Minerva didn’t even bother properly waking up Michallis as she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him rapidly.

”Michalis!” she hissed boldly, ”Michalis, wake up!”

The male dragonborn’s eyes opened up suddenly as he attempted to gain consciousness.

”Wha~? Who? Ha?” he sputtered before laying eyes on his fiery partner’s vibrant ambered eyes, ”O-Oh, Minerva! You’re looking quite spry. W-What seems to be the matter?”

”I found someone when I was out forging,” Minerva rapidly explained with relative excitement, ”You’re not gonna believe what she told me~”

She then explained to Michalis about what Laurien had told her, regarding all about the gods, their master, and the approaching threat that could potentially end their lives. It was clear that her partner also had trouble taking all of this in, but he ultimately got the gist of it. When his partner told him about Vrog and how they should move, he initially seemed to disregard it.

”You really want to move away from such a great location?” Michalis asked concerningly as he rose from his palm-leaf bed, ”We have food and water aplenty here. I doubt we’d encounter this ‘Vrog’ creature anyways - or else we would be seeing far more bizarre things take place - it included.”

”And what if it does find us?” Minerva sharply replied, ”I don’t think we’d be enough to take it down.”

Michalis chuckled as he planted his muscular hands on Minerva’s shoulders.

”Relax,” he yawned before turning over on his side, ”I don’t think we’ll have to worry about him. We will move when the time comes. But for now, let us enjoy what we have and relax while we can. You’ll never know when we’ll find such a place…. like this… again...”

Michalis would be knocked cold once more as he fell back into his deep slumber. Minerva rolled her eyes with a frustrated sigh before continuing to climb to the topest branch in the tree and looked over the sea of green that laid before her. The world she once knew had expanded tenfold and she must prepare herself to engage with the great beyond.

They must adapt and prepare to face all who oppose them, lest they want to be left behind…

---

No doubt thanks to its creator, the lands of Kalgrun had a natural tension to them, Urhu hand naturally falling to her blade as if danger lurked in every undergrowth and shadow of forest. It didn’t help it was a lonely travel now that Seihdhara had left for her sphere, or that she had a sudden influx of feelings streaming from Li’Kalla’s soul shard causing her to be more jumpy at any sort of movement she noticed.

This caution would pay off when she accidentally managed to sneak up on a small pack of griffins resting on a clearing, usually the beasts would be already up and ready to combat if anything came close to the area they were in, but Urhu as a goddess was able to fully sneak up on simple animals.

She found them to be pretty and very elegant in their appearance, she wondered if it was Kalmar’s doing, which seemed likely, perhaps she should compliment him later, should she even find the god. Calmly, the goddess moved forward and started to brush one of the griffins in their neck, were feathers met fur.

The winged beast tensed, and looked as though it was about to lash out with a slap of its wing, but then relaxed. The other griffins turned and began to stare at Urhu with a mix of confusion and suspicion.

The goddess was no longer hiding her presence, on the contrary, she made the beasts recognised her for what she was. “Now now, I know this isn’t typically how you act.” she told the animal “But make an exception for me, I just want to know more about you and your species.”

As she said so, she started to gently peer into the mind of the animal, wishing to explore their instincts and memories.

A few tense seconds passed, and then the griffins returned to their business. One or two continued to watch, their expressions more curious than suspicious. As for the griffin Urhu was examining, its memories would reveal little of note - preening, building nests, flying around mountains, scanning forests for prey, ambushing animals, and carrying them back to the aforementioned nests.

One particular memory would stand out, however, and it was far more recent. A gigantic griffin, its feathers black instead of the usual brown, recently arrived in the area. On its back had been two forms, which Urhu might recognize from the Architect’s palace: Kalmar, the God of Hunting, and Melantha, the Goddess of Darkness. Melantha had jumped from the griffin and Kalmar had followed; the former screaming and the latter calm.

The griffin’s memories had not contained any insight as to what happened next, because this particular creature had decided not to investigate further.

“Well, that is quite some memory to have! Two gods arguing, the ground zero of this world’s creation, it seems I ended up meeting a traveled creature.” she said softly, laughing. But also questioning what the two gods she had seen were up to. “It seemed like you wanted to explore more but couldn’t, that is a shame, I understand you wanted to be cautious, but sometimes giving in to curiosity isn’t that bad!”

With that said, she patted the creature, and then it, as well as all other griffins in the location, shone brightly. By simply allowing the goddess to approach it instead of fighting her, the creature had gained Urhu’s favor.

First she wanted to give them the gift bodies more fit for travel, of course this was something she could do easily, but she wanted to go beyond that for these creatures, she wanted to give them the ability to cross the world, go higher and deeper than other creatures could. Of course, with such a blessing there were others that were inline, first, they needed to be able to better withstand the elements, or even better, but to adapt to each location, changing their fur and plumage as well as bodily architecture to fit them, then, of course, a blessing to the senses was in line, along with greater lifespans so these creatures could truly live to see the world in its entirety. It did not seem these creates reproduced quickly, yet the lifespan enhancement truly made it more moderate, as she felt creatures as noble looking as these should be a rare sight. Noble creatures such as these could also become the target of ambitions from her siblings, which is why the goddess also made them resistant to meddling and corruption by other gods, they should stay independent and free.

“Oh yes, if you even want to build nests in the many landmarks I have spread across the world, your species is welcome to. I can think of no better guardian for those lands.” she added.

With that, she let the creature go, seeing as it adapted to the sudden changes to it and its species. This trip had been interesting, but she had become curious about the sight she had seen, deciding to jump back to her flying ship and to leave to investigate it.

---

---

Arya stood before the statue of Shengshi, under the light of the Lustrous Garden. Wrapped in a bedsheet of white, she obscured her head except for two black eyes that peered out, unwavering and sorrowful as she stared into the statue’s false eyes. Uncanny as it was, she had to remind herself it was not him in the flesh, yet his gaze was ever like she remembered. Hard to please, and even easier to disappoint. She missed him a lot, she realized. Even if he never wanted to see her again, a part of her still hoped he did. As crazy as it seemed. The girl let out a small sigh.

Many nights and days had passed since she had stood before it, having faltered the first time she had been asked to join the crew in prayer and then after and after. Each time she came up with a different excuse, but she was running out of them. It was even worse because she could not bring herself to go to Ashalla’s less they think she was avoiding his Holiness. Perhaps it was better to avoid them both, or not, but she needed to stop the excuses.

It was time to confront her fear.

Arya fell to her knees before the shrine and took a deep breath. She shut her eyes, then said aloud, “Your… Your Holiness. It’s me, Arya. I… I’m so sorry. For what I did. For how I left. For the loss of the servants. For your home’s destruction. For running away. I’m so, so sorry. I realized my mistake… just after leaving you know. I feel so ashamed, even now and… my guilt. I'm guilty.” she stifled tears as her voice broke. “They say this is supposed to help, that it’s supposed to do something. But I feel much the same as I have been.” she finished, wiping her cheeks.

“Sometimes, knowing that you have a guardian who will listen to your fears and comfort you in your darkest hours, is enough,” came a deep, familiar voice in her head, followed by a ‘scwulp’ in a nearby bucket of freshwater.

She sat up, looking around to make sure she was alone. The deck was empty of people, save for a few scrubbing the deck near the bow, and she turned back to the statue. She gulped and said, “Your Holiness, is that really you? I didn’t think you would respond… The servants, they never say whether you do or not… I… I…” she let out.

“The servants are young, still, and their voyage is a phenomenal feat of mortality - they will get their reward in time. Until then, they will be content in knowing their lord watches over them, and that I have enough faith in them not to counsel them at every turn… You, however, I have actually wanted to speak to for a time…” There was a pause, one of agitating length. “... How have you been?”

She smiled warmly at the question. “Oh your holiness, it’s so good to hear your voice. I’ve missed you so much. I… I have been good. Better now. I call Split-Tooth and Penelope my friends, I travelled to Choppy’s sphere and delivered a drink called coffee, I got wounded by a foul creature and ended up on Tendlepog and I… I have two mothers now, your holiness and I love them so, so much. And the boys, they are so precious and loved. They will grow to be fine people under the tutelage of Hermes and Xiaoli, have no fear about that. Oh, there’s so much else that’s happened, good and bad. But your Holiness, how have you been?” she asked sweetly.

The voice laughed quietly. “How I have been is of little importance, dear. This is your prayer, after all. But my, that is quite an adventure. I am happy to hear that you came upon dear Hermes and Xiaoli - they are precious, indeed. I must make my way over there once more soon… Now you are on Zhengwu, I see. Your adventure will keep testing you, it seems.” There was a concerned grumble. “You know how dangerous this journey may prove to be, yes?”

She let out a small sigh, then said, “I know, all too well such dangers your holiness. They needed help, and I gladly went when asked. It was the right thing to do, for if you say such a journey is dangerous to me, think of how they might fare. I will be fine, I did not come unprepared.” she said.

There came a tickling hiss in her head. “Guilt is a poor motivator, dear… Is this truly a decision you have made from the bottom of your heart?”

She seemed to shrink at the hiss, her ploy so easily seen through. “I… Before I knew how easily it was to talk to you, I decided to go out of guilt, yes. Now though, my decision has never been more clear. Please do not tell them, your holiness. But after watching them do their jobs, laugh and socialize, I would have regretted not going if I yielded. My motivation is now only to protect them and see that this quest goes smoothly.” she said proudly.

“I see. Good, good.” There was another gentle chuckle. “You have changed so much, yet not at all. Your strong heart remains just as mighty as before. Though, it is a shame that we did not talk earlier.”

“I regret that, your holiness. I wish I had know how easy it was, I would have come back eventually, most likely after this quest was finished. I still have to find Penelope and Split too. We got seperated. But I thank you for your kind words, your holiness. Though… are you not angry with me for what I did?”

“Angry, no, no… Well, in the beginning, I was…” There was another pause. “Yet as time went by, I realised that your reaction had its reasons. The feeling of betrayal is a powerful one, and it made for an ideal moment to bless the Servants with new life. Now, all that remains is regret that we have not met in so long. However, there is another reason as to why it is unfortunate that we did not speak before. You see, your sister is looking for you.”

“Excuse me, my what?" she said dumbfounded.

“You have a sister, dear,” the voice said. “A young, flirtatious lady named Laurien. She is currently looking for you without a single clue to go on.”

Her world seemed to flip upside down, and she suddenly felt faint. Weakly she said, “I have a sister… Laurien? Laurien… But how? Why? Father never made another child on Veradax. I thought he didn’t even want me, but… I’m so confused, your holiness. Why is she looking for me? Flirtatious? Is that like a color or something?”

“She said she wanted to meet her sister, if I recall. As for flirtatious, well, someone will likely tell you when you are older.” He hummed. “Your father is an odd one, that is certain…”

She let out a groan, unsure of what to exactly feel. “Well, what does she look like?”

The voice paused. “Tall, like you. Bright, like you. Yet she is considerably more… Developed, if you will. It is difficult to describe.”

She let out a defeated sigh and flung herself onto her back, looking up at the night sky. “I should be excited, even happy. But… All I feel is jealousy. I don’t even know her, and I’m already judging her. Father gave her that name, no doubt about it and he probably gave her many other things. Things I… No… I can’t think like that, can I? It is what is. This is a lot to take in, defiantly and I can’t even imagine where to begin when we meet. Ugh, what do I do?” she asked aloud.

“Your reaction is natural, dear, yet she harbours naught but love and admiration for you - she was given all that you have earned through hard work and trials, paling in comparison to the powerful soul inhabiting that body of yours.” There was another hiss. “For now, you are to finish the mission; afterwards, you may seek me out, and I will arrange a meeting if it has not already happened.”

Heartened by his words, she used her hands to sit up and looked at the statue again. “Of course, your holiness. If she hasn’t already found me, I will seek you out and if she has, I will seek you out regardless. I know not how long this quest will take us, but I believe time will fly by regardless. Thank you, for everything you’ve done for me, your holiness. It means more to me, then you know.” she said softly.

“Oh, it was nothing, dear… Thank you for everything you taught me, as well. I am looking forward to the next time we meet… Now, I believe I sense someone approaching.” Right on cue, footsteps were making their way up the staircase behind her to the right. Panicking, she kowtowed in front of the statue, acting as if she was deep in prayer and waited to see who would show up.

“O-oh! My Lady Arya,” said Yong Mei, assistant quartermaster to Zeng En. Her bulky appearance cast a rather masculine shadow over the plank deck in the light of the Garden. She tapped her fingers together. “... Is… Is this one disturbing?”

Slowly she looked up at Yong Mei and blinked before giving a radiant smile. “No! Not at all, Yong Mei. If anything, I’m the one disturbing.” she said happily.

“O-oh, no, no! Don’t say that. This one can wait until Your Ladyship is done, no problem!” She sat down facing the deck. After a second, she turned, gave Arya a thumb-up and looked back ahead.

Arya gave a kind smile, then rose to her full height. She felt taller for some reason, as of late. Perhaps she was growing after all? She quickly shoved such a thought away and said in a warm voice, “Worry not, I was just finishing.” she finished with a yawn. “Come to pray?”

Yong Mei blinked over to her again and blushed. “Y-yeah… There’s this… No, no, never mind. One is not supposed to discuss one’s prayers.” She stood up and walked over to the statue, her head inclined all the way.

Arya cocked her head in surprise at the sight of the blush. She knew, having seen Xiaoli and Hermes, even herself, that it meant embarrassment. But what did Yong Mei have to be embarrassed about? She couldn’t help but smile at the girl, thinking her silly. “Of course, of course.” she said giving a small bow, “Have a good night, Yong Mei!”

“Y-you, too, My lady!” Yong Mei said, returning the bow. As Arya went back down to the deck, she could see Yong Mei behind her casting herself to the floor and whispering to the statue. Tired as she was, Arya felt restless, and instead of going below deck to her soft bed, she continued on to the bow of the ship. Under the moon the waves were subtle, like gently rolling hills. Her eyes played tricks in the dark however, and several times she thought she saw something flicker in the water, but it always escaped her. She crossed the deck on upon the other side she leaned against the railing, looking out into the far distance. What she thought as waves, quickly became something else as they were unmoving on the horizon.

It was land, the Dragon’s Foot perhaps? They would know more tomorrow for sure, but the sight was a welcome one. And upon the Dragon’s Foot, Laurien was looking for her. Her sister.

“My sister.” she said aloud to herself. She had never felt anything when hearing the word, but now saying it and knowing it be true, elicited a small smile. Though she had Hermes and Xiaoli, her mothers and the boys, her brothers, there was something special about having a bloodkin of her own.

“I have a sister!” she said happily, before beginning the journey to her bed.

“OH, BY SHENGSHI!” came a shout from the bow, followed by two screams. Arya spun around instantly, her heart beginning to race as she flung off her bedsheet, flying to the source of the shout. A servant came running towards the staircase down to the belowdecks.

“ALARM!” he shouted. “THE HORROR OF THE DEPTHS HAS RETURNED!”

Her heart began to race at the mentioning of a horror, but she quickly pulled herself together and continued on. Below the deck sounded the drums of a plethora of feet hammering against the wooden boards towards the stairs. The night was black as soot save for the shine of the Lustrous Garden, but cloaked in the robe of nocturnal shadows was the mirage of a distinct shape under the singular light in the sky - a bulbous form that gave Arya an eerie sensation that it was observing her. Qiang Yi ascended the staircase, followed by the rest of the crew, many of them armed with sticks and tools. Qiang Yi looked around at the surrounding seas - it seemed that the bulb had dived.

“What’s going on?” called someone from the back if the mob.

“Cap’n!” shouted the crew member that had summoned them. “I saw’r it! A big one! Like the one we fought last time! Oh, Shengshi, what will we--”

“Calm yourself, master Buqiong,” the captain said, firm in his words, yet the night evidently hid a quite visible hint of fear on his face. “Did anyone else see it?” The other two crew mates who had been scrubbing the bow deck raised shaky hands. “Lady Arya?” asked the captain and all eyes turned to her.

"There is something down there, Captain. I don't know what, but it's big." came Arya's reply. To say she was worried was an understatement and memories of the time she swam in the ocean for her life came to mind. There were dangerous things in the deep and they hungered.

Qiang Yi closed his eyes and grit his teeth together. "Curses," he spat. "Zhen-zhen, where is the nearest shore?!"

"Should be due port side, captain, but we are quite a distance away!" she called back as she assumed her place by the tiller up above. Qiang Yi sucked in a deep breath.

"All men and women, to your stations! Bring out the oars and take us port-wise! Move it, people!"

The crew scrambled to grab the oars and furl the main sail. In twenty minutes, nearly all crew members were hard at work rowing the vessel hard to port, towards the northern edge of the Dragon's Foot in the distance. There was something up ahead - a thick blanket of fog. Zeng En ran up the stairs to the helmsman post.

"Cap'n! Are we really sailin' into the Dragon's Strait?!" he bellowed. Qiang Yi shook his head defiantly and wiped some itchy sea foam off his forehead.

"No, we will only pass over it. The ship can handle it!"

Li Shan came running up behind Zeng En, waving his arms in warning. "Terrible idea, captain! The water will wrinkle and boil the bark hull!"

"She will hold!" Qiang Yi replied stubbornly.

As the crew sprang to action, Arya was left to her own devices. She wanted to help but knew not what to do. She stared down into the water once again, trying to see if anything was amiss. She thought she could see something like stars beneath the waves, and the garden-light reflected briefly off what might have been an eye. Whatever it was, it seemed to get more distant as the ship approached hotter waters.

Meanwhile, the wind against her face picked up as the boat gathered considerable speed - almost fifteen servants on each broadside, each pushing and pulling their oar like their lives depended on it. The light of the Lustrous Garden did little to aid the captain and crew in locating the shore, but the horizon seemed to grow craggier as time went on.

The air also grew unbearably hot.

Li Shan once more came up to Qiang Yi, his eyes wide with horror. “Captain! We must turn out to sea again! Already the hull is quivering!”

“Is the horror still on our tail?!” Qiang Yi demanded back. “Lady Arya, do you see anything?!”

"I saw it, but it seems to be gone!" she shouted to him.

The captain swallowed and grit his teeth together. “Very well, then,” he said quietly to Arya and turned to the deck. “HARD TO STARBOARD! Out to sea!” The tiller was pushed to the left and the oars turned hard. The momentum nearly tossed several crew members off the side. The steam in the air had begun to cloud the deck - many could not see their neighbour, even. Panic infected the crew as neither the sea nor the shore could be seen.

“Row forward, you squirts!” bellowed Zhen-zhen as she kicked the deck planks. The rowing began again, but the rhythm was out of sync. The hull began to whine and creak.

“CAPTAIN!” came a panicked call from below deck.

“Maintain focus, people! One-two, one-two, one-two!” the captain shouted at the top of his simulated lungs. Bit by bit, the rhythm reformed and the ship picked up the pace again. As the speed grew higher, so did the cloud cover grow fainter. Soon, the open sea was visible again, flanked on the left by the shore of northern Dragon’s Foot and the faint, faint silhouette of Xishan in the distance. Qiang Yi wiped his brow and looked around.

“Did everyone survive?!” he called.

“Captain!” came a voice from the belowdecks once more. Qiang Yi’s eyes widened and he sprinted down along with Zeng En. Arya anxiously followed along. Below the deck, the situation seemed very much under control, save for an incredibly close atmosphere and a tormenting heat. However, as they explored more of the hull, they found Li Shan and several other carpenters standing in a crescent around something. Upon closer inspection, they found that one of the crates had tipped over and spilled its contents. Tong Lao knelt down and poked at the bloody mess.

“What… Is this?” he managed through the disgust.

“That is none of our business!” Qiang Yi bellowed. “Clean it up this instant!” Even as the crew scrambled to scoop the meat bits into the crate again, Li Shan and Zeng En stood staring at it in disbelief. Qiang Yi could not help but stare ceaselessly at it, too.

“Cap’n, are we… Are we delivering--”

“What we are delivering is not for us to discuss and conspire about! Is the hull intact?”

Li Shan spoke an absent-minded “yes, captain,” but continued to look unblinkingly. Qiang Yi gave up with a sigh and nodded.

“Good… Make certain every bit is accounted for, and… And deliver your reports after it is done…” On the way back out, Qiang Yi gave Arya a concerned expression. “Lady Arya, are you alright?”

Her eyes had narrowed into slits at the sight of the flesh, silent alarms were going off in her head at what they were delivering. She had not expected flesh, and as she looked around at all the crates, she was incredibly unsettled. How had K’nell made no mention of this to her? Did Hermes and Xiaoli know what she was actually getting into?

She felt disgusted at the mere thought of hauling flesh of a creature she was glad she never got to see in life. It took her a moment to respond to the Captain, words briefly escaping her. But when she turned to look at Qiang Yi, there was no smile on her face, but a look of suspicion. ”I am fine, captain.” she said, running her hands through her hair. ”But we need to have a little chat.” she said boldly.

Qiang Yi sighed and nodded. “Naturally. Come, let us return to the helm and talk.” The captain gathered his hands behind his back and walked up the staircase to the deck. Behind him, servants were scooping up the icky masses with planks and improvised shovels, all the while gagging and sneering.

Momentarily surprised at the fact she was listened to, Arya waited a moment before following after Qiang Yi. The walk was quiet, far too quiet for her own liking but she understood the weight and pressure the captain had to be feeling. But that didn't really matter, because she needed answers. When they arrived on the helmsman post, Arya blurted out, "What's in the boxes?"

"I don't know," said Qiang Yi with a sigh. "It was not my place to ask. The Sovereign of Sleep made His request, and it is only natural that these lowly servants carry out His Holiness' will without objection or question. The contents of the boxes were not, are not and will not be of importance to us, with the exception that they be delivered unspoiled."

"But that was flesh, flesh!" she said, pacing back and forth in front of him. "Don't you see how that might be important to know? I am sorry if you feel differently, Captain, but those boxes are important whether you want to believe it or not." she said with concern in her voice. Her thoughts turned to what or who the flesh had belonged too and she simply did not know.

"No, it is not!" the captain retorted. "Regardless of what it is, speculation will only sow the seeds of discontent and mutiny. With all due respect, Lady Arya, please drop it. It will be cleaned up and forgotten and the quest will carry on."

"Let's hope you're right then." she said glaring at him. After a moment of silence between the two, Arya gave a small bow and then said, "Captain." in a soft voice before turning to leave.

Qiang Yi felt a clump in his throat and groaned quietly. In the distant horizon, dawn was slowly peeking over the edge, spilling red light over the dark sea and cloudy must. Behind him, Zhen-zhen pinched her lips together and muttered, "What was that about?"

"An unfortunate accident, first mate, that is all," the captain replied. "We will have to ensure that it does not reoccur once more. From now on, guards will keep watch in the storage room. Have Lady Arya's bed moved to the far back. It will be uncomfortable, but something tells me she may be a little too curious for her own good." He placed his hand on his chin in thought.

"You think she will object?" asked Zhen-zhen.

"Naturally," answered the captain, "But most of all, I hope she will understand."

"Let's hope together, then," she replied and shook her head. Qiang Yi descended the staircase to the deck and headed for the bow. Around him, the crew were slowly packing up the oars and going about their duties. The captain arrived by the figurehead and folded his hands in prayer.

"Oh, most blessed Ashalla, Queen of Oceans and sovereign of the seas - a most terrible thing occurred today. Once more, a beast from the depths gave chase to our vessel. However, by the grace of Your divine blessing, these servants thankfully escaped. Oh, thank You, great Ashalla - thank You for Your mercy and Your generosity to these most insignificant specks. These servants offer Your divine self our undying loyalty and love - for You are our Queen."

He kowtowed five times before the figurehead. "Thank you," he whispered. He then stood up again and gazed outwards across the sea. They had left the tumultuous seas of the Dragon's Strait, and once more they were sailing docile coastal waters. The itch of sea spray had he long since grown used to, and now all he could do was appreciate the beauty of the vast ocean. Behind him, the bow sail formed a wall between him and the rest of the crew. Here, at least, he was completely alone with his thoughts.

As Qiang Yi watched the ocean under the light of dawn, it eventually became apparent that one of the bulges in the water was not a wave, but something more solid, and moving closer. The captain blinked, at first not believing his own eyes, but could not force himself to move once he did. Even his voice worked against him, hiding for its life in his throat. All he could do was stare at the bullet in the water coming for him. Had he perhaps upset Ashalla at some point and incurred her wrath? Was this a visit from her, perhaps? Was this some rogue monster hungry for a snack? All were possibilities, all were terrifying.

The bulge slowed its approach as Qiang Yi watched, then water parted around it as the bulge rose. An oval-shaped body which was easily as large as the ship was plainly in view, and on the end closest to the ship, just below the water’s surface, were two large eyes which seemed to look straight at the captain. Then, suddenly, a burst of turquoise rippled over the creature’s body, replacing the navy blue which had camouflaged it before. A spiral of magenta twisted into the turquoise, and spots of primrose blossomed across its mantle.

Qiang Yi stood marvelling at the sight, entranced by the colours and patterns. He felt gruesome fear hammer at him from the inside, yet perhaps…

He stretched out a hand towards the beast. "You… You aren't hostile, are you?"

As Qiang Yi reached out, the beast slowly swam forwards until it was close enough to reach the ship. One eye sitting just beneath the waves angled itself to look at Qiang Yi, and a tentacle lifted out of the water. Sea water poured past toothed suckers as big as the servant as the tentacle rose towards him. As it came within reach of his hand, the tip of the tentacle shifted colour to match Qiang Yi’s sandy skin and even adopted a coarse texture.

The captain's eyes widened and he touched what essentially felt much like the hand of a brother, if not a little wetter than usual. He squeezed gently as he would shake a hand, and spoke, "No… You aren't hostile at all." A smile formed on his lips. "You are a blessing from our Queen."

Behind the sail, screams and calls for oars blasted through the air. Qiang Yi snapped out of his trance and turned. He gave the beast a confident nod and ducked under the sail.

The deck was in chaos. The panic of an ambush had caused several servants to trip over one another in search of oars or a place to hide. Zeng En tried to wrestle apart two sailors fighting over an oar when Qiang Yi bellowed, "EVERYBODY! CALM DOWN!" It did little to soothe the tumult.

Having been tired already, Arya was about to head below deck when the shouting started again and the crew began to panic. She turned to look as the sad sight, growing embarrassed for them. That was until she saw what the commotion was about and her eyes went wide.

The great sea beast had moved around to the port side of the ship and had moved back. Its mantle stuck out of the water, a backdrop of lime fading to turquoise with stripes of cream and lavender rolling across it, while two eyes watched from just below the water.

Whereas half the crew prepared oars, the other reached for sharpened sticks and tools. Qiang Yi gaped and waved his hands wildly. "NO! STAND DOWN! IT'S FRIENDLY!" Still no response, and Zeng En hurries over to the side of the ship with his group of harpooneers. The mighty quartermaster stretched his arm back, aimed for one of the eyes and--

There was a tearing sound, a crunch of gravel and a quiet 'plop'. Zeng En stared in horror as his javelin stuck deep into Qiang Yi's chest and out through his back. The thundering steps on the deck all went silent as the captain pushed himself up and pulled the spear out with a pained groan. He tossed it to the side and clutched the open hole in his robe, out which water slowly trickled. As soon as she had seen Qiang Yi get stabbed, Arya had turned her attention to him and with haste began to fly to his location.

"This… This creature… Is a blessing from Ashalla!" he bellowed through the agony and pointed over the side to the colourful beast. "We will not, ugh, -NOT- insult our Queen's generosity by harming it!"

The deck was silent as Arya landed next to the Captain. There was great concern in her eyes but she did not hesitate to put his arm around her shoulder and support him. Though she was taller then he, Arya bent slightly to make him comfortable. She then turned to look at the crew shaking her head, and said, "Panic does nothing but cause more problems. I am disappointed that most of you lack such discipline. It is most concerning but it can also be fixed!" she said cheerfully.

The crewmembers hung their heads in unison. Qiang Yi looked up at Arya and smiled faintly. "What do you propose, then?" Meanwhile, two servants of the Noble, one carrying a bucket of sand and the other a bucket of water, came over and began patting together the wound on the captain's chest.

"I know all of you are part of your own castes, but this does not mean you cannot learn from the others. Especially the warriors, for this quest needs all to be capable. Self defense is the only way you can protect yourself and I know a style of fighting that any can benefit from, if you accept my offer." she said sheepishly. Arya realized it sounded silly coming from her own mouth and she had no idea what she was doing either, but something had to change to prevent such panicking.

