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Silver





Silver sighed, stretched her back and wiped sweat off her brow. Her red hair was tied into a long ponytail and she half-squinted her eyes to shield them from the mid-day searing light. She dropped the crude stone hammer onto the soil and pushed lightly on the fence post she’d just staked deep into the ground. It gave no way, and soon she’d be able to tie some branches or, Gods allow, some actual planks to the posts as a way to keep the bigger herbivores away from the crops. It was close to harvesting season, and having a hungry animal stumble into the area like a few days ago would be catastrophic.

“Orvus! Do you think these fence posts look good?” She called loudly, not even bothering to take her eyes off the newest addition to the perimeter of lone fence posts.

’I don’t know.’ came the god’s soft spoken voice, echoing in Silver’s mind. ’I can’t see it.’ he seemed to almost muse.

Silver rolled her eyes and chuckled. She knocked on the fence post a few times and spoke, “Does it sound good, then?”

”Yes.” his voice said, right next to Silver’s ear.

“Good,” She paused, “Because I don’t know how to make fences. I’m only imitating what the servants did at the Manor’s garden. We also don’t really have any tools.”

Orvus knelt down next to Silver and touched the wood. Without turning his head to look he said, ”You are getting better at not being frightened.” he stated then said, ”I saw something similar in my… dream. It should work to keep those that aren’t welcome within. Do you require tools? I find that hands… are handy.” Orvus finished blankly.

Silver chuckled and smirked, “Calm down with those puns, Orvus! You might just desolate my pretty laugh away.” She snickered and, after a moment, looked at her hands, calloused and rough. “And, tools are probably a good idea for me. My hands are not as handy as yours.”

”Puns? Whatever do you mean, young Silver. I only speak… truthfully.” he said with a hint of sarcasm. The god then took one of Silver’s hands within his own and looked upon it. After a thorough examination, he said, ”Let us see what can be done for these hands of yours. Come.” Orvus rose, helping Silver to her feet effortlessly. He then let go of her hand and began to walk to the edge of the clearing. It was getting farther and farther away as the days went by.

Silver walked beside him, her eyes open and alert for any movement beyond the treeline. “Where are we going?”

”You shall see.” he whispered cryptically, then went silent.

“Oh,” She hesitated for a split second, but continued walking nonetheless, “can’t wait to see it.”

Orvus said nothing, but led the red haired girl down a well worn path. One easily missed by prying eyes, but noticeable by those who deigned to look. He rounded a bend in the path, obscuring the view from Silver. After a short ways, he turned around and said, ”You sleep a great amount, little one. It allows for much downtime.” he then turned around and walked a few steps further, before moving to the side, allowing Silver to witness the small house before her.

“Oh…!”

It sat in a new clearing, with mounds of freshly tilled dirt scattered on either side of a long, winding stone path. The cabin was crafted from rich mahogany wood, with large glass windows in the front, and on the sides. Three steps led up to a small outdoor porch with an overhang. On one side the porch was a small, ornate bench, and on the other side were two chairs. Orvus walked over to the side of the cabin, and faced towards the forest. With a flick of his wrist, the trees began to fall, having been cut perfectly at the base. It was a loud chorus of booms and snaps, but when everything settled down, the old clearing with the plants could be seen. It was but a brisk walk away.

Orvus then turned around to Silver and said, ”Would you care to look inside?”

“Of course! Let’s go, did you make this yourself? I mean, of course you did,” Silver smiled, her mouth hanging open slightly as she practically skipped over the steps of the porch and caressed the finely crafted door, “This is expensive! Back home only nobles and royalty afforded houses like this. I know this because my childhood guardian once took me to his house, it was way smaller than this!”

”Intriguing. You’ll have to tell me more of your home Silver.” Orvus said as he opened the door, revealing the inside of the cabin. It had an open, minimalistic feel, only the bare necessities were within, with a great amount of room for more. On the right side of the entrance, there was a large table with two chairs, and a cabinet of light mahogany. On the left side of the entrance there were stairs that led up to a loft. Across from them there was a large room with a couple more long benches, next to a fireplace of mossy cobblestone. Throughout the room there was a fine, wooden smell, permeated by a countertop with spices in wooden bowls.

”Upstairs there is a bed, for you of course.” Orvus said, turning to Silver.

Silver took in a few long whiffs of the air, and her eyes sparkled excitedly. “How did you even make all of this? I thought you were the God of Destroying things, not of Masterful Crafting?” She said as she climbed up the stairs and peeked into the attic bedroom.

Orvus blinked suddenly at her words, the blow coming unexpectedly. ”I… Just thought it would be a nice gesture.” he said softly.

“It is! I love it, so much!” She chuckled, turning to smile warmly at Orvus, “You should be proud! You always look so gloomy all the time, even when tending to the plants. I bet you had fun making this little place, huh?”

Her words prompted him to look at her, perhaps he had been too hasty to judge. She had not meant it that way, now did she? Orvus began to climb the stairs, following her. The loft wasn’t as spacious as the rest of the cabin, but it provided the right amount of coziness. Situated in the middle was a large bed, made of soft feathers. It had some furs as well, but nothing so fancy. Next to the bed, on both sides, were small nightstands. In the side of the ceiling, there was a skylight.

”Fun? No, It was but a project Silver. For you, a home.” he said, his voice no longer sounding so sad and forlorn.

“Heh, well, thank you, really,” She looked around, coming back down the stairs. “Do you have any plans on expanding this little settlement? Maybe it could become something bigger. We’d have festivals, fairs, big events, maybe even tournaments! With knights and horses and princes from faraway places.”

”You are welcome.” he seemed to say proudly. ”Hmm. I do not have any other plans for this place, not yet anyways. What you say would be… a long time. A long time.” he repeated.

“Well, a long time is still some time. So we’re en route. I might even apply to be your governor!” Silver said with a grin.

”I suppose you are right. Until then, we will have time.” Orvus said, now walking over to sit at the table. He brought both his arms atop the table and then folded them. He sat silently, almost awkwardly. He turned his gaze to Silver and said, ”Won’t you join me?”

Silver nodded and went to sit across from him, imitating his posture, “Yes, Knight Commander?”

”Knight? Commander? Tell me, what does that mean?” he asked, looking at Silver with a soft expression.

Silver opened her mouth to speak, but quickly fell silent and tilted her head curiously at Orvus. After a moment, she began. “A knight is someone who risks everything they have for the benefit of others. Life, limb, sometimes even their sanity… They’re the most exemplary people you could meet, and they come in all shapes, sizes, genders and races. I once met this Foreign Knight that had scales instead of hair!” She looked starry eyed at the ceiling, as if she could see the sky through it, “And, well, a Knight Commander is someone that commands the Knights. Usually a renowned Hero in his later years.”

Orvus listened intently as Silver spoke. Coming to his own conclusions. The god then shifted in his chair, a strange look in his eye, then said, ”I am no knight, little one.”

“Oh, well, obviously not! You’re not wearing a shiny set of armor, after all.” She chuckled.

Orvus blinked, then said, ”Your sense of humor never ceases to amaze me, Silver. So tell me, with your own eyes, how does the planting go?”

“The planting?” Silver tilted her head and looked at Orvus intently, curiously studying his completely neutral expression, “I’ve learned a lot about how plants reproduce, and how to prepare the soil to plant seed… I’m not sure I understand your question, Orvus.”

Orvus sighed, sinking into the chair. He looked at Silver with sad eyes and said, ”I apologize, Silver. I am not much of a conversationalist, as you know. Sometimes, questions just come to mind. But I am… content to know that you have learned… from me. I never thought such a thing possible, before you.” He almost whispered.

She smiled and looked away, her silver eyes scanning the room casually once more. “Well… You gave me a body, a life...” She paused and after a while, she turned back to stare at Orvus, “I’ve noticed something, too. You’re sad all the time, aren’t you? And the way you speak and the things you say betrays the fact you don’t think too highly of yourself, Orvus.”

Orvus shifted in the chair again, leaning forward and his gaze shifting down to look at the table. There was a long silence between the two of them before he looked up at Silver with a white tear falling down his face. ”Yes.” came a broken voice, ”I told myself it was easier to be hated, just so I didn’t have to change. Change is… I am uncertain if I am truly capable of such thing. I am a blight in the universe. I should just kill myself and be done with it, but I don’t want to die. I thought I wanted to return to the Nothingness from whence I was born, but I don’t know what I want anymore. I simply don’t know, Silver.”

Silver’s eyes dimmed slightly, and she looked down at the table as well. A moment passed, and she gently took one of Orvus’ hands into hers, all without looking at him. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Orvus. Nobody really knows. And, well…” She sighed and wiped at her eyes with her free hand, then went back to looking into Orvus’ eyes, a warm smile on her face, “You did some bad stuff, didn’t you? But you’ve also done some good now. The plants, the ones you helped grow and proliferate, they’re alive and healthy because of you. Without you here, they would’ve never been this safe or strong. And… Without you here, I’d still be a little spirit floating through reflections, escaping from her past. You’ve done well, Orvus. Never regret anything.”

”I don’t regret what I’ve done. I was… not like I am now. Hurt, confused, scared. I attacked Phystene simply because I could not feel the life she had created. I may not regret doing it, but it doesn’t absolve me from being a monster in her eyes. That will never change.” he said with a sigh, squeezing her hand gently, ”I… See what you mean. I once had a dream… K’nell gave it to me. Would you like to see it?” he asked.

“Who cares if people think you’re a monster? Monsters don’t get hurt, cattle does.” Silver huffed, but quickly calmed down and nodded, “... Yes, show me the dream.”

”I see.” Orvus said as he cocked his head to look at Silver in a new light. After a moment he said, ”Let me know if it becomes too much, Silver. Mortal minds are ill equipped for so much information at once.” Orvus said, as Silver’s vision faded to black.

Before her stretched the same dream that K’nell had once shown Orvus. It played out as it always did in his head. He woke up to next to Rowan, they chatted, then Orvus set out with big Hank. it was vividly in detail, and Silver would be able to feel absolutely everything that Orvus felt. Then the dream ended atop the hill with K’nell, the lingering words of the choice, ‘creation or destruction’ fading slowly away before Silver’s vision came back.

”Are you alright?” Orvus asked with concern in his voice.

Silver wiped at her teary eyes and grit her teeth slightly at the headache that suddenly manifested behind her right eye. She closed that eye and grimaced, but the other eye found its way to stare at Orvus. If the eyes truly were the windows to the soul, then hers was on fire after seeing the dream.

“Destroy to create. That log house was beautiful, how many trees died to build it? The furs along the floor in the living room-- How many animals? Handsome Hank, how many of his ancestors killed to survive…? Ow,” She flinched and shut her eyes tightly, pressing her hands her temples.

Orvus stood up and bent over the table, pressing a finger into Silver’s forehead. Instantly she felt a numbing coolness as her pain became empty. Then Orvus removed his touch.

The god looked concerned and said, ’Are you alright Silver?”

She took in a few deep, slow breaths and opened her eyes, which had dimmed noticeably. She smiled weakly, “I am now, thank you, Orvus.”

Orvus settled back down into his chair, placing a hand underneath his chin as he leaned back. ”Now you know why I’m farming. Why I’m doing any of this. Because of K’nell and that dream. It… broke me for a long time. Longer than you could ever know. I still feel it’s effects, especially when Kalmar confronted me. He told me to change, or that he would kill me. Ever since, I’ve felt… I don’t even know. Lost? Afraid? Scared? Did you know, the other night I flew to another continent to help a mortal in need? I heard her prayer and answered and I was afraid of how I sounded. So sure of myself, so foreign when I can’t even make a decision myself. I even gave her gifts, Silver. First you, then Mel’lssandra, now Atmav.” he paused in thought, ”No… you were not the first one I gave a gift to. That was… Arya…” he said softly.