Zeng En and the Strong all put on collective smiles; Li Shan and the Skilled were slightly less enthusiastic; Wang Huangxia and the Noble seemed outright appalled by the idea. "What sort of style?" Yong Mei asked happily.

"Dancing!" Arya giggled.

Now the reactions had completely flipped: The Noble clapped enthusiastically at the idea; the Skilled still shrugged and meh'd; the Strong looked utterly disappointed.

"How droll!" Wang exclaimed excitedly. "What type of dance is it? And what music goes with it?"

Yong Mei frowned and crossed her broad arms over her broader chest. "Didn't you say it was a martial art?" Zeng En nodded disappointedly.

Arya looked at Wang and smiled, before she cocked her head at Yong Mei and Zeng En. "You'll see. I am tired now and need some rest, but most assured I will show any who want to learn the form of Martial Dancing. Later perhaps?" she said sleepily, turning to Qiang Yi.

The onlookers now all looked disappointed, but since there was nothing to be done, they bowed in unison towards Arya and went about cleaning up after the chaos. Qiang Yi smiled weakly up at Arya. "Well done. You kept your demeanour. You'll earn their respect in no time at this pace." He grimaced a bit as the healers dabbed some more sand onto the wound. "Not that they don't respect you, but.. You know." He straightened up and looked over the side. The kraken, which a minute earlier has lit up the sea with a rainbow of colours and a plethora of patterns, had disappeared.

"I understand, Captain. Probably more than most." she said softly.

Qiang Yi nodded. “We’ll get there. Now…” He waved the nurses off and rolled his shoulders. “... I must return to my duties. We will speak more later.” He bowed to Arya.

Reluctantly, she let go of the Captain and nodded as he left, returning the bow. Arya then went off, blinking as she did. What had she gotten herself into now?

---

Kalmar stood before the northern shore of Kalgrun, gazing out over the vast sheet of ice which transitioned to the dark blue waters of the bay. Untold amounts of time passed as he stared, listening to the lap of the waves, the whistling of the wind, and watching the occasional iceberg drift past.

Then he began to walk; the snow crunching underneath his feet before he stepped onto the ice, which was sturdy enough to hold his weight.

There was a natural chill to this area, and here snow was possible almost year-round. No doubt this was due to the vast icey region even further north. It would be difficult for life to survive here, he reasoned - or at least difficult for most of the creatures that had been created elsewhere in the continent. Such creatures would need to be strong; capable of enduring the harsher winters and navigating through the snows. There was a harshness to this environment, but also a certain beauty, and Kalmar couldn't help but admire both.

He continued onward. The ice began to crack beneath his weight. The God looked down, frowned, and then the ice repaired itself. His walk took him all the way to the edge, where he knelt and glanced down at the water. He cupped some in his hands and splashed it against his face. Then, he stood, and turned his gaze back toward shore, at the long stretch of coastline.

This place could use more life, he decided. The continent would benefit from more diversity. So, he took flight, and went to work.

---

He flew west then north, following the edge of the bay. Beneath him, he conjured new life into existence, shaping forms from snow and ice before converting them to flesh.

To the sea he added sharks, narwhals, and orcas, as well as various species of fish for them to feed off of, and in turn other sea life that would support those fish.

For the land he created white-fured bears, foxes, and wolves, whose coats would better help hide them in the snow. He made small yet vicious creatures which would be known as wolverines. There were cold white snakes with blue rattles that dwelled in the mountains, using the snow as camouflage.

They would need prey, of course, so he created other animals - harp seals, walruses, penguins; creatures that could move in both land and sea. But there were also animals which would restrict themselves only to land; rabbits, moose, hares. He even made a species of white apes, with bodies suited to the cold, and created new local species of blue-leaved trees which thrived in the cold and produced frozen fruit.

Birds were needed too, so he made creatures such as puffins, snow owls, arctic terns, and others.

Then he remembered insects. Of course. So the ecosystem would include such suitable creatures. Bees, that were light blue and white instead of yellow and black. Ladybugs with white shells. Butterflies, with various shades of blue, white and black on their wings. And more. All of these creatures were cold to the touch, capable of surviving where their warmer counterparts could not.

Only when he reached the tip of the western end of the bay did he come to a stop. That was enough, he decided. The life would naturally spread to the rest of the coast if given sufficient time.

He glanced back behind him, where the created life was already beginning to adjust to its new snowy existence. A seal slipped into the sea, a polar bear left tracks in the snow, a bird soared overhead, and a whale broke through the ocean surface.

The God of the Hunt smiled at his work. He rather enjoyed the cold, he realized. Then he furrowed his brow as he realized something. There was no God of Cold. They had a God of Heat, but they did not have a God of Cold. That seemed wrong - a mistake, an oversight. One that needed to be corrected.

Kalmar was already the God of Hunting, yet he knew his domain could be expanded. The most direct way to resolve the missing God of Cold would be to become the God of Cold.

So he closed his eyes, and focused. The air around him grew even chilier; so cold that even the animals he just create would have shied away. So cold that the ice began to strengthen and expand further out to sea. Then it stopped, as he turned the aura off. "Kalmar: God of the Hunt and Lord of Winter," he spoke aloud.

It had a decent ring to it.

---

The flock gathered high above the ocean to the west of the dragons foot, a giant colorful sphere of feathers, stone and metal. At its heart floated Luis, armor clad and with the great soul crystal horn of Bruna stamping skywards. Atop this horn stood/floated the Titan of Winds, bearing Azura as she conducted its power. Above them in the Blue Alma fiddled with the controls of a dozen wandering temples, turning their great turbines to a purpose, driving extra air down into Galbar’s atmosphere and towards the flock. Yet rather than push them down or spread out the air was instead wrapped around them, embracing the airforce in a cocoon of dense warm air that would form a barrier between them and the vacuum above.

Once it had finally formed the air bubble took on the shape of an egg of swirling swirling air aimed towards the heavens. It lowered itself down to just above the ocean’s waves while Azura formed a great wind tunnel that reached down from the stratosphere until it gripped the shell of the Titans protective zone, causing it and its race up and away till it burst out of Galbar and into the space beyond.

Their course plotted Azura dismounted the titan and flew down to join Asceal upon Luis’ back. Next to them was the great horn of soul crystal that powered and controlled his armor, and behind them where innumerable armored bunkers/vaults that would house the souls they were going to save. Bustling around these making last minute integrity checks where the curators, small floating drones of luft stone and soul crystal, who would be managing the massive influx of souls.

”Will your children be alright staying on Shengshi’s ship after we argued with him like that?“ Azura asked.

“I don’t see why they wouldn’t be,” Asceal pursed her lips and frowned, “His feelings towards souls are more than disheartening, but he’s never been anything less than hospitable. My children will be fine. Besides, Shengshi might not see eye to eye with us, but he’s hardly an enemy. Leaving him to fend off Sartravius alone does nothing but hurt us.”

Azura’s talons tapped thoughtfully against the stone they stood on ”I’ll trust you judgment in that. He did not leave me with the best first impression, something I suspect was the opposite of his intention given the pageantry on display. We have all the power in the world and he uses it to make mortal slaves.“ she shuddered, ”Suffice to say, I suspect the issue of souls will be the first of many topics we disagree on.“

“I’m not certain they are slaves,” Asceal paused to run a hand through her hair, “I had a similar concern when I first met Shengshi and his avatar, but since then I’ve come to understand there is… Nuance there. I won’t pretend to understand the convoluted hierarchy Shengshi enforces, but he hasn’t tormented his people. They seemed happy enough,” Asceal hesitated and added bitterly, “At least, before Sartarvius’s creations butchered them.”

”Happy being servants? I don’t think I could ever understand how someone would live such a life. Unless they were made to like it which is… both better and worse in a way.“ she tapped her talons a few more times before concluding that ”I can't say I like the idea, but at least they aren't suffering right now I suppose I can look past it for the time being.“

”At any rate, we should probably turn our attention to more pressing matters.“ Azura said as they flew ever closer to their destination. ”Such as preparation for the confrontation that lies ahead.“

Asceal nodded and gaze her gaze out to the flock. With every moment Luis and his innumerable comrades soared higher and higher, past the lower celestial spheres, past the orbits of Veradax, Heliopolis and The Lustrous Garden. They rose until they pierced the veil of the Sky of Pyres. The air shield Azura had surrounded her flock with blasted the ash and fumes away to create a bubble of safety in the infernal realm.

Around them flowed a torrent of souls. From all the branches on the tree of life and some beyond they came, their spirits dragged first up into the heavens and then to their doom in the distant fires. Among the trees, the fish, the mushrooms, the microbes and the deer where those deemed worthy to be saved, those creatures that possess the capability for wisdom and intelligence.

The Alma immediately set to work, diving into the parts of the stream of souls to snatch those souls deemed worthy of saving. Mostly this meant the mortals of Galbar, but they also picked out beasts like whales and the gemstone gardeners and vitally, the last few remaining void souls. It rapidly became apparent that some of the souls being saved where far larger than the Alma could carry. Whale souls and some void souls like the one belonging to the watcher dwarfed the Alma themselves and so Azura quickly made a support construct to assist. These where small human sized version of the titan of wind, made of a disjointed luftstone bound together by a living wind and controlled by a soul gem heart. From their hands the shot sky blue beams of energy and air that wrapped around the greater crystals and allowing teams of them to lift and carry what the Alma had saved. They could also make smaller versions of the Titan’s windshield, allowing them to take Alma out of the central bubble, to roam ahead and snatch up souls that would be lost to the flames before the main force arrived.

Down below on Galbar Alma swarmed the Vortex of souls, cutting of the flow so that no new spirit would arrive after their passing. This invasion was merely a temporary solution however. Soon they would need to get the message out to all those below so that they themselves could decide to be saved, rather than being snatched up without warning.

Asceal stood beside Azura as she worked, scanning the murky ash filled realm, her eyes filled with trepidation. After the first few waves of Alma had returned the luminous Goddess spoke, her words laden with anxiety, “He should have noticed us by now.”

”He didn't show up last time I was here, but I was more or less in and out then. This sphere is enormous, so perhaps he is simply taking time to arrive, or hasn't noticed us yet? But we are going to be here a while.“ they had to navigate the entire vault of the heavens after all ”So I feel like it is only a matter of time.“

Time passed and passed and passed and yet no one came to challenge them. Where the pair had once stood ready to launch themselves into the fray they now sat and waited, still watchful for trouble and yet almost certain that none would appear.

”Maybe he isn't here? Is he is down on Galbar doing goodness knows what. Pr did he really never exeted anyone to confront or oppose him in this? Except, now that I think about it, our own spheres are just as vulnerable as this one. Or mine is at least. Aelius seems looks to be the only person wise enough to set up an alarm system and even then he has decided to stay within his realm to guard it, so vital is Heliopolis to life.“ Azura shuddered at the thought of trapping herself as he had, and yet to protect their slowly accumulating precious cargo it now seemed like an inevitability.

“Maybe,” Asceal scowled and took a deep breath, “But we have a job to do here, even if he’s set out to strike at our spheres. Any damage he inflicts there can be repaired. We’re here for people, and they aren’t so easily replaced.”

”That’s true now. It won’t be once we are done. The vault becomes a prime target for retaliation. The Alma too, once I get the word to the people of what is going on up here.“ Azura said, the long tense hours and days waiting in the smoking sky having given plenty of time for her to worry about the future.

“The vault will needed defenses and defenders then. As many of them as we can make,” Asceal glanced at an Alma returning a soul crystal, “And your Alma will have to be able to defend themselves. I could offer them some power to aid in that, if you’d permit it. I’m not the most suited to it, but I have some experience in equipping my children for conflict.”

”Indeed. I’ve started work on the defenses, but dedicated defenders are still something I need to make.“ Azura responded, ”The Alma will need all the help they can get in performing their most vital task, so anything you can give would be of great help. I’ll see to it that I pay you back for that aid in the future.“

Beside Azura the Goddess of Light nodded and beckoned to a nearby Alma, who seemed to grasp her meaning and fly towards her. Asceal smiled at the bird, “I have a gift for you, little one.”

She reached out and rested a hand on the Alma’s beak, and though it looked at her inquisitively it didn’t shy away. A small light emanated from the Goddess’s touch and when she let do there was a peculiar shrine to the Alma’s feathers that hadn’t been there before. Before Azura, or even the Alma itself, could inquire into what she’d done the Goddess explained, “Something to keep you safe, little one. If you focus you can call on my light now, but be careful. It isn’t something to use on those you don’t want to hurt. Now go, share this with your siblings. All it takes is a touch.”

The bird squawked appreciatively in response and then took wing to join the others. There the light spread to those close to it, and then those close to them. Asceal’s light blossomed, radiating from the initially receiver and lighting up the sky pyres with innumerable softly glowing stars of salvation that opposed the raging fires of destruction that called it home.

”Beautiful“ Azura said as she watched.

”And quite deadly I believe think.” added the as until now silent Luis as the massive horn of crystal the pair sat next to started to glow with the same faint light. ”Hopefully we won’t have to use your gift in anger before we get a chance to test it somewhere, but it should add to the existing defences rather nicely.”

”How are you holding up Luis?“ Azura asked, guilty at having not addressed their titanic Chauffeur since they took off.

”It’s strange, being able to see things with the Alma that I can't see with my own eyes. To me it seems as if we are simply floating in empty space, but when I look through their eyes… when i see the dead flow past and through me… Seeing this makes me feel like shouldn’t show the mortals down below this horror. It would be cruel, even if it might be necessary to help them understand why the Alma need to take their souls.” Luis explained, struggling with the horrible truth he both could and could not see.

”Hopefully if all goes we’ll never need to return.“ Azura assured him first, before addressing his point ”I still think its the best and fastest way to get people on our side. Without showing them, all they have are our word.“

She turned to Asceal to fill her in ”I should probably explain. The Alma can transmit sound and images between another, and can show what they see in the manner Luis used earlier down on the ship. I intend to use this capability to inform the mortals of the world that their souls are in danger, to show them this abominable place, so that instead of taking them after death as we are now, they are instead given willingly.“

“They have to know,” Asceal frowned, “Even if it’s an unpleasant truth. I would be careful though. Once you have the Alma show this place to the world the other gods might take exception. I don’t imagine ones like Shengshi or Ashalla will act against us, but who knows about the others.”

The radiant Goddess glanced at the vaults around them, “Make sure the vault is secure before you show the world Azura. Reinforce it personally. I’ll see about providing my own defenders.”

”I won’t show the vault till it is prepared. Coming here has shown me just how vulnerable it is at the moment. Ashalla already knows, she stumbled across it unfortunately so I swore her to secrecy. But this, this needs to be shown before we leave or it’ll never be seen at all.“ Azura explained

”We could leave an Alma here with one of these minor wind elementals you have made, though it would only give you a day or two till it starts to suffer from exhaustion or dehydration. And there is also the problem of getting it back down.” Luis suggested

“It’s your choice, in the end. I can only hope Ashalla is the only one of our siblings who knows the vault’s location.” Asceal paused and bit her lip, “They should know, but telling them now might put your work in danger.”

”As far as I am aware she is. We can leave it till the last second. The important part of the vault will be with us now, and I will not leave their side until the defences are in place, so they can’t go under our noses to attack the mortal’s souls. The Alma can avoid telling the gods as well, only mortals. Even if they tell their creators they will not know where the Vault is located, at least not yet.“

”Also I don’t think any of us want to come back here. Ever.” Luis added.

”and the sooner we tell, the sooner my conscience is cleared of keeping them in the dark.“ Azura finished.

Asceal only nodded, her eyes returning the ugly scenery. She’d have to watch it for a long, long time, as the flock slowly moved its way across the entirety of the sky pyres, plucking every last worthy soul from their imminent second death and storing them safely within the vast halls of Bruna’s stony sanctums.

---

They came from the sky, from the forests, oceans and the mountain, out of the trees and from behind rocks as if they had simply been hiding there, waiting for this day to come. Some had seen them before and had admired their beauty from a distance before they vanished from sight. What had once been considered timid or skittish now showed itself to be bold and fearless.

To the servants of Shengshi they came, avoiding their master’s prying eyes. They came to the Selka, be they in their villages or frolicking beneath the waves. They showed themselves once again to Ihokhetani, who knew what they were already and yet and had only recently learned why they were important. With the Kostral slaves in their pit they engaged with a merry chase, always staying one step ahead. They dodged and deflected the flames of the fire giants in the graves of forests. They welcomed the Cyclops's to Galbar. A few got very very lost and very very confused in the infinite maze trying to find the Aroiox. They perched atop the bones of the Dragonborn’s progenitors to bring them the news. They revealed themselves to the gardeners, wargs and whales, those beasts who had wisdom and intelligence enough to be conscious of themselves but who would never build civilisations on their own. They came to the lonely species of one, to Karamir, Atmav, Arya, Laurien, and more. They came to the home of the first mortal, who’s kind had ever so recently grown to reach double digits.

They found the wise, the strong, the united, to the leaders, thinkers, priests and shamans. They came to the exiles whom no one would tell, and to the gathering places of communities so all could see what fate awaited all living things.

The birds spoke first, they warned that what they were about to show would be disturbing and possibly not fit for the eyes of the sensitive or for children and yet that it was also vital that someone watched. Then they projected images, perfect ones, of two goddesses stood atop the back of a great whale against the backdrop of the Pyres.

“Good people of Galbar I bring you grave news and the tools to claim your freedom. Each and everyone of you has an immortal soul, the essence of your being that contains your mind and memories. This soul is the very core of your being, more vital to your existence than the the flesh or stone which you inhabit. Even if you perish you will live on though this soul, and yet Katharsos, the tyrant of death, has decreed that your souls, once severed from flesh should be put to the flame and turned into the ash that form new souls. Untold billions have already been put to the flame. The souls for the void who came here with those you know as gods were the first to be incinerated. If Katharsos continues where to continue his genocide unopposed all who were born from their remains will also be sent to his infernal stars. ”

The Alma’s vision zoomed in on a star to watch as the soul of a griffin was sucked into its fire and its shrieks joined the endless quire of the damned.

“Yet all is not lost. I, Azura, have created the Alma, constructs of flesh, metal, stone and soul, who’s power you may use to save your soul from destruction. Each and every-one has the ability to crystallize the souls of the dead into a solid form that resists the pull of the tyrant Katharsos.” The goddess levitated a soul crystal and the Alma’s vision locked onto it, giving those watching a closer look at their alternate fate “To become crystallized is to sleep a dreamless sleep, one from which you will be awoken when the time is right and the means are perfected. Till their rebirth soul crystals will be kept at secret locations, hidden from the tyrant's grasp and protected from any who might seek to steal them away.

To do this however the Alma require your consent. To take your souls without permission would be a grave abuse of power and a violation of your autonomy. One I have sadly already committed to save those here at the pyres. It is a sin that weighs heavy on my heart so I ask you, I beg you, please people of Galbar, when your time comes let the Alma help you. Please use them to save yourselves! For only by your own wills can you set yourselves free!”

With that transmissions winked out. The word was out. Now the Alma’s true work could begin.

---

From the sea to the west of Kalgrun, a lone beast flew. Large, dark red, and covered with scales, it was like nothing that the continent had ever seen. It might have been frightening, had it not been so exhausted. At a dangerously low altitude, it wavered, zigged, and zagged through the air, unable to maintain a straight course. The mere act of flapping its wings spread torturous stabs of agony throughout its body.

And the moment it crossed over land, no longer having to fear the ocean of water beneath it... it gave up.

It crashed into the ground, knocking aside trees and brush, leaving massive rut of mud and dirt in its wake. Its eyes closed, and it lost consciousness.

Its arrival, however, had not gone unnoticed...

---

Kalmar stood before the beast, and poked it with the branch of a felled tree. It did not stir, but he knew it still lived. He looked at the destruction it had caused, and shook his head, but he did not hold it against the monster. It was clearly unintentional. He was more interested in where the monster came from. Tough scales, sharp claws and teeth, strong wings. It was a mighty predator. Who made it? Where did it come from?

To find out, he rested a hand on the beast's nose, and reached into its memories. He saw visions of an army, created at the hands of Ekon and Sartravius, one of whom Asceal had warned him about. Among the other dragons, this creature had been the smallest and the runtiest. Then he saw visions of destruction - senseless destruction - as the beasts ravaged the forests of Dragon's Foot. The vision filled him with anger, though he noted this particular dragon had held back.

After that came visions of battle, as the dragons clashed with Asceal and Shengshi themselves. The angels were there too, and Kalmar felt a touch of concern as he saw... Makab? That was the name Asceal given the being he helped create.

He did not see the battle's outcome, however, because this dragon fled. Not out of cowardice, but out of... a lack of purpose. The dragon did not understand why it had to fight; it had no quarrel with those beings or with the forest. The violence or slaughter was neither shocking nor appalling; this dragon merely saw no point to it. It had stayed near the rear, and while most of its kin were engaged and distracted it fled. What it did fear was its master's punishment, however, which is why it fled across the ocean and never looked back, even though such a decision had nearly been its death.

Still, Kalmar couldn't help but respect the creature's pragmatism. Additionally, these memories confirmed that Asceal's warning about Sartravius had at least been correct. So perhaps she had not knowingly deceived him. All in all, it was good news.

Only one problem remained; what was to be done with this creature. Kalmar pulled his hand away, and suddenly the creature's eyes opened to looked up at him. It opened its mouth to breathe fire, but only hot air came out. Though it was exhausted and out of energy, some fight still remained. Kalmar could respect that as well.

"I am not here to kill you," the Hunter said.

The beast's mouth closed, but its eyes remained fixed on Kalmar's.

"It's impressive that you came this far. You took the worst possible route, but you could not have known that. You kept at it, and in the end, you made it."

The winged beast let out a long, defeated moan.

"From a battle that served no purpose, between a master who did not care about you, and those who did not deserve to die, when you had nothing to gain. You made the right choice."

The dragon groaned. Most creatures would perceive it to be out of pain, but Kalmar detected an uncertainty within.

"He just attacked two gods, who would have killed you had you stayed. He has bigger problems to worry about, and so do you." The beast was silent, and so Kalmar continued. "You're in a new land you don't know, without a leader, and with nowhere to go. You are weak, tired, and at least four gods have some reason to kill you, even if they are unlikely to pursue you directly. While you did make the best choice, it did not leave you in a good position."

"I know why you fled. You are no coward. You were smarter, and in a way stronger, than the rest of your kin. I can leave you here. You will be free to overcome your obstacles by yourself, and decide your own path, for good or for ill."

The creature gave an almost imperceptible nod, so weary it could barely lift its head.

"But there is another path. My name is Kalmar. Sartravius, the God who created you? I match him in power. And while Sartravius is the God of Heat, and I am the God of both the Hunt and the Cold. The land we stand on now? I raised it from the sea, and created much of its life. I now require creatures to help guard that life, from beings like your creator, who would senselessly destroy it. Does that purpose appeal to you?"

Several long seconds passed as the creature remained silent. If not for his divine senses, Kalmar would have thought it died or fell unconscious again. Then, it nodded once more.

Kalmar nodded, seeing into the beast's thoughts and knowing it had not lied. "Good choice."

And then he went to work. He reached out to touch the dragon's scales, and poured power into the beast. It grew in size, and as it grew, Kalmar flew into the air to keep up with the change. The growth continued until it was large enough to match the monster that once led it into battle. For once, Kalmar made an exception to his rule, and ensured that the creature no longer needed to eat, for he knew there was no ecosystem which could sustainably support it.

Even after it reached its full size, the power continued to flow. The creature's eyes turned to a glowing dark blue, while the colour of its scales shifted to a lighter blue. The spine on its back, the spikes on its tail, the skin of its wings, and even its claws became an icey white. Two necks with two heads sprouted from either side of the first, along with another pair below them. At the very tip of its tail, and icey axeblade appeared.

Then Kalmar finished, and floated backward to give it space. The Dragon, its energy restored, rose its feet and stretched out its wings. It lifted its five heads and stretched its multiple necks, testing the new appendages, before pointing them skyward. Glowing plumes of blue... fire? No, that wasn't it. It was like fire, but it froze rather than burned. Coldfyre, he would call it.

It had been a necessary change, Kalmar had reasoned - fire would spread and go out of control, consuming entire forests. Cold was much more contained but no less deadly. It would still destroy, but there would be less collateral damage.

"I am... different." the dragon spoke - a rather obvious statement. Its voice was deeper, and more refined.

"You are a creature of cold instead of heat," Kalmar informed him. "You need a name. I will call you Vendral."

"Vendral... that name will suffice. I will need time to get used to this form, but... thank you."

"Good. Now it's time to return to the place from where you fled."

"What? Why?"

The Hunter's voice was grim. "To find out what happened. To reinforce those who were attacked, if they need it. To kill the attackers, if there is nobody to reinforce."

"I fled because I wanted no part in it. You know this," Vendral protested.

"And you wanted no part in it because it was pointless. But if you had the power to stop it... would you?"

A few moments passed, and then, reluctantly, the dragon's central head nodded.

"Well, now you do. Let's go put a stop to it." And with those words, the God of Cold mounted the dragon. "You're more than capable of making the journey now."

And so Vendral flapped his wings and took flight.

---

Dawn cast its yellow rays across the golden ship of Jiangzhou which drifted lethargically down lower Nanhe. Fir and camphor hung over the banks of the insanely wide, snaking stream, and birds and wildlife sang their calls until their throats grew parched. Ribbits and rumbles echoed from between the trees, and on the bank sat a chubby farmer ape with half a stick of bamboo in its hand and the other half in its chewing mouth. In the distance to the east, hints of smoke still polluted the heavenly atmosphere of the jungle, yet squalls had made considerable efforts in halting the flame’s advance. Now, the snake could relax and think of more important things than war - like finishing the Classic of Wisdom, for one. So there he sat on the veranda of his tower, a calligraphy station in front of him and a brush in hand. To the rhythm of the surrounding harmony, he drew and stroked black ink across the rice paper pages, his mind in a state of satisfied bliss.

It did not last long. A distant roar could be heard, and a massive flying five-headed lizard appeared over the horizon. It rivalled the size of Slaevatein, and its blue scales shone in the sunlight. The beast was flying straight for the ship.

The snake’s eyes widened and his teeth grit together. “Ah, I thought you had survived…” He rocketed to a standing position and clenched his fists. Two columns river water rose up on either flank of the ship, both taking the shapes of massive snakes. “... No matter - I will just have to finish what I started!”

”Stand down!” Kalmar’s voice shouted in his mind.

The snakes froze, much like the snake himself. He sucked in a deep breath and straightened out his hands, the water colossi dropping into the river again. He crossed his arms over his chest, flicked his tongue disapprovingly and waited for the dragon to approach.

The dragon came to a stop before the ship, flapping its powerful wings to remain hovering in the air. Kalmar sat atop the beast’s central head. ”Where is Asceal!?” he called down to Shengshi, as if there was nothing out of the ordinary about his arrival.

“She left. She and Azura both went skywards to steal from Katharsos.” The snake gave him a sour look. “Nice to see you, too, by the way,” he said flatly and cocked his head to the side as he ran his eyes up and down the five-headed monstrosity.

”What!?” Kalmar shouted back, clearly baffled. ”Katharsos? Why!?”

“They are going to there to steal what souls they can before Katharsos manages to reform them in the flames. I know, I think it is a silly mission, as well,” Shengshi said and shook his head.

Kalmar grit his teeth. ”Has she ever made any attempt to speak to him?” he asked, already knowing the answer. ‘There is no point in speaking to the mad’, she had said, but Kalmar at least thought she would have waited for him to speak to Katharsos first.

The snake shrugged. “Not as far as I know. You do know our sister - she has her… Convictions. Azura’s influence does not exactly help, either.” He sneered and pursed his lips.

Kalmar scowled, and shook his head. He did not know Azura, but if she was even more extreme than Asceal, then she would be a problem. ”I trust this means Ekon and Sartravius are dealt with?” he asked, changing the subject.

The snake thumbed over to the tropical rainstorm to the east, visible even this far away. “The flames are being doused as we speak - and what was that about Ekon? Has he, too, fielded a force against my home?” He grit his teeth. “These animals, I swear…”

This time it was the dragon that spoke. ”He has. He was with my cr… Sartravius, when I was first made.”

Kalmar nodded. ”They each made an army of their own. But Ekon’s was held back, for some reason. If you haven’t seen it, then I assume he is either waiting for you to let your guard down, or moving it somewhere else.”

“Oh, joy… I do not envy the mortals who will find their way here.” He gave Kalmar a suspicious look. “So, why are you here, then? Did you just come to look for our sister?”

”This is Vendral. He didn’t want to fight for Sartravius, so he fled, and found his way to Kalgrun. I saw the fighting in his memories, so I improved him and came to help.” Kalmar frowned. ”How come neither of you told me?”

The snake blinked and gave the dragon a cruel, furious glare. “I see… And the five heads would not happen to simply be a coincidence? You see, I met a dragon quite like this one and I still have a bit of a score to settle with that one.” He flicked his sharp, two-tipped tongue. “Mainly a little, itty-bitty something to account for the thousands of servants it and its followers slaughtered.”

Vendral returned Shengshi’s glare, his ten eyes boring into Shengshi’s two, but it was Kalmar who continued speaking. ”It’s no coincidence. I made Vendral this way so he could match that dragon.”

”And I killed none of your servants,” Vendral added, his gaze unyielding. ”You have no score to settle with me.”

The snake snickered. “I really must say, brother. You do have quite a knack for making creatures with absolutely no concept of respect for the gods.” He shook his head with a smirk. “No matter, I do not mind - truly. Not in the slightest. Now, to change the subject… Why did we not summon you over? Quite simple, really - three gods have made their attacks against the menace - we did not want to trouble you with a conflict that was nearing its conclusion.” He bowed a curt bow.

”And yet it hasn’t concluded,” Kalmar pointed out. ”There’s another army out there, and Asceal is off to risk another war with another god.” He sighed. ”Did she take the angels with her?”

“I said -nearing- its conclusion - exterminating dragon filth and ant-like giants takes time. As for the angels, I believe they are currently in their room doing… Whatever it is that angels do in their spare time. I gave them some books, I suppose - they might be reading those.”

The dragon snorted at the use of the phrase ‘dragon filth’, but said nothing. ”Can you bring Makab up?” Kalmar asked.

The snake nodded and snapped his fingers. A servant behind him set off into the ship, presumably to fetch the angels. Shengshi raised a brow at Kalmar and poked some food out of his teeth with a claw.

“So, how has life been of late?”

Kalmar looked down at his dragon, and the creature extended one of its heads towards Shengshi’s tower; close enough that Kalmar could rise to his feet and climb over the railing of the veranda. He sat himself on an unoccupied chair.

”Well,” he began. ”I made some creatures to defend my land. I then created a mortal and set it loose on the world, like K’nell and Orvus did before me. There’s a species of mortals on the continent to the west of here - Arryn has been teaching them how to hunt. I also heard that Vakk attacked Li’Kalla. Oh, and I’m now the God of Cold.” The Hunter shrugged, before raising an eyebrow. “What about you?”

“Wait, there are mortals now?” the snake said baffled. “My, I ought to go say hello - by west you mean the, uhm…” He snapped his fingers in thought. “... The large continent, the greatest of them all… My, what did we end up calling it again? Azhou?”

Kalmar shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken to the one who created it. Anyway, the species calls themselves Selka - from what I understand, they were made by Kirron. If you were to start going directly southwest from where we are now, you would find them.”

"Selka, huh… How droll. What are they like, if I may ask?" The snake snapped his fingers and a servant came out of the paper doors behind him with a tea cup and a steaming mug.

"Are they as bent on adventure as their creator?" he added playfully as he sipped on his tea with an extended pinkie. The servant poured a cup for Kalmar as well.

Kalmar shrugged. “I haven’t spoken to any in person, and I haven’t met Kirron, so I can’t say. They have prayed to me, though. They asked a lot of questions. Some were more concerned about their survival, while others kept asking how they could ‘earn their own fun.’ Apparently Kirron told them that was important.” He shrugged again. “Maybe it is, but you can’t have fun if you’re dead.”

"A hedonistic lot, then?" the snake remarked and chuckled. "Now I -really- must visit. Did you give them anything for the survival issue, though?"

Kalmar stroked his chin. “One tribe had a food problem, so Arryn gave them some bows. He then taught them how to wield them, and also how to track. It worked so well they began to worship me. That’s how I learned about them,” he explained.

“Huh, that easy, is it?” the snake made a face and clicked his tongue. “Well, I suppose I will head over there and give it a try, then. Give them some wheat to farm, you know, teach them to make dumplings - oh, dumplings.~ He Bo, please add dumplings to tonight’s dinner menu.”

“Yes, Your Lordship,” went the servant with a soft voice.

“Back to our enemies,” Kalmar changed the subject, not knowing what to make of this topic of ‘farms’ and ‘dumplings.’ “Sartravius, Ekon, and Orvus have all proven themselves to be threats. So has Vakk, if that story I heard was true. Asceal would let us think that Melantha and Katharsos are dangerous, but I’ve spoken to them and I know that’s not true. Do you know of any others who might be hostile?”

The snake paused for a moment. He pursed his lips thoughtfully and sucked in a deep breath. “What if I told you that one of those threats has been dealt with - permanently?”

Kalmar thought for a moment, and then furrowed his brows. “Vakk or Orvus?” he asked.

“That would be Vakk. As far as I know, Orvus is still alive and well - I met his second daughter the other day. She is fun, if not a bit too open - a fun contrast to her father and sister.”

Kalmar raised a brow at the mention of Orvus having a second daughter, but at the moment that was unimportant. “What happened to Vakk?”

The snake sneered. “He was an… Unfortunate addition to our sibling flock - a purveyor of pain, a herald of hate. He grew mad and threatened to murder the mortal Hermes, whom I am certain you have encountered at least once, and likely my own shard, Xiaoli. For this, a plan was devised to end his existence - one carried out by our worthy brothers K’nell and Eurysthenes, and myself.”

He paused and clicked his tongue. “Sorry for not inviting you along, by the way. We did not want to trouble you, naturally. Murdering siblings is not an activity that should be shared. Sets the wrong example for mortals.”

“You should have invited me,” Kalmar told him. “we made an alliance. How can that alliance work if we don’t discuss things like this?” Kalmar shook his head. “But if you killed him, then well done. He sent a beast of his to hunt down Hermes, and it scratched out the eye of one of my own creations before being driven off.”

“Yes, quite sorry, indeed,” the snake said into his teacup. “As an alliance of defense, I felt inviting to an offensive would be in poor taste - a misuse of allegiance, if you will - besides, four gods would have made for quite a massacre. He already suffered quickly enough at the hands of three.” He gulps down some sips of tea and held his cup out for the servant to refill. “Would you happen to know where this beast is now, by the way? I would rather not entertain the idea where Hermes is suddenly murdered by a horror thirsting for vengeance.”

“No, I don’t. But it was heavily wounded in the fight. Even if it survived its injuries, I doubt it’s capable of even hunting a fly.” The Hunter stroked his chin once again. ”But let’s say it did survive, somehow recovered, and didn’t abandon its task - it seemed to have been following the exact path she took throughout Galbar.”

“Not good,” the snake muttered. “I will have Xiaoli erect the proper defenses against such a threat. What creature of yours did it wound, you said?”

“Fenris, a giant wolf that is more than half the length of this boat. He lost an eye, but in return Fenris tore the beast’s lower half to shreds. I went through the creature’s memories, and that is how I learned Vakk sent it - apparently Hermes stole something from him. I would have warned her, or finished the beast off, but something more important came up, and I didn’t expect it to live anyway.”

“Oh, yes, the thing she stole was some funny box, by the way,” he said with a shrug. “A fantastically silly ordeal, all of this…” He peeked up at the sky. “My, had a servant been as slow as these angels are, they would have been salted in the middle of the day for all to see, I tell you.” He shook his head disapprovingly. “How is the whole Kalgrun situation going, by the way?”

As if on cue, and before Kalmar could reply, the three angels emerged from the Jiangzhou‘s tower doors. They’d been in the middle of one conversation or another before they stepped through the paper-walled slider doors, but when they looked out at the veranda they froze where they stood. Eline’s eyes widened, Makab grinned, and a dark look overtook Akam’s face. The three winged individuals had already summoned their glowing weapons before Eline noticed Shengshi and Kalmar in the great blue dragon’s shadow.

She hesitated and pointed the gods out, and after a moments deliberation the three put away their weapons, however begrudgingly. Makab scratched his head and shrugged before walking towards the gods, leaving his siblings scrambling to catch up. Eline opened her mouth to complain, but before she could Akam called out, “May we presume that dragon is your… Guest, Shengshi?”

One of the dragon’s heads appeared to roll its eyes, while another head glowered at the three. At the summoning of weapons, Kalmar had called his knife to his own hand, and only put it away when they did the same for theirs. He may have created one of them, but that did not mean he would stand idly by if they attacked one of his other creations. “His name is Vendral,” Kalmar said, before Shengshi could speak. “I brought him here.”

“I see.” Akam intoned as his eyes swept over the God of Hunters.

Beside him Makab shrugged, “Well as long as he’s not killing people.”

The dragon snorted again. Meanwhile, Kalmar looked to the angels. “Makab…” he greeted, though he had to pause to remember the names of the other two. “Seline, Akan.” He looked back to the dragon. “We came here to investigate this war you’ve been fighting.”

“No, that is quite alright. Ignore the host and keep the conversation going.” Shengshi gave a sarcastic clap and muttered into his teacup. “It is nice that you have finally left your room. Is the standard still satisfactory?”

Akam cocked a brow and Eline pursed her lips irritably. They both glanced at Makab, who was wearing a rather smug grin. The brown haired angel nodded in Shengshi’s direction, “More than. You must have endless supply of wine.” He paused, “Well at least I hope you do, otherwise I imagine you might be running rather low by now.”

Eline’s coughed and her eyes went wide at Makabs admission. She adroitly stepped behind her brother before Shengshi’s sour, venomous stare flicked over to the mannerless Makab and the snake put his cup down with an irritated “quite”. As this was going on, Kalmar gave Makab a subtle nod, before bringing his own cup of tea up to his lips and tasting it for the first time.

The God of the Hunt immediately recoiled, adopting a disgusted expression, which he valiantly fought and failed to conceal. Ultimately he decided there was no point in hiding it. So instead, he simply called upon his powers to distill the liquid, pulling the particles of tea mixture out and summarily dumping it over the edge. He then brought the cup to his lips - now clear water, which had been chilled by his newfound mastery over cold - and took a sip.

The snake’s head slowly turned to Kalmar with a death glare. He placed his cup down on the table and sucked in a long, deep breath through the nose. “Did you just…” He closed his eyes and held up a flat hand. “No, no, that is quite alright. I am not angry - not in the slightest, most miniscule, molecular way. Not a single fiber in my being trembles with rage, in fact. However, I must be so perfectly direct as to ask why you did not just request something else to drink?” If a voice could pierce through skin, Shengshi’s was similar to bamboo sticks underneath the nails.

Kalmar shrugged. “There was no need to trouble your servants. Cold water is fine.” he took another sip, and then turned back to the angels. “So the battle. How did it go?”

The snake hissed interruptingly and turned to the angels with a grin like a lion baring its fangs. “Simply horrible of me to interrupt, frankly, but I was not quite finished. Firstly, fetching whatever you may wish for is the servant’s job, nay, existence; secondly, that tea did not deserve that sort of treatment; and thirdly, how dare you so visibly and utterly waste that which was brotherly offered to you as a guest in another’s home?”

“Now is not the time for this, Shengshi.” Kalmar frowned. “I came here to help you. There’s no use bickering over spilled tea.”

“At some point, brother, all I ask is that you for once make an actual effort to be a proper house guest. That point has long since been passed. You come into my home on a massive beast which itself knows next to nothing of how to address a being that could end its existence with a thought; you demand information of me without even saying ‘hello’ or ‘long time no see’; you did not simply pour out the tea I gave you, no, you used your divine-given power to turn into into cold water; and now you say you are going to help me!” The snake took a few ragged breaths. “An ‘alliance’, brother, is founded on mutual need as well as mutual respect, and I feel no respect coming from you. I have tried to remain as civil as I can despite your faux pas, yet I find myself at my wit’s end now.” With another breath through the nose, he relaxed down onto his pillow, propping himself on one hand. “A little politeness is all I ask; otherwise, and I do not say this lightly, do feel free to leave at your earliest convenience.”

Makab stepped forward, and before either of his siblings could clamp a hand over his mouth he started, “You could get drunk and fight you know. That’s what me and Akam did a few nights ago. Worked out fi-”

Before Makab could finish Akam all but tackled him. He swiftly shushed his brother and ushered him back before sputtering, “What my uh, what Makab means is you could try and resolve this dispute in a friendly manner rather than letting it fester. There’s no need to fight, but a uh, a contest could work?”

“Akam, that was the name,” Kalmar recalled. “Sorry about that. I don’t see how a contest or a fight would help, though. What did you have in mind, anyway?”

The blond angel, stuck defending his brothers inane plan, rambled, “Well just that you and Shengshi have such differences, ones that neither of you may be able to overcome, so perhaps you two could find an outlet for your mutual frustration? A contest was just an idea, a way to try and best one another without coming to blows.” Akam smiled nervously and added, “ Of course it was just a suggestion. I’m certain you two can find your own means of resolving this.”

Kalmar sighed, then looked to Shengshi. “Archery?” he suggested with a shrug.

The snake gave him a sour look. “... To even suggest the game in another person’s house… No, as your host, I will choose our game - and it shall be a clash of poetry,” the snake demanded and raised a hand in the air.

Kalmar blinked. “A clash of what? Is that a weapon?”

The flat-mouthed snake pinched the bridge of his nose. “No, no, it is--” Another breath was required to maintain composure. “It is when you present an idea in the form of one or more verses. You know? Like sonnets, haikus, songs, the like?”

“I’m not familiar with any of those, either.” Kalmar said. “And isn’t presenting ideas to each other part of speaking? What makes a poem different?”

“The verse makes it different, you--” Shengshi pinched his lips shut and stared at the floor. “Fine, we will not do poetry, then. As the host, I now permit suggestions for other games.” He drummed his claws on his calligraphy station in a fit of ennui and annoyance.

“I suggest poetry, then.” Kalmar insisted. “If you explain what it is.”

The snake rolled his eyes. “I think I have made attempts to explain several concepts to you throughout time, brother - few times have I succeeded, it would seem. Already, I am, frankly, a little weary. Akam, Eline and Makab, do you three have any suggestions?”

“You could make something?” Eline suggested, “You two are gods.”

Makab opened his mouth, waved off Akam’s glare, and spoke, “Or you could get drunk and fight. Maybe even just get drunk.”

The snake gave Makab a stare that could have ignited stone. “I will not threaten you out of my love for my sister, your mother, but I will advise you not to suggest that again,” he snarled and turned back to Kalmar.

“You’d better not,” Kalmar’s face turned to snarl, as he glared at the snake. “That would be the second time today that you threatened one of my creations, and I already told you what would happen.”

“Oh, is the divine policing force going to come for me? He is a rude guest in -my- home, and as are you. If he is utterly incapable of knowing his place when the divines speak, then I would suggest that he goes somewhere else, like back to his room - or with you, off my ship.” The snake stood up. “Yes, that second option sounds absolutely marvelous right now, actually.”

Kalmar rose to his feet, his gaze unyielding. “Shengshi,” he said. “Do you know what your problem is?”

“Do tell,” he replied sourly.

“You are ruled by your own ego. You create beings who exist only to do tasks that you are capable of doing yourself. You threaten and insult those who do not know your arbitrary rules - rules which they had no way of knowing, which you only made to stoke your own pride. You speak of beings ‘knowing their place’, as if having less power than you somehow invalidates what they have to say. Even now, as two gods raise armies against you, you choose to reawaken a feud that was already settled. You are a spiteful, shortsighted fool.” The hunter finished the rest of his water, and put the cup on the table with such force that it almost broke. “But know this. I still put weight behind my words, and I intend to honour this alliance. So I will go out. I will find Ekon’s army, and I will see what can be done about it. But first I will speak to Makab. Alone.”

The snake nodded slowly. “Pardon me, but what alliance do you speak of?” he asked with a cocked head.

“So your word is worthless after all.” Kalmar said, with disgust in his voice.

“Let us take a synopsis: In addition to my complaints earlier about the nature of your visit, as well as general behaviour, you add a long, quite insightless speech that sullies my name and culture, as well as damage to my precious furniture. All in all, in my eyes, these are not qualities of a worthy ally.” He shook his head. “I can excuse the angel - truly, I can. His lifespan is short and he has not been aboard long enough to get to know my ways. I admit I may have let my anger get the best of me.” He paused for a suck of air. “But you, Kalmar… You have known me for a long time now… Known me well, too, and yet you have never, ever made a single attempt to understand me and my ways--”

”Neither have you,” Kalmar interjected.

“I have tolerated your ceaseless lack of manners in my home more times than you can count, but even a god can only take so much. I understand you perfectly, brother - you are a god of survival, and I respect your value of honour and might; however, what you have in that is severely overshadowed by your complete and utter lack of finesse and social adaptability. Nothing, and I do mean nothing, has been more upsetting to me in this existence than having an ally so potentially perfect, and yet so far from grasping the bare necessities of a truly great companion. You call me short-sighted while you see nothing past the distance your arrows can fly. If egoism is my sin, then blindness is yours.” He grit his teeth together and looked down.

“Now… Please, for the love of all that is sacred and good upon this world… Leave.”

“Not without speaking to Makab.”

“Then he will go with you. If you truly are so adamant about protecting him, it may be wise to keep him off this ship for a time.” The snake’s reptilian eyes blinked normal for a second. “Please, just leave…”

At Shengshi’s words Akam glared at his brother and buried his face in his hands before muttering, “Mother is going to kill us.”

Eline sighed and punched Makab’s shoulder, “No, she’s going to kill this idiot. If he doesn’t manage to get himself killed before she can.”

At his siblings mutual chastisement Makab held up his hands, “I still think my idea was solid, but fine. I’ll go with Kalmar see where Ekon’s army is.” The brown haired angel looked to the God of Hunting and asked, “That’s still what you’re doing right?”

Kalmar nodded.

“Alright then,” Makab turned to his siblings and spoke more seriously, “You two stay safe.”

Eline nodded and Akam, for all he looked annoyed, reciprocated the sentiment, “And you. Don’t do anything stupider than you already have.”

”I can’t believe I was brought all this way to watch this…” Vendral muttered, as he extended two heads toward the ship. Kalmar stepped onto one head, and moved into a sitting position between the dragon’s horns. He gestured for Makab to do the same, before looking to the other angels. ”You two can come, if you want.”

Eline shook her head, “We were told to keep Shengshi’s people safe. Scouting Ekons army is important, but there’s no point fighting if you’re not fighting for anyone.”

“Alright then,” Kalmar said once Makab had climbed on. The Hunter gave one last look to Shengshi. He looked as if he was about to say something, but instead gave one last scowl of disgust before looking back down to his dragon. ”Vendral? You remember how to get back to where you were created?”

”Yes.”

”Then let’s go.”

And with those words, the dragon began its fight northeast.

Shengshi had been sitting with his face in his hands for a while now. Eventually, he finally groaned and looked up. He leaned back onto his propped-out arms and sighed, his eyes rolling over to look at the angels.

“Terribly sorry you had to see that. I have a low tolerance for this kind of situation. It upsets the harmony of things. Now, a question, if I may - had your brother been drinking before he came up?”

Eline coughed and looked away. Akam rubbed his temples, “Admittedly Makab… All of us have been enjoying a fair bit more wine than would be wise.”

The snake nodded slowly. “For being the spawn of the Goddess of Light, none of you are particularly bright, are you?” He shook his head. “You are my guests, but you know next to nothing about respecting the host. Did your mother not tell you anything before you came? About my culture? About my person? Am I a joke to her?”

“No,” Akam spoke simply, even as his sister bit her lip and glared at Shengshi, “Nobody is ‘a joke’ to our mother Shengshi. As for our education, to be frank I believe you may overestimate our mothers knowledge of you and your culture. She showed us much, and told us much after that, but she cannot teach what she does not know.”

The blond angel closed his eyes for a second and went on, “She has made your acquaintance a number of times Shengshi, and she even calls you a friend, but she is not like you. She is not even like us.”

The snake snickered. “‘Frankly’, he says… By my holy name, he calls me…” He shook his head. “How long have you been here? Weeks? Maybe a month or two? Did it occur to you three even once to study the place you lived in? Make a simple, feeble attempt to integrate in the slightest? Something as base as a change in tone would have been satisfactory. Still, you take this patronising, self-righteous perspective and make a flat, arrogant attempt to explain that you have no idea what you are doing.” The snake jabbed a finger outwards towards the two angels. “Mortals that cannot understand their place in relation to the gods are doomed to suffer their wrath in time…”

Akam opened his mouth to speak, but Eline all but exploded beside him, “Our ‘place’ isn’t as your servants! We were given a job, to fight for you and all your people, not to join you. We’re well aware we don’t belong here, and we’ve kept our heads down as much as we can, but that doesn’t change our duty.”

Eline’s brother shot her a withering look and tried to get in front of her words, “What my sister means is we have tried to stay out of your and your servants way, but there is little to be done when we are summoned. I apologize for my siblings words but you-”

Before Akam could finish Eline cut in, “No Akam, you don’t get to apologize for me. I fought for Shengshi and his people, you were burned for them, and we both know we’d do it again. We’d risk our little mortal lives for a god and his people because it’s the right thing to do. If that god wants to threaten us over our manners then he can do that, but I won’t apologize for doing my job.”

Another slow, sarcastic applause. The snake flicked his tongue and snickered viciously. “Beautiful - absolutely beautiful. The one among you who even attempts to be civil is interrupted by a child on a ranting spree. Your aid in the battle was much appreciated - truly, it was. Had it not been for you three, the losses would undoubtedly have been even greater; however, warriors without discipline…” He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “No good. Your services are no longer required.” While his voice was calm, his demeanour looked absolutely livid, his claws already extended far beyond their normal length and his pupils so thin they appeared almost like cuts over his eyes. His spinal fins had turned into long, sharp barbs and his horns had sharpened.

Nobody spoke, and no words were needed. Akam gave Shengshi a curt nod and unfolded his wings. He glanced back at Eline to make sure she was with him and in one flap he took off. The two hovered over the ship for a moment before heading north, far from the war and far from the people that no longer wanted their protection.

The servant He Bo refilled the snake’s teacup. “Will His Lordship inform Her Holiness Asceal, Divine of Light, about this change?”

The snake let out a sigh of relief at the servant’s diction. He lifted the teacup and took in a long, quiet whiff of the flowery scents. He took a sip and sighed as the sensation of heat and flavour flushed through him from mouth to tail tip. “I think I will. My dearest sister deserves to know, after all…” He sighed and took another sip. “True shame about Akam… Such potential in that young man. With only a few differently chosen words, his speech would have been so perfect.”

He Bo nodded in agreement. “His Blessed Self Akam had quite the satisfying diction - His Lordship’s opinion is worthy. Yet this servant of Yours dares so humbly propose that even Her Blessed Self Eline could learn in time.”

The snake shook his head. “No, she is too similar to her mother - powerful, dutiful, proud… Stubborn. She would never accept the Way of the Flow.”

The servant nodded. “So, if this servant may ask - what will His Lordship do now?”

The snake had another sip of tea and hummed pensively.

“Eline suggested creating something… Perhaps that continent to the southwest could use some life.”

---

As Ya-Shuur led the god with chopstick eyes through his enclosed lands they both saw many of the animals he had domesticated. They saw foxes and cows. Ducks and horses and even buffalo. Every now and again a reindeer would go by or an ass would release its hee-haw. Chopstick spotted an old toad lording over its mud-heap, and they shared a meaningful look.

As he walked with the god he began to answer some of her questions. “I found out this name. Goat Defying the Darkness. I was at peace with it and it just stuck so I have kept it and I like it. I saw the bear for the first time when I found this name. That one was a terrible creature, and like no normal bear. Since then I have seen many bears, but none were so terrible as that first one. Normal bears are just like any other creature. They eat and they want to survive and they have children. That first bear though, was a terrible frightful sight. But anyway, I have another name as well, and I knew this name from the start. It was just there, because first I was nothing, and then I was Ya-Shuur. And then I became both Ya-Shuur and Goat Defying the Darkness. And then I gained horns and I became the Horned One too. You can call me whatever you like though I don’t mind.”

“I see,” said the god, gazing out over the gardened land. She felt flat, the wealth of the experience lost in the pit of her mood. She would have to come back here again, later. “My name’s Skraghnaphgh, I think. But most people call me Chopstick Eyes. Pleasure to meet you, uh, Goat Defying the Darkness.”

As he walked he walked Ya-Shuur repeated the name Skraghnaphgh to himself until he had memorized it. Then he saw some berries and picked them and he offered them to the god. Chopstick took them without realising, staring at them in the palm of her hand. “Now the dragon. That was a terrible terrible thing. That powerful god Vakk who is even more powerful than Li’Kalla came (and you know Li’Kalla is very powerful but I don’t think she realized). He was angry because something of his had been lost and he blamed Li’Kalla. But I never saw this thing of his. I don’t think Li’Kalla had it. Maybe it was a terrible misunderstanding. But Vakk was not just powerful he was also a bit of a criminal. Maybe his anger was too great because of his lost box. He knocked the door down and shouted and beat Li’Kalla.”

Chopstick realised that she had crushed the berries to nothing in her fist.

“She was afraid but she did not fight back. I tried to help her but I was far too weak. I only just barely put horns on my head I could never stand up to such powerful creatures. But then out of nowhere the dragon came and bits of Li’Kalla went flying everywhere. I think maybe that was when Li’Kalla and Vakk became my parents. Or maybe it was just a little bit before that. It was the blood that did it. I worry sometimes that when the blood came on me and gave me a body it might have… done something to Li’Kalla. The dragon didn’t care it attacked Li’Kalla and gobbled bits of her and it attacked Vakk as well. This beast was maybe as powerful as Vakk or maybe it just surprised him because he quickly ran away. It was a hungry beast, the dragon, and I didn’t want to be eaten. I was very scared, actually, so I ran. And then the dragon was left in there all on its own and I think it is there even until now.”

“...It’s not.”

Ya-Shuur paused and sighed at the terrible memory. He sealed his lips and looked at the god because he was surprised at the revelation that the dragon was not there anymore and then he continued walking. “So it’s not there…” he whispered. Then he quickly shook off whatever he was feeling and continued talking. “The beast Zer-Du is a different story. When it first came it was a wild thing eating goats and wolves and throwing them around just for fun. It was not called Zer-Du then. It wasn’t called anything I don’t think. These horns on my head are from one of the goats it killed. It was a frightful and powerful creature and could easily have eaten me and everything else. But I had to protect my friends, because they relied on me, so I did not listen to my fear, and I shouted at it. And when I shouted at it I found out that it listened to me. After that it was no longer a wild thing because I taught it. And I gave it a name and it became protector. And it became kinder and did not kill just for fun. It did not kill even those it had reason to, but spared them. I taught it this. And then it became he, and he fathered the molves that you see here. And after that he left. I don’t know where he went, but I have hope that he will come back one day, because he has children here, and a mate.”

So much for that beast, thought Chopstick. It didn’t matter. She had her answer.

By this time they had reached Ya-Shuur’s home. It looked like a just another part of the forest, but then Ya-Shuur lifted a hidden door, descended, and called the god to come in. He told her to watch her head because she would have to crouch a little inside, but his caution was ill placed. Chopstick was already much shorter than him, even without horns.

It was dark inside and straight away a cat came up to Ya-Shuur’s leg and stroked itself against it and then it went to the god’s leg and did the same. Chopstick picked it up and squeezed it gently against her, plucking a skewer with a spare hand to skritch behind its ear. Ya-Shuur sat down and he spread out berries and nuts and fruits he had collected.

“But I have talked so much! Please forgive me. You are the first person in the world I have ever talked to, so I have far too much to say. Please tell me who your friend is that you are searching for. If they are on this island I will definitely be able to help you. It is a lonely island, even though it is full of so many things so it will be good when you are united so they will not be all alone. It is a very terrible thing to be all alone, which is why I have made so many good friends even if I can’t talk to them like this.” He smiled, reached out, and stroked the cat, who purred in appreciation.

“...Li’Kalla,” said Chopstick, sitting crosslegged in the first available space. “I was looking for Li’Kalla. I heard her calling for help, a while ago. But she’s dead.” She sighed, and let the cat slink off her lap. Ya-Shuur frowned when he heard her words. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you who exactly I was looking for, because I thought you might be responsible. But you’re not. You don’t smell like blood. You smell like rain, and shelter. And goats.” Ya-Shuur did not know that any of these things had a smell at all, besides goats, so he was a bit surprised by the comment. Then she buried her head in some three dozen hands. “Fuck.”