Silver looked down at the table and frowned, worried. “Who’s Arya? It sounds like you care for them a lot.”

”Arya is my daughter…” Orvus said absentmindedly.

Silver pursed her lips and sighed, “You sound like my- Laina’s Father. Always thinking of something else, never present… Do you talk to her?”

His eyes snapped to attention at Silver’s words and he connected with her own eyes. ”No. I cast her out of Veradax the moment of her birth. She is not like me… She would have died there…” Orvus said shakely.

“And so, you abandoned her?”

”I… Did.”

“When all you want is to feel that life, that dream. You’re faced with your own daughter, someone who seeks your love… And you turn your back to her?”

”I was in a poor state, sitting before something that would have killed her outright.” he said immediately before his voice faded, and he leaned forward. In but a whisper he said, ”I looked inside of her and I saw compassion, love, joy and a spark for life I could not provide. Yes, I want that dream, but it is merely that, a desire. One that I could not build there. Perhaps if I tried to, things would have gone differently. But because of my inability to change, to feel, I had to let her go. She would have stagnated with me, and her potential destroyed. I gave her a mighty gift, Silver. One that will grow as she does. She is in safe hands, with Shengshi the last I knew.”

Silver shook her head and looked away, “What gift did you give her, if I may know?”

Orvus flinched as Silver looked away. ”A bit of divinity and the ability of flight.” he said sadly.

“... It’s never late, you know. Until it’s too late. How would you feel if she were to die without knowing how you truly felt about her existence? She might be going around, thinking you hate her. Thinking she shouldn’t have been born!”

Orvus said nothing, letting the room fill with deafening silence. The sound of a chair moving across wood broke that silence, and Orvus left the room, and went outside. There he fell to his hands and knees, staring blankly at the ground away from the cabin. He then rose a fist high, and struck the earth. There was tremor that rippled through the house, and a crater half its size was indented into the ground, when the dust finally settled.

Then the God sat up on his knees, hunched over. He waved his hand before him, saying nothing. But something began to take shape.

At that moment, Silver stumbled out of the house, her own eyes teary once more and her knees scraped and bruised.

“O-Orvus!”

The god said nothing as the form grew larger still, towering above him. The black mass began to take shape, first two legs, then two arms jutted out from a feminine body. A lions mane of long, thick hair that shone like the lights of a nebula fell down her back in wavy curves. Her skin was the same inky black that comprised his own body, but unlike his own, she was without any sort of blemishes of light. She was tall, taller then even Orvus and her body was defined by her curvy, hour-glass figure with toned muscles. Her face was oval, with high cheekbones. Unlike Orvus and Arya, she had a small dainty nose, and full lips with accents of light to distinguish them.

She floated in the air for a moment, then fell to her knees before Orvus. Silver merely watched as the whole scene unraveled, bewildered and unable to move. Orvus then stood up, eyeing the figure before him. She was unlike anything he had yet created, but similar all the same. He didn’t even know why he had created her, but he had, and now she existed.

Orvus walked over to her, her kneeling body reaching his chest. He placed a finger atop her head and then said softly,”Wake up Laurien.” And the giant of a woman opened her eyes as Orvus let his hand fall to his side. Laurien’s eyes blazed with white light, portraying the same intelligence he had seen in Arya upon her own birth, before dimming down to a soft glow. Laurien blinked once, twice and smiled.

Her voice was strong, ringing with hints of melody when she spoke, ”Hello. Are you my father?” she asked sweetly.

”I am, dear Laurien. Do you know why you are here?” Orvus responded in kind.

By this point, Laurien had begun to softly caress her arms and facial features, getting a feel for her newfound existence. She then said, ”Why, to live of course. But do I have a purpose?” she asked eyeing Orvus.

”Good.” Orvus said at first, before saying, ”A purpose? Why of course, but only if you want. I have something special in mind. But first, how about you meet Silver?”

’What’s a Silver, father?” Laurien asked as Orvus turned to look at the small red-headed girl, who was leaning against the doorway with a scraped, bleeding knee and a somewhat vacant, yet still bewildered expression on her face.

“I am Silver. You’re Laurien?”

”Yes, that’s me.” Laurien said, now eyeing Silver with a quizzical look, ”Why do they call you Silver if your hair is red?” she asked bewildered. By that time, Orvus had made is way over to her, walking up the wooden steps and bent down to look at her knee.

”You’re hurt. I… I am sorry.” he said, gently touching her knee.

Silver looked at Orvus and shook her head, “It’s okay,” And then the redhead turned her intensified gaze to Laurien. Her eyes shone a bright silver in colour and dug into her very soul, “Because of my eyes, I think. I like your name, Laurien. And you look strong.”

Orvus stood up, sadness in his eyes, and turned to face Laurien as well. By this point, Laurien had stood up, revealing the true nature of her stature. She walked with confidence over to the both of them, no sign of any uneasy legs. When she reached the patio, she bent over and walked underneath. Then she put her hands upon her thighs and leaned into inspect Silver up close.

”Mhmm. I can see why now. Those eyes are beautiful, and that hair… So very pretty.” she said before saying, ”Oh, right, thank you for the compliment. I quite like my name as well. So, what is this place?”

Silver averted her gaze, a light blush coating her cheeks for a moment, “Thank you, this is my home, your Father made it for me. He’s very generous.”

Laurien reached out to gently caress Silver’s cheek and murmured, ”No need to blush. You should be proud of how you look. Your lips are s-”

Orvus then cut in saying, ”Laurien. This is not the time, dear one. Please, go and explore the house, Silver and I need to talk for a bit.” he said sternly.

Laurien lowered her hand from Silver’s burning cheek and looked up to Orvus with a smirk, ”Of course, of course. Can’t blame a girl for admiring beauty.” she said chipperly, before scooting past Silver and into the house.

Silver kept looking at the ground, cheeks red and hot. “T-That was intense,” She stammered, speaking quietly.

Orvus put a hand on SIlver’s shoulder and gently squeezed. Then he said, ”You must forgive me again. I did not realize she would react in such a way to you. I do not think she meant any harm, Silver. She is just… new to the world.” Orvus said softly.

“It’s fine… I just wasn’t prepared for that,” Silver took in a deep breath and the color of her cheeks subsided slowly. Finally, she exhaled and looked at Orvus, “Why make her now?”

”When I left the house and… punched the ground… a thought occurred to me as I went over your words. I’ve been helping others to try and make myself feel less guilty about what I did to Arya. I realize that now.” he paused trying to find the right words, You are correct after all, little Silver. I made a mistake, and one that I regret. So I created Laurien. She will go find Arya, and if Arya wants to see me, I will go to her. Or she can come here. Even… Even if Arya never wants to see me ever again, she will have Laurien. Did I… Did I do the right thing?” he asked.

Silver nodded and smiled, wrapping her hands around Orvus’, “I don’t know what’s right or what’s best, but- But, I’m happy for you. I’m also happy that you listened to what I said.”

The god let out a sigh of relief, ”I am… glad. Thank you, Silver.” he paused, ”Let us go and see Laurien, she has much to learn and what better teacher than you?” Orvus said contently.

Silver’s smile widened and she nodded vigorously, “Y-Yeah, let’s go.”

And so they did.





Marred


“Tiana! Tiana! Wait for me!” came a shout through the bustling undergrowth of the jungle. Light footsteps followed quick, raspy breaths as the footfalls broke twig and crushed plant alike as they ran after a figure out of sight.

The only reply was a high pitched laugh, mocking in tone, followed by a feminine voice saying, “I thought you faster than this, Vadik! Or was that only in the water when you’re hungry?” The insult, subtle as it was, did not go unnoticed by Vadik. The selka cursed under his breath before shouting, “Oh yeah! Well… I’ll show you!” and he quickened his pace.

More laughter as Tiana said, “Come on! We’re almost there.”

Up above, the distant roar of waterfall could be heard. And as Vadik caught up to Tiana, that roar became thunderous. The two selka, now running side by side, carried with them youthful expressions of laughter and play. They were some of the youngest in their tribe, only babies beat them in that contest, but they were not yet adults. Neither of them would admit it, but adulthood was nearing each passing day, prompting them to become creative with their pursuits.

And now they stood before a crystal clear lake, across from which stood a mighty waterfall, rising well above their both their heads. Vadik looked down at Tiana, who was shorter than he, and with a playful wink he said, “First one to the waterfall wins!” and without waiting he jumped in the pool. The water was cool here, and refreshing and there was no way Tiana would be able to beat him. He was, by far, the best swimmer out of the two.

He swam as fast he could, his streamlined body providing little resistance. The current was pushing down once he neared the waterfall. So Vadik broke the surface, clearly the victor but to his great surprise, Tiana was there laughing.

“You should see the look on your face Vadik!” she said holding back tears, “You look like old Yimbo!”

A scowl appeared on Vadik’s face as he said, “No fair! You cheated, I’m the faster swimmer!”

Tiana broke out into a howl of laughter now, saying through tears, “You said first one to the waterfall wins, you didn’t say how we had to get there.”

“I meant through swimming!” Vadik said grumpily. He swam closer to Tiana, who bobbed in the current as she laughed at him. “You know what Tiana, you win! Here is your award!” Vadik said as he jumped at her. Once their bodies met, a playful struggle ensued as Tiana fought to break Vadiks grip. They screamed, and giggled, and laughed as Heliopolis sank behind the trees.

At the edge of the water, they both laid side by side on soft sands. They watched as the sunk sank lower, and the stars began to twinkle. They talked and talked, about past times, the good and bad, and what the future held. Slowly but surely, two hands met in an embrace, cheeks turning red but with smiles on their lips.

“Hey Vadik?” Tiana asked in a low whisper.

Vadik turned to look at her, and so too did Tiana turn to Vadik. “Yes Tiana?”

“We should probably head back. Our parents are probably worried, don’t you think?”

Vadik let out a soft sigh, “Yeah, you’re probably right, but… first…” Vadik whispered as he moved in closer, giving a quick peck on her lips. He pulled away, embarrassed.

Tiana’s smile grew wider and she said, “Come on silly.”

As they both stood up, something small and white descended above them, prompting Vadik to exclaim, “Look Tiana! A spirit!” as he pointed at the orb.

Tiana followed his gaze, and saw two more spirits following the first. She grabbed on to Vadik’s arm and got behind him, whispering, “Aren’t spirits bad? You heard the elders…”

As the spirits drifted closer, Vadik turned to Tiana and said, “What happened to all that fire Tiana? Scared of a little spirit?”

Now the spirits were closer, drifting on some invisible current of air. With them came the sound of a small hum, faint but alluring all the same.

“They’re whispering Tiana. Aren’t they beautiful?” Vadik said, having turnt back to watch the descent.

Tiana gripped his arm tighter and hissed, “Vadik let’s go, something is right here. I don’t know why, but I feel it.”

“One second Tiana… I just want to touch it…” Vadik said absentmindedly. The spirits were floating closer now, almost within length as Vadik outstretched his hand.

Impulsively, Tiana yelled, “No!” and hit Vadik’s hand away before he could touch it, but the spirit instead touched her. She screamed at the icy touch as her hand started to blacken. Before Vadik could do anything, the other two spirits launched themselves at Tiana and disappeared inside of her.