Ya-Shuur was not sure what to do in a situation like this, and he did not know who this Fuck was, so he did what he did whenever the goats or cats or any of the other animals were distressed. He brought his hand to her head and petted her gently. “There there now. It’s not your fault. There are some things we just don’t have control over. So we just go on doing what we can with the things we have control over and the rest will be what it will be. You came and you looked for her when she called for you and you investigated until you found out what happened. I think you have fulfilled your duty and are a good friend. I would be very happy if I had a good friend like you who came looking for me if I called for help.”

“I will,” said Chopstick Eyes without hesitating. “This was awful.” Sigh. “...And, thanks. You’re very kind.” She looked into her lap, was surprised to find neither cat nor tea nor any such thing. She pulled a steaming mug of hot cocoa out of her pocket and took a sip. “Just… give me a minute. I’m still… I’m not...” Sigh again. Her hair held up an empty mug and a tin kettle, both shaking visibly. “...Want some? Free of charge.” Ya-Shuur did not quite understand how her hair was doing that and then he realized that she was offering him a… gift?

“Oh! Ah! Yes! Thank you!” He quickly fumbled for words and reached for the cup and took it from her hair before waiting for her to pour some of the strange liquid in. When she did this he tasted it. But when he tasted it he grimaced and raised his head. The liquid was very strange and far too… weird tasting. He had never tasted anything like it and it was too intense. He didn’t know the word to describe it. If Chopstick noticed his discomfort, she made no show of it, sipping quietly for herself.

Goat Defying the Darkness, Ya-Shuur had described himself. There was something special to that, some meaning. Chopstick looked into her mug. Had she ever defied darkness? Could she?

“...I’m going to find this Vakk guy,” she said. “I’m going to fuck him up. And then I’ll hunt the dragon.” She looked back up. “If the bear is who I think she is, then… I don’t know. She was rough when I met her. She’s probably still rough. I’ll see what I can do.” She rested her head against the wall, staring at the ceiling. “But I don’t know what I’ll do next. Not really.”

Chopstick Eyes stayed among Ya-Shuur’s flocks for some time after that, but the two rarely spoke. It seemed there was nothing more to say.

Chopstick Eyes looked about her and the Charnel Steppe, chewing her dartweed, and said, "Hmm."

A passing boar spotted her, sniffed assertively, and continued on its muscly way, thrusting its snout through the steely twigs and shrubbage of what the place called vegetation. Chopstick cracked another dartweed husk, munched for a second, then spat a burst of nutty flechettes that snapped through the sound barrier and reduced the boar to so much prime pork chops. Most animals learned to avoid her, after a while.

Chopstick Eyes watched the sun go down for the millionth time and said, "Hmm."

It was time to get out of this place. The sun rose and went down several times in the time it took her to formulate this idea. The no-sleep regime wasn't really doing her much good.

She took a step in some arbitrary direction.

The sun went down again.

Fuck.

What she needed to do, she realised, was develop something that would do the walking for her. She needed a vehicle... No, a steed. Something large, muscular, like the boars, but swift, elegant; something gracious and powerful, to strike fear and awe into the hearts of hot babes. What she needed, in short, was a horse.

Chopstick took out her notebook and set off briskly doodling the schematics for her new animal. It would have long legs, and be substantially taller than a man. It would have a slightly arched neck, and a long, large head thereon, and something (but not much) of a tail; it would be well suited to travelling long distances across such a steppe, and be coloured accordingly, pale browns and greys and perhaps even black. She hmph'd in pride, ripped the doodle from her notebook, and folded it into a tidy origami shape, into which she nestled a crisp dollar bill, fresh from the Bazaar. Within a minute, it took on flesh.



With a clap of her hands, the horse reduplicated itself a dozen times, forming a sizeable self-perpetuating herd. Chopstick heaved herself on top of the finest specimen and rode off back to the boiling strait. She was of a mind to return to the Feasting Forest, and have lunch.

---

The Saluran Mendidih, it turned out, was a rather hostile place. When Chopstick tried to swim across it astride her holy steed, her camel melted; she went back inland on foot to find another, only to have that one melt on her too. She ran through three camels, two boars and a jackalope total before she shook herself awake and realised that this wasn't such a good idea. Eventually she just swam the strait, which turned out remarkably warm and soothing, once she'd given herself a few years of tiptoeing to acclimatise.

It was an exceptionally barren place, though, all told. Deep in the water, magma pillowed, rolled, crusted and steamed, forming great misshapen stones that ambled down back into the trenches and were subducted to melt and rise again. Watching lava at play was mesmerising, but Chopstick Eyes was acutely aware that she and Ashalla were probably the only ones ever to enjoy this view. No one standing at the shore would ever enjoy anything like this, and even down here, much of the colour and glow of the affair was lost to the light-eating deepwater.

Nothing a quick trip to the Bazaar couldn't solve.

After a while, Chopstick was done wheeling and dealing. And keeling, and reeling, and... mealing and peeling. (As it turned out, the whole endeavour was financed by an unexpected uptrend in the Bazaar fruits-and-grains market.) The fruits, so to speak, of her labour rested quietly atop the surface of the waters, rocking gently side to side.

Mostly they were spheres, or spheroids, or domes, though some were more curious shapes. Chopstick spotted cubes, tangled pipes, tubas, and even the occasional self-intersecting non-orientable surface (these she gave a wide berth). Each one had a surface of heat-eating glass that did not incandesce, no matter the temperature, revealing in crisp true colour the flow of magma within. Stained by bio-alchemical ichors Chopstick could not hope to understand, the blood and innards of the lava lamps bubbled and oozed through liquid tissues, their veins glowing brightly in every colour a mortal eye could see and then some.

Each lamp was rooted deep in the strait, a segmented metal stalk holding them aloft, like the bulb of a sleek and narrow stem. From there they drained their magma and spread their roots, pushing up new sprouts. Some had scales on their stems, some rough rusted crusts, and others still smooth metal.

Chopstick Eyes congratulated herself on the bargain she had secured, and fled that place before the Architect's judging eye could see her there much longer.

A long flight from the Dragon’s Foot to the unending lands of Atokhekwoi had managed to calm the snake down considerably; however, he was still far from tranquil. He thought he had been adaptable enough for the most part - that was until that barbarian so perversely destroyed the tea his servant had spent its precious time making. The snake considered himself a creative creature, yet he could not for the life of him think of a crueler, fouler and unexpected insult. However, that was no longer a concern. The deed had been done - the alliance was shattered and the snake found himself strangely relieved. Now he could completely forget about that hairy barbarian and his odd homeland and instead focus on tasks of importance, like his divine duty to see the world populated with life. He had landed in his beautiful creation, the Kangjiang, which waters bore near-syrupy levels of nutrients from the mountains. It had grown verdant and ripe with life, its banks leaving no space for sand and dirt, but instead forming an overgrown crust of bloated life that supported innumerable trees. The wildlife here grew so closely that many branches intertwined. For a moment, Shengshi pondered whether the river simply was too nutritious, seeing as it formed a near impenetrable wall around itself with the nature it fed. He then shrugged. Prosperity was, after all, the greatest goal.

His eyes followed the stream to its tributaries, which themselves trickled down the oppressively massive mountain range that stretched from the horizon to the north all the way around the bay to the far east, walling the land and sea off from the crippling cold of the south pole. The peaks and crags that eventually met forest around their feet looked dreadfully empty, almost ghastly so. The mountains harboured no life at all. The snake thus smiled as he looked up at the mighty peaks - they were maybe the tallest in the world.

“Yes,” he mumbled to no one in particular. “These mountains are ripe for the introduction of life.” With that, he curled his tail and kicked off, soaring far up into the sky with such force that the ship quaked and took nearly thirty minutes to restabilise, even in the lava-like river.

The snake landed gracefully atop one of the snow-clad peaks. All he could see around him was white snow, contrasted by occasional shadows indicating terrain or rock spikes without snow on the underside. All in all, it was indeed quite ghastly after all. That would have to be changed posthaste.

The snake slithered around for a while, over plateaus and jagged top, under stone bridges and ice roofs. The mountains were steep, but not that steep - furthermore, there were plenty of flat surfaces and potential spots for species to thrive. The summer seasons could potentially see the snow melt away - that was when the lands here would thrive. The issue was the length of the winter.

The snake cracked an icicle off the underside of a cave opening. He gave it a quick lookover, turned it around in his hand and pursed his lips. He patted some snow around its thickest edge until it resembled a bulb-headed club. Satisfied with the work, he breathed life into it and watched as the ice became a thick, brown and black stem and the snow became a black and red, porous bulb. The snake planted it in the stone underneath the snow, and immediately the flower began to melt the snow around it.

“Huh. It worked! Right, little one. Are you content with the quality of this rock?”

The flower flashed a lava-like red momentarily. The snake nodded.

“Very good. While you chew on that mountain, I will continue my work.” The snake slithered on and watched as more and more plants like it spawned throughout the region, melting the snow around them. This plant ate the rock it grew it and turned it to lava inside, unleashing insane amounts of heat. The snake noticed, however, that at the higher altitudes, the plant simply could not dig through the packed snow and ice - meanwhile, as the snake gazed downwards, he observed the plant nearly immediately overheating and melting itself apart. He let out a grumbling hum, but at least he had several snow free plateaus to work with now. He picked up a rock still moist from the melting snow and ground it into sand in his fist. He cast the sand to the wind and observed as it became moss and lichen on the mountain. He smashed apart an icicle and threw it to the wind - it spawned as flowers and simple grasses atop the moss and lichen. A fistful of snow to the wind became small pine trees and massive shrubberies. He imbued all these plants with powerful roots that could out the rich nutrients of the mountain and, eventually, grow in the humus that they would become in time. After a while, the entire range became a mixture of red, green, brown and blue, contrasted by the white peaks and glaciers. Now, the snake could see to it that life could graze in the spring and summer without interruptions.

The snake tugged at his beard. Only one kind of animal could survive here, and it would likely be similar to the ones he had made back on Istais - thick fur coats and agility in the mountains and snow. The snake stopped himself, however, and grinned smugly. These mountains were nothing like those on Istais: They had been rough and pointy. These, however, were flat and orderly. Closed his eyes and let his imagination take control. Yes, yes… One day, these mountains would be the home of a great empire, he was certain of it! To reflect this, he thought, the animal kingdom here must itself be as grand as such an empire would be!

The snake went over to a small hilltop, one that was rather isolated from the rest. He placed his hand on it and sucked in a deep breath. As he removed his hand, the hilltop began to crack and shatter like an eggshell. In a great burst of power and might, the stone covers cracked and revealed a great flock of enormous wooly mammoths, these with powerful, flexible legs that even allowed for climbing. They hooted an earthshaking cacophony and thundered outwards across the mountain plains, eager to revel in their new life. The snake grinned at the stampeding beasts, but there would need to be lesser animals, too. So he went from stone to stone, clapping at patting them until they hatched all manner of creatures.

From one came a thick-furred goat with a powerful mane and two curled horns, bleating curiously at the new world;
From another came a flock of great, long-horned yaks that began to graze on the grass;
A third cracked into a myriad of mice with such a fur coat that they appeared almost like circles;
A fourth became a pack of lynxes that immediately gave chase to the mice;
A fifth became a flock of eagles that would lay their eggs here in the spring and hunt mice from the plateaus or fish from the seas far below;
The sixth became great lions with a powerful, curly, woolen coat and razor sharp fangs.
The seventh cracked into a pile of stone-eating worms, blood-sucking flies and moss-eating beetles that began to go about their business.
The eighth and last stone hatched to reveal a flock of white rabbits that immediately began to sprint away from lynxes and lions.

Satisfied with the new state of the mountain, its endless green and red hills full of bleating, mooing, roaring and hooting beasts, the snake shook his head happily and hopped back down to his ship below. Many of these would likely migrate down from the mountain in time, too, he reasoned. The enriched biodiversity of this continent was much needed - after all, this world was still quite empty.

A servant came over to him as he landed gracefully on the deck of his veranda and offered him a cup of steaming hot tea. The snake took the cup with a bow and sipped it calmly.

“Ah, just what I needed. Thank you so much, dear He Bo.”

The servant nodded. “Of course, My Lord. If this servant may be so rude as to ask, where does His Lordship wish to go now?”

The snake tugged thoughtfully at his beard. “Maybe we ought to go visit some of these selka? After all, it was about time I met some actual mortals.”

“A sound plan, My Lord,” He Bo agreed.

Suddenly, however, a servant came sprinting up to the snake, shouting, “Your Lordship! Your Lordship!” She fell to her knees and hands with ragged breath before the snake who regarded her with concern and curiosity.

“What is the matter, dear servant?” the snake asked. “Please, share with me the news.”

The servant refused to look up, but even as she faced the floor, Shengshi noticed her face was glistening with anxious moisture.

“A bejeweled bird came to these servants in His Lordship’s absence, speaking of a terrible fate after death - a purgatory in flames.” The snake’s skin paled and his eyes at first went wide with shock, then sharp with rage.

“What else did it say?” he demanded, his voice like a gust of blades. The servant trembled, tears pattering against the deckboards.

“It-... It offered an alternative - a postmortum stasis until a better solution was found. However, that option would require our consent. It spoke of crystals and--and secret chambres, and--” The servant choked on her tears. “F-forgive this insolent one, Your Lordship - is it true? Is fire all that awaits these servants as we swim ahead?”

The snake shattered the teacup in his hand. A vicious bile of fury rages in his throat and through grit teeth, he cursed the culprit’s name. “Azura…” he hissed. He looked once more down at the shivering ball of kowtowing servant on the floor. Momentarily, his rage subsided and he reached out a hand to squeeze her shoulder affectionately. The servant froze, her head slowly rising to look the snake in the eyes, a feat that nearly made her faint.

“Loyal one, valuable one, worthy one,” the snake praised her. “Thank you for telling me this… Now, I want you to gather every servant aboard onto the deck for me. Can you do that?”

The servant, deep in tears, nodded frantically, awestruck to the point of near loss of motor functions. “I-in His Lordship’s name, this servant obeys!” she said and set off in a full sprint back into the palace. He Bo calmly swept up the clay sand that had once been a rather nice teacup, though his face was riddled with worry.

“Forgive this useless servant - it was not present as the bird came and attempted to corrupt its people. This servant understands if His Lordship wills its demotion--”

“That is enough, worthy He Bo. This sabotage was and is not yours to repair. It is I who have failed all of you.”

He Bo’s brow furrowed together and he prostrated himself before the snake. “H-His Lordship cannot possibly blame Himself for these servant’s susceptibility to this heresy--”

The snake held up a hand. “Your loyalty and humility are worthy, dear He Bo, but this is a matter I must clear up - you all deserve to know.”

He Bo swallowed a clump in his throat and nodded. “Yes, My Lord - thank you, My Lord.”

---

It did not take long for all the servants to gather on the deck. They were nowhere near the ten thousand they had been before the attack, but the children of the massacre were beginning to grow up and once more, the crew was nearing its full potential again. The snake sucked in a deep breath and slithered over to the edge of the veranda. As one unit, one mind, the servants all descended to their knees, held out their hands, and kowtowed as they shouted, “TEN THOUSAND YEARS AND MORE TO HIS LORDSHIP SHENGSHI OF THE THOUSAND STREAMS!” Then, they did it again, and again. After the third time, the snake held up a hand and the servants remained prostrating. He frowned and shot out a sigh through his nose. He lowered his hand and collected them both behind his back.

“Loyal servants, worthy servants, amiable servant - Your Lord wishes upon you fortune and well-being for eternity. This, and more, was promised you upon your creation in exchange for your services. Your part of this agreement has been upheld with stellar conviction and dedication, and I am no less than deeply honoured to have you with me - no one and nothing else could measure up to the Servants’ hard-working soul. All of you, every single one of you, have been true to the Way of the Flow, and this loyalty is deserving of eternal rewards in Fengshui Fuyou.”

Several servants were weeping below. The snake felt a clump in his throat.

“However, I have not been truthful to you about what happens to those who swim ahead,” he continued shamefully. Many servants looked up, wiping their tears in the process. The snake pinched his lips together in a frown. “The bird that came to you spoke true - what awaits you after death is the flame, the flame of the Pyres.” He pointed to the starry skies above and many servants looked up with terrified eyes. “Each light up there is a bonfire awaiting a dead soul, and each dead soul will burn away until all that remains is the mindless ash…” Many servants screamed; others began to weep; even many of the children who were too young to understand began to squeal. The snake sighed again. “And yet,” he continued, the panic below falling silent, “it is a necessary measure.”

The snake held out a hand. A beam of water from the river below skipped up and splashed into the palm. The blob twisted and turned, forming legs and arms attached to a torso and hips. Silk from inside the bedroom behind him came flying out and wrapped itself around the humanoid; mud from the banks below snaked its way up the side of the ship and coated the person’s watery form. The newborn servant blinked to life as the snake sat him down on the deck beside him and gestured to him.

“Servants! Without soul ash, life in this world would not be possible! This servant only lives because it was infused with the ash of souls.” The servant froze as it realised it was the centre of attention and immediately threw itself to the ground in front of Shengshi. The snake waved dismissively and the servant hurried downstairs. Meanwhile, the deck below hosted a lot of grumbling and mumbling. The snake continued:

“The ‘solution’ Azura offers to solve is the issue is a hoax! There is no solution! She offers a temporary alternative for the weak-willed, the fearful, the ignorant! What will happen to life once all the souls have been crystallised? It will freeze, halt! The Goddess of the Wind sabotages the continuation of life - it clips the wings of harmony betwixt life and death!”

Many grumbling servants began to roar with outrage and betrayal. The snake raised a fist.

“I, for one, see this not as aid for you, dear mortals, but as a declaration of war disguised as a blessing.” The crowds were now all on their feet, punching their fists furiously up into the air. Shengshi spread his arms out and looked to the sky.
“Katharsos and his Pyres form the backbone of this universe - there is no other way! Her quest is a selfish one - one spurred on by emotion without a speck of rationality! Nay, I say, for life to prosper, we must all do our part!” He grabbed the railing with one hand and pointed to the crowd. “Know this, dear servants - even I, Your Lord, would gladly, desperately even, give my soul to Katharsos’ flames if I could see this world subsist. If my divine soul could bring about the births of a billion more plants, beasts and mortals, then slay me, I say - slay me and have me bring about a boom of prosperity the likes of which have never been seen in this universe!”

The crowds thundered with cheers and roars, slowly becoming a repeating chant of “Harmony, prosperity, eternity!” The snake folded his hands over his head. He Bo and a few more servants came out of Shengshi’s chambres with the Alma in their arms. The snake gave it a hateful glare and snatched it in a tight grip, its crystalline eyes staring daggers back at him. Shengshi held it up for all to see. The servants growled and screamed at the bird, shouting ‘betrayal’ and ‘demon’ at its helpless visage. The snake grabbed each wing with his hands and held it up over his head.

“Let this be our declaration! From now on, Azura is an enemy of nature - a villain to the guardians of life! With this, the rivers of Galbar with bring war against the wind! Death to the enemies of harmony!”

The servants echoed the snake’s call: “Death to the enemies of harmony!” they shouted in a rage-filled chorus. With a mighty, two-sided tug, the snake ripped the Alma in two for all to see, the crowds below cheering maniacally.

The snake collected his bloody hands behind his back while several servants surrounded him and began to pat the blood and gore off his visage. It was done. An alliance was broken, and another war had begun.

The way to prosperity and harmony would be paved with blood and skulls.

The Abyss stirred, for stirring was what it did. But it stirred without life, since no life had been created for the Abyss. There were some Iron Carrionfish adapted to the extreme conditions down here, although after having consumed the last of Narzhak's fluids they had migrated back to the surface. The Abyssal Leviathan was made from the Abyss, although when it was here it spent its time slumbering. The Abyss was a desolate place.

Yet it did not have to be. The Abyss had no shortage of usable energy, with strong thermal gradients and energy-rich volcanic gases. A steady trickle of biomatter sunk down from Galbar's oceans, which provided a modest supply of organic molecules. The life here, under the intense pressure of thousands of metres of water and distant from the life-giving rays of Heliopolis and nurturing influence of the World Tree, would be very different to life on Galbar. But Ashalla relished the creative challenge.

Ashalla stretched out her will, and mats of single-celled organisms grew on the rocky spires just above the magma. These organisms were unharmed by the extreme temperatures; rather, they thrived, and feasted upon the chemicals which billowed up from the magma. Just as chloroplasts formed the basis of all ecosystems on the surface of Galbar, these archaea would form the basis of the Abyssal ecosystem.

But while the archaea unlocked the energy of the Abyss for biological use, they could not thrive alone. Ashalla had seen how Shengshi had created symbiotic relationships between the creatures he had made, and she saw a measure of beauty in such coordination, as well as the efficiencies which could be gained by providing different roles to different creatures. Upon the rocky spires Ashalla created coral-like beings which clung to the stone near the mineral-rich waters. Some encased themselves in protective tubes, while others fanned out in all directions. They reached outwards with fleshy plumes and frilly tendrils to grasp at biomatter drifting through the water, and in doing this the archaea entered into their bodies. While the archaea were sustained by the bodies of these worms and corals, the worms and corals in turn benefited from what the archaea produced by chemosynthesis.

Next Ashalla created copepods and shrimps, tiny little crustaceans which fed off the coral and tube worms or were eaten by the coral. Many of these were clear, making them almost invisible in the near-darkness of the Abyss. Ashalla also created crab-like creatures with long spider-like limbs which hunted on the tiny crustaceans. Ashalla also created some cephalopods with gigantic eyes, and a few small fish with ferocious fangs, to hunt on those.

At first glance, these creatures appeared dull in colouration. The dim incandescence of the Abyssal floor made it almost impossible for mortal beings to discern colour by eye, so Ashalla had given only minimal pigmentation to these creatures. But then a copepod tried to eat some of a fleshy coral, and in response the coral suddenly lit up in a dazzling display of colourful lights. Seeing this light, a squid dove in and snatched up the copepod with its tentacles. A fish which tried to eat a shrimp was sprayed with glowing blue fluids. Another fish which was accosted by a squid lit up in blinking patches all over its body, drawing in other fish and driving away the squid. Copepods communicated to each other with timed flashes of coloured light. Indeed, it appeared that almost every species here used bioluminscence in some way.

Ashalla spread this life and others throughout the Abyss. In doing this she had turned a dark, colourless, hostile place into one filled with life. The stunning displays of colourful lights shimmering on the rocks and in the water were more dazzling than the stars in the sky. She had created not just life, but beauty too.

However, all these creatures were small and comparatively weak. Even an Iron Carrionfish would instantly be the apex predator in such an ecosystem. If a Leviathan Angler or some other creature found its way down here and survived the environment, it would have free reign until found by the Abyssal Leviathan; considering the size of the Abyss, such an encounter could take a long time. Ashalla needed another species of sea monster, one to lay claim to the Abyss and extend her dominion of Galbar's oceans.

Flesh was conjured and sculpted within Ashalla's influence. A spine longer than 20 metres took shape, and it was wrapped by organs, ribs, muscle and dark black skin speckled with white spots, forming a slender body which was flattened sideways. Stretching up from its tail end all the way along its spine and halfway along its underside was a single continuous ribbon-like fin. At one end a head was made, with two large eyes and a powerful jaw which could open wide to reveal a terrifying array of sharp teeth. To add to the terror, a secondary smaller set of jaws lay at the back of the creature's mouth, able to launch forwards and drag prey into the throat.

Ashalla breathed life into the creature's body, and its gills flared open for its first breath. Its body rippled and slithered in the water as it swam forwards. Its mouth creaked open, and the water flowing into its mouth was vented out through holes behind its head such that it caused minimal disturbance to the water currents despite its colossal size. Its beady eyes slowly scanned the near-darkness of the Abyss.

The most astonishing thing of this beast was not anything which could be seen with the eyes. Ions flowed through internal organs along the length of the eel, creating a difference in electric potential which formed an electric field curling along the length of the beast, pulling an electric current through the water. At first, the current was almost imperceptible, but the electric field was measurable. When an octopus swam nearby, the distortion to the electric field it caused was sensed by the eel. It waited for the octopus to come a little closer, then the vast eel unleashed the full force of its electric organs. The octopus convulsed as electricity surged through it, and went limp when the current stopped. The eel then lazily twisted around and swallowed its minuscule prey whole.

In the time this first eel had taken its first meal, Ashalla had created more of its kind. "Deep-terrors," Ashalla said to them, "the Abyss is your home. Here you will hunt and nest. Here your young can grow in safety. You are to guard this place from any who do not have my favour. But there is a world above, a whole ocean filled with life more abundant than this Sphere. There you will hunt. You are not to harm any person who has my favour, but otherwise you are free to take your rightful place as rulers over the beasts of the sea."

Having received their directives, the deep-terrors, giant electrified eels, swam off. Some went to the hollow rocky spires to nest. Some made their way towards the Abyssal Rift and Galbar. As they went, Ashalla's words followed them. "May all who see you see my strength through you."

---

Arryn.

Yes?

I hear that, instead of searching for Li'Kalla, you have instead decided to teach some mortals how to hunt.

I... I have.

That is now your new task. Keep doing it. And Arryn?

Yes?

Next time you think to go against my orders, consult me.

Yes, master!

---

The conversation had come as a relief. His master had approved of his actions after all, and there would be no punishment. Instead he had been ordered to continue doing it, which suited him fine. He had come to enjoy his time among these Selka. They were good listeners; willing to learn, and grateful for his teachings. Anhaf was good company too, and a good leader - at least when he wasn't relying on gods to solve all his problems.

The Ubbo Tribe's skill had increased to the point where they could now hunt without his leadership, and often came back successful. Though he had cautioned them against the dangers of over-hunting; if they drove all the animals away, they would face the same issue as before. And if that should come to pass, which it very well might, then they would have to move their village. Or find another way to collect food. Spending time in prayer would not help them.

Anhaf had accepted this explanation with a nod, though the Selka chieftan had felt a certain sense of failure when he realized he had spent so much time in prayer when he should have acted. As to the rest of the village, most had come to accept Arryn's presence. Instead of respect or fear, some had even come to look at him with genuine affection, as Arya had. Such displays from the girl had irritated him at the time, but now he realized he missed it.

One day, when one of the Ubbo called him 'Arry' as he flew past, the bird froze. Wordlessly, he took off away from the village, into a tree some distance away, and would have remained there for hours.

But thinking of the past would do him no good, and the people who looked to him for guidance would be worried, so a few minutes later he returned to the village. None of the Ubbo called him 'Arry' again, believing that the name had insulted him in some way.

---

Then, one day, when the bird had decided to go hunting on his own, he returned to find a strange sight. A colourful bird stood perched on Kalmar's altar, and a dozen selka, Anhaf among them, stood before it with trepidation. As Arryn flew closer, images were transferred into his head.

He saw an image of Asceal, who was accompanied by what was perhaps the most beautiful creature Arryn had ever seen.

He was snapped out from his shock when, from her beak, a stream lies and half-truths poured forth. The message went on, and a dash of hypocrisy was soon added in. By the end of it, Arryn was clenching his beak with anger. "Begone!" he shouted, flying forward at a lightning speed and slamming into the Alma's side to drive it away. "Take your lies elsewhere!" he shouted as the creature was pushed away by several feet.

The Alma's response was to turn on them, and then, recognizing the threat, began to launch beams of light at him. Arryn dodged and evaded the attacks. The Selka screamed and ran. Then Arryn was upon the creature. He pinned it to the ground, and with furious pecks and slashes, his claws and beak tore through flesh and metal until the creature was dead.

A wail was heard behind him. Arryn turned to see a Selka male, lying face down in the dirt, a smoking black hole in his back. A woman and her child hovered over him, crying, while others stood nearby with mouths agape. One of the huts had been set ablaze. The sight filled Arryn with even more rage. Asceal and Azura had caused this.

Anhaf approached with bow in hand. "What happened!?" The Selka chief demanded. A horrified expression dawned on his face as he took in the destruction. "What was that creature? What did it show us?"

"Lies," Arryn answered. "And it tried to slaughter us because I saw through them."

Anhaf blinked, and was about to ask more questions, but there was a more urgent crisis at hand. He called for a healer, and begun organizing the rest of the village to work on containing the fire.

---

Hours later, when the crisis was over, Arryn was once again in Anhaf's hut, the Selka chief sitting before him. "What again did I see?" The Selka chief asked him uncertainly. "Was any of it true?"

"Some," Arryn conceded, "But it was twisted."

"How so?"

"She said you had an immortal soul. There was some truth to it, but not the whole truth. When your body dies, only your soul remains. But in time, your soul will decay too. The soul itself will remain, but you won't; your mind will fray, and you will be driven mad, until eventually you cease to be."

Anhaf was horrified, and could find no words.

"Katharsos, the God of Death, prevents that from happening. He takes your soul and burns it down to soul ash, ending your suffering. That soul ash then goes on to form new souls, so life can continue. There is a finite number of souls, and souls are needed for life. Without his system, we would get to a point where all life would cease, and we would have nothing but mad, decayed souls. Katharsos did not create soul decay; he only made a solution to it."

"So it's necessary, then?" Anhaf asked.

"It is. Azura can protect you from Katharsos's pull, but that will only allow you to decay into nothingness, and deny new souls the chance to be born. You will find no salvation or rebirth as a crystal."

"Then why is she doing it?" Now the Chieftan was confused.

"I don't know. But I don't believe it is to protect you, as she claims. I think she intends to hoard the souls for herself. If her intentions were honest, she would not need to resort to lies and hypocrisy to see them through."

"What do you mean?"

"She claims she wishes to save all souls from Katharsos's pyres, yet she allowed that griffin to burn. She claims she values free will, yet she lies and withholds information, before admitting to 'saving' the ones at the pyres without their consent, which I assume means 'stealing.' She also says these crystals will be brought to secret locations, but they won't remain secret for long now that she has announced their existence to the world - gods and mortals will seek them out, and they will find them. Either she is trying to manipulate you, or she did not think this through. Is that someone you would trust to care for your soul?"

"No," Anhaf said. "No it isn't." He tensed in rage, and his eyes glistened. "Her bird murdered Pallamino..."

Arryn nodded. "The bird murdered him when I called it out and tried to force it to leave. Why do you think it did that?"

"Because it didn't want to leave, or because it didn't want to be caught in a lie." Anhaf found himself wiping away a tear.

Arryn nodded again, and then there was a sad look in his eye. "The Goddess who was with Azura was Asceal. I met her. I liked her, and I trusted her. To find out that she was a part of this..." his voice trailed off.

"What will you do?"

"We must inform the rest of your tribe. After that, I will inform the rest of the Selka. And while I am at it, I will teach them some of what I taught you, as well. Remember: when the time comes, do everything in your power to resist the Alma. Do not trust Azura or Asceal. Until then, try to live your life as normally as you can."

"That will be hard," Anhaf said, steeling himself and rubbing his eyes. "They will not take this news well, knowing that only fire and decay await them. What do we do if another bird appears?"

"I don't know. Don't attack it. Ignore it. If it attacks you anyway, then pray for aid. Kalmar, Kirron, or I might be able to help you, but I can promise nothing."

"Why couldn't they just leave us be?"

---

They had gone outside, and they had told the other Ubbo Tribe the truth as Arryn perceived it. Given how the bird had already murdered one of their own, and they were desperate for something to soften the grim news that the Alma had carried, it was not hard to convince them. When the time came, they would defy the Alma and accept the natural cycle of life.

It was then that Arryn announced that he would be leaving, to help the rest of their kind. Most were sad to see him go, and a few begged him to stay, but the bird had to wave those concerns off. "Anhaf is a capable leader, and there are two gods you can pray to for guidance if things turn dire. You will weather this crisis, as you have weathered others. Ignore Azura, and continue to live as you have been taught."

And with those words, the Avatar departed.

---

---

She awoke refreshed, having taken a small catnap after the events of the night and morning. She looked up at the ceiling, letting the waves rock her back and forth. It would be a rough one today. She groaned, remembering what she promised to the servants. Though she was excited, she had her own doubts about being a teacher. How could she ever fill Hermes shoes? Both her mothers were excellent teachers, and Arya was only ever good at learning. But, she would try, if not for them, then for herself.

She sat up in bed, remembering the conversation with Shengshi yesterday put a smile on her face. It felt good to relieve herself of such a burden but that was not the only person she needed to talk to, now was it? There was Kalmar, and she let out another sigh before falling backwards on the bed. Her hair grazed the wall, and she thought about what to say. After a long minute of back and forth with herself, Arya sat up again and shut her eyes.

”Hello, Kalmar. I know you can hear me, so before you you speak I want to say this- I am sorry for running away, for letting my anger get the best of me, and for murdering those servants. I don’t know how you feel about me now, but I just wanted to let you know that I regret what I did and can only ask for your forgiveness.” she whispered aloud to herself.

For a time there was silence, and it seemed almost as if there would be no response. But then the Hunter’s voice could be heard inside her head. What is there to forgive? he asked her. The attack was against Shengshi, not I. If you learned from it, and don’t let it happen again, then I see no reason to hold it against you.

”Oh Kalmar.” Arya sighed in relief, with happy tears beginning to well up in her eyes. ”I missed your voice, Kalmar. I really did.” she said happily, holding her hands together. She took a deep breath to calm herself and said, ”I’ve learned a lot since I left. Many lessons, good and bad. My anger has been under control ever since, I swore it to myself that I would never let it happen again.”

Good, the voice answered. Now what has happened to you since I last saw you?

”A lot.” she said, ”Well were to begin? After I left you both I traveled through a desert, got attacked by a sandstorm and then met a Kostral! Her name is Split-Tooth and she is my friend. We decided to answer Choppy’s quest and went on it, traveling far and wide until we called for a delivery and she came, giving us a coffee and,” she paused to take a breath, ”A giant bunny! With horns that produce food and I named her Penelope! I had to trade my ring for her though, but it was worth it. Then we traveled to Choppy’s sphere and delivered the coffee but, uh, then we all got seperated and I got wounded by a Lurker.” she said softly.

”But Kalmar, then I found myself on Tendlepog, and Hermes found me, or I guess Poppler did but they took me in and I call them moms now. Oh Kalmar they have two beautiful boys named Chagatai and Wenbo and such a lovely home. Um then the servants came and asked for help on a quest, so I’m on a boat right now traveling to a small island to deliver…” her voice went silent as she thought about telling him the truth, but she shook her head. It was best not to worry him, ”To deliver a cargo. We left a while ago, but the trip shouldn’t be too long and I can get back to Tendlepog. That’s about it really… oh, um, I might also be a Ward of K’nell now, too.” she said cringing.

K’nell? I never met him. Kalmar said. And what of Orvus? he asked her.

A silent phew escaped her. ”He’s a good one Kalmar, he’s taught me many things within his Palace of dreams. But you will never guess what Kalmar, my father...he…” her voice went silent.

What? Kalmar asked, with a mixture of concern and impatience.

”He created another child! I have a sister, Kalmar!” Arya’s voice was full of bubbly excitement as she giggled aloud and in her head.

He did? Now Kalmar was surprised. Go on.

”Uh huh! Shengshi told me that she was looking for me, so I haven’t actually met her yet, but I really want to meet her, Kalmar. I want to know her, what she looks like, how tall she is, how her voice sings, her stories of adventure… everything. You know…” she paused, ”I was confused at first, even a little jealous, but I can’t blame her for being born, now can I? I don’t care that she knows my father better than I do, all that matters is that I get to know her too.” she said smiling.

Hmm… I’d help you find her, but I have other things to focus on right now. Kalmar said. You should know that I made life of my own. Their names are Makab, Roog, and Karamir. Some might consider them my children, though I don’t know if Makab or Karamir would consider me their father - it seems as if everyone has a different definition of what family means. Anyway, it isn’t likely, but you might encounter them in your travels.

”That’s alright, Kalmar. She’ll find me, I know it. Now, those all sound like boy names. Except Roog, that sounds… well it doesn’t matter what it sounds like. I know boys can be difficult, but why wouldn’t they consider you their father?” she asked innocently, thinking of Chagatai and Wenbo.

Kalmar sighed. In nature, there is normally a process which leads to children being born by their parents. Roog, Makab, and Karamir were not created through that process, and neither were you. I used to put a distinction between fathers and creators - all fathers were creators, but not all creators were fathers. Yet you consider Orvus to be your father, and he considers you to be his daughter. Meanwhile, other gods name be ‘brother’ even though I share no parentage with them. It is confusing.

There was silence from Arya as she digested the god’s words. Slowly she began to realize that It was such a Kalmar thing to say, and she disagreed. ”Kalmar, do you remember when you found me? I was cast out, alone and afraid. But you took me in, you and Arryn… Did you know that I consider you one of my father figures? Shengshi and K’nell being the others. Orvus is my father, for he created me with his own power and I am of him. He did not mean to create me, but he did and here I am. It doesn’t matter if you share parentage or blood, I think? All that matters is that they look up to you, and you do their best for them, through the good and bad times. Now please tell me, that you did not cast them aside like my father did to me. Please.” she said on the verge of tears.

Cast them aside? No. Makab is with me right now, and before that he has always been under Asceal’s care. Karamir? I did send him off on his own, but I made sure he had everything he needed, and he can contact me at any time. Roog? I left him under the guidance of Katharsos, his other creator, who has chosen to accept him as a ‘son.’ The Hunter then paused, as if in thought. As for what you think defines a father… that interpretation is valid, I suppose. It is something I must think on.

She sighed in relief at this words and was actually surprised that she had gotten through to him. She had not been expecting that in the slightest. She wiped away her tears and with renewed vigor said, ”Oh Kalmar you have no idea how much that warms my heart. I am glad, but please Kalmar, do not wait for them to reach out to you if they seek to talk. Find them and learn of them and from them, do not be like my own father.” she said with come confidence.

I did mean to check back on them at some point, Kalmar told her. Whether I consider them my children or not, they are still my creations, and I am still obligated to them. As for you? The Hunter almost seemed to take a breath within her mind. I did not create you, but at the time, I suppose I did come to think of you almost as a daughter.

”That means a lot to me Kalmar, I am glad.” she said with a very large smile in here eyes. ”Now I told you about me, what about you? What’s new?” she asked excitedly.

Kalgrun has changed. I, and a few others, have made changes to it. There’s far more life there, but it’s also far more dangerous. If you ever return, be careful, he warned. Also, I assume you are thinking about Arryn. He has been doing well for himself. He has been giving guidance to a tribe of mortals, and I intend for him to move on to the rest of the species.

Her heart grew warm at the mention of Arryn, but more surprisingly was the mention of another mortal race. ”Another race? Who is Arryn teaching?” she asked.

Creatures who call themselves the Selka. The group he was teaching calls themselves the Ubbo Tribe. They live on the coasts, along the southeastern corner of the largest continent.

”Selka? Ubbo? What funny names!” she said laughing. After a moment of his, she pulled herself together but only barely and said, ”Well, I am glad Arryn is okay. Do you think he still hates me?”

Hate you? I don’t know if he ever hated you. He was angry, of course, but I wouldn’t call it hate. And by now that anger has faded. I think he would be glad to see you again.

She nodded to no one, feeling a bit better at how things went down between the two of them so long ago. ”I would like that too, one day.” she said softly. ”Oh! I almost forgot, my sister’s name is Laurien if you ever meet her.”

I will keep that in mind. Now, I have a war to get back to. Kalmar said, his voice grim.

She squinted her eyes at the sound of of the word. ”War?” she asked seriously. ”Where at? What happened? Is everyone okay?” came a flurry of questions.

Dragon’s Foot. The Gods Ekon and Sartravius raised armies to attack Shengshi. I came to help him. But even with two enemies preparing to destroy everything he made, he chose to end our alliance and reawaken our feud over perceived insults. He sighed. It does not matter. Those armies need to be stopped. Regardless of Shengshi’s pride.

”W-What?” she asked, dumbfounded at the idea of them feuding again. She could hardly believe such a thing, and there was supposedly a war going on. ”Kalmar, what do you mean you are feuding again? I thought you settled it. I thought you both agreed to stop!” she said with a rush of emotions in her voice.

I thought so too, Kalmar remarked bitterly. But then he didn’t like my ‘manners’, and suddenly he was threatening the lives of my creations and I wasn’t going to stand for that. Not after I came all this way to help him. And in a way I am still helping him despite all that.

”Ugh.” was all Arya said before falling back onto the bed. ”Why is it that the Gods always bicker so much?” she asked, crossing her arm across her eyes.

Kalmar ruminated on that question for some time, and then he answered. Conflict is part of nature, he said at last. We bicker and fight, but so do common animals, and even mortals. We all had different intentions for this world when we shaped it. Some were good, some were bad, and not all of those intentions can peacefully coexist. And though my ‘feud’ with Shengshi is pointless, I am not the one who chose to issue threats or break the alliance.

”That makes sense, I guess. I just wish things could be peaceful.” she said thoughtfully. ”I… Won’t know what to think until I hear both sides of this disagreement. Until then, I’m just going to pretend it never happened.” she said sitting up. ”I have to get going now, Kalmar… It was good to talk to you.” she said sadly.

It was good to talk to you as well. Just know this: I don’t expect you to take sides. It would be best if you kept yourself out of this. Now… goodbye. And with that Arya stood up, putting some clothes on and took a deep breath. It was time for her day to begin.

---

Bright eyes gazed upon the ceiling, going over every fine grain, every dent, and every scratch. They found nothing new, for it was all the same as it had been on the first day she had been moved in. Yet, still she searched, trying to find something new, something that brought back excitement. There was no longer disappointment in her eyes however, for she had grown use to never finding anything new. She stretched, careful not to hit the wall with her long arms, before settling back down. She didn’t really want to get out of bed today, but she knew she had to. Not for herself, but for the others, of course. Of course.

At a snail's pace she got herself ready, putting her long, curly hair into a loose ponytail. The length went to the small of her back, meaning it would need to be cut soon. Soon, anyways. She put on some of her old clothes, they were a bit small on her and full of holes, but Arya was not one to complain about such small things when they had bigger problems to worry about out. She stood up and made her way to the door, bending down slightly to clear the frame and let it shut behind her. As she walked past the cargo, she ran a finger across one of the boxes, and her imprint streaked across it like a jagged line. The cargo would need to be dusted soon, but it was hard for her to imagine anyone wanting to do it. It was why they were out here in the first place, it didn't deserve to be dusted. She smirked, such a thought was strange, but that was her line of thinking as of late and she continued on. The ship was silent, almost like the moon, but the steady lapping of waves against the hull and her own steps reminded her they were still on Galbar. As she walked up the steps, the sunlight beamed down, prompting her to cover her face as she ascended.

When her feet reached the deck her eyes focused and fell upon a servant tied to the central mast, screaming and hollering nonsensical gibberish - on repeated occasions warning the crew about ‘the great worm’. Around him were tired and surly crewmates, some scrubbing the deck for the fourth time this morning, already, for a lack of better things to do. As Arya turned the corner to ascend to the helmsman’s post, a pair of guards gagged the man with a cloth. She looked blankly at the post as she walked by, feeling nothing for the servant. Her compassion had ran dry a long time ago, the time that one of the 'maddened' killed- She shook her head, it was a memory she didn't want to relive.

Atop the helmsman’s post, she found, as usual, Qiang Yi flanked by Zhen-zhen and Zeng En, all three pouring over their maps which, on the bright side, had become quite detailed over the past decade. As usual, they were arguing over the correct course of action, with Qiang Yi insisting that he had found the right route and Zeng En shutting him down with the report on the remaining freshwater stores. Zhen-zhen had run out of books to read ages ago, and had resorted to studying the maps with an almost fanatical interest. Zeng En noticed Arya and silenced himself, Qiang Yi also quieting down at her approach. Even though it had indeed been twelve years, they bowed to her all the same.

“Lady Arya, good morning,” Qiang Yi greeted. Zeng En nodded with a snort and Zhen-zhen either didn’t pay attention or didn’t care to.

Arya strolled over to the map and slammed her hands down on the table, sending Zhen-zhen’s head flying back in surprise. She shot her a sour scowl and kept staring at the old pages regardless.

"They'd be twelve this year, you know. Chagatai and Wenbo. Not like anyone cares." she said with little emotion. "Twelve years and we still are at sea. The water supplies are low and once again we'll have to go back to land with nothing to show for it. The others are growing restless, or growing mad and I… Don't even feel like waking up some days. So no, it is not a good morning, Captain."

Qiang Yi cocked his head to the side and sighed. “You’re repeating yourself, My Lady. You said the exact same thing, word for word, yesterday - and the day before.” He shook his head. “Maintain faith and the Exalted Creators will reward us with our destination,” he said enthusiastically and raised his fist. Zeng En frowned a little, but repeated the words and raised his fist. Zhen-zhen simply tighten her hand into a ball and went ‘ooo’ with an almost draining level of ennui. “But yes,” the captain continued, “it looks like we will have to turn again; HOWEVER! this time, I have cracked it, I am certain!”

"Yes. The Exalted Creators." she said sarcastically. "Look at you three. Do you even believe the words you say anymore or has it just become natural?" she sighed, frowning and turned to Qiang Yi. "Go on then, Captain, what new scheme of yours will claim more lives?" she said bitterly.

The captain sucked in a deep breath through the nose, the brush in his hand nearly snapping in half. Zeng En and Zhen-zhen both glared at Arya. “Lady Arya, with all due respect, we are doing our best to complete our god-given mission. All aboard this ship know what such a mission may cost them; however, assuming the mission -will- be the end of us is -not- appreciated.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed some sea salt out of the corners of his eyes. His once silky black hair had become unkempt and wild with time. “Now, the plan…”

Arya exhaled a deep breath, saying, "I am… sorry, that was uncalled for." she said sheepishly.

“Yeah, it was,” snapped Zhen-zhen. Zeng En whacked the back of her head and she once more fell back to her maps. Arya glared at Zeng En. The quartermaster did not, however, seem very content either with the apology. Meanwhile, the captain dug through the tall pile of maps until he found a very detailed portrayal of the southern coast of the Dragon’s Foot. He snatched a piece of charcoal and drew a series of almost desperately quick lines from the Nanhese delta to an empty point in the middle of the eastern ocean. When done, he tapped the point ecstatically with the charcoal and circled it again.

“Here! Instead of setting off south from the Henshan, we go straight east - just east all the way. See, w-we know that the island is somewhere in the eastern sea. We know it’s -not- south of the Foot, and heading east from the Kick gets us nowhere but to that colourful place with all the shells… What did we call that again?”

“Yanhai, I think,” said Zeng En with a rub of the chin.

“Yeah, that was it… Anyway! THEREFORE! it must be--” He drew a straight line east from Mt. Eldahverr, marked on the map as Henshan, and straight south from the Great Soul Reef, marked on the map as Yanhai. Once more, he knocked on the map with the charcoal, breaking off the tip. “Here! It must be here!”

Arya looked at the map with an intent gaze, following Qiang Yi's lines as he drew. As much as she was skeptical about the plan it was really their only option. "Hmm. Okay… okay. Good a plan as any." she said.

Qiang Yi beamed at her approval and squeezed Zhen-zhen’s shoulder. She barely reacted. “Then it’s settled! We will return to Nanhe to refill the water tank and then find the island!” He laughed a little maniacally to himself as he skipped over to the stairs and went towards the bow. Zeng En followed the captain’s movements with a saddened expression and looked down at Zhen-zhen.

“Sorry I hit ya,” he mumbled. Zhen-zhen sighed and shook her head. “No, it’s alright. I was being dumb…”

"The fault is mine." Arya said to the both of them, her expression softening. "Look. I know we don't see eye to eye anymore, but you don't have to hit her, Zeng En. I can take the criticism, I'm not a child anymore. And no, you were not being dumb, Zhen-Zhen. You were merely sticking up for the Captain. I… Should be going now." Arya said sadly, beginning to leave the same direction Qiang Yi had.

“Good day, Lady Arya,” Zeng En mumbled. Zhen-zhen said nothing.

She walked down to the bow and went to the edge of the ship. Wherein she leaned up against the railings and looked put at the endless sea. Somewhere out there was their destination. She just wondered if they would ever find it.

---

Roughly a month later, the tired ship sailed into the sweet embrace of Nanhe once more. The remaining crew screamed their lungs out in joy as they mindlessly hopped over the edge and into the waters, bathing and swimming to their heart’s content. Qiang Yi saw to it that the ship was at the very least anchored to the river bank before he, too, dove into the river with a gleeful cry. The servants all dropped their salt-stained skins and splashed each other with wave after wave of fresh water, laughing all the while. Meanwhile, still tied to the main mast, the maddened crewmate kicked and howled, wanting desperately to swim as well. Zhen-zhen, the last remaining crew member aboard the ship, sat staring at the animalistic servant with tired, scowling eyes.

"Zhen-Zhen?" came Arya's soft spoken voice from behind the smaller woman.

She didn’t really answer, merely hummed to whatever was listening as she stared at the wild man in front of her. She wagged lethargically from side to side where she sat and the tune in her voice was quite similar to one Arya had heard a thousand times aboard - only it was terribly flat.

Arya said nothing more as gentle hands wrapped around Zhen-Zhen's arms, guiding her away from the man. Arya bowed her head, and then said, "Come on, let's get you to the water. Wouldn't you like that?" she asked quietly.

Zhen-zhen looked up at Arya with round, empty eyes. For a moment, she said nothing, even as she was picked up and guided along. Then, at the edge of the deck overlooking the river, she nodded her head as droplets began to roll down her cheeks. “Yeah… That’d be nice…” Then she skipped off the edge and into the river below. She stayed underwater for a long time, but the girl that broke through the surface a few minutes later was not the same that had jumped. Zhen-zhen grinned from ear to ear and swam over to Qiang Yi, casting herself over his head and pushing him under the surface playfully.

With a sigh of relief at the sight, Arya viewed her companions in a new light. It was good to see them like their old selves and a small smile crept up in her eyes. She then stretched her own limbs and cast herself into the sky. It had been a long time since she had flown.

While Arya soared about, Qiang Yi stepped onto the green banks of the river and stuck his hand in the clean, pure sand. His skinless body soon recovered its layer of sand, this one much cleaner than it had been for many months. He had drunk deep in rich waters and for the first time in longer than he could remember, his eyes had the beautiful algae green and water blue colour of the river. More and more of his crew crawled onto the banks, their eyes all the same, though some opted for a muddy layer of skin instead of sand. Qiang Yi counted the heads. Thirteen years, it had been, since the crew left the Dragon’s Foot for the first time. Now, all that remained of the once proud forty sailors were eighteen exhausted souls. Li Shan had swam ahead many years ago during a terrible storm… Yong Mei had been murdered in cold blood by a maddened crew mate, whom Qiang Yi had had executed promptly thereafter. A part of the captain was certain that all this would change as soon as the mission was over, yet a thought itched in his head, telling him that all of it was, in the end, pointless - no rewards would be waiting for them in the end. Then again, it wasn’t about the reward - although one would be nice. They had suffered quite a bit, after all - perhaps just a small favour from-- NO! He could not allow himself to think such heretical thoughts and--

“Captain?” asked Zhen-zhen with an uncharacteristically concerned look. Qiang Yi jumped and found that everyone was staring at him. He felt his breathing speed up and looked back at Zhen-zhen with wide eyes. “You were talking to yourself,” she continued.

“T-talking to myself? What, is the captain not allowed a few mumbles every now and then?” he said and let out a sheepish chuckle. The people around him furrowed their brows and looked at one another. Zhen-zhen took his hand in hers and sighed.

“Look, cap, you’re under a lot of stress, we know. Just-... Know we don’t hold it against you.” Her following smile ignited a flame within him, though it did not manifest the way he wanted it to. Qiang Yi pulled his hand to himself and scowled.

“What is this nonsense you’re saying, first mate?” he said and stood up. Zhen-zhen and the others frowned and sighed. Qiang Yi rubbed his hand a little and sucked in a breath through his nose. “Right. Refill the tank and prepare to sail out again.”

Calls of protest and widened eyes spread throughout the crew. Zhen-zhen rose to her feet. “Cap! We -just- came back! Let us at least have a day or two--!”

“No!” Qiang Yi retorted. Zhen-zhen and the others went quiet. “The sooner we finish the mission, the sooner we can return home and rest. Now obey!”

Reluctantly, the crew swam out to the ship and climbed aboard. Zhen-zhen remained staring at Qiang Yi, who regarded her with a raised brow. “What’s the matter?” he asked. Zhen-zhen merely shook her head and swam back to the ship. Qiang Yi remained on a beach a little longer, staring out across the river.

“You are unworthy,” came a voice and the captain tossed himself around.

There was nobody there.

---

The flow of the air through her hair was refreshing as it could ever be, and for the first time in such a long time, Arya giggled. She whipped in the air, carelessly and relished in the moment to let herself escape from the confines of the ship. She did not fly over the open water, one too many times she had almost lost her way. She shivered just thinking about. It was one thing to be lost as sea with a crew, but another entirely all by yourself. She traveled well away from the ship, and from prying eyes, touching down on a soft beach, the water crystal clear and inviting. She stripped her clothes off and waded in, letting the cool waters flow over her. She let herself float, and just once, she relaxed.

Her relaxation was interrupted by a bird. A colorful creature that landed on the shore, talking about images and warnings of something. She swam closer, perplexed by it. She had never known a bird to speak before and then, the images of Asceal and Azura came forth, and a small squeal of surprise came from Arya. Her eyes went wide as she realized they stood upon a massive whale, somewhere in the dark and a great inferno was behind them. She had not been expecting that. And then Holy Azura spoke;

“Good people of Galbar…” and Arya listened, her face devoid of any emotion. She watched the griffon die, and heard the wails of the dead, and listened to Azura speak of the soul crystals and salvation and freedom and sleep but the only things she could dwell on was that death meant burning and the only alternative was to be trapped inside a crystal for eternity. Then the projection faded, but the images of the griffon did not leave her vision and her expression became one of horror. It was all too much.

She quickly scrambled out of the water, and landed on her knees upon the sand. The alma flew to a nearby tree, as Arya began to hyperventilate. She couldn’t believe it, none of it. She had never thought of death, but now that she knew what awaited her, she was consumed by fear. She exhaled in a wail, beating the sand with her fists as the black tears came.

”It’s not fair… It’s not fair!” she said, yelling at the Alma. ”How could they do that? How could they…!” she said crying and she cried for a long time. The toil of the journey, now coupled with this, all came crashing down upon her in an instant. It all felt pointless to her. To burn, or to sleep without dreaming. To her, both were as equally horrifying to behold. How could anyone choose? Why even make an alternative place to go, when it did little to comfort those that were dead? What was the point behind it all? Upon her hands and knees she looked down at the sand, then up at the Alma, who stared at her as if waiting for her answer.

”Go away.” she whispered to it, ”Go away!” she said, standing up, but it did not move. ”GO AWAY!” she screamed at it, and after a moment the thing flew away. She fell to her knees again, holding her face as she sobbed.

”Arya…?” came a rich voice from behind her. Arya removed her hands, wiping away her tears and said, ”I’m fine! I’ll be at the ship in a minute.” she said shakely.

”Sister.” said the voice, and Arya’s eyes went wide, realizing that she had never heard that voice before. Fearing some sort of trick, she slowly turned around to see white, glowing eyes staring at her. The woman was tall, much taller than any she had seen yet, wearing a tattered cloak riddled with stars and upon her back a hilt of a sword could be seen. Her hair was long, colored like a nebula and she was beautiful.

”L-Laurien?” she whispered, and the woman nodded. Arya got to her feet, and both stared at each other for several moments. She looked so familiar, yet so different then she, but it was unmistakable. She was of her father’s work.

”Sis-” she choked, beginning to cry as Laurien bounded over, embracing the small girl in a bear hug, as they fell to their knees. ”I found you.” came Laurien’s broken voice. ”I found you.” she murmured again, holding Arya tight to her chest. The girl knew not what to think, but she felt small, like a child once again and somehow, it felt right. It had been so long since she had gotten hugged, and it felt wonderful, especially by someone who she knew to be her kin. Laurien began to stroke Arya’s long hair, and let go of her hug so that they looked at eachother. Both could hardly contain their smiles, and Arya began to giggle as happiness welled up inside of her.

”I can’t believe it,” Laurien started, ”I finally found you, after so many years and all because I heard someone yelling. And it was you, Arya. It was you, and… I’m so relieved and happy and we have so much to talk about out.” Laurien said happily.

Words momentarily escaped Arya as she nodded in return, using her hand to feel Laurien’s lips and nose. It was odd to see, but at the same time, it felt right on her. She began to giggle again and said, ”You’re so big.” and at that, Laurien beamed a smile before chuckling out loud. Her laugh was sweet, Arya noticed and quite infectious. Between her chuckling she said, ”Oh Arya, I’ve waited a lifetime to hear your voice, and the first thing you say is, ‘You’re so big.’” and at that, they both began to laugh until tears rolled down their cheeks. Arya hugged Laurien again, and the tall woman gently patted her back.