The small selka girl’s skin began to turn inky black, and she lost her footing, beginning to fall, but Vadik caught her in time. He cradled her in his arms, watching as his best friend faded before his eyes.

“No! No no no! Tiana! Tiana! What have I done!” he cried out. As the inky blackness began to flow up her neck, Tiana’s face went blank and she began to speak nonsense from her lips, before slowly being enveloped. Her eyes glassed over, before glowing a pale white. Then her body grew still, leaving Vadik alone.

He held her body, shocked at the sudden turn of events. Before he could even grief, movement caught his eye and he looked up to see hundreds of motes, drifting lazily down from the sky, absorbing into anything they came into contact with. Fear kicked in, but before he ran, he set Tiana in the water, and watched the black waters became her grave.

Then Vadik ran, tears streaming down his face. He had to get to the village. He had to warn them.


Journey II





The land was stained with dark blotches of crimson, fallen upon the red of plants and ferns, grasses and rocks without care. A trail of corpses followed, never far behind where the blood pooled, and smeared, and sept. Corpses. Blackened, scarred, ripped and broken. Soulless. Predator and prey alike shared the same fate, without reason and without remorse. It was a slaughter as Azadine carved a bloody path through the Hooflands, her body completely stained with the crimson liquid of fallen foes. She had hungered once, and ate her fill several times over, but soon enough the Reaper Mother had found herself killing anything that she came across, even if it wasn’t a threat. She was an apex predator, little could be done to stop her. The thrashing of claws, and the biting of teeth did little to harm her hide. Such was the way of things.

Azadine enjoyed the hunt, the thrill of a perfect ambush, and the frightened eyes of her prey before they died. She was cruel and senseless, but driven. Driven. It was this drive that propelled her further and further, through giant forests, and vast plains, towards the mountains north. But little specks at first, growing and growing, larger than even she, and now they loomed upon the horizon. Home.

She arrived before the rock giants at nightfall, wherein her crimson eyes gleamed in the dark, scouring the mountainside for a cave. Something dark and warm, protected from the elements and the biting sunlight. The Reaper felt at ease in then night, blending in effortlessly. It was not long when she came to rocky overhang, jutting out over a massive hole at the bottom of the mountain. She sniffed the air, taking in the scents of rot and decay. Death. Something had claimed the cave already, but that could change. Silently, she crawled her way into the pitch black, leaving the outside world in the chorus of night life.

There was a sudden squeal, silencing that chorus. A scream echoed in response, vibrant and wholly alien. The sounds of a struggle ensued, then followed by a large thump. Soon enough, the quiet gave way to the sounds of night once more, as if nothing had even occurred.

Back in the cave, Azadine lorded over a large body. The creature was reptilian in nature, standing on two powerful legs, with a mouth ment for crushing. It stood little chance against her reach and power however, and as quickly as the fight had started, it was over with but a large gash along the creatures torso. It’s shallow breath was ragged and as Azadine sniffed, she knew it did not have long for the world. She had to work quickly. Quickly.

It would be the first Spawn, after all.




Across the sea, in the heart of the Xishan Mountains, there resided another cave. A large hole as the base of the mountain. It sat within the heart of a small valley, snaked by a waterfall that covered the entrance ina torrent of droplets. As one entered the cave, one could see that the walls were grey, riddled with minerals and other base layers of rock. As the darkness took over the senses, and the deeper one traveled in, the warmer the temperature became. Eventually the grey of rock gave way to something not quite right, a spongy substance, that permeated the air with a stench worse than death.

Here there was something glowing on the walls, deep crimson pods, littered vertical and criss cross from one another. Within those pods or sacks, were the varying states of animals, changing and growing, becoming amalgamations of their former flesh.

Red veins illuminated black skin, as horns sprouted, claws grew, and tails formed. Further in, something fell to the ground with a thud, then another and another, followed by the first screams. Terrible and enlightening all the same. They had come. Children.








The Learner

&

Hermes + Xiaoli





”Penelope… Come here… Girl.” Came Arya’s raw voice, the girl had wondered a ways from the clearing she had found herself in. She gripped her side, hand now coated in a mix of dry and wet blood as she used her other hand to lean up against a tree. One that wasn’t moving. It had came as a great surprise, seeing trees run, chased but what she could only describe as overgrown herbivores. She had to blink through the pain she felt, not even sure if the sight was real. It came as a relief when the tree’s she used for support didn’t move, Arya didn’t think she could handle that.

Though she had no visible mouth, it felt so dry, and she was beyond parched. Something to drink would be good, very good. She mumbled something incoherently, before shuffling along at a snail's pace. She had pushed past two oddly moving mountains and into the forest they revealed.

”Split… Where are you?” she asked aloud, no longer really capable of yelling. She had seen no sign of either of her friends and this worried her far more than the shape she was in. If anything had happened to them… She didn’t know what she would do.

It was really peaceful here, she thought, and smelled so sweet. Perhaps if she just rested for a bit she would feel better. Her heavy eyes shut slowly, almost as if they were fighting her. She began to call Penelope’s name again, but all at once she she felt something stop her, and she was falling. She landed face first on the forest floor, the pain rocketing her to conscious as she let out a coarse scream, which fell to ragged breaths. With her measly strength, she rolled over to look up at the canopy.

”Penelope… Split...” she cried, ”I need you. Please. I’m… I’m right here.” as her eyes began to shut again.




A wet sensation suddenly covered where Arya’s nose might be and there was a light crackling. The girl gave a small chuckle, saying, ”Penelope… What did I say about kisses?” before she opened her eyes, coming face to face with a strange sight. A tiny cotton ball sized cloud rested on her face, little flickers of electricity sparking from it as it crackled. There was a sudden ’pop!’ and it hovered over her face, crackling wildly.

”Oh… Hello, little one. Have you seen my bunny?” she asked, the question sounding odd, even to her. Perhaps she was dreaming, after all. A little cloud couldn’t possible be real. The cloudling swirled.

”Zzt!”

“Poppler?” A voice called out in the distance.

At the sound of the voice, Arya began to laugh again, ”Oh K’nell, I’d like to wake up now, please. I have to go find… Penelope and… Split.”

A crow suddenly cawed and took off from the trees, previously unseen. A strange pull appeared in Arya’s mind and before she could think twice about it, she was gone.




Arya awoke with a start, her eyes snapping open to view a… Ceiling? The last time she had seen such a view was aboard the Jiangzhou. She blinked as her hazy memories started to flood back to her. She had no idea where she was and Split and Penelope were still missing. She threw her covers off, noticing that her dress had been replaced with a large bandage covering her wounds. She began to sit up, the pain not as intense as it had been before and she began to wonder just how long she had been asleep.

She placed her feet on the cold, wooden floor- the feeling electing a small smile in her eyes. Then she stood up and nearly fell over on uneasy legs, but she stopped herself from falling by floating. Now parallel to the ground, she let out a small sigh before orienting herself to be vertical with the rest of the room. She began to float towards the door, nervous and excited to find out what was in store. Perhaps her giant bunny and Split were waiting for her on the other side, perhaps not, there was only one way to find out.

Suddenly, the slider door opened, but from the other side. There stood a short girl with black hair, pale, grainy skin and a round, soft face. She wore a beige shirt made of spun yarn and a skirt made of a similar material, except that it was coloured brown. She was holding a tray with a pot, a cup and a bowl of some delicious-smelling stew. Upon seeing Arya so much closer than anticipated, however, she nearly skipped into the air with a short ‘ah!’

Arya eyed the newcomer with intense curiosity as her eyes squinted. Arya then exclaimed, ”Hello!” to the woman, floating closer to inspect what she carried.

“O-oh, hello,” the girl voiced with a sigh of relief. “Are you feeling better?”

Arya floated around the girl, inspecting her with unwavering eyes. She had never seen someone like her before, well, she knew Kalmar and Arae had similar forms, but nothing like this. The girl seemed a little vexed at this, but let out a patient - if not a little frustrated - sigh. Arya floated back in front of her and said, ”I am! Thank you for your hospitality. I’ve never seen someone like you before,” she paused thoughtfully, ”Not that you’re ugly or anything, in fact, you look amazing.” she said as her eyes smiled widely, ”Oh but where are my manners? My name, is Arya. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” she said, bowing low in the manner that Shengshi taught her.

The girl gave her a slight frown, which grew even more apparent as Arya bowed. However, not being one to forget her manners either, the girl bowed back. “A joy to meet you, lady Arya - I am Xiaoli. Pardon me for asking, but where did you learn those manners?” She raised an eyebrow.

Arya’s eyes seemed to light up at the sound of Xiaoli’s name, and she said, ”Xiaoli! You’re Xiaoli! Oh this is wonderful!” she exclaimed happily, ”His Lordship taught this servant much while this servant stayed aboard the Jiangzhou. Oh, his Lordship missed you dearly, my lady.” she finished with softness in her voice.

Xiaoli recoiled and blinked a little; then, after a moment, she leaned in with squinted eyes. “I’m sorry, but… Did His Lordship make you?” She put the tray aside and begun to pat and touch Arya all over her face, arms and torso, her brow furrowing more and more as she investigated. “You don’t look like a servant at all - are you an earlier iteration of sorts? One he made before he gave life to the Servant race?”

Arya winced a little at Xiaoli’s touches before she visibly relaxed, letting the girl ask her questions and becoming perplexed by what she had to say as well. ”Um, no, his Lordship did not create me, how I came to him is a long… long story. I was born on the moon, actually. That’s… another long story actually. What do you mean when you say, servant race? The water globules?” she asked confused.

“The water globules, yes. After someone blew a hole in His Lordship’s shipdeck and murdered many of them, He decided that they had served him well and faithfully and granted them true forms and souls.” She eyed her up and down. “On the moon, huh? Did you hit your head, by chance? Would you like some tea and stew?”

Arya froze, going rigid. Her eyes went wide with horror as she realized what she had done. The vivid memory of the Lurker screaming jumped into her head and the girl began to take quick, shallow breaths. Xiaoli blinked and reached for her hands. “H-hey, are you alright?” she asked softly. When Xiaoli touched her, Arya jumped and screamed, ”No no no no no! Don’t touch me!” and she flew back against the wall, letting out a loud bang. ”I’ll hurt you! I’ll hurt you! I can’t hurt you too!” she whimpered, beginning to cry as the memory of the explosion on the ship came back. She had murdered those servants for no reason. As she began to hyperventilate, it dawned upon her, she was a monster. Arya wanted to shrink as she fell on the floor.

The main door slid open and another woman darted in. Dried blood covered up to her wrists, and she held a flat stone knife in one hand. She wore a curious look on a alabaster face, a little blood on the tip of her nose and some splattered on her nigh sleeveless shirt, “Is everything okay in here?”

“Hermes, thank the rivers, can you h--WHAT HAPPENED?! Did you fall and break your nose?!” Xiaoli demanded anxiously.

Hermes’ eyes widened and she rubbed her nose with her bare arm, the blood smudging off, “Oh!” She chuckled, “No I was just-” She looked at Arya and then back at Xiaoli, “What’s going on?”

Xiaoli gave the floored Arya an anxious stare. “I’m not sure, but if I was to put two and two together, I may have found His Lordship’s stray student.” She carefully shuffled over to Arya and knelt down a metre or so away from her. “Hey, Arya?” she asked softly.

Arya flinched as Xiaoli spoke, she then said meekly, ”Hi.”

“Arya?” Hermes smiled, “Arya!” Her voice wasn’t as soft and comforting as Xiaoli’s but tinged with a curious excitement. She bobbed into a squat and looked level at the girl, her bloody arms resting on her knees, “God told me about you.”