”I...I never thought you would find me.” Arya said suddenly, looking up at Laurien, ”His-his holiness told me about you so long ago and… for some reason I began to think you didn’t exist, like you were some made up thing but here you are. When I needed someone the most.” she said with a mix of sadness and joy.

Laurien pulled Arya tight to her and murmured, ”Here I am, and I’m not going anywhere, Arya.” And the small girl believed her.

Later the two walked down the beach, talking about their lives, how they ended up where they did. Laurien's story was impressive, her sister had always been one step behind her but she never gave up. Even when she arrived on Tendlepog, only to hear from the Warden that she was gone. She had continued on, year after year trying to find Arya and only by a stroke of luck had it finally happened. And Arya told her about her life on Tendlepog, of her mother's Hermes and Xiaoli and of the boys. Then she told Laurien about her time on the ship and the many challenges they had to overcome and they still had nothing to show for it. Then at last, when the conversation turned quiet, Laurien asked her why she had been yelling.

This a light sigh, Arya told her of the Alma and the fate that awaited them all. As she opened up about her deep fear, Laurien was silent and patiently listening. At last when Arya finished, Laurien began. "It's okay to be afraid. The Alma visited me as well, but I already knew what awaited us. I learned from our father, who learned from Katharsos himself. He's not so bad, at least not the tyrant they make him out to be. He gave me this, after all." and Laurien showed Arya the black soul pearl around her neck. It a was surprised to say the least, and a pretty one at that. She wished she had brought her own necklace from the ship, finding the similarity amusing.

"Do not be afraid of the end, Arya. I know it is not what any of us really thought would happen, but it is what is. We die, and we burn so that our souls can be recycled and more life can be born. Without that, if all of the souls are stolen by Azura and Asceal, then there will be no more life. Babies will be stillborn, life will stagnate and the world will die in the end. Their only solution is to hoard the souls until they can find a better one. That doesn't sound like a good idea, now does it?" Laurien said thoughtfully. And coming from her sister, Arya did not feel so afraid anymore. Her words were comforting, but the problem still persisted.

"But it looked so painful when that griffon burned." Arya said sadly. "Yong Mei and the others… they all burned too. Oh gods." she said crying.

Laurien did not say anything for a moment and then sighed. "Yes, I can only imagine why the Griffin screamed. Perhaps it was not ready to go? Perhaps it did not know what sacrifice it was making? There is no telling if your friends burned in the same manner. Maybe they did, maybe they accepted their fate and maybe still Azura captured them to live alone in the dark. In the end dear one, we can only find out when the time comes. And when that day comes, it will be okay." Laurien said. Arya stopped in her tracks and began to shake lightly as she looked to Laurien, who turned to look at her with concern.

"I… Don't want to die." Arya said.

"Oh honey." Laurien said before embracing her sister once more. "Nobody ever wants to die, Arya. But you shouldn't live your life with death constantly on your mind. I fear death as well you know. But I've realized I can never be happy if I live in constant fear. If it happens, then I will go out with a smile because I know I lived my life well. And as unfair as it is, I know that when I burn, I do so as necessity for more life to flourish." she said softly, stroking Arya's hair.

After a moment, Arya pulled away from her sister, looking up at her with a soft smile. "I… Thank you, Laurien. Thank you."

"You are so welcome." Laurien replied with a smirk. "Now… I can only imagine what impact this has had on your crewmates. We should get back to them."

"Oh no… Come on!" Arya said taking flight with Laurien following behind her. "They're fragile as it is, and on edge. I can't imagine this is improving anything!"

[Hr]

Arya’s prediction could not be more correct. Where there had been joy and celebration mere hours earlier, there was now chaos and confusion. Aboard the deck, some crew members knelt screaming before the Alma while the rest, including the officers, flocked to the statue of Shengshi with folded hands and desperate prayers.

“Does this mean Li Shan burns endlessly in the sky despite a lifetime of faithful service, Lord?!” Zeng En demanded of the statue. “Does it?! Will we also face infinity in the flames?!”

Qiang Yi tried to calm the racket, but it was evident that he, too, had completely lost his mind, reciting zealously passages from the Classic of Wisdom regarding the eternal reward for service to Shengshi: “Loyalty to our Lord; dedication to our skills; master these and stretch for more; death’s reward turns greater still!”

Zhen-zhen sat in a corner, clutching her head as she howled in horror. Meanwhile, the man tied to the main mast kept screaming, “The end is at hand! We will all BURN!”

Arya landed first amidst the confusion and horror of the servants. Next came Laurien with a stoic look upon her face. Arya began to say something but her words were drowned out by the praying and shouting. Then there was a loud humming sound and then an eruption from behind her that shook her very bones. She turned around to see Laurien one handing her massive sword into the air, shooting a beam of scarlet energy. She nodded at Arya, as if beckoning her to speak.

Arya turned back to the servants and shouted, "Everyone stop!"

The beam shook the whole crew to silence and they cowered before the two titans. Qiang Yi blinked a few times and pointed a shaking finger at Laurien. “L-lady Arya, who…” His stammering voice managed little more before he was forced to silence by another scream from the madman on the mast.

“It’s come! Our end has come! BEWARE THE CLOAK OF STARS--!” The mad stopped screaming suddenly, for he was suddenly untied and tossed over the side into the river by three very vexed people. Qiang Yi blinked over at the affair and turned back to Laurien, much calmer now. “Pardon that… Who is this, i-if this one may ask?”

"This is Laurien, my sister!" Arya beamed happily. "And she has come to help!" and as if on cue, Laurien put away her sword and bowed to them all, an enormous smile crossing her face as she did so.

When she stood up Laurien spoke, "Long have I searched for my sister and to find her in one piece, by servants of his Holiness no less, I am honored. Thank you." Laurien bowed again.

The servants looked confused at her, but Qiang Yi nodded slowly. “Y-yes, of course! Any friend of His Lordship is a master to these servants. As Your blessed s-self addresses Him correctly, this servant can assume that You have met His Lordship, yes?” Slowly, the others began to crowd around the two girls, the anxiety in their eyes fading no time soon.

"Yes indeed! His Holiness welcomed me aboard with open arms. So long ago now, it seems. The bathhouses were so lovely, but that's beside the point. I am here now, to offer my assistance with your quest. If you'll have me." she said.

The servants gave each other the first comforting smiles in hours. Zhen-zhen stood up, her eyes ringed with red. “Whatever makes this quest finish faster,” she muttered, much to the agreement of the surrounding crew members. Qiang Yi shot her a vile glare, but quickly turned back to Laurien and Arya with a maniacal grin. “Yes! Yes, Your Ladyship is -most- welcome aboard! Please, follow me so we can find you a suitable bunk to sleep in.”

It was Arya who spoke next, "Wait a moment! We need to discuss what we all just heard." Arya said, her voice full of sadness. She took a deep breath before exhaling. "I know it is a lot to take in. I was the same as all of you after Holy Azura spoke. I am of the firm belief that we did not need to know such things, and the fate of the dead. It… does us no good to dwell on what happens to us when we are dead. We are alive now, and we should continue to live to our fullest. When our souls are burned, we are making the ultimate sacrifice. We become soul ash, so that life can flourish after we are gone. The soul Crystal's offer no such thing. We would be stuck in a rock prison, unable to do anything even sleep and for who knows how long. But I will also say this, I'm not telling you what to chose, I only offer advice I heard from Laurien. That is all." Arya said, looking to Laurien with a smile. Her sister returned the smile and nodded.

"What Arya said is true and I stand by her words." the tall woman said, placing a hand upon Arya's shoulder.

The servants frowned at one another, but slowly nodded. “Yeah… Yeah, that’s reasonable,” went Zeng En. “But… Li Shan still…” He swallowed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. Qiang Yi, on the other hand, beamed at Arya.

“Yes! Yes! -Just- as I was saying! No need to panic, no sir, no need! We give ourselves for life to prosper - just as His Lordship would have wanted!” He stood alone celebrating for a moment while the others stared at him in deep concern. Zhen-zhen walked over to him and squeezed his hand. “C-captain, are you alright?”

Qiang Yi froze and looked down at her. “Why, yes! Never been better, ever! Now come on! We have a quest to complete!” He turned around and took one step before rubber-necking back. “Who said that?!” he snapped. The crew members’ eyes went wide and Zhen-zhen felt a burn in her nose as tears pooled in the corner of her eyes.

“Qiang Yi, n-... Nobody said anything.”

“O-oh,” said the captain. “Is that right… W-well, get to it, then! Hoist the sails and take us to the island!”

Reluctantly, the crew members got to work. Arya and Laurien shared a concerned look, Arya most of all. She had seen such things before. The paranoia, the thought of whispers around every corner. Quickly Arya caught the sleeve of Zhen-zhen, sharing a wordless look of knowing. Zhen-zhen blinked at her, then looked away.

“He’s tired,” she said. “Years and years of harbouring guilt, making mistakes, taking the blame… It’s broken him down. It’s never been this bad, though. He’s been on edge for a while, yeah, but… Now he’s hearing things and-...” She choked down a sob. “... Oh, Lord, what do I do…”

"Zhen-Zhen… You aren't alone in this." Arya said before embracing her in a hug.

She held the hug for a moment, sobbing into Arya’s shoulder. Then eventually, she began to wriggle her way out, shaking her head. “S-sorry, it’s just… We’re not really supposed to… Hug,” she muttered. “But thanks.”

Reluctantly, Arya let her go saying,"I know, but sometimes, you really just need one. Just keep watch on him for the time being, and we'll figure something out." she whispered to her then smiled, looking up at Laurien.

"Come on, I'll show you around." she said to her.

The ship was soon back at sea and the crew with the fate of fire added to the already prominent fear of the ocean, were more on edge than ever, despite Arya’s heartwarming speech. Qiang Yi poured over the maps day in and day out, his eyes trembling with energy whenever he observed landmarks and stars than matched his predictions. Zhen-zhen and Zeng En tried their best to cheer him on to avoid any outbursts, but with every passing day, they grew more and more anxious at the captain’s deteriorating mental state. The ship kept a steady course, however, and soon enough they had set out into open sea, the kick-off from Mt. Eldahverr luckily passing without incident. From that day, the captain barely rested, his eyes constantly comparing the stars to his charts. The course had to be steady - it had to. The distance was too long to allow for even the slightest error.

In the black of night, as only the Garden lit up the sky, Zhen-zhen found Qiang Yi by the statue of Shengshi in prayer. She hesitated to approach, knowing full and well that interruption would lead nowhere. So she sat herself on the stairs, waiting for the whispers to quiet down. However, after a time, she heard sobbing. Her head slowly turned and her misty eyes fell upon the once-proud and mighty captain Qiang Yi, groveling and hammering at the floor, whispering loudly about his failure and how he wished he had died years ago. She could not sit and watch.

In a burst of speed, Zhen-zhen stormed over to Qiang Yi and grabbed tightly both his shoulders, glaring teary daggers into his shocked orbs. “Listen to me, Yi,” she snapped through the sobs, “You are -not- a failure, you hear me?!” Qiang Yi opened his mouth to retort, but Zhen-zhen was faster. “No! You are -not- a failure! You are our captain, and the finest captain to ever exist at that! I-...” The sobs overtook her voice for a moment. “... I will not sit here and listen to you wishing for your life to end--” There came another sob. Qiang Yi’s tense form relaxed a little. “... I cannot,” she continued, “I cannot bear to hear it… Not you, Yi… Not you...”

Qiang Yi pinched his lips together and sniffed as he brought a hand to his face. He blinked to the side and looked up at the statue of his master and creator, its ceaseless, stern glare fixed on him. A voice echoed through his mind, “She’s lying… She holds you responsible for their deaths… You see them? You see their faces? Yes… Imagine that, huh - twenty-two blessed souls, all dead…”

“... Because of you.”

In a burst of strength, Qiang Yi pushed her away and crawled backwards while screaming “GET AWAY! LEAVE ME ALONE!” Zhen-zhen pushed herself up and covered her mouth with her palm.

“Y-Yi?” she sobbed, but the captain scrambled to his feet. He hurried over to the table with the maps and rummaged through them until he found an inkwell. He clutched it tightly in his hands and turned to Zhen-zhen whose eyes widened with terror.

“Wh-what are you--”

“You hate me,” he said. “You all hate me.” Slowly, he approached.

Zhen-zhen pushed herself backwards, but the railing on the edge of the deck halted her movement. “N-no, Qiang Yi, we lo--!”

“Love me?! What foul nonsense. I have done nothing but bring shame and disappointment to our crew and quest - I have had the dagger in my hand with every loss. How can you love someone, no, some-THING like me?!” He charged at her. Seeing it as her only option, Zhen-zhen tumbled down the stairs to the main deck. As she collected herself and tried to stand, a hand grabbed the collar of her rugged dress. There stood the captain with the inkwell in his hand, its black content afoul with soiling particles. She tried to pull herself loose, but his grip was iron.

“Y-Yi,” she sobbed. “Please…”

The captain’s quivering eyes did not part with hers as he slowly shook his head. “You despise me… I-... I will not be made a fool of again… I am… I am worthy. His Lordship said I was worthy!” He uncorked the inkwell with a flick of the thumb.

“No… No, Yi, PLEA-!”

Like the point of a knife, the opening of the well stabbed into Zhen-zhen’s chest, filling it with the dark liquid. Like a poison, it spread through her, its dirty nature crippling the spirit maintaining Zhen-zhen’s form. She gasped and looked down as the sand on her body took on a darker shade. With a trembling hand, she grabbed the captain’s fist and shook her head, her mouth agape.

“P-... Luh-... Ease…”

The spirit within was conquered and water and sand fell to the deck with a splash and a dunk. Qiang Yi stood there, still clutching the dress of his first mate in his left hand and the inkwell in his right. Then he collapsed to his knees, letting out a screaming howl of despair.

The thunders of footsteps rushed up the stairwell behind him, lead by Zeng En, Arya and Laurien.

“Captain, what ha--” Zeng En began, and spotted the clothes, the inkwell and the black water underneath the clothes. The calm, collected warrior, so long a loyal friend of Qiang Yi, saw nothing but red.

“You… Murdered her…”

Qiang Yi looked down at the inkwell in his hand and the cloth in his other, then at Zeng En.

“YOU MURDERED HER!” Zeng En screamed again and charged at him.

"Zeng En, wait!" Arya shouted, grabbing the man by his arm, then sweeping his legs out from under him, the warrior crashing into the deck and squirming under Arya’s hold. Laurien in the meantime calmly walked up to Qiang Yi and outstretched her hand. The broken captain did not react - he merely gazed at the hand with a misty, lost look, and it was hard to tell whether he actually saw anything at all.

Laurien took the inkwell and cloth in one hand and in the other she gripped the captains shoulder like a vice. "Arya. Should I kill him?" she said coldly. At this Arya grew sad and let Zeng En go. "The punishment for murder is death, but we need him still. What's left of him, to guide us to the island. He… tie him to a post." she said.

“No!” Zeng En boomed as he stood up, the remaining crew flanking him on either side. “He dies now. A soul for a soul. To Henshan with this quest! We turn home and tell His Lordship we-... We failed!” Many among the crew grew anxious at the suggestion. Zeng En grit his teeth as he looked around. “This mission has taken too much from us. It is cursed - the cargo is cursed - the island is cursed!”

“Zeng En,” the captain muttered. The quartermaster shot him a hateful, yet pitiful glare. “Don’t speak such foul heresy,” he continued, “this… This is a god-given mission, and we are--!”

“To Henshan with the gods,” Zeng En spat. Qiang Yi and the crew froze, and Zeng En looked around at what had become a flock of enemies.

“You take that back,” one of the crew members snapped and shoved him into another who shoved him back.

“You spineless coward,” came a second comment along with a punch.

“Heretic!” came a third, backed up by a kick that brought the warrior to his knees.

Arya stood and began deflecting their blows as she stood above Zeng En. "Stop! All of you stop! You're acting like children!" she shouted.

The crew members backed off, but they glared daggers at Zeng En all the same. There came a laugh, this time from Qiang Yi. The crew looked upon him with disgust as the captain stood up and gently pushed Laurien’s hand off him. “Look at us, people… A moment ago, you stood loyally by our quartermaster, demanding my head - now, it’s his on the block, all because of a simple sentence.” He stared up at the sky and stretched out his arms slowly. “So much death - some at the hands of nature, some at our own - all to serve the Exalted Creators…” He snickered. “... Maybe this mission indeed is cursed.” He looked past Laurien a little and gave a weak smile. “We have arrived.”

The others turned to the front and began to scream. “BY SHENGSHI, MOVE!” Zeng En bellowed as he tossed himself to the side. Laurien dove for Arya and Arya barely knew what was going on before they both were in the air.

The ship collided with the stony shore, sending splinters of wood and planks flying in every direction. Unprepared servants were catapulted forward, many crashing into the masts and splitting apart into sand and water. Zeng En and Qiang Yi, as well as a few others, were fortunate enough to dodge all the dangers aboard, crashing instead onto the sandy and rocky beach.

Laurien held tight to Arya as they floated above the crashed ship. It hurt to see it in such a state after so many years and now it was just as broken as all of them. As if sensing the urgency in the air, the two landed and began helping the servants.

Qiang Yi lifted his head weakly out of the sand and stared up at the rocky cliff with the cave entrance to Sanvādam and began to giggle. “We… We made it.” The giggle became a maniacal cackle. “WE MADE IT!” He rolled over on his back and raised an arm into the air. “You see us, blessed K’nell? We made it… In Your honour, and in His Lordship’s honour, we made it…” A shadow blotted out the heliopolis over Qiang Yi’s head and the captain froze.

“With the blood of your people, you fiend!” Zeng En roared and brought down a huge boulder. Qiang Yi rolled out of the way with newfound reflexes and got to his feet, just in time to dodge a second strike from the warrior. He kept losing ground as Zeng En forced him further and further back. Eventually, Qiang Yi’s back slammed against a stone wall. To the right was the sea; to the left was more stone - he was trapped. Zeng En closed in.

“You were a good man, Qiang Yi,” he muttered through rage-fueled sobs. “Pure of heart and soul! Yet you became… This…” He hefted up the rock; Qiang Yi shrunk before the giant. “I hope the pyres burn extra hot for you, YOU MONSTER!”

Zeng En never lowered the stone; instead, it fell at his own feet. The captain looked on in terror as a black, legless humanoid slowly slithered its way through Zeng En’s torso, two chalk-white eyes scowling hungrily. Zeng En’s body twitched and wriggled, but the giant managed one final, hateful glare at the captain before the spirit exited him and his soul was consumed. With an empty ‘fuff’, Zeng En’s gi fell to the ground along with several litres of water and sand. Qiang Yi crawled further up against the wall, his breath like his heartbeat. The echo’s eyes blinked at him with ravenous intent and started floating closer.

Then, in a burst of black smoke, it exploded, the blade of another black shadow outheld where the echo had been. The nightmare, which had been in stasis for the last five years for a lack of better things to do, had no eyes, yet Qiang Yi could feel its hateful stare. That was when the captain noticed the multitudes of similar black spirits floating around, slaughtering his crew - then, a little further down the beach, he saw Arya and Laurien defending a small group. They were, however, outnumbered. The captain looked up at the nightmare, but it had already left to fight. He then looked down at the empty clothes of Zeng En.

“... I’m sorry, old friend,” he whispered as his eyes began to water. “I’m sorry for all of this…” He remained sitting for a while, his mind floating back to all the memories… Li Shan and his builders making those beautiful statues to the gods; Zeng En sparring against Yong Mei on the deck; Zhen-zhen and her smug smile…

Another sob. He clutched his face with one hand and suppressed a scream. It had all been because of him, but only because he had made it so. In his fear of the others’ hatred for him, he had caused so much suffering. In trying to prove wrong the demon in his head, it had possessed him - he had possessed himself. He once more looked at Laurien and Arya, both of them losing ground. The servants they had been defending had long since been killed. The captain was the sole servant left on the beach. Even the nightmares were struggling.

He clenched his fist and rose to his feet. There was only way thing to do now.

"Get behi-" Arya tried to say before being set upon by an Echo. And she watched them, one by one, die before her own eyes. The servants, her friends and her family. She spun wildly, 9n then defense and lashing out only when she could, while Laurien cut down anything that got too close. She needed the flute, Xiaoli’s gift to her. She had almost forgotten about it, hidden within her room.

"I need my flute!" she screamed at Laurien as echo and nightmare fought for dominance. Laurien cut another echo in half as she gave Arya a look of confusion. "A flute?! What are you going to do, sing them to death?" the woman shouted, narrowly dodging an oncoming echo. "It's-" Arya said, vaporizing an echo with a blast of desolation. "It's something like that and my mother gave it to me!" she shouted. "Well go get it then, I'll cover you!" Laurien replied back.

With a nod of approval, Arya flung herself between the chaotic brawl and down into the ship she went.

As Arya dove into the cargo hold, she encountered Qiang Yi holding the flute in his hand right hand and a burning torch in his left. He blinked in surprise at first, then smiled wryly and offered it to her. “Here, take it and fly to safety,” he said softly.

"H-How did you know where I hid it?" she asked him, taking it within her hand.

“Yong Mei once gave me a list of all the items onboard, counted down to the last grain of sand… You’re not as good at hiding things as you may think,” he said and gave her a wink.

"Bless her heart…" Arya whispered, clutching the flute within her hand before looking at Qiang Yi again, "I'm so sorry, for all of this. We never should have left Tendlepog."

“No, no… This is all my fault,” he said somberly, though he kept the smile all the same. “I succumbed to the demons within, and my friends - my family - all paid the price.” He nodded at her. “But you, you still have a future, lady Arya - a life to live alongside your sister.” Echoes slowly floated through the ceiling behind them, and Arya saw Qiang Yi stood next to a tall wicker basket. The captain shot an anxious stare at the echoes and then looked back to Arya. “Now go! Fly! Live!”

With tears in her eyes, Arya nodded sadly and brought the flute up to her face, her mouth parted and she pressed the flute to her makeshift lips and began to play a sad tune as she flew away, leaving Qiang Yi alone.

As the echoes around Laurien and Arya fell asleep, the remaining ones closed in around the only prey left in the area. Qiang Yi sucked in a breath and ceremoniously lifted the lid off the wicker basket to reveal the glistening orvium gift meant for his master. As the echoes came ever closer, he found himself thinking of a poem - something of a final set of words before his inevitable demise. As he held the torch above the sand, he thought of the right words:

“Far away from home;
Death envelops my cold heart;
Here, I meet my end.”

The echoes pounced and Qiang Yi dropped his torch. The orvium flashed momentarily, and then left nothing on the beach but a desolated waste.

---

Both Arya and Laurien hung their heads, far above and away, watching the fire upon the beach. Neither had said a word to each other since the explosion, but the air was palpable between them. Then, Arya turned around and looked to the horizon. Laurien floated next to her, and placed a hand upon her shoulder. ”I’m so sorry, Arya… They didn’t deserve that. I… I wish I could have saved them.” came her said voice. Arya turned to look at her, her face forlorn. ”I do too. It was… All for nothing, wasn’t it? In the end, I lost them all, I failed to protect any of them and worst of all, I told his holiness I would protect them.”

Laurien bowed her head. ”Only time will tell if it was worth it Arya. I believe it was. You learned, you grew and you made memories to honor them by. They would have wanted you to live, to go on and tell their story. His Holiness will understand that, Arya and if he does not, then I will make him.” Laurien said playfully. Arya gave a small smirk and sighed, ”We should get going, it’s a long way to Tendlepog and I don’t know how to get there.” At this Laurien’s face lit up an she floated to stand in front of Arya. ”Leave it to me, sister. I know the way.”

”Okay.” Arya smiled.

---

A meeting of one’s entire people was quite a sight to behold, and quite important for all the implications. There was a speech Hase would give today would probably mean that this would not happen again, at least he hoped it would for what that would mean for their numbers. This was an important moment, he would have to pray and ask if there was some measure of thing to do with these sorts of events.

It was the meeting spot decided upon in there meeting with the Divine Azura, where the monuments to the Divines were raised. Quite appropriate to speak of their actions and the decisions that would come from that. There was more to this than merely that of course, power disputes had always been something of a problem, although now that was something that could be solved. The disputes had been getting worse since Ihokhe had left, the First Ones lacked concord and they held a great deal of influence over the rest of the Ihokhetlani, nothing good would remain of their continued concentration. So with his great prestige from having his ideas accepted he could reasonably suggest others, that which he hoped would create a new safe concord between all Ihokhetlani.

That was the plan at least, it seems that so far all he had managed to do was to get everyone rehashing the same arguments that had been put forward to Azura. At this point, practically every priest was either talking in small groups amongst each other or actively attempting to be the next speaker forward on the current topic that had seized the moment of decision. The laity seemed to be quite passively observing at this time at least, they ringed around, a little separated from the priesthood that so disabused any notion of serenity or much dignity.

In truth, however, he had spent well enough time waiting already, the other first ones were quite content to let the relative chaos continue so some points had to be made. Hase began stomping his right foot on the stone ground, consistently until the others grew quiet for him to speak.

“All of you have made good points, some of you have made your positions very clear. It is a dilemma, that which has been presented to us by the Divine of Wind, Azura. One that is most difficult to answer, while few wished to be ended as it is said the Pyres inevitably will, none could not recognize the soul ash is needed for new Ihokhetlani and even the continued use of our existence. But a point must be made clear, this is no consensus, nor will be one gathered today, nor is it needed. The ash still flows, we know of none yet gone beyond life, and the choice has been left up to us. Us. Not the first ones, not the priests, but each and every one of the people descended from Ihokhe. Priests may, and should guide but the choice has been passed from Divine origin to the individuals, and there it shall remain. Each will come to their choice in time, the Alma are there for you if you decide that path, and the other is open as well.”

“I must reiterate, there is no consensus, and there will not be. That is quite plain for all here to see, what is to be decided, and announced has been and will be now.” Hase paused letting his words sink in, he retained silence and had all attention once more. “The Ihokhetlani cannot remain here, not solely here. The path has already been shown by Ihokhe himself when he left to spread the Ihokhetlani further, and we must now follow this path to reach the fulfillment of ourselves. We sit and wait for Divine action when we have been told to act ourselves and given the means and capabilities to do so. We have no recourse except to act, to leave this place of our creation and spread ourselves, the children of Ihokhe, first life under Divine Ohannakeloi across this land of Atokhekwoi and world of Galbar. Our bodies, minds, and souls are strong, we should fear not the unknown and instead embrace it as Ihokhe has done. One of the Firsts leading the Ihokhetlani forward, that is now what it shall be.”

“I propose that this council of priests should be divided amongst the first ones here assembled, and then sent across to spread the glory of the Divines to new corners of this globe. The priesthood will take our congregations far, but as we have faith in the Divines above and below, we shall move forward in holy sanctity. We should have no fear for future, for lands unknown, or for our Souls, as our actions and choices are ours given Divine authority. Have faith not in my words, instead have faith in the Divines. We are charged to spread their holy word and power over all of creation, as we most fully capable.”

“Who here would question such purpose as we should now undertake?”

---

It was nice to see when all your work came together so well. After Azura had left he had settled in to watch the Ihokhetlani, to see what path they would take on from now on with the stresses put upon them. What path would his creations take? Would his teachings hold up? And his questions had been answered and he was pleased. He still got a few prayers asking which path was best, but they were resolved, he could see their diaspora was proceeding already. To think it seemed so little ago when he sat with the first of them and answered their questions and taught what was good, right, and fair.

He could not stay, he had work to do. The Ihokhetlani, while strong among the mortal species, were not invincible by far, and if those mortals were to truly prosper they would need others to clear the way. That was something Ohannakeloi could ensure, something that mattered.

Ohannakeloi sank further into the stone, down back into the Buajaoi and took off, to the east.

---

---

A few weeks before the creation of Roog...

The Southern Jungle of Kalgrun was quiet, save for the occasional sound of one of the Gemstone Gardeners - the same creatures Kalmar used for the feathers on his arrows. It was they who had planted this forest, and little else existed here. The climate was too hot for the species elsewhere on the continent; the vegetation too thick and unfamiliar. A change was long overdue, and looking down from above, Kalmar couldn’t think of a better place to teach Melantha how to create.