At the sight of the stranger with bloody arms, Arya felt queasy, but she shoved it from her mind when the woman spoke. She sat up slowly, placing her arms around her legs in a tight embrace. ”Hermes?” she asked softly.

The dreamer pointed to the swirl on her forehead and smiled wide, “The one and only.” She turned to look over her shoulder at Xiaoli, “Remember that dream I had a few days ago? This is that Arya -- The dancer.”

“O-oh, is that so?” Xiaoli said and gave Arya another lookover. She let out a pensive hum, but eventually cracked a smile. “Well, if anyone can dance so well as to warrant such a title from you, Hermes, then I would rather like to see.” She gave Arya a playful wink.

Arya seemed to light up at this, feeling a mix of joy and regret. She had accidentally stumbled upon Hermes and Xiaoli, but there was a pit in her heart still. She began to relax again, her breathing becoming normal as she stood up and began to float again. She eyed the two with curiosity now, and said, ”Oh… I’m not very good…” she said shyly, ”I… I’m sorry about that, Lady Xiaoli. I’m the one who caused that hole… I didn’t mean…” she went silent as she choked on her words.

Xiaoli nodded somberly. “Yes, I figured as much - His Lordship told me about a girl he had taken in some time ago. He grew quite attached to her, but grieved silently after she left - he knew he was the one who made her leave, after all.” She raised an eyebrow. “He named you differently, though - Anxin, if I recall correctly.” Hermes scratched dry flakes off her nose as she watched the two.

Arya’s heart fluttered when Xiaoli spoke of Shengshi grieving for her, and her guilt worsened. She let out a soft sigh and said, ”Yes, Anxin, a name I still love.” she paused then said, ”It was my fault really, not his. I am… I was rash and angry and had no right to be upset with him. I am glad however, that you got to see him again. I always felt as if… something was missing.” she finished quietly, holding her upper arm. Hermes eyed Xiaoli in conspiracy and quickly swept up some of the loose flakes from the floor.

Xiaoli gave her a sympathetic smile and reached out to squeeze her free hand. “He misses you, you know. You should visit him some time.”

Arya gave a small squeeze back and said, ”I was planning too, before… Well, wherever I ended up. Hey, you haven’t seen Penelope have you? Or Split?” she said innocently.

“You were alone when I found you -- well, mostly,” Hermes mused, “Poppler was there too.”

”Poppler? You mean that small cloud? Huh, I thought I was dreaming.” Arya said with a giggle.

“Nope!” Hermes stood up and patted her knee length pants free of loose flakes, only to grimace after, “You were passed out on a bed of moss, cloudling on your face. I was arms full of dead quolls, buuut -- I figured you were more important.” She pointed at the bandages, “Feel any better?”

”Cloudling,” she mused, before saying, ”Yes, I feel much better. Thank you, the both of you. I’m not sure how much longer I would have lasted by myself.” she said looking both at Xiaoli and Hermes.

“Well you don’t have to,” Hermes gave her a cheshire smile, “You have plenty of friends.”

“Yeah,” Xiaoli echoed with a smile. Then she suddenly rocketed to her feet, her face pale as ice. “The tea! The stew!” She rushed out back into the hallway. Hermes flinched and then gave Arya a sideways glance.

“Want to see the courtyard?”

”What’s that?” Arya asked.

Hermes’ eyes seemed to sparkle, “Let me show you.” With little else she began to walk out of the room, looking back to make sure Arya was following her now and again. Arya floated after her, curious to what she wanted to show her.

The two exited the hallway and entered the outside with a wash of fresh forest air. Before them was the meticulously placed tiles of the courtyard, an intricate map of the eastern hemisphere patterned across it. Tucked near the inner wall and the courtyard was a table covered in blood and entrails, hanging pelts stretched out near it, and a pile of meat in a woven basket. Hermes waved her hand across the courtyard as she walked over to the butchering station, “This is it!”

As soon as they went outside, Arya felt as if she was in another world. She had never seen anything like it before, and with a childlike curiosity, she flew all over, touching the walls, eyeing the tiles, ogling the map and marveling at the style and beauty of it all. Most of all, the fresh air was a relief she never knew she needed and the sun’s rays felt heavenly upon her skin. The girl let out a peel of giggling that quickly became laughter as she flew around Hermes. ”Oh this is wonderful! Did you both build all this?” she asked.

Hermes lifted the basket of meat, leaving the knife on the table. “Nope,” She she jutted her chin towards the northernmost building as if asking Arya to follow, “Xiaoli is the resident master carpenter. I do a little bit of everything else.” Hermes eyed the pile of meat and then smiled at Arya.

Arya landed next to Hermes, and eyes all of the meat, saying ”Like hunting! Kalmar taught me how to hunt, though I don’t think I could ever do it again. He was… Kalmar.” she said softly.

“Kalmar,” Hermes mused, “I didn’t spend a lot of time with him, but he seemed to have a way about him now that I think about it. I beat him in a foot-race you know, but he took it with grace and gave me a spear and some advice. Told me about some facts of life and whatnot.” She pushed the sliding door of the northern building open and stepped in.

Arya followed after Hermes. With an excited voice she asked, ”You beat a god in a foot race? How?” her eyes were wide with joy, Hermes was shaping up to be everything she had thought she was, and now this!

“With my sandals,” She kicked one foot forward as if to show Arya before walking down a hallway and through another slider door. Arya looked at Hermes sandals, confused as to how they would help her in a race, but before she could say anything else, they arrived. Inside Hermes placed the basket on a table, a hurried Xiaoli doting over a hearth full of stew. Xiaoli gave them both a wry smile.

“The tea and stew had both gotten cold, so I decided to make some more! It’ll only be a few minutes more, rest assured.” She added some chopped cabbage to the brown, bubbly substance and sung faintly as she stirred. “Oh, please have a seat and help yourselves to some tea, by the way!”

On the table in the centre of the room, there had already been placed a tea pot and some cups, all of it hidden behind the enormous basket of meats.

“What did you do with the old stew?” Hermes furrowed her brow and lifted the basket, “Also where do you want this?”

“Why, I added it to this stew! What else should I have done with it?” Xiaoli gave her a pensive look. “Put it here, if you’d please.” She gestured to the side of the oven.

“Was just wondering,” Hermes gave her a teasing face and let the basket plop down next to the oven. Hermes snatched a cloth from a bucket near Xiaoli and started to wipe her hands, a steaming cloud dripping from the soaked towel. She looked over her shoulder at Arya and then glanced at the plush cushions around the low table, “Have a seat!” She smiled.

Arya seated herself quite happily. The girl, much too wrapped up in all the sights and smells of the room, hardly noticed the conversation between the two women. Tentatively, she wrapped her fingers around the steaming cup of tea and brought it up to her face, where then her mouth split open and she tilted the cup back to feel a warm sensation trickle down into her body. It tasted great, so she finished it off in another gulp, before setting the cup back down on the table.

She let out a satisfied sigh before saying, ”Oh how I’ve missed this.”

Xiaoli giggled. “It’s Yong’ai tea - my personal favorite and creation. It has the ability to strengthen bonds between friends…” She winked playfully at Hermes. “... And between lovers. So it’s a wonderful tea if you ever find yourself someone you like, Anxi-- Oh, forgive me, do you prefer Arya or Anxin?” Xiaoli scooped some stew into two bowls and walked over to the table with them.

”It’s good tea, I like it a lot.” Arya said enthusiastically. She then looked to Xiaoli and said, ”Whatever your preference is, Lady Xiaoli. Kalmar named me Arya, his Lordship named me Anxin. I like both of them well enough.” she said, eyeing the stew with a hungry gleam in her eyes.

Hermes gave Xiaoli a knowing look and copied her usual hum and scooped up a third bowl before sitting down by the table. She pushed the bowl in front of where Xiaoli was going to sit and took one of the bowls from Xiaoli, “Which one is your favorite?” The dreamer asked as she blew on the stew.

Arya looked at the stew and muffled a soft thank you as Xiaoli handed the bowl to her. She was about to take a bite, but as Hermes asked her question, the girl sat up straighter and paused as if in thought. After a moment she began to speak, ”I… They were both kind to me and for that I will always be thankful but I don’t think I can pick either one. Each has their own way of doing things, and they are just so different. If anything, I think I prefer Arae more” she said with a laugh.

Hermes swallowed a soupy bite of stew and shook her head, a kind smile on her face, “I mean which name is your favorite. I’d hate to call you anything less than what you like the most.” She paused and her smile widened, “But if it’s any consolation, I’m a fan of Arae, too.”

Xiaoli nodded. “We owe Her Holiness Arae so much - I’m not really certain how we will repay her, actually. We could place some tributes by the shrine, I suppose.” She drummed casually on her chin.

”Oh,” Arya cheeks flushed a light pink before she said, ”Silly me. A favorite name? Well I prefer Arya, but I do Like Anxin all the same. I’ll answer to both.” the girl then twirled a spoon in her hand, before plunging it into the stew. She got a big mouthful and brought it up to her face quickly, before swallowing it.

“Arya it is,” Hermes sipped at her tea, “How do you like the soup? That’s quoll and fresh cabbage, carrots, and--” She studied her spoonful of stew, “I think peas.”

She took another bite, looked to Hermes, and then Xiaoli and said, ”It’s delicious, definitely beats just cooked meat over a fire!” she said warmly.

“Mhm!” Hermes chimed, “We’ve started a garden and the forest is full of game. Tendlepog is a paradise, the perfect place to raise children.” She nodded enthusiastically, “Oh and the garden is just planted, but it’s already lovely. It has a great view of the sky; I’ve been trying to track the celestial bodies at night there.”

”Tendlepog? Oh my, that’s a ways from the Dragon’s Foot.” Arya muttered as her eyes took on a concerned look. She then looked at Hermes with a curious eye, and asked, ”Children? Like… Little people?” She had never heard of children before.

Xiaoli raised a brow. “Haven’t you heard of children? Didn’t His Lordship teach you all about the five relationships and filial piety?” She put a spoonful of stew in her mouth and gave Arya a squinted look.

Arya moved a hand up to her chin, squinting her eyes in thought. She tapped the table with her other free hand and said, ”Ah! How could I forget. Children are the procreations of two beings. Babies!” she looked at the two of them her eyes going wide, ”Are you going to have babies!” she said with glee, placing both her hands on her cheeks.

“Yeah!” Hermes exclaimed, her spoon flying across the room, slipping from her grip as she clapped her hands once. The spoon bounced off the wall mural and she recoiled. Crawling to go get it she cleared her throat, “Yes, we are.”

Xiaoli rolled her eyes jokingly. “Hermes, please don’t dirty my paintings with stew - the children will be doing that aplenty.” She gave Arya a grin and Hermes rolled her own eyes. “Yes, dear Hermes has started suffering the early effects of pregnancy, according to the book of Abanoc. We are anxiously awaiting the sound of little feet skipping across the floorboards.”

”Oh I’m so happy for the two of you! What a wonderfully joyous thing! To bring life into the world and care for it, and teach it, and… and love it.” she quieted down then with a smile she picked up her spoon and said, ”You’ll do great.” and she twirled the spoon in the stew, before taking a small bite.

“I sure hope so,” Hermes was aglow, “I'm very excited. You'll have to meet them when they come.”

”I’d love too!” the girl said thoughtfully.

Xiaoli sipped her teacup. “So, Arya, if I may ask - what brings you here to Tendlepog?”

”Funnily enough, that’s another long story.” Arya giggled, ”I was on a quest for Choppy. Had to go down to her Sphere, which is a super creepy place. Too many hands, too many whispers. Anyways, Split and I were riding on Penelope after we made the delivery, when we were attacked by a Lurker. Picture a horrible centipede that has too many legs, is giant sized and wants to eat you. It um… It hurt Penelope…” The memory flashed before her eyes again, and her grip on the wooden spoon tightened. She took a deep breath before continuing, ”We got separated after that and I woke up under a blue sky.” she finished dejectedly.

“Hm,” Hermes finished the last of her stew, “Well that's just awful… Spheres are strange like that though, there is-” Hermes stopped put on a sympathetic smile, “What I mean to say, is that spheres are confusing, I know, but I'm sure they found their way back to Galbar, same as you.”

”I hope so.” Arya said sadly.

Hermes looked at Xiaoli briefly and then back at Arya, “You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need.” Xiaoli nodded happily.

“The guest rooms are newly mopped and the sheets are fresh. You can move in tonight if you wish.”

Arya visibly brightened at their kindness. She set the spoon down on the table and looked at the both of them, tears welling up in her eyes, ”I… I would love too. Thank you. The both of you, again.” she said joyfully.

Xiaoli waved her hands playfully. “Oh, no need to thank us, dear! It’s what the guest rooms are for! I’m afraid I have no wine to offer, though, as is customary in these situations.” She pouted a little.

“But!” Hermes interjected, “We have a whole lot of sweetgrass juice.”

”Ah, that’s okay Lady Xiaoli. Wine is a but much for me. Juice however, sounds delicious.” Arya said.

Xiaoli shrugged. “That may be for the best. Lady Hermes here is not allowed near ebriating substances after a -certain- other episode…” She gave Hermes a slightly sour stare.

“It's not even worth mentioning,” Hermes returned the stare, before smiling at Arya, “Do you want to see my study?”

”A study? Okay.” Arya said, floating up.

Xiaoli let out a content sigh. “Alright, leave the housewife with all the chores.” She gave them both a playful smile. “You two have fun now.” She stood up and began to stack bowls and cups onto a tray.

Hermes flinched and looked at Arya, “I’ll show you after we take care of -- well this.” She stood, and walked over to a large stone basin, to which it was a wonder how it was even brought inside. Hermes took a cloth from a peg and dipped it in, wringing it with water. Heading back she made quick work of the table top.

Xiaoli frowned a little. “Dear, it’s fine!” she said. “Go show her the studies - I’ll take care of the cleaning and such.” She took the tray over to the basin and put the bowls in the water. She washed them deftly with a cloth and stacked them next to each other on the side to dry once clean.

Hermes let the cloth fall back into the basin, “Thank you,” she gave Xiaoli a warm smile. Turning back to Arya she put her hands on her hips, “All set?”

Arya had watched the two women with curiosity as they spoke back and forth. She would have chimed in, but there really wasn’t a place for her to do so.

She looked at Hermes and said, ”Yeah!” Then Arya looked to Xiaoli and humbly said, ”Thank you, Lady Xiaoli.”




Just a room over, the study was lit by a large window. The shutters were open, letting in a spring breeze and gently rustling the many papers scattered across a wooden desk, saved only by stone paper weights. The room was otherwise bare, with only a few of the empty shelves holding small trinkets, such as strange rocks, curious geodes and one tiny altar to Abanoc. As Arya walked behind Hermes, she noticed one of the papers on the desk with crudely drawn fighters and Shengshese characters in a poor hand explaining each.

Arya looked over the papers more closely, and realized it had something to do with a fighting style, one she had never seen before. She then moved her gaze to Hermes and said, ”Is this your work?”

“One of them,” Hermes happily explained, pushing aside the martial arts codex in favor of hastily drawn sketches of the night sky and even the day cycles of Heliopolis. “I’m making a calendar,” She explained. She then lit up and put a hand on a thick stack of paper that sat next to another, “I’m also recording my adventures and things I find.”

”Oh, how interesting!” she said enthusiastically as she moved around the room, looking at the few items Hermes had. She was impressed, to say the least. She didn’t have anything like it, at all.

“You know,” Hermes said, looking up from a sketch of a grapple, “If you ever wanted to learn a little something, I could show you.”

Arya looked at Hermes with wide eyes. Giddly she said, ”Oooo, like what?”

“Well,” Hermes pondered, “I haven’t had anyone to put the Tendlepogan Dance Fighting to the test with.” She looked at the wall, as if seeing through it, “Xiaoli might not appreciate me having a guest run around right after eating though.”

”Dance fighting! Oh please Hermes, please teach me!” Arya exclaimed, floating in circles around the woman.

“I will,” Hermes smiled, trying to keep up with the excited girl, “But later, when it’s cooler out and there is no more day-work to do. Until then, feel free to look at my notes.” She gave an awkward smile and put her hand back on her biography, “Just not this one.”

“I should go clean up the butchering table, but feel free to perusse.” Her hand slipped to the stack of papers ripe with mediocre illustrations of various plants and animals found on Tendlepog, “Okay?”

There was a flash of disappointment in Arya’s eyes, but it quickly faded into a smile.

”Okay!” she said cheerfully and as Hermes left, Arya took the stack, and orientated herself upwards so her body was facing the ceiling. There, she began to go over what Hermes had written down, absorbing the knowledge with glee.





The Learner

&

Split-Tooth





Something wasn’t quite right, she felt weird, then all of a sudden she was in a place. A really strange place. She couldn’t quite believe what she saw, but at the same time is was vaguely familiar. They were in a small market, within an even larger market. Rows and rows of hands- gloves hands or floating rings and other items that begged there to be someone or something wearing them, but there wasn’t. Each hand seemed to lord over their own respective stalls, selling items she had never even heard of before. She was so mesmerized with what she was seeing, she could hardly even try and describe it. There was no sun and no sky, just thousands of lights suspended in the vast air above them. The atmosphere was filled with hustle and bustle of voices she couldn’t make out and distant music, very distant but discernible all the same.

“ ? . ‘! “ , .. ! , ! ” ”

“ “” !. ”.”””!? ”...” “ “!’ “. ”

“,,” ? .”” ! ‘’, (). ,,” ,?”

Arya turned to Split, her expression wide with disbelief, and she said, ”I don’t think we are on Galbar anymore.” Arya then bent down over Penelope’s head and gave her some good scratches. ”Good girl Penelope. I should never have doubted you.” and as she continued to scratch, right behind the bunnies ear, Penelope lifted her back leg up and began to thump.

“No, we aren’t.” The kostral stretched her arms with a series of loud snaps and scratched the side of her head. “Not in any hole I know either. Strange to feel the part where you’re going down, don’t you think? Thought the dark would keep going for a deal more.” She satisfiedly slapped the jackalope’s side. “Good thing she came through after all. I’d’ve hated to have to smack the other Chops too. Didn’t look like she could take it.”

Split slipped down from the cover, axe in hand, and crawled towards a nearby stall. She poked her head warily towards the colourful pieces of fabric arranged over it, waved away an overzealous glove, and swept her side-eyes over the small place they stood in. “So this is a market. Doesn’t feel that different from home. Only difference is these folk’d get a lot more done if they’d go looking for who needs their things rather than standing round waiting.” She threw a suspicious glance down an alleyway between two sparse rows. “That and there don’t look to be as many deadly things around, though I’d not be sure of that. Stay careful until we’ve seen better.”

Arya followed suit, and slid down Penelope. She walked over to Split, and said, ”This whole place is… Strange, but I don’t think there should be any danger we can’t overcome. Why else request a delivery? Now we just have to find out where to go.” Arya then eyed the stall next to Split, a gloved hand tapped its fingers on the wood, almost impatiently. The stall was selling a black, shiny substance, as well as crystals that glowed luminously. Almost like starlight. It was beautiful and mesmerizing and as she peered into to get a closer look, the hands stopped tapping the wood, and brought themselves together with a clap.

“ , ? ‘? ‘ “ “”” ? , ? . “ “” ! , ??”

Next thing Arya knew was the Hands were pointing to her. Before the hands now sat a piece of the black metal and a crystal the size of her hand. Still the hand pointed, now emphasizing. She looked down and held up the small bell, but the hands shook left to right, as if saying no, then pointed again. She let the bell fall back against her chest as she looked down at herself and knew what the hands wanted to trade- her dress. She backed up instantly, almost tripping on the fabric.

Her dress was out of the question, as much as those objects were pretty, she couldn’t willingly trade such a priceless gift. She turned to Split again and said, ”Come on, we have nothing to trade. Might as well hurry up and finish this quest.” Arya then walked over to Penelope and grasped the long strands of her hair, using them to climb up on the Jackalope’s back.

Split reluctantly tore herself from the sight of a hovering knife sectioning a slice of nondescript meat with quick, precise cuts. “Pity that.” One of her side-eyes remained fixed on the disembodied butcher’s work as she hobbled forward among the stands, motioning for Penelope to follow. “That one knows what it’s doing. Wouldn’t mind to learn those moves. Think they’d charge for that?” She scraped the axe’s blade, thinking of Choppy’s demeanour in business. “Never mind. I’d rather not find out after the deal’s done.”

“.. ” , , . ”” ” ”

The scratching of her finger imperceptibly turned to a rhythmic tapping, which swiftly fell into the tune of the distant melody. “Still have to see about the dangerous part, but I could handle staying here a bit. It’s calm for being busy. Work for a god doesn’t look bad this way.” She glanced at a particularly active glove that seemed intent on drawing the trio to its stall of oddly-shaped pots. “Unless they throw you out if you don’t buy anything a while.” Something following in the wake of those words brought her to a halt. “You have an idea of where we’re going?”

Arya sat cross legged on Penelope’s head, eyeing every stall as they passed and looking at the assortment of items trying to be sold to them. She was still unsettled by it all, the place creeped her out. She clutched the coffee flask in her hand now, rubbing it with her thumb as they strolled through the market. She looked down at Split once they stopped.

Arya knew the answer to Split’s question and said, ”Wasn’t it something about a Palace?” she paused, blinked, then said, ”At least, that’s what I think Choppy said when she spoke to the world. Something about Li’Kalla too, she has a free stay there or something. It shouldn’t be too hard to find? Right Penelope?” she said, patting the bunnies head.

”I don’t know Split, there’s just something about this place that I find really… unsettling. Can’t you hear the whispers? It’s hard to describe, but picture a lot of people…” she paused in thought then said, ”No, picture a lot of me, multiple me’s, all having a conversation but one you can never make out or tell where it’s coming from. And that music, it’s… unnerving. Not to mention,” she began to whisper loudly, ”I don’t think they like us being here. Especially if we have nothing to trade.” she then held up her hand in front of her chest, not to be obvious, and pointed to the stalls.

“ “! “‘ ‘ ! ! ‘ , . . ” !”

The kostral turned her head upwards, straining her senses. “They really must mind that we’re not buying. We’ve got business, though. Can’t chase us out just like that.” She briefly pushed herself to her hind feet, walking a few steps upright before letting herself fall down on her middle arms again. “I like this quiet speaking better, I’ll tell you. It’d be bad if it was quiet. Imagine yourself a place like this with people working, but no sounds. No speaking, no music.” Her front eye winced. “That’s what my home is like, you know. Everybody just works, nothing else. Didn’t feel it back then, but I’d hate being there now. The quiet’s like something heavy on your head.”