“Alright, just think about what you want to create - what it looks like, how it will function, what purpose it will serve, and then will it into existence,” he reminded her. For days and weeks he had taught her the basics of her abilities, and now it was time to move on to something more complex. “What it will eat, what it will drink, when and where it will sleep… You can do this.”

Melantha looked at Kalmar, then back at her hands and then to the forest below her that expanded in all directions. They had traveled across Kalgrun, Kalmar showing everything that his little creation had to offer. Melantha chuckled every time he made a stop to showcase to her a creation he was especially proud of, like the direwolf packs roaming the grasslands of mainland Kalgrun or the griffins that made the skies of the continent their domain. However, she had to give credit where it was due; Kalmar had managed to create several balanced species that managed to survive and thrive among the high variety of other fauna that existed alongside them.

Indeed, it would not be a stretch to say that Kalgrun was infested with beasts capable of rivaling a direwolf or a griffin in a fight. From giant trolls to ferocious lizards and savage bears among other dangerous beasts, Kalgrun was filled with all kinds of nastiness. Thus one could imagine her surprise when they had visited the southern part of the continent and the jungle forest that mostly covered it. It’s inhabitants consisted of only one single notable species which in and of itself consisted of about four other subspecies, parrots he had dubbed them. From what Kalmar had told her, they basically built the jungle from the ground up with their strange abilities.

They protected the forest and nourished it with their strange, magical auras. So Melantha could not help but wonder why such a rich environment was not more densely populated by a larger variety of animals. Of course, there were the insects and small animals, but Kalmar had spread those across the whole continent so finding them in this jungle was not something unexpected. What was unexpected was the absence of larger animals. Animals that could take advantage of the terrain and thrive, just like how Kalmars other creations had.

Melantha found herself deep in thought, ruminating Kalmars words to her about taking into account everything before creating her very own first species. All that time they had spent together, Kalmar teaching her about the basics of her abilities and then delving deeper into what it meant to be a god would be tested with this creation of hers. In some sense, this was her initiation into godhood.

“I am thinking… about a creature that would take advantage of the jungle terrain. Use it to camouflage itself as it sneaked behind its victim, ready to pounce on a moments notice. Kind of like those felines you showed me some time ago, that used the grass to their advantage in order to get closer to their prey.”

Melantha flew down, past the canopy and into the jungle, coming to settle upon a tree branch. Kalmar followed her, hovering in the air nearby, watching with some level of interest what she would do next.

“What better way to bring the environment to your aid than being able to blend among the leaves, bushes, and trees, watching your prey from above and waiting for the right time to swoop in for a successful hunt. A flying creature would be ideal for this.”

Kalmar nodded, with a small approving smile. “A common tactic among flying creatures. Good choice.” Melantha smiled at Kalmar’s words and got back to thinking. “Hmm, speaking of felines… If I could modify it… The ears… Yes, the body would have to be lighter…”

Melantha devolved into incoherent mumbling at some point and only after a long while did she emerge from her thoughts, her eyes now clear, indicating she had come to a decision.

“I think I have it. Let’s see…” With that, Melantha closed her eyes and concentrated on the mental picture she had created in her mind. She thought about how she wanted her creation’s anatomy to work, building it from the ground up in her mind. Simultaneously, she held her hands in front of her and cupped them, feeling the now familiar godly power emerge and flow, pooling between her palms. There slowly, she felt her first creation take form. From bones to organs, to flesh, skin, and fur. The whole creation bit took a little while to finish, and by the end of it, Melantha found herself relatively tired, mostly mentally. Nevertheless, she sighed, her face donning a smile of content. Two faint mewls emerged from within her clasped hands, prompting Melantha’s smile to widen even more.

As she slowly opened her hands, two little furry heads emerged from within, immediately scanning their surroundings before locking in on Melantha, upon which they started mewling even louder than before and started clumsily crawling along her arms, one on each. Melantha turned to Kalmar, evidently excited about her new creation. “What do you think?”

Kalmar studied them closely. “A good start. Sharp teeth, wings, good senses I assume. Well done.”

“Thanks, It was actually easier than I thought it would be. Must have been because I based them on your feline design before making my own changes to fit this environment.” She turned to look at the one that had managed to crawl up to her shoulder and found it starting at her straight in the eyes before letting out another barrage of mewling that devolved into a kind of faint vibrating sound as it started rubbing its face on her cheek. The other one seemed to be a little more clumsy as it took longer to reach her shoulder, but eventually, it also nestled next to Melantha’s face and, almost copying the first one, started sniffing Melantha’s face instead of rubbing on it. That one seemed to be the more curious of the two, and perhaps the more cautious.

Even Kalmar was moved by the sight. He blinked, visibly taken aback, as he felt a strange, unfamiliar tug at his heartstrings.

“I can’t just leave them as they are though… They are essentially defenseless, brought in a world unknown to them and clinging to the first person they laid their eyes upon.” Images of Melantha’s first waking moments flashed through her mind once again, and she immediately identified with her two new creations. “No, definitely not,” she said out loud, talking to herself. “I have to stay and protect them, prepare them for the world… But not like this...”

A few silent seconds passed, but the proverbial gears inside Melantha’s mind were nothing but silent. They turned and turned until, eventually, a solution dawned upon her. She then turned with a sudden clarity in her eyes to look at Kalmar. She gently picked the two newborn creatures by their necks and handed them to Kalmar. “Hold them for a moment.”

Kalmar took the two creatures in either hand. One began to protest immediately, looking back at Melantha, while the other fixed its eyes on him, simply staring. Kalmar met its gaze, and, unsure of how to respond, simply nodded at the small winged kitten.

With that, Melantha flew off the branch she had been sitting on for a while now and hovered a few feet away from Kalmar. She then took a deep breath in, before closing her eyes and focusing once again on the godly power inside of her. This time, however, what she was attempting was something completely different. Something she had honestly never tried before and did not even know if she was capable of doing. She brought the image of the creatures in her mind once again, and this time focused her power onto herself. A faint sheen of darkness, unbeknownst to her, emerged from within her, covering her skin and clothes. Within this “cocoon” of shadows, Melantha’s form started to change dramatically. Big, bony growths started sprouting from her back, her arms merging with them and coming to a point where her hands used to be. From her armpits, thin leathery membranes grew outwards, connecting her arms with her torso to form a pair of wings. Her clothes sank into her body as she started bloating, and soft, black fur started growing from her skin, eventually coming to cover her whole body from top to bottom. Her legs shortened and her feet transformed into a talon-like shape, with strong, sharp claws at their tips. A strange pattern formed along the sides of her legs, coming to an end at the middle finger of each talon.

She grew a long appendage from her back that resembled the ones that her two creations had, and her face molded into one resembling that of a cat, albeit with a longer tongue and two larger and longer sets of ears. Her whiskers glowed a faint golden color, however, unlike the two newborns. Once the transformation had finished, the dark cocoon dissipated and a transformed Melantha emerged. Folded as they were, her new wings covered most of her new body and made her seem deceptively small. As she opened her eyes, however, she unfolded her wings as well, and what a sight it was.

Her wingspan easily measured fifty feet across, covering the canopy above and casting a large shadow below as she hovered there, a little dazed by the transformation. Eventually, she came to and looked down at Kalmar before speaking into his mind. “What do you think?” She could not help but let a hint of proudness leak into her message.

It took a moment for Kalmar to take in the change. “The wings will make flying easier, and your creations will think you are one of them. Though…” he hesitated for a moment, before looking down. “Visually, I preferred the way you looked in your old form. But there are merits to this one as well.”

“I do not intend to stay in this form for long. Just a few days, maybe a week. Until I feel confident they are ready to be left to roam in the wild on their own. Then…”

A strange emotion filled her as she thought about her next words, but she suppressed it before continuing. “Then I will be leaving.”

Kalmar nodded understandingly. “Letting your creations go when they are able to fend for themselves is an important step,” he acknowledged. “I will help you teach them how to survive if you want.”

“Of course, any help you can offer is going to be appreciated. Although I have learned from you… I can’t really say I am also confident in my teaching skills…”

“Teaching is what I do, I suppose,” Kalmar realized. “Let’s get started.”

Melantha let out a laugh telepathically at Kalmar’s joke. “Yes, let’s,” she said and flew closer to pick up the two from his hands. During all this time, they had remained silent, simply staring at her humongous form. However, once they found themselves snuggling inside her thick fur, the two immediately awakened from their little reverie and started mewling like crazy. Eventually, however, they fell asleep, tucked in there, safe.

---

---

A few weeks later…

“They’ve grown fast,” Kalmar commented, looking down at the two Catats, each now three to four feet in height, as they feasted on a Gardener. Melantha had decided to leave the naming rights to Kalmar, as a compromise for helping her with their training.

“Haven’t they?” Melantha looked at them from above, a happy smile on her face. She had assumed her humanoid form now and was hovering next to Kalmar.

“I’ll admit, I had my doubts when I saw their size. But seeing how large they’ve grown, you’ve done a great job,” Kalmar told her.

“To be honest, I too did not expect them to grow to this size. Caught me off guard as well, but I can’t be more happy with how they ended up.” Melantha had been distancing herself from her two creations gradually since they had grown and acclimated to hunting on their own. However, the whole situation was not as hard as she thought it would be. As if programmed into their instincts, the moment she started distancing herself, they too began to do the same. At first, it would be a couple of hours, then a whole night, then two nights. Their little duo hunting trips would last longer the more they grew up, up until the present day. They had been gone from the “nest” for close to four days, with no sign of wanting to return. The whole thing raised a bittersweet feeling inside Melantha, but she knew this is how it should be and did not complain.

It seemed it was time for her to let them fly away.

Kalmar glanced over to her. She had assumed her old form, and he knew what that meant. As if reading her thoughts, he reached over to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Feeling his hand, she half-turned her head, glancing at him. She hesitated for a split second, but ever so slowly ended up putting her hand over his. At that moment Melantha realized that she, subconsciously, had forged a connection with Kalmar. All this time spent together, getting to know him as a god through his words and actions, and as a person through the thoughts and feelings he had shared with her that night at the cave, when he seemingly had poured his heart out to her about his problems with the other gods and with himself, made her understand that she wanted to know more about him, to know more about Kalmar the god, as well as Kalmar the person.

These feelings were, honestly, a first for Melantha. She knew she viewed him as an ally, even a friend by now. But these feelings… Melantha found herself unable to explain to herself what these feelings meant. Very quickly, she found herself slowly starting to become overwhelmed by these, very new to her, emotions.

Kalmar looked away and took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for something, before looking back. “I need to say…” he said at last. “I… greatly enjoyed spending this time with you. I…” his voice trailed off as if he was unsure how to continue. But then, mustering all the determination he could, picked it back up. “I’m not familiar with these feelings, and you know I’m not good with words, but I’ve started to care deeply about yo-Ithinkweshouldpartwaysforsometime!”

The sudden outburst stopped Kalmar's words dead in their tracks. The Hunter blinked, leaning backward an inch as if recoiling from a strike. His eyes widened, and his brows raised. “W-what?” he managed to utter, beneath the shock.

It’s a good thing that Kalmar said exactly what was in Melantha’s mind, cause right at that moment, her brain had frozen over in equal shock. She looked at him for a few seconds, her eyes never leaving his. Multitudes of emotions and several changes of facial expressions later, Melantha finally asked in a shaky voice. “I-Is that… What you said, true?”

“I…” the Hunter began, his voice adopting a nervousness that Melantha had never heard from him before. He took a deep breath to recover, and then, with a much calmer voice, spoke one word. “Yes.”

Melantha let out a sigh, lowering her head for a few moments to recollect her thoughts. “I… have been thinking about my place in this world. From the moment I woke up, you’ve been there, by my side, helping me, saving me even.” Kalmar raised his eyebrows, this time in anticipation rather than shock. “But lately I’ve been thinking that maybe, just like how I will be leaving these two,” she said and briefly looked at the two Catats below, now having had finished their meal and grooming themselves, before continuing. “Just how I will be leaving these two, I think it is time I also leave your side. I need to expand my horizons and see what the rest of the world has to offer. You said it yourself, I am a goddess. There are no limits to what I can do. I need to do this… alone.

Kalmar turned away, his gaze seemingly fixed on a tree. He had exposed himself, and left himself vulnerable, only to be struck in the process. It was not intentional, he knew, but it stung nonetheless. For a long time, there was a tense silence as the God of the Hunt worked through his emotions. He took another deep breath and turned back to face her, his expression once again calm and stoic “I unde-”

Kalmar’s voice was cut off as Melantha’s lips connected with his. She stayed like that for a long while, an instinct she did not know she had suddenly welling inside her and forcing her to move her body against her will once more. After a few seconds she pulled back, and now in a weaker, fainter voice, told him. “Y-you did not let me finish my sentence. I need to do this, alone, as I said. However, I have, too, also realized that my feelings for you seem to run deeper than a simple friendship… I think we are not ready for this just yet… I still intend to leave, but I will come back, and when I do, I will bring with me an answer.”

Once again, the shocked expression had returned, mingled with confusion. She had seemingly rejected him, and then went and did this? A gesture which he didn’t fully understand the purpose behind, but instinctively went along with anyway. Perhaps one of his fellow gods, who were better with words or empathy, might have understood what was happening, but this was completely alien to him.

Then she explained herself, and the Hunter sighed with relief. His hands instinctively sought out hers. “Then go. Do what you need to do. And when it’s done, we’ll meet again,” he said, offering that small smile of his.

Melantha looked at him in the eyes, returning the smile before slowly extracting herself. She gradually hovered up and away from him, towards the sky, and right before she broke through the jungle canopy she threw one last look at him. Then, Melantha turned around and took off, the brief light from the Lustrous Garden that had peeked through as she shot through the canopy quickly being blocked again by the thick branches and leaves of Kalgrun’s Southern Jungle.

Kalmar flew upward through the canopy as well but followed no further. He remained where he was, his eyes focused on her back as he watched her leave, growing ever smaller in the distance.

Only when she disappeared over the horizon, vanishing from sight, did the Hunter finally turn away.

---

---

Many years had passed, now, since the tribe arrived on the island, and the tribe had grown greater than its founders ever could have expected. There were now almost one hundred individuals, and the cramped cave was now neighboured by small pits in the ground roofed with sticks, leaves and dirt. There were a multitude of families now, some of which had even taken new names after disputes with their original clan, or just to distinguish themselves. Where the Wuhdige had been five lesser clans, it now consisted of seven, with Aga and Egwoi, together with their two children Hagwoi and Ege, breaking out of the Agoh family to form the Woiwoi family, and the Eliap together with his wife Joo had broken with the Elu after a dispute over rights to sleep in the cave. They had moved a little further down the beach and renamed themselves the Julu. While they kept in contact with the main tribe, they seldom willingly came over to visit.

But today they came. Today was a bleak day. The clouds were a mixture of gray and black, signalling imminent rain, no doubt. A circle of selka surrounded a single selka, placed upon a stretcher made of wood and hides. It was old Yupe, finally worn of life and thus had gone away to the faraway seas where the waves were made of fish and the sea foam was fresh, fatty milk. Tokuanhe, now an aged selka and in need of a stick to stand over longer periods of time, stepped into the ring and cleared his gruff throat.

“Thank you all for coming,” he began. “We’re here today to remember our ol’ pa Yupe and share the good memories he gave us, uhm-...” The large selka snorted and cleared his throat. “Suppose I’ll start off, uhm… To me, ol’ Yupe was like my pa. Whenever I did dumb stuff with Odende and we got in big trouble, we was always there to help us out and make us, y’know, not do that stuff again. Yupe was-...” The was another sniff. “Yupe turned me from boy to man, people. I owe that ol’ blubberclump everything and,” yet another sniff, “and I’m gonna miss him, y’know. Gonna miss him real bad.”

There was a clap of fin-like hands and the giant stepped back into the circle. Next up came Odende, his bulky form rivalling the sheer size of Tokuanhe. The champion nodded respectfully at the chieftain and turned to the corpse. “Yeah, uhm… Like Tokky said, uh… It ain’t easy sayin’ goodbye to an ol’ pa. I-if fact it’s really hard. Dunno exactly how I’m gonna say it right, ‘cause ‘he was good’ simply ain’t cuttin’ it. He was more like… Uh… The best, maybe. He was really more of a pa to me than my real pa, and now I know what you thinkin’ - Odende, you can’t say that - but say it, I do! Yupe was the best pa in the world, and, uh… Yeah, and now he ain’t here anymore, so, uh… Thanks for everythin’.” For the first time in years, the giant with arguably more muscle in his body than its remaining contents, shed a deluge of tears as he turned back to the circle to the sound of applause.

Next up was Toku’e, Yupe’s wife. She sniffed a few times, leaned down and clapped the old selka affectionately on the cheek. “I’m gonna miss you, you blubberball. Many of you probably don’t know this, but Yupe actually brawled my first man for the right to have me.” There were gasps and somber giggles around. “Yeah, yeah,” she nodded, stifling a tear. “It isn’t easy to say goodbye to such a brave hunk of fat and fur who wanted to give his life for you to love him - I mean, how do you react to that?” She shrugged and looked down at the peaceful face. “Even now, it’s not really like he’s dead - he looks exactly like his sleeping self. I kinda…” A sniff. “I kinda wish I hadn’t seen him like this now, for now I kinda just… Expect him to wake up in a few hours.” He looked to the many women and girls around. “Take note, girls - this is what love does to ya. It, uh… Uhem! It gives you years and years of unforgettable joy and then, then punches you real hard… Right in the gut.” The ring could have filled a small pool with tears at this point. The old selka woman knelt down and planted a wet, near-toothless kiss the grey-furred head. “Thanks for all the fun, Yupe - I hope the great sea of fish is as full as they say. I’ll see you soon, I reckon.” With that, the female painfully rose back to her feet with considerable effort, her sons and daughters coming over to help her. Yupu gave one of his mother’s arms to Oduye, who had grown into a young teen now, and looked around.

“W-well, since I’m already here, I’m gonna say some words, too. Pa was--” There was suddenly a bright light in the sky and all the selka cowered with shocked screams and whoops. A beautiful bird with feathers like a rainbow and weird glistening stones on it descended from the sky and perched itself on a nearby branch. The selka all looked to it with great awe and curiosity. Tokuanhe and Odende along with their sons instinctively moved to the front line to defend their families. The bird cocked its head around for a bit, seemingly harmless. Elop smacked his scarred lips together and grunted. “Nice bird, but it seems uninterested. We oughta not ignore ol’ Yupe, though. Can’t send him off without a, uhm, sendoff.”

Tokuanhe rolled his tongue around his teeth and nodded. “Hmph, yeah. Just scared us a bit, ‘s all. Come on, everyone, show’s over. Back to thanking ol’ pa Yupe--”

“Good people of Galbar…” the bird began to speak and all the selka turned back, only to recoil a couple of steps as they concluded that the bird had indeed spoken to them. As it continued, the selka closed in around it, then recoiled again upon seeing the fate of the funny-looking bird-dog screaming inside the dancing lights.

“Oof, that looks painful,” said Tokuhe as he scratched his head.

“Yeah, but what -is- that? Some kinda… Kinda-kinda-kinda…” Agu’e tapped his chin looking for the right word.

“That, boys, is fire,” grumbled Tokuanhe. The other selka looked to him with raised brows. The chieftain eyed Odende, who gave him a knowing nod. As the message reached its conclusion, the chieftain rumbled thoughtfully.

“They put our spirits in rocks or we allow ‘em to cook up in the sky, huh…”

“Chieftain,” went Elop. “What is this ‘fire’ you mentioned?”

Tokuanhe furrowed his brow. “A long, long time ago, me and Oddy were hunting with my ol’ pa Tokuan. This was long before any of you kids were born, by the way.” Many of the pups and children hung their heads. The chieftain looked up at the bird again. “It was a rainy day. The sky flashed and grumbled. Pretty sure ol’ Yop up there must’ve had a pretty bad day - after all, -somebody- forgot to fill his offering bowl with--” Okako’e elbowed him in the stomach and the chieftain oofed. “Right, anyway, Yop had a bad day and was lobbing his flashes all around. Suddenly, right, this flash hits the tree -right- next to me, and I duck away. I look at the tree again and what do I see?” He pointed to the bird.

“That bird?” Agoi said confused.

“No, dumby! The fire! It was all over the tree and it was, like, super hot!”

Elop pursed his lips. “Like how hot?”

The chieftain furrowed his brow and umm’d. “Like, uh… Like when a lot of people are sleeping on top of one another inside the cave, and uh… Yeah, that, but a lot hotter.”

The surrounding selka nodded slowly. “Woah, that’s pretty hot,” Elop agreed. The chieftain nodded.

“Yeah, it really is. So when I saw that bird-dog-thing get burned, I felt his pain, and I’m telling you all - if that is what happens after death, then none of us wanna do that.”

Jokuanhe raised his hand. “But pa, being stuffed into a cryssal… Cryspal… Cristel… A fancy thing sounds pretty painful, too!” He waved at the bird. “Hello, birdy! How big is the thing?”

The bird cocked its head at him, looking either very confused or not at all interested. Jokuanhe deflated.

“Went about as well as you thought it would, huh,” Tokuanhe taunted playfully.

“It spoke like a minute ago, gimme a break,” Jokuanhe retorted defeatedly.

The chieftain snickered, but quickly put on a serious demeanour again. “Either way, I think going to sleep somewhere is a much better thing than dying in a fire, ‘cause fire’s bad.” He looked at the surrounding selka, who nodded more and more eagerly as the statement settled in. Tokuanhe smiled wryly and waved up at the bird.

“Hey, birdy! We’re interested. We don’t wanna die in a fire, thanks. You have our contempt.”

“Consent, dear,” Okako’e said patiently.

“I know what I said,” the chieftain retorted.

The bird stood perched on the branch, still as a statue.

“Pa, I literally tried speaking to it a minute ago and--”
“You shut up, boy, or I’ll--”

The bird suddenly flapped its wings and soared calmly over to Yupe’s corpse and perched itself onto his fat belly. Many of the selka gasped. Odende’s eyes grew wild with fury and he picked up a rock.

“Dang it, Tokky, that ain’t a common bird, it’s a dumb, magical seagull! It’s gunna eat Yupe!” The champion lobbed the rock over the bird’s head. “Giiiiit outta here, you dumb seagull!”

“Pa, wait!” Dondo’e shouted and stopped him before he could grab another stone. The bird suddenly flew up in the air and flapped around in circles as if chasing invisible prey. Then, as unexpectedly as it had taken off, it landed right back down on the selka’s belly. On its wings suddenly grew an uneven clump of colourful rock in a slot on the funny, shiny stone thing, hard to see, but visible nonetheless - though not to the selka with poor eyesight, so a few of them went, “What’re we looking at?” Once the rock had formed, the bird pecked at it gently, gave the selka one last look that both could have denoted curiosity and disinterest, and flew off.

The selka stood there scratching their heads. “Woah, that was not how I expected this to happen,” went Tokuanhe.

“What did you expect, dear?” Okako’e asked with her hands on her blubbery hips. The chieftain shrugged.

“I’unno! At least a flash or something! Like, uh, like fire, you know!”

“I thought they were all about no fire, though,” Elop said with a confused shrug.

“I mean, they look like they are, but-- Ugh, you don’t get me,” Tokuanhe muttered and kicked a rock. Okako’e giggled and grabbed his arm affectionately.

“One question about fire, though,” said Eliap with a raised hand. Tokuanhe gave him a suspicious frown.

“Make it quick, lil’ Julu,” he grumbled and Eliap gulped. There were still some sour bonds between the great clans and the new ones, and Eliap had to tread carefully to not invoke the chieftain’s ire. He swallowed and nodded.

“W-well, you see. Inside the cave, it may be really nice and warm, but, uhm… As soon as you leave it, it gets pretty cold, honestly - especially during the winter, and--”

“You know, you chose to live that far away,” Elop snapped sternly and crossed his arms over his chest. Eliap shrank and nodded.

“Y-yeah, we did, but still--”

“Look, Eliap, boy,” Tokuanhe began and sat his large posterior down in the sand with a quiet blam. The other selka all sat down, too, a circle forming around the chieftain, Elop and Eliap and his family. “We don’t want you four living so far away - really, we don’t.” Joo nuzzled their youngest, a nameless furball, at her breast while their oldest, Julup, a small, playful pup, ran around his parents in circles. “Your kids, they-... They gotta run so far to play with the others. I mean, we’ve had this chat before, I know, but--”

“We’re fine,” Joo said aggressively. “Your worry is nice to hear, though, thanks.”

The chieftain grumbled. “A boy without play becomes a pretty dull man,” he cautioned, but as Eliap was about to speak, Joo cut in.

“Look, chief, we’re really happy as we are. The downbeach is nice and calm, and really, we’re fine. Just fine.” In the crowd, Jokuanhe looked down at his partner, Julempe, who covered her face with an embarrassed palm at her sister’s words.

Elop gave Eliap a worried look. “Right,” he said and sighed. “So, what was that about fire you wanted to ask the chief?”

Eliap closed his eyes sheepishly and nodded. “Right, uhm… Yeah, as I said, it gets pretty cold, so I wondered if you know how to make fire, chief. We don’t really have anything to warm ourselves other than, well, each other.”

The chieftain pursed his lips thoughtfully. He dug some nearby old bones of a fish out of the sand, picked the longest bone and began to pick his teeth. “Alright, see, I get your problem. It isn’t easy to stake out of your own, and trust me, it’s even harder to be the family who gotta watch you try and try and hear you always turn down our help.” He shook his head and spat out some fish scales from breakfast. “Can’t really help you, though - both me and Odende only ever seen fire be made, but dunno how it’s made. Sorry.”

Eliap hung his head and Joo stared daggers at Tokuanhe, who returned the stare with an innocent shrug. Then, however, Odende rose. “Actually,” he rumbled, “that’s not entirely true.” All the selka turned to the stern champion in surprise and Tokuanhe pushed himself to his feet.

“What, you saying you know how to make fire?” the chieftain asked, to which Odende shook his head.

“Dunno how to make it, really, but I got some ideas.” He shot a sideways glance down at Eliap. “The boy and the girl deserve it - they’re brave to set off on their own. After all, our pas and mas weren’t no different, Tokky.”

At this, the chieftain nodded. “What you got in mind, Oddy?”

The champion scratched his chin. “You know that time we had that rock throwing game, right?”
“Which time? The one with just you and me? Or with just the boys? Or the whole tr--”

“The one with just you and me,” the champion specified. The chieftain nodded with a “yeah?”. The surrounding selka leaned in as if their chat was getting quieter, which it really wasn’t - if anything, the excitement increased the volume.

“Remember when I hit the cliff with that rock and these funny lights came out of the cliff wall?”

“Uh… I may not have been looking,” the chieftain admitted. “But I think I remember that you got really excited all of a sudden.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, that was it. I hit the cliff,” he made a flat, standing palm and punched it with his opposite fist, “with the rock, and these lights came out of the wall.”

Tokuanhe nodded slowly, the other selka looking a little confused. “But how does that work?” Elop question. Odende shrugged.

“I dunno! Maybe I threw the rock so hard the cliff started to cry?” He did a quick flex and several women giggled flirtatiously. “Either way, when I saw this magical seagull and the stuff it showed, I recognised the cliff-tears in the fire, so here’s my idea: Fire is made when things like trees are touched by cliff-tears.”

There was a collective “ooooh” among the crowd. Agoi raised her hand in protest.

“B-but Tokuanhe said the tree was hit with a flash and then caught fire? How do you explain that?”

Odende put his hands on his hips and smiled smugly. “Why, that’s quite simple - you see, the flash was just ol’ Yop throwing something really, really, really hard, because he was in a bad mood, and it hit the ground underneath the tree, which was also rock!”

Agoi squinted. “But how can a tree grow on ro--”

“Shut up, it works, okay?” Odende snapped. Agoi huffed and crossed his arms over her chest. Odende looked at Tokuanhe who was scratching his chin thoughtfully.

“Well?” said the champion. “Wanna try?”

Tokuanhe looked down and raised a brow. “Weeeell, uhm… Guess it doesn’t hurt to try. Well, after we finish saying goodbye to ol’ Yupe.”

Odende blinked - as did the others. “Oh, right. Sure.”

And so the selka finished up the last rites before they carried the stretcher off to the sea, swam out a distance with the corpse in tow and dropped it. As it sank to the bottom, some tears were shed, but most of the crying had been done during the speeches. Now, however, it was time for something completely different.