She leaned in towards a metal pot bubbling over a fire, smelling the pale fumes that rose from its mouth. “Nothing like that here. Maybe they don’t want us to hear what they’re on about, but that’s their own business. You feel they’re alive, even if they don’t look it.” The oddity of what she had just said caught up to her with the last word, and she fell silent for some moments. “About looking, I can’t see a palace around. What’s the view from up there?”

”Stalls, colorful fabrics with stalls in them, other… things... I don’t really know how to describe them.” she said soft spoken. Split’s words seemed to resonate with her, they both hated the quiet. The girl floated off Penelope’s head, and down to Split’s level, her long dress rippling in the small air current.

After a moment of silence, Arya said, ”You know, I don’t like the quiet either, but this… this is but a pale comparison to what’s out there. I’m sorry your home was like that… mine is… much the same. But-” she said in a happy tone, then floated to face Split directly, ”When we get out of here, you should try and dream. There’s a palace there, it’s K’nell’s home. He’s the god of sleep and dreams, and, oh Split, it’s wonderful. All of the music and the colors and dancing, it’s magical. Just tell him I sent you, he’ll understand. But if that doesn’t work for you, I can take you to Shengshi’s river boat, when we are done here of course. It too, is a beautiful place, Split. And there, I can play you some music.” she said, before looking up at the sky. And idea came to mind.

She looked back to Split and said, ”Think about it, I’ll be right back!” she said happily, before flying up into the sky. She floated up and up, never really reaching the floating lights up above, but high enough to see the area around them and she saw nothing but stalls. She sighed, having thought that idea would work. She began to float back down, reaching the top of the stalls, but stopped when she noticed a small floating lantern coming right at her. She looked at it curiously as it neared, the ornate paper a beauty to behold. It floated in front of her for a second, then bobbed up and down, then began to fly off, slowly.

Call it a hunch, or something else, but Arya knew they needed to follow it. She turned to Split and said, ”Come on! You too Penelope! I think I know where to go!”

“You sure about this?” the kostral shouted upwards as she vaulted onto the jackalope’s back, slapping it with a rear hand on the way. “That looks like a bait if I’ve ever seen one.” It was all the worse that, while she recognised the motions and intent of a bait, she could not imagine what could have used a lure like that. It could not be anywhere near, not in that blackness; if it could move that lantern from far away… Split pictured to herself how large such a creature might have been and gripped her axe, teeth resolutely grinding together. If the market did have something in store for them, she was not going to be caught by surprise.

“That thing only moved when it saw you. Nothing’s to show it gets what we’re saying,” she continued in a more even voice, having settled on the cover, eyes and arms still alert. “Could be a beast for all we know. Don’t get too close.”

”I’m not sure about anything!” Arya shouted. Still, Split’s warning did not go unnoticed by the girl, and she drifted back, now directly over Penelope’s horns. ”You really think it’s a beast?” she asked, looking down at Split for a moment before looking up to follow the lantern. It seemed to float with a purpose, even though it drifted erratically, weaving in and out of stalls, down long rows, only then to jut sideways and go down another row. They almost lost it a couple of times, only for it to reappear directly in front of them, then it would shoot off again.

Then all at once, it stopped, and almost as suddenly as they halted, there stood before them a large building. It was trimmed with gold and had statues that reminded her of the Jiangzhou. Tentatively, she landed before the entrance and turned back to Split.

”I guess this is it? Would you… Could you lead the way?” she asked nervously.

“Not much of a choice here.” Grunting, Split landed on the paved ground - she was quite sure it had not been that way earlier - on four outspread hands, weapon held ready in the other two. A rear limb pointed a finger mid-step to gesture at Penelope, who was fruitlessly searching for anything resembling edible plant life. “Mind her.”

The grand entrance, however imposing, was little obstacle. If Chopstick’s staff thought there was anything inside worth locking up, she wouldn’t have left the gates wide open.

Or, perhaps, that the tall, skinless shadows that towered in the hallway were enough.

Split recoiled, wincing and lifting the axe in a defensive posture. The interior was much brighter than either the market or the palace’s front, and the incongruity of this almost dazzled her more than all the lamps and mirrors did. She fixed her gaze on the dark figures, the lanky stains in the decor a relief to her eyes. They were not really dark, she noticed. Their flesh gleamed faintly like iron, though she was not sure the light really fell on them at the right angles. The weapons were the dimmest part of them, rough and unpolished. They reminded her of black, sweltering, lichen-grown tunnels. Baring the tips of her teeth, she advanced into the hall.

The shadows stood still, blank white lights pointed forward. Maybe they were not looking at her. Maybe they were not even eyes at all.

Whatever they were doing, those were the first things here that at least looked like they might have been guarding something. Split tentatively lowered her axe. “You the security?”

A twang, like bent steel snapping back, and suddenly all four of them were looking at her. One of them emitted a scratching sound, like old, dried carapaces rustling together. Good enough. She turned her head backwards, making sure to keep one eye on the room. “I think we’ve got our people. Bring the coffee. They really do look dry.”

As much as she wanted to follow Split, Arya followed obeyed her command, and went to calm Penelope. She placed a hand on the jackalope’s cheek, right under eye, and watched as Split walked in. Her nervousness could be seen as she stroked Penelope over and over again, and it swiftly gave way to anxiety. She didn’t really know why, perhaps it was the thought of Split getting hurt? Or even worse…

So it came as a relief when Split finally called for her, and she said, ”Penelope, stay here girl. I’m coming Split!” and without waiting any further, she walked inside tentatively. Soon enough she came upon Split and, the ‘security’ team. They were extremely odd looking, but at the same time, they almost reminded her of her father. Minus the giant weapons they held, or how their bodies looked, but it was there all the same.

Cautiously, she walked past Split, and up to one of the closer creatures. The tension was palpable under their eyes. She held out the flask, and then said, ”Here you are, Coffee as wanted. The delivery is complete.” A slow hand reached out to take the coffee flask, its touch cold upon her skin, but as quickly as it came, it was over, and the flask was no longer in her possession.

She gave a small bow and backed up slowly, making sure nothing else was required or what the creature would do. After a moment, it made a sound.

“.~ {{ ^/ ()|\~|]* ** *[|~/|() \^ }} ~.”

Its voice was like a creaking hulk of a ship trying to hum in three directions at once. Arya turned around and quickly passed Split. ”Let’s get out of here. And now,” she said anxiously, without even stopping. Those creatures were almost as unsettling as the market, maybe even more.

Across the floor her feet hurried, through the doorway, away from the white lights that were watching her, and up to Penelope. Arya then floated up to the Jackalopes head and got on, turning around to wait for Split, who was not far behind.

“Guess we should.” Without anything more in particular to do, the kostral was keenly reminded of the familiar fact that idlers were welcome nowhere. “It’d be good to come back when we’ve actually got something to give. Doubt loading my pay off’ll work another time. Maybe those places you said’ve got things good enough for it.”

Under the incitations of its riders, the jackalope had begun to amble its way back though the stalls. It was difficult to say with certainty - despite the apparent variety of their surroundings, everything merged together into a single indistinct sea of noise and colours - but it seemed that the path it was taking was not the same that had led them here. The lantern was nowhere to be seen, nor the ink-mixer’s stand they had passed by earlier, nor even the stack of empty bird cages, which should have been unmistakable from any distance. Sights faded as soon as they were out of their eyes, drowned out by more and more rows, clusters, squares.

“... . “.. ‘ … . , .”” “ .’ “ ...”

It was not clear, either, when exactly their surroundings perceptibly changed. The stalls and lights were still there, of course, but they looked fewer and further between, the lanterns growing bleak with the distance. As Penelope plodded ahead, the changes steadily deepened. Wooden tables became worn, lined with old cuts, then outright beaten and rickety. The gloves were patched and threadbare, and the hovering rings poorly disguised cheap imitations. Even the ground, from what they could see on jackalope-back, was damp and grimy. The wares presented by the still-indefatigable hands had long ago passed into the realm of the dubious.

Split tasted the air uncomfortably. “Guess this is the way out. Got to say I liked it a lot more back inside. This looks like a backroom they don’t much care about.”

“ ? . ‘ ...”

Now Arya was very, very nervous. The place they had been traveling too and through, was completely different then what they had seen before. The girl was practically jittery with her movements, constantly looking around for danger or a way out. After awhile, she said, ”Penelope, take us home girl. Take us home!”

“Not sure we’ve all got the same idea of home.” The black rag of a tongue combed the air some more, as if searching for something familiar. “If Chops brought her from here, she might take us back in. This way doesn't smell great, but it's more than we had back then. Better keep going here.” She audibly sniffed the air. “Hold on, you feel something?”

Split had a point, it was a poor choice of words on her part, seeing as neither of them actually had a home worth going to. But in her haste, it sorta just slipped out. She looked to Split instantly when the Kostral spoke and said, ”Feel what?”

“I thought there was-” More sniffing, ending in a disappointed, or perhaps relieved snap. “Weird. Maybe the place just smells that bad.” She glanced towards a heap of moldy planks lying near the passage.

The planks were the last memorable thing she was to see of the market. The few remaining lights drew even further, shrinking to dots that did not illuminate anything beyond themselves. The rows of stalls were barely visible, dirty corners and dingy silhouettes peering out of the shadows. Points of lantern-light swam in a rill of something running along the path. The whispering did not stop, though it became more terse and furtive.

“We’re getting somewhere alright,” Split commented, scratching her head in disorientation. Patches of white light hovered somewhere far ahead. “Wish I knew where.” Penelope, for her own part, seemed to be quite confident of that, carrying her riders into the indistinct space ahead.

“Wait-!” A hand darted up in warning, while two more went for the axe. “I’m sure I felt it now. Don’t you?”

Arya had nestled herself atop Penelope’s head, eyeing the strangeness of the land before her as Split spoke. She sat up in alarm and looked back at her friend once more, eyeing her with curiosity.

Once again, she had felt nothing. ”Are you okay? I still don’t feel anything, Split.” she said.

“I do, though.” With a low snarl, she slid to the ground, signaling the jackalope to stop with a pat. “Smells right like a-”

Something large and dark snapped at her from the blackness. A thump followed by a grunt marked a narrow dodge. The thing snapped again, and with it another, and another. Blurred shapes swept before the distant white light, which were now the only ones in sight. Thick, rigid arms, tipped with frighteningly large three-pronged pincers. One of them, darting into sight more often than the others, had a fluttering piece of paper fastened to it by a manacle.

“Lurker!” came the belated conclusion of Split’s warning. A growl, and metal struck something’s hard shell. Gurgling, rattling noises sounded from distressingly near. “Worst place to- Back up! I’ll be right behind!”

The sudden attack sent Arya into a panic, she had no idea what a Lurker was but the thing before them was something out of a nightmare. She froze atop Penelope’s head, unable to speak or move. Kalmar’s training rushed to her head, but she had never actually expected to fight something so vile. So heinous. She need to do something. She couldn’t just run away. That was Split down there! With determination in her eyes, she stood up, preparing to jump down.

Then without warning, something struck the Jackalope and Penelope screamed. The bunny then bolted wildly, sending Arya flying backwards at the sudden explosion of muscle. She reached out, trying to grab onto Penelope’s fur but failed to maintain her grasp, and she landed sideways on the ground with a loud thud. The shock of the fall winded the girl as she rolled to a stop, her chest felt tight and she couldn’t breath.

As quickly as it set upon her, she let out a long, winded breath, stumbling as she tried to stand up too quickly. She fell on something warm and with a groan she looked down to see her dress covered in blood. It was on her face, and her arms and she began to shake as she looked down to the floor, long strands of Penelope’s hair littered the ground and a trail followed where the bunny had bolted too. She tried to get up again, but slipped as she screamed Penelope’s name, trying to get the Jackalope to return, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Black tears fell down her face as she looked over to Split fighting the creature. [i]The monster.[i/] It had hurt Penelope, it was going to hurt Split. She felt anger boiling up inside of her, and she wanted to make it pay. Steadily, the small girl got to her uneasy feet, her body beginning to smoke. An instinct kicked in, a deeper understanding coming to light as she rose her hand, palm facing outward, and a beam of black energy shot forth, hitting a section of the creature and disintegrating a portion of the creatures legs.

It gurgled and screamed out in pain and suddenly Arya was horrified with herself but it was far too late for that, as the creature broke away from Split, dodging her swipes, or simply not caring as it came for her. There was nothing she could do, but shut her eyes as she felt something hit her, a brief flash of pain erupting across her body, then the world went dark.

“Blaze you, told you to-” was all Split could growl out before a huge, quivering mass swept her aside, toppling her backwards. She slammed her mid-hands into the stone, breaking her fall in time not to be sent sprawling. By the time the drumming in her ears and the dull pain in her palms had died down, she could neither hear nor smell anything around herself. Not the lurker - what was one even doing here? - which was a relief, nor the jackalope, except for some clumps of fur, nor Arya. This was perhaps the least worrying, since the girl did not smell much of anything, but Split doubted this meant she might be still close by.

“Arya? You there?” she called out, keeping the axe high. If there was anything else around, it had to already have heard the sound of the struggle. No answer of any kind. She looked around, realising how lost she was. This was not even a tunnel, where you knew you would eventually come out somewhere if you followed it. Here, there was only darkness, those far-away lights, and the whispers. They seemed to have moved away during the fight, but were now settling back closer by. Somehow, she doubted they would be of much help either way.

Split fingered the clumps of jackalope hair at her feet. Blood. Good thing lurkers were slow on open ground, at any rate slower than a rabbit with legs larger than herself. Still, the thing’s crawling had erased any hope of following a trail. As much as she hated to admit it, both of her companions were on their own until she ran into them by chance.

The lights were her best bet, she thought. If only because they were the only thing anyone could see. Sooner or later, they would head that way. She might as well start now.

With wary steps, pausing every six or seven to listen for movement, Split-Tooth began to creep her way towards the blank, cold glow ahead.




The first thing Arya felt was pain, then the warmth of the sun and the smell of something sweet on the air. Her eyes opened up groggily, to view white clouds in a blue sky. She tried to sit up with a jolt, but a horrendous stab of pain shot up her body, causing her to groan, which she quickly stifled. She tried again, much slower as she put her hands on the grass and pushed herself upright. She looked down to see her dress in a state of disrepair. It was slashed in several places, so too was her body, small trickles of luminous white blood, her blood, mixed with the red.

Tears began to fall from her eyes. She looked around for Split and Penelope but did not see them, so she tried calling their names, her voice coarse, but nothing gave reply. She was alone and so very scared.




Later.

The Haze Man held the metal flask for 1.72253 hours, then, as if at an unknown signal, snapped its gaze towards it. With a stone-steady hand and an inhuman slowness, occasionally stopping still as if unsure, it took the lid of the flask and unscrewed it. It placed two fingers into the fluid, still as hot as it was when it was poured.

“.*/\) ~* *~ (/\*.”

The other sentries stepped towards the leader, one by one, and put their fingers into the flask. “.*/\) ~* *~ (/\*.”, they said. “.*/\) ~* *~ (/\*.”

A fifth Haze Man solidified out of the carpet. “.*/\) ~* *~ (/\*.” It repeated the ritual.

Said the leader, “/_/} ^ {\_\ …(]])([[)... |~##.|.{}|{}.|.##~| .%.”

“#_’’{{}}’’_# [|]”, said another.

The first answered, “^^]|’**’|[^^ Coffee. .eeffoC”
There was a soft clanging of agreement. “.Coffee. .eeffoC. .Coffee. .eeffoC.”

The leader continued. “[~*~] Here you go, coffee as wanted. .detnaw sa eeffoc ,og uoy ereH”

Hums. One of the Haze Men abruptly bowed, imitating Arya’s pose with liquid smoothness and absolutely no grace. It reversed the action, and another followed. The humming and bowing continued, grew a little.

“Here you go, coffee. .eeffoc ,og uoy ereH .*/\) ~* *~ (/\*. .detnaw sa ,eeffoC Coffee, as wanted. ~ Coffee. .eeffoC ** Here you go coffee. .eeffoc og uoy ereH .eeffoC Coffee. Here you go Coffee. {**} .eeffoC og uoy ereH --!-- .og uoy ereh ,eeffoC Coffee, here you go. Here you go, Coffee. .eeffoC ,og uoy ereH ”

“^^#_#^^ .][. (|\- -/|) .][. */\) ~* *~ (/\*”, said one in the crowd. They looked to their leader. It responded.

“.eeffoC Coffee.”

A pair of silk butler-gloves floated in by a side door and five Men worth of eyes snapped towards it. The pair halted, twiddled, then continued on its way a little quicker.

“,Coffee, ,eeffoC,” said the lead sentinel, and dissolved itself into the shadows. The flask clattered down behind it, empty.

The eyes returned to their stations.









&

Split-Tooth


&

Chopstick Eyes (Alpha)





The wastes of Sandravii were surprisingly pleasant to traverse at night. In the daytime, the way ahead was hellish - the ground was scalding, the air choking, and the light reflected from the towering iron monoliths became a blinding maze. Every step over the incandescent sand, or inch flown through the trembling, windless expanse over it, was alone an ordeal. As soon as Heliopolis sank under the horizon, however, it was as though an unseen crushing hand was lifted from over the landscape. The ground was quick to cool, but the inert masses of metal still radiated heat for hours. In the cold of the darkened desert, it became a comfortable warmth. The pale stains of the nocturnal lights formed subdued shimmering patterns on their surfaces.

It was in these early hours of nightfall that the two figures, one crawling, spider-like, over the glassy dunes, the other lightly hovering above the grainy soil, moved the fastest. Unimpeded by either heat or the dazzling glare in the sky, they wove their way between jagged pillars and obelisks, nary a crunching step or trace in the sand betraying them to the shadowy silence. In the calm, lifeless quiet of the barrenness, that was their only witness, except for one thing that obstinately hounded them, night by night.

“So,” Split-Tooth scratched her jaws together, “you know where we’re going?”

”I thought you did.” Arya said, looking at Split. ”You mean to tell me, we’ve been wandering about without a plan?” she said sternly, but she quickly started giggling. Then fell to the ground laughing until tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t believe that she was traveling through the desert again and seemingly nowhere. Something about that just seemed so funny.

Split grunted. “All I know is we had to get away from the pits. There’s not much to find there, unless you count something finding us. This looks far enough.” She winced on one side, remembering how high up Narzhak’s eyes must have been, but said nothing. “I don’t have the faintest of what’s further than that.”

Arya’s laughter quickly died down as she listened to Split talk. She pulled herself up and walked over to stand next to her. Arya too, only had an inkling of what lay ahead. Jungle and more jungle. Then a river.

”Hmm, I don’t think anything will find us out here. So, I guess I could try something. But I’m not sure how you will react. You see, it might end up summoning a... God… to us.” she said hesitantly, looking at the Kostral to see how she might react. Then Arya quickly added, ”Or it won’t!”

One of the creature’s hands quickly went to the grip of her axe, but stopped before gripping it. Her fingers began to idly scratch the metallic haft.

“You said they’re not all bad, didn’t you?” It was hard to say what her growling voice might be coloured with at any time, but now and again it became especially inscrutable. Now was one such a moment. “If it’s not the one who’s sitting down there,” she pointed to the ground with another hand, “or his kind, it’d be…” She gnawed on air, searching for the best words, before finishing, “a smaller risk. You do know who it could be, do you?”

Arya nodded as Split finished, ”Well… I’m not exactly sure. I’ve never met this one but I think her name is Choppy? The one who broadcasted that loud message across the world? She said something about a delivery service. I don’t know what that means, but it sounds like a something that might work.” Arya said.

“She said that?” Split’s features twisted into an odd shape that might have been her way of raising an eyebrow. “If she’s the one who shouted, it means she’s the one that asked for that coffee too.” Her scratching on the axe became, seemingly unknowingly, rhythmical. “Beats me what a service is. Delivery sounds like bringing things somewhere. It’s strange if you think about it. She wants her guards to have something, though. That can’t be so bad.”

A third hand rose to scrape something on her neck. She looked like she might have been absorbed in thought, but then twisted her head sideways as if to nod. “It’d be a hand up from what we’ve got now whichever way. If you’re sure of it…” The axe was slung forward, ready to be lifted in a moment. “I’ll watch, just in case.”

”it is strange.” Arya said, while looking up at the moon. ”But I’m not sure, Split. The way I see it, she never asked how we get them coffee, and for starters, we don’t even know what coffee is. We might as well see what we get, if it even works.” she finished, looking back down and over to Split.

”Here goes nothing.” she said before cupping her hands in front of where her mouth would be and shouting, ”Hey Choppy! We need a delivery!” and her hands fell to her side. Arya looked about, and in every which direction, then back to Split.

”Guess we wait?” she said shrugging.




Bare feet crinkled the smoothgravel sand of a beach on the south side of Pāṟa.

In the nights since she woke up, she had dreamed again. They were fitful dreams, dreams in which she looked up from the corner of Apartment 2B into her own sticks, and saw Daniel’s last moment from his eyes, as she had seen his first. After a few nights of this, Chopstick had resolved not to sleep. To her surprise, it was very soothing.

It is the luxury of gods to stand by and watch the world age around them. Chopstick watched the gemstone gardeners arrive on her island, watched them bring their seeds and sow them between the weeds that were spreading from the Feasting Forest. Some of them sang to her, one of them screamed, and she didn’t answer. In time, they regarded her as a statue, and she trees rise and fall and rot away. Over the course of a dozen years, she lifted her hand, saw moss cover her palm; over another dozen, she lowered it, watching the moss change its shape.

Sleeping wasn’t necessary. She could wait here a time.

Hey Choppy! We need a delivery!

...Or maybe not.




Two weeks later.

Arya and Split waited. Then they waited a bit longer. Then the sun came up, and forced them to move on much to Arya’s displeasure. Surely this Choppy was on her way? But what was taking so long? It was another week before they left the desert behind and Arya realized just how slow waiting for a land-dweller to walk, really was. She didn’t mind though, because they talked along the way, and learned of each other. Well, at least what she could learn from a large, killing machine.

Once in the shade of tall trees, Arya tried several more times to call the God, and this time, they did not move. They held up camp in a small clearing, where the two practiced fighting. Arya, in her haste to leave the Jiangzhou, had forgotten her bow and spear. As such, she had to make another one from the teachings of Kalmar. Her spear was but a long wooden shaft with a sharp rock at the end of it, so too did Split fashion a rudimentary wooden stick to spar with her.

But it was enlightening, and the lessons she learned from her Kostral friend, showed her just how bad she was at fighting. It was a very worrying thought, but she did not let this stop her, and on she went. Arya put her experience from Kalmar to practice, and picked up much more from Split. They practiced nonstop for a week while they waited to see if Choppy would arrive, only resting when night fell and when Arya could no longer go on. Her body was slightly bruised from the Kostral. Split did not go easy on her.