In a hurry, the selka gathered dry sticks, dry leaves, dry fish - really, just anything dry they could find. The experiment required a proper sample, after all! Naturally, the chieftain had not used those exact words: “Find whatever you don’t want or need. Need some good stuff to burn, people!” At last, a sizeable pile had been made and rocks of different shapes, sizes and colours had been gathered. To warm up, Odende did several rounds of push-ups, sit-ups and jogs around the camp, much to the cheer of the girls and women. Tokuanhe gave him a slightly envious scowl.

“Alright, alright, you warm yet, Oddy?”

“Yeah, hold on - almost,” he stood up and lifted his arms over his head, giving the onlookers a proper view of every muscular dent and crevice on his torso, “done. Phew!”

“Odende, you’re so handsome!” came a shout from the crowd and the champion smirked.

“I swear, every darn week,” Tokuanhe muttered and snatched the champion’s arm, pulling him along as he waved to the crowd. Meanwhile, his two sons snickered and shook their heads.

Once Odende was in position, he picked up a rock. A target had been painted on the cliff wall in fish blood, and the champion had never felt more certain that this was his purpose. With a move like a rubberband, he threw his arm back and catapulted it forwards. The rock flew through the air with great speed, the air itself parting before i--

Clack!

It smacked against the cliff wall and fell inert to the ground. Odende gaped and Tokuanhe hummed pensively. The surrounding selka let out a collective “aaaw…”

“Maybe try… Harder?” he chieftain suggested.

The champion picked up a second rock and scowled at the cliffside. “You think you’re so tough, huh?!” he snapped at the cliff.

“W-well, it’s rock, pa--” Donwah began.

“Shush, boy!” the champion retorted and powered up a second shot. Once again, the stone soared through the air, its initial speed like a diving hawk, a stone of heroes, it was, as i--

Buck!

This one, too, fell inertly to the ground. Odende’s face turned a shade of pink and Tokuanhe shrugged. “Maybe the cliff just doesn’t feel like crying toda--”
“RAAAAARGH!” Odende roared, then grabbed five rocks and proceeded to throw them one by one. “YOU. WILL. NOT. MOCK. ME!” The final rock smacked into the wall with a flat nuck! and then smacked against the rocks below it. The surrounding selka all stared at him with saucer-like eyes. Odende picked up the final rock and got ready to throw it when Tokuanhe put a hand on his shoulder. “Look, Oddy, just lea--”

“RAH!” the selka shouted as he tossed, but his form was destabilised by Tokuanhe’s interference, sending the rock on a sideways spin. “Bah! Tokky, look what you made me do--!”

The rock smacked into the cliff wall, this one conveniently at quite a satisfying angle, and indeed made the mountain cry. Sparks jumped from the stone and over the dry materials, igniting them in a near instant. Odende and Tokuanhe looked on in awe as the surrounding selka celebrated and shouted, “Hurray! Fire! Fire!”

A few sparks then skipped to the nearby roof of a burrow, immediately setting that on fire. “Oh no,” went the selka, “Fire! Fire!”

Tokuanhe grabbed Odende’s shoulder. “Oddy, how do we make it stop?! I don’t remember!”

The champion shrugged wildly. “Hey, you asked me to make fire! I have no idea stop it!”

The chieftain stared in panic as the fire hopped to another burrow. Oh, why did they have to dig them so closely to one another?!

“Uh, uhm! Quick, offer it a fish!”

Elop lobbed a fish at it. It did nothing, save sizzle a little.

“It didn’t work, chief!”

“Uhm! Offer it a fancy stick!”

The selka quickly began to search for fancy sticks, until Jokuanhe raised a hand in the air. “Wait a minute,” he called out. “Sticks are also wood!”

“Darn it, you’re right,” the chieftain cursed angrily. “Uh, uhm, cover it up! Maybe it’ll go away!”

Grabbing the largest fur they could find, that of a bear they had brought down a long time ago when it raided their fish stores, the selka charged at the nearest fire. They took deep breaths and covered one of the burrows with the hide. Sure enough, the fire soon died out as it was choked to death. The selka looked at one another and celebrated.

“Hah! We did it!” Tokuanhe cheered until Okako’e punched him in the gut.

“No, we didn’t, you blubberball! That was -one- fire!” She pointed to every other burrow surrounding the cave entrance, which were all on fire. Then, the hide they had used to put out the one also caught fire. The panicking selka all gathered on the beach, staring as their outdoors homes went up in flames.

Then, as if ol’ Yop had taken pity on them, it started raining. The fires began to hiss and fizz as they battled the rains, but alas, they could not conquer the superior power of water. The selka stood staring at their half-burnt camp. Tokuanhe and Odende looked at one another sheepishly.

“W-well,” Tokuanhe said to Eliap who looked on in horror. “Now you know how to make fire, huh.” The chieftain elbowed the boy playfully and turned to his tribe. “Right, so, there was a teeny-tiny accident - BUT we learn as a big family not to dig our burrows this close together again, and hey, nothing of value was lost, hmm?”

“Literally -all- my things are gone!” came an outraged cry from the back.

“Yeah, okay, so -some- things of value were lost. But nobody died, right?”

The crowd was quiet as selka looked for their family members. Nobody said anything, so the chieftain clapped his hands together. “See? No worries, then! Burrows can be redug and re-, uh, re-roofed!”

The selka gave him sheepish looks and the chieftain rubbed his nose. “Alright, let’s get cleaning, people.”

With a collective groan, the selka began digging around in their still hot, collapsed burrows. One of them, Aguhe, dug through the charcoal sticks and found a charred fish. She gave it a suspicious stare, but she did indeed feel quite hungry, actually. Since she already held a fish in her hand, she shrugged and bit into it. Her eyes went wide as the flavours entered her mouth and she shouted, “Chieftain!”

Tokuanhe came over followed by Jokuanhe, Tokuhe, Odende, Donwah and Dondo’e and eyed her up and down. “What? What did you find?”

Aguhe held up the fish. “Here! This is actually really tasty?”

“Is that the fish we threw into the fire?” the chieftain asked suspiciously.

“Yeah! Try it, try it!”

The chieftain grimaced, but eventually shrugged and bit into it. A few chews later and the fish was suddenly shared around for all to try. It was an entirely new sensation - a crisp, bitter skin with a warm, almost flaky interior. The selka all grinned maniacally at one another.

“What should we call this, chief? I mean, it’s fish, but it’s not just normal fish!” Yupu said with a chuckle.

The chieftain thought long and hard, humming all the way. After a few minutes, he grinned and raised his fist into the air triumphantly. “It shall be known as firing!” The surrounding selka all clapped and chuckled, then danced around the camp all night shouting, “Fire the fish, fire the fish!”

Chagatai watched his parents from a distance, broom in his hand as he swept the stone tiles in front of the dining house. Altansarnai stood next to Hermes, holding the fishing spear as the two adults talked. The onlooking boy rubbed his nose with his sleeve and went back to work, waiting. Hermes leaned in and gave Xiaoli a quick peck and Chagatai made a face, Altansarnai grimacing from a distance. Altansarnai tugged on Hermes hand but she leaned in and whispered something to Xiaoli that made her smile. Chagatai rolled his eyes and after a few more delays, Altansarnai and Hermes finally left on their hunting trip.

Meanwhile, Wenbo, Ai and Li were hanging up the daily laundry. Wenbo kept scouting eyes on the main gate, but made certain to turn away every time his mother’s hawk-like stare found its way over to him. It did not help much that Ai also glared dagger at him, though in a concerned way - like if the daggers were packed in bird dow. Little Li, on the other hand, loyally pretended to perform his task by actually performing it, all the while giving Wenbo regular thumbs up to reassure him that he was indeed doing as commanded. Wenbo nodded approvingly at the young soldier, and as Xiaoli closed in, he winked at him.

It was time.

“Hey, Li? What did you say you wanted for dinner again?”

"Duck!" Li shouted a little too loud and grabbing at the hem of Xiaoli's dress with perhaps too much enthusiasm.

“Duck?” Xiaoli giggled in surprise and patted her little son’s hair. “My, but that takes a lot of time to make, you know! Especially if you want the skin crispy and flavourful. How about something a little easier, hmm?”

Wenbo tossed a shirt over the clothing line. “Well, Li does seem really eager - and duck is amazingly good, even when it’s rushed a bit. I’d love to have duck tonight!”

Xiaoli hummed indecisively. “Well, uhm… Ai, would you also want duck tonight?”

Ai shot a sideways glance at Wenbo and folded together a dry robe. Sweat began to moisten Wenbo’s forehead as time passed. Eventually, though, she said a curt ‘sure’ and frowned disapprovingly at Wenbo. Thankfully, her back was facing Xiaoli, so their mother was none the wiser.

“O-oh, alright, then! Li, since you’re evidently so eager, would you like to help?”

"Uh," the small child plotted his hands together indecisively, looking over at Chagatai in the distance. The other boy gave him a 'do it' face but Li looked back at his mom, "I wanna play with Wenbo and Chaggiei."

Wenbo stifled a groan and snapped his finger, calming himself in a second and looking at Li with a friendly smile. “But hey, Li! How can the Twins keep on going strong if we have no sustenance? Like the war supply lines, we -heavily- rely on our great support--” He knelt down and pressed a finger against Li’s chest, nodding proudly at him. “--you, our precious brother and squire.” Xiaoli merely shook her head, smiled and rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything. Ai buried her face in her palm.

"Okay!" Li beamed, his golden freckles wrinkling around his cheshire smile. He grabbed Xiaoli's hand, "I wanna help." Chagatai seemed to relax in the distance, turning to sweep at the stairs.

Xiaoli gave Wenbo a wry smile and a raised brow and pulled Li along. “Alright, dear, alright… First, we got to find a duck…” As they went to the larders, Wenbo dropped the loincloth he was holding back in the basket and patted Ai on the shoulder.

“Keep up the hard work, sis! We’re counting on you!” he said as he sprinted towards Chagatai. Ai groaned audibly. “You idiots,” she called just loud enough for Wenbo to flash her a quick grin midrun. He hooked his arm around Chagatai’s shoulders and squeezed.

“Alright! We set to go?”

"I snuck a bag with some snacks by the gate guardians after breakfast," Chagatai nodded, "It'll be a few hours, but then bam! The perfect rocks."

“Yesssssss!” Wenbo celebrated, “alright, let’s head off!”

With that, the boys zoomed out the gates, Chagatai snatching the backpack he tucked behind the black obelisk on the way, and together they entered the forest in the direction of the moving mountains.

It took a few hours, plus a short break filled with a breakfast pastry and some fresh water, but eventually they exited the forest and began their trip up the grinding slopes of one of the mountains. The trees gave way to canopies of mushrooms and flying moss. The boys were at wonder, only having seen this part of their home once before.

"It tickles," Chagatai giggled as some of the flying moss landed on his arm.

“Gmph-hrrmph!” Wenbo exclaimed as a particularly eager patch clamped itself onto his face. He stopped in his tracks, grabbed it tightly and pulled at it with all his strength. A couple of hefty tugs later, and the moss came off, squirming in his hands. “Phew… Yeah, you could say that,” he said with a wry smile and scratched his dirtied nose. He shot a few glances in every direction. “How far left, y’think?”

"I dunno," Chagatai shrugged a he studied the mushroom cloaked ground, "I guess anytime, just keep your eyes peeled." Wenbo nodded and walked with a focused squint.

He stopped for a moment to study a monito del monte, the tiny critter squeaking him an anxious message about quolls. Chagatai shrugged at the tiny creature, "I think I'm a bit big for a quoll."

Suddenly the wind blew through the mushroom forest, causing the hanging snapfruit to chime and whistle as they jostled. The whole place had an eerie feel and an even eerie voice carried on the wind:

"A bit big for a quoll. But too big for me?" There was a barking cackle. Chagatai froze, his arm hairs on end as he whipped about in search of the source. Wenbo instinctively grabbed two dry mushroom stalks off the forest floor and shoved one in Chagatai’s hands.

“Hey! HEY! We’ve not looking for trouble, but if you are, we’ll give it to you!” he shouted as bravely as he could, inciting a voice crack.

"What sort of trouble could you ever give me?" The voice hissed. There was rummaging behind the twins and they spun, but nothing was there.

"So tired, so plump, so full of sweetssss." The voice droned on and cold sweat formed on Chagatai's brow.

"I- I am the son of a warrior! I can fight!"

Suddenly the bushes to their left burst and the twins flinched as Li came tumbling out with a big grin on his face, "Momma said I could play!"

Chagatai was paler than pale, his eyes turning to fury and then anxiety at the sight of Li, "Li… no!" Wenbo waved him away frantically.

Suddenly a striped canine erupted from the forest-line, a jaw unhinged and snapping as it dragged Li to the ground with ease. Chagatai screamed and rushed the wrestling ball of flesh and fur. He shoved his stalk between the two, wrenching the jaws off of Li. The sobbing child fell to the ground covered in dirt, blood and tears and Wenbo slid over to him to help. The beast snapped at Chagatai, the jaws clenching around his arm, large teeth pushing through his skin. The boy screamed and as a hot fury entered his chest he wrapped his free arm under the beasts throat and flexed. He flexed and pulled, the jaw popping off his arm. He shifted and brought both arms around its neck squeezing angrily with loud grunts as the beast flailed.

"Stop-- I…"

The voice steamed from the emptying lungs of the beast as Chagatai squeezed, his face beat red and tears staining his cheeks. There was a sudden pop and the beast fell limp. Chagatai's chest heaved as he continued to squeeze the throat, only slowly letting go once his elbows pressed white from strain. He could still feel the pressure in his arms, a ghost sensation as he looked down at the dead tiger-dog and his whimpering little brother. Wenbo’s horrified eyes blinked between Chagatai and little Li’s bleeding arm.

“Oh, crap. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap! Uh, UH!” Wenbo pulled off one of his long woolen socks and began to bandage the wound with it, just as he had seen mother do when Altansarnai got a deep scrape. But how was it again? Was it supposed to be tight or loose, or-or…

Li’s sobs became pained groans as the adrenaline dissipated. Wenbo’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest. “Chaggie, he’s hurting bad! He’s--!” He blinked back over at noticed Chagatai’s arm was even bloodier. “Chaggie, you’re bleeding!”

The older twin looked at Wenbo with adrenaline and shock in his eyes and then down at his arm, a trickle of blood dripping down. He looked down at the dead tiger-dog and then at Li. He walked over and scooped his little brother up and started walking down the mountain. He froze suddenly and turned back to Wenbo, "Come on."

“But Ch-Chaggie! We--” He swallowed as he saw the sheen in his eyes. He scooped up the tiger-dog with a grimace of disgust on his face and hurried after him. “Seriously, we gotta wrap up that arm - we can’t just walk all the way with you bleeding like that!”

"Just keep moving," Chagatai all but whispered hoarsely. Wenbo couldn't see, but he was holding back tears. The older twin rolled his bleeding arm into his shirt as he carried Li, pinching his own wounds.

Little else was said, Chagatai falling into thought as he mechanically made his way back home. Eventually Wenbo mustered the courage to attempt to wrap Chagatai's arm properly as he walked, managing a less than perfect wrap that Chagatai nearly shoved off.

The slope cleared and the forest appeared. It seemed like minutes despite it being hours but eventually the trio walked through the gates of the estate. All their siblings were silent, eyes wide and pale with terror. Blood seeped from Chagatai's dressings, dripping as he moved Li in his arms, the young boy having fallen asleep from all the pain and shock. Altansarnai suddenly forced herself into movement, charging into one of the estate buildings.

A minute later, Xiaoli rushed out the door with such ferocious speed that she very nearly tore the poor slider door off the wall. Her eyes scanned the courtyard in a second and fell upon the trio. The avatar’s eyes flashed both fright and fury and she stormed over with quick steps.

“What did you do?!” she thundered as she knelt down next to them and took Chagatai’s arm in her hand a little forcefully. Wenbo choked back tears.

“We didn’t mean it,” he sobbed, while Chagatai remained silent.

“What did you do?!” she repeated as she scooped Li into her own arm and materialised a proper set of linen bandages using a fistful of grass. she ripped out of the ground.

“W-we just wanted to go adventuring…” Wenbo continued with large tears rolling over his cheeks.

“What did I tell you the last time you did that, huh? What did I tell you?!” With a few deft wraps and tugs, both Li’s and Chagatai’s arms were protected by a tight bandage each. Xiaoli grabbed Chagatai by the jaw and turned his head about, her burning eyes looking for more scratches.

"It was my fault," Chagatai whispered to Xiaoli, as if attempting to hide his voice. His eyes avoided his mother’s, looking down and away. Xiaoli shook her head, the rage and anxiety moistening her eyes.

“You always say that, but I know you boys - it was your idea, then Wenbo egged you on. It’s always like that. The only reason you survived is because you got lucky.” She snatched the tiger-dog from Wenbo’s arms and put it on the ground next to her. “A tiger-dog is merely a quoll compared to some of the other things lurking in the woods. You are aware of this, yes? What if you had encountered a group of devils?! What then?”

Wenbo raised his hand. “We’re sorry, we-... We were sure it was going to be okay and--”

“Well, it wasn’t, was it? You two knew you aren’t supposed to venture too far from the mansion and you still did it - and you almost paid the ultimate price to learn why.” She gave Wenbo a quick check, too, before standing up, Li still in her arms. “You two are not allowed to leave the courtyard until I say you may, is that clear?”

Wenbo raised his hand again. “But mom, we--!”

“Is that clear?!” Xiaoli snapped. Wenbo shrank.

“Yes, mom…” he conceded.

Chagatai stayed silent, nodding at the command. He held his head down, hiding a few tears. The other kids began to gawk and he turned away from them.

"May I go to my room?" He asked with a hoarse voice.

Xiaoli shot him a look, but conceded. “You may.” Wenbo looked at his brother with concern. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ai holding a frightened Bayarmaa. She stared at him with disapproving, yet immensely worried black eyes.

Wordlessly Chagatai began to walk off when suddenly a boom of wind erupted from the gates. The flash of color turned into a steaming Hermes, club in one hand and sandals on her feet. Chagatai flinched as he heard his mother's concerned roar.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

Eyes of flaming red stared at Wenbo, and bounced to Chagatai, only softening at the maimed Li. Her eyes zipped to Xiaoli, searching for an explanation.

“Sweetgrass, get this - they’ve been out adventuring. Judging from the tiger-dog, they likely went to the mountains - exactly like they were not supposed to do. I’ve already grounded them for an unspecified time, but if you would like to add anything, feel free.” Wenbo actually squatted down and covered his head against the impending scolding.

Hermes huffed, "I! You!" She gritted her teeth against her temper, "I was worried sick! I flew circles around--" She closed her eyes and dropped her club. Pinching the bridge of her nose she attempted to swallow her fury.

"Are you boys okay?" Her voice was straight, and not all that comforting for once.

Chagatai looked away with guilt, "We are okay, now."

Hermes looked at Xiaoli as if asking for the truth.

Xiaoli sighed. “They got away with a few bites. With some rest, they should grow. The wounds will scar in time, though, so I hope they serve as reminders of what you’re not supposed to do.” She put her hands on her hips and frowned, her rage evidently having subsided a little.

Wenbo gave Hermes a sheepish, shameful look and his cheeks became a shade of pink. Hermes wiggled her nose in thought and crossed her arms, her voice a hiss, “I’ll talk with you two after dinner.” She gave them both an angry look and stomped over to her private house, club in one hand. She opened the door and before entering she turned back around, her brow furrowing as her face contorted again. With a grunt she slammed the door, leaving the courtyard in an anxious silence. Chagatai went defeated to his room.

Wenbo swallowed and looked to at Xiaoli, who had turned to the family house, nuzzling the sleeping Li with all the worry and care a mother could muster. The younger twin sat on his knees in the middle of the courtyard for a minute, a multitude of thoughts running through his head like a polluted river. As he sat there, Ai came over and sat down next to him. Wenbo gave her a quick glance and groaned.

“I know, I know… ‘I told you so’, meh-meh-meh. I don’t wanna hear it.” Something crusty poked his cheek, and as he turned to face it, something sticky smeared across his face. He recoiled at touched the smear, then saw Ai with a sad smile on her face and a jelly tart in her hand.

“It looked pretty bad,” she said softly.

Wenbo blinked, cleaned the smear off his cheek with his thumb and accepted the tart. He took one bite, chewed for a minute and swallowed. A tear accumulated in the corner of each eye and he nodded. Ai sighed and pulled him in for a hug.

“Told you so,” she snickered. A hand fell on each of their shoulders and pulled them apart enough for the blue-haired Altansarnai and a peaking Bayarmaa to poke their heads into the hug.

“So tell us what happened already,” Altansarnai demanded with curious Hermian eyes.

---

“Do you want some water?” Ansong asked sweetly, her almond shaped eyes staring from a round face. Chagatai didn’t respond, he just sat. His nest was a wooden stool, and he faced looking through what may have been the worst window in the entire estate, as through the shutters was only two meters of alley and then the blank face of the inner wall -- but stare he did, eyes in thought, but lids heavy.

Ansong seemed insulted by the silence but didn’t mention it as she sat next to the boy, pulling up her own seat. Zhongcheng watched from his bed, fingers black with charcoal as he scribbled on a bark tablet.

“You know it can’t always be your fault, you know,” He said as he bit his tongue, but Chagatai didn’t say anything.

“I mean it,” He continued, “They all have a choice, and they made a choice.”

Chagatai mumbled something and Ansong perked up, “What’s that?”

Chagatai looked over at his sister, “To follow me.”

There was silence.

“It was my fault.”

“I’m going to get you some water,” Ansong sat up and rubbed a crinkle out of her dress. Zhongcheng scratched his nose, leaving a smudge of black and mudding up the fanciful crimson pattern that covered the left half of his face.

“Can you bring me one?”

“Of course!” Ansong tilted her head and shuffled away from the pair. The room fell into silence once more with only the scratching of the charcoal against bark paper making a sound. Finally Zhongcheng put the bark down and rolled to sit up.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not done thinking bout it.” Chagatai looked over his shoulder at his brother and Zhongcheng held up his hands, a clever smile on his face. Zhongcheng stood up from his bed and folded his hands behind his back as he made his way out of the room.

“Sometimes I find thinking’s better done outside the head,” He flicked his bark over at Chagatai and exited the room. The tablet bounced off of Chagatai’s shoulder and clattered to the ground by his foot. He looked down and his eyes widened. It was crude, but unmistakable… a warrior holding a beast in a chokehold, a group of smaller people huddled under the fight.

---

Xiaoli pushed open the slider door into Hermes’ new personal room. Here, she kept books, inventions, toys-in-the-making, presents, secrets - really, anything that she wanted to surprise her family with. The river girl sighed quietly as she wrapped her hand around the hilt of the great club absent-mindedly. “Sweetgrass, are you there?”

“I’m at the desk,” Hermes voice came from around the corner. As Xiaoli turned the corner, Hermes sat hunched over her desk, cloak draped around her and even pulled up over her long messy hair, hands propping her head up. Xiaoli pulled a tall clay barrel over and sat down on it, gently brushing the hood off her head and then continuing to caress her cheek. She shook her head and looked towards the door.

“Sometimes, I really don’t know what to do with those boys,” she mumbled wearily. “Yesterday with the quoll and now this… It’s like-... Ugh…” She moved her hand to Hermes’ hair. “I think they are supposed to be like this, but… No, something feels wrong.”

“It is wrong,” Hermes looked over at Xiaoli, her eyes black with rings of red, “We are punishing them for being like us.” She let her hands fall to the desk with a thump, “I mean, they didn’t listen to us. They disobeyed and nearly got themselves killed and I want to stomp that out of them, but I don’t want to accidentally kick away their-- well… what we were… what we are.” She sighed and ran a hand through her wind-knotted hair, “Sometimes I don’t know, Xiaoli, sometimes I just don’t know.”

“Shh, shh, shh, come here,” Xiaoli whispered and wrapped her arms around Hermes. Hermes leaned into the embrace and sighed deeply, “Maybe--” Her eyes looked down at her notes on the various plants of Tendlepog, “What if I took them with me from now on? We slap their wrists for disobedience but after, we can indulge their wanderlust safely.”

Xiaoli sighed. “Hermes, you know how the boys feel about hunting. Sure, they might like the adventure, but you can’t kill anything on the way, you know. Not even quolls and squirrel bats.”

“Hm.” Hermes rested her chin on Xiaoli’s shoulder and thought for a moment, “I-- I can do adventure trips, no hunting, no killing, just exploring. Anything to keep them out of trouble… I can’t do this again, my heart was about to burst when I was out looking for them, and seeing little Li all huddled up…” Hermes stopped and closed her eyes tightly, and pursed her lips, “I don’t want to think about what could have been.”

Xiaoli kissed the top of her head and placed her cheek against it. “Yeah, let’s not think about that, dear…” She sniffed and cleared her throat. “Yeah, exploration trips could be fun! Would definitely do them some good to see other parts of the countryside and, hey, maybe there will actually be some peace and quiet around here for once while you’re out?” She pulled away and gave Hermes a playful wink.

“Ugh, my poor wife,” Hermes put a hand on Xiaoli’s cheek, “Stuck with the crazy ones while I soak in the sights of the forest. When Arya gets back, I’ll have her babysit and maybe you and I could finally get some quality time away.”

Xiaoli let out a happy sigh and leaned her head into Hermes’ palm. “That would be amazing, dear.” Her smile went wry momentarily and she raised a brow. “We could take a break in the Palace, though! It’s, you know, been a while since we last went.”

“Oh,” Hermes made a thoughtful face, “I mean… yes! We can try, love.” She let her hands fall down to Xiaoli’s, “My dreams have been weird lately though, I’m having trouble with that sort of control.”

Xiaoli’s brows furrowed together. “You’ve mentioned this before, I think. Is it the colours again?”

“It’s...no.” Hermes leaned back and tapped her chin, “There are words in the leaves… I can’t really remember very well. Years ago when the twins were babies I had a similar dream, and now it’s sorta come back. It’s probably stress, you know. What with all the kids..”

Xiaoli made a face and nodded slowly. “Yeeaah… Probably the stress. You want to try tonight and see if it works?”

“That would be great,” Hermes offered a smile, “It’s just-- well I keep waking up worried about the kids, but you know what I think?”

“What’s that?”

Hermes shifted in her seat, draping her legs over Xiaoli’s lap as she tugged an arm over the back of her seat, “Remember when we got reports of the Alma? I think their soothsaying got all wedged up in my mind and is making me anxious at night, I mean why wouldn’t it? I prayed about that though, so I shouldn’t be so worried, but here I am.” She gave a nervous smile.

“Oh, dear, don’t worry about that,” said Xiaoli and hugged her closer. “I can only imagine how His Lordship’s taking it…” She shook her head. “Yeah, it was -some- soothsaying, alright. All it did was frighten the children to tears. I didn’t even know Temüjin could understand half of what she said and still he wouldn’t shut up for an hour after it was over.”

“I don’t think it helped that our house guardian…” Hermes cocked her head to the side, looking for the right word, “Well, you know.” She stuck a finger in her mouth and blew up her cheeks to make a loud popping sound. “Feathers everywhere.”

“It took me a week to get all those stains out of Altansarnai’s shirt,” Xiaoli muttered with a groan. “Like, I am very appreciative of Father’s gift, but does it really have to be so… Brutal?”

“Oh dear,” Hermes snickered and poked Xiaoli’s nose, “You know as well as I do that it is made up of the horrors of the dreamscape, I’d say its rather tame-- er.” She thought back to the pack of devils that once wandered past the obelisk without giving it an entrance gift and then tried to raid the pantry, “Well it does what it’s supposed to do at least. The kids listened really well after that, too.”

“That, they did; that, they did,” Xiaoli agreed as she grimaced at the thought of other possible horrors of the dreamscape. “Anyway, you shouldn’t think about that. Neither you nor any of our children are going away anytime soon, even if Chagatai and Wenbo are doing their best to make it so.” She sighed frowning. “They won’t face the flames, okay?”

Hermes smile faded into a serious nod, “I trust you.” She sighed and looked around the room, “Xiaoli?”

“Hmm?”

“Dinner isn’t for another half mark on the shadow clock, yeah?” Hermes looked back at Xiaoli with big black eyes.

Xiaoli gasped. “Oh no! I completely--!” She made a fist and sucked in a breath through the nose. “A whole mark, I’m afraid,” she said dejectedly.

“Oh…” Hermes looked around again, “Because I was going to say if Laia was tending to it, perhaps we could get away with hiding away from the kids a little longer.”

Xiaoli snickered airily and gave Hermes playful smile as she shook her head. “Oh, you big, beautiful, silly-...” She placed a peck on her lips and smirked. “... wonderful woman.”

---