But still they were faced with another choice, to move on or to stay. It had been close to two weeks without a single word from this ‘Choppy’ and Arya was beginning to lose faith. Perhaps not all the Gods cared too much about mortals? It just seemed odd to her that the one who broadcasted herself for this service of hers, was nowhere to be seen! They would have to make a choice soon enough, and as Arya gazed up at the stars, she knew it would be soon.

Under the early morning haze, the two sat around a small, well used fire pit, Arya tentatively fiddled with her spear not paying much mind to what the Kostral was doing. Then she spoke out loud, ”We should probably get moving huh? I think my plan failed, do you have any ideas?”

Split looked up from the pile of small bones left over from her last meal, idly arranged into a lopsided circle. Her empty chewing had gotten a little better since she had found something to bite on, but it still showed in moments of absorbed thought. Her jaws began to move again.

“That’s what we get for trusting a god to do something,” she grumbled flatly, “You’re right, staying still’s no good. Keep moving that way,” a gnarled finger pointed roughly to the southwest. “I don’t know what’s there for sure, but there’s things I remember. Must be this.” She glanced down to the by now darkened brand on her shoulder. “I couldn’t tell you what, but there’s sure to be something that fits in a cup.”

”Yeah.” Arya said defeated, ”It was a chance we took, and it didn’t work out. Sorry Split. It’s been fun though, learning and fighting. Guess it’s time to put that to work.” Arya said standing up.

“...But I literally just sat down,” said Chopstick, warming her hands on the remnants of the last night’s fire.

Arya screamed.

In a blink, Split was on four feet, axe held up over the newcomer’s head. It took her a moment of squinting at the diminutive goddess to slowly lower it.

“Don’t you walk up to people first? Keep doing this, and you’ll get killed someday.”

Saith the Chopstick, “Yeah, nah.”

After she stopped screaming, Arya promptly lowered herself, remembering Shengshi’s teachings and said, ”Y-Your Holiness! You came!” she then stood up and looked at Choppy for the first time. Strange, but not that strange in appearance, though, the eyes were bit a weirder than most.

For her part, Chopstick jumped, spun round, and looked every direction. “Aah! Who? Where?” Her forehead hit the ground in a clumsy imitation of Arya’s stance, snapping several of her facial skewers in the process. “Ow! I mean, forgive me, your holiness! I, uh… Didn’t...” She looked up. Then at Arya.

“...Dude, there’s literally no one here.”

Arya watched the display in shock, then she felt embarrassed, then confused. She squinted her eyes as she looked the Goddess up and down, then she said, ”Err… Right, how stupid of me. Uh… okay.” and she fell silent. It was better to not offend Choppy, or whatever she had just done. Arya would take note of that, perhaps not all Gods enjoyed such etiquette. She looked to Split and shrugged.

The kostral’s side eye had been frowning at the scene all the while. She crouched back down, still visibly tense and without letting go of her weapon. “We’ll need to talk about that later,” she almost whispered in a low snarl at Arya. The front of her head then spun to fully face Chopstick.

“Took you long enough. I’d not be surprised if your people had starved by now. Or if they’ve been eating lichen.” She rumbled, clearly anything but pleased with the situation. “If you’re actually doing what you said, we’ve got…” some chewing accompanied the choice of a difficult word, “business. You said you’d deliver anything?”

“Okay, first of all, said Chopstick Eyes, wagging a finger, “I’d like to see you cross a boiling fucking ocean in two weeks. Secondly, I don’t have ‘people’, and if I do for some reason, I guarantee you they’re eating really, really well right now. Thirdly...” She bowed, from the waist, lifted herself up, and grinned. “Hi! I have chopstick eyes. Wanted deliveries? You’ve come to the right place! How can I help you?”

Arya quickly scooted herself over to stand beside Split, where she then put a hand upon one of the Kostral’s arms. ”Um, forgive my large friend here, she’s not met many others.” Arya said quickly, before changing the subject, ”Deliveries! Yes, that’s exactly why we called you. Or, why we came to you! Yeah! So we need some… Coffee.” Arya said.

“Oh, that’s it?” said Chopstick eyes, pulling a metal flask out of the neck of her dress and handing it to her. “This one’s on the house. You sure that’s all I can get you, uh...” She looked at Arya for a second. “...Inkdrop Eyes?”

Arya took the metal object within her hand. It felt cold, but if this was what coffee was, who was she to second guess a God? She looked back to Choppy and upon hearing the name, inkdrop eyes, Arya blinked.

After a moment, she said ”Uh, thanks. I’m Arya, by the way, and this here is Split-Tooth, but I call her Split.” she pointed to the Kostral. ”Hmm. What else do you… have in there?” Arya asked, now pointing to Choppy’s dress. She was highly curious.

“Oh, you know,” the goddess smirked, squeezing her chest with both hands. There wasn’t much of it. “All kinds of good things. Like, I’ve got...” She reached down again, apparently serious, “A knife, a brush, a needle, a thread, a dialysis tube, two rabbits, half a gun, eight bones, they’re all skulls sorry, a book, a book that has pictures, a harmonic drive, and a really crumpled beret.” The objects formed a pile as they were pulled out and dumped, some of it scuttling off to nibble the scant grass. “And I don’t even keep things in my dress anyway, there’s a lot more in my handbag. So yeah, I can probably get you a lot,” she concluded.

Arya froze at the sight of the two rabbits, her eyes going wide in disbelief at such an animal. They had large ears and big feet and they looked so silly, but at the same time, so adorable. When Choppy dumped them on the ground, Arya stifled a squeal and abandoned the conversation once Choppy turned to Split. She got on her hands and knees, placing the coffee flask on a log next to her. Cautiously, ever so carefully, Arya then touched the nearest one as it ate. The moment her hand touched the bunny, Arya’s heart melted and she scooped it up into her lap and stroked it. The fur was amazingly soft, it was perhaps the softest thing she had ever felt, and her excitement was apparent. Her inky black eyes were squinted into smiles, as she engrossed herself with the small creature.

“How about you, Split-Tooth? Hey- you’re one of Narzhak’s, right? I owe him a knife, but I can get you some dental work, if you’d prefer that. Not that you need it, really. You’re already gorgeous. By the way she was drinking in the Kostral’s anatomy (it was evident in her pose, if not in her pupils), she meant it.

Split’s eyes had been wandering over the heap of eclectic travelling articles, lingering dangerously over the rabbits in particular. Hearing herself addressed, three of them swivelled towards Chopstick.

“He can keep his knife,” she growled dismissively, before her voice softened, if that was at all possible. “My teeth are fine… thanks?” Instinctively, she splayed her middle arms, scraping her nails against each other. Her already bulky frame stretched wide, ribcage poking up under scabby skin. Chopstick wolf-whistled. Split seemed to take a better view of the goddess, squinting a few times, and deflated partways, though her arms remained open. “You don’t look bad either. Just a bit skinny. Do you get to eat properly?”

“Yeah, of course. What do you think the rabbits were for?” She gestured generally to where Arya was fawning over the animals.

Arya looked up at this comment, her eyes full of horror at the thought anyone could eat such fluffy things.

The Kostral nodded. “They look tasty.” Arya immediately shot Split a dirty look. Then as if realising she had gone a fair bit off the track of coffee and delivery, Split waved an upper hand. “Yeah, about eating. Where do we have to bring this?” She tapped a claw on the flask. “You got something that shows which way in that bag?”

“I… what?” for the first time, the goddess seemed genuinely bewildered. “Bring… the coffee? Was it for someone else?” A pause. “Who?”

“You mean…” Split started, then broke into a muttered “Right, god,” with a slightly disappointed look. “I caught you saying that your-” she chewed emptily, recalling the exact word, “security could’ve used some of that. Two weeks back. We thought we’d do it, so we got the coffee.” She scraped at her tooth with a finger. “That, or it was somebody that sounded a lot like you. Does the same things too, by the looks of it. You run these deliveries with anyone else?”

Chopstick stared for a second with her mouth unclosed and her sticks shuffling one way and the other before something clicked, very audibly, inside her skull, and she made a long oooooooohhhh. She sighed, lowering her head and rubbing the sides of her skull. Split blinked and questioningly rotated her head sideways.

“Alright, so. Okay. I have a...” She recalled Split’s difficulty with terms. “A clone, which is a twin sister, except we’re also each other’s mother. There was one of us, and now there are two of us. Two of me. And we each split off to go see the world and do certain things. And, well, we haven’t really kept in touch since then.” She reached into her handbag and removed her purse.

“As far as I know, I don’t employ any real security other than a floating hat with a cudgel. And I have no way of talking to her right now. But we’re incorporated, so I’m just going to, real quickly, check our account...” She tipped the purse upside down.

Out fell a single slip of paper with a big red X painted on it. Her expression morphed, first slowly and then with rock-dropping speed, into horror. She pulled her hands down her face as if to compose herself and raised a single finger: “Excuse me.”

She turned around. A fancy glove was pulled out of her bag, snapped on. She formed a beaky little mouth with fingers and thumb and crossed her other two arms, ‘speaking’ into her own ear. “Skraghnaphgh speaking. Mhm. Mhmm. Yeah, just give me everything big over the last, uh, last financial century, anything that could really dent my wallet. Okay. O… kay. I mean that’s fair, there needs to be some way in. Haze Men? Okay… Good… O- hang on, what? What the FUCK is a ‘knife portfolio’? I- Mm… Yeah, okay, I guess that does sound pretty cool. Alright. Thanks. Bye,” and she took off the glove.

“...Alright, so, you know how I can basically deliver anything?” She was facing them again. “Well, turns out I can’t. Not anything really huge, anyway. I’m kind of… super broke. The only thing I can really do for ya is big animals, they’re deep in the red for some reason and super cheap.” She slapped her hands on her hips and a big stupid smile on her face. “Most important thing is I know what you’re talking about now and also I’m going to beat the fucking teeth out of my clone real soon.”

Split’s head had turned almost completely upside down as she tried to figure her way through there being another Chopstick who was the mother but also the twin of the one she was looking at. It slowly rotated back into its usual place, distractedly tipping a little the other way before she propped it up with two fingers.

“Should’ve done that at the start, but you can’t know if they’ll turn out dumb.” All the movement in her body was concentrated in her top hand, which scraped and cupped around her jaw. “Too bad you had to go over that ocean. We don’t need any big animals, though I get hungry sometimes.”

“Lots of little animals are fine, I can do that too,” Chopstick shrugged.

Arya seemed to shriek at the sound of this, and rose, still grabbing the bunny tightly against her chest. In a flash, she was in front of Choppy with eyes that seemed to be the size of apples.

”A bunny! A giant, fluffy bunny! I need one! Please, please, please!” she asked joyously.

“What’d you need that for?” Split narrowed a side eye at her. “I’ve never even seen you eat.”

”Eat! No! Never! It wouldn’t be for food, but so I…” she suddenly seemed to shrink at the idea, her voice going soft, trickling with embarrassment, ”Could ride it…”

Chopstick Eyes thought idly back to the cauldron of jackalope soup and said, “Sure. With or without horns?”

Once again Arya’s eyes went wide, ”They can have horns?” she said teary eyed, ”Oh my goodness. Please!” she looked to Split with pleading eyes.

The Kostral sat up from her crouch with a grunt. “If you’re doing this, take one that can walk straight. Those just waddle around.” She turned back to Chopstick, who was taking diligent notes on a clipboard. “D’you mind finding one you can bite off a piece sometimes? If it’s got to be big, it’d better be good for more things than one.”

“Roger roger,” said Chopstick.

”Split!” Arya said horrified, ”We don’t eat things we can ride! That would defeat the purpose, if it’s not…” she thought for a moment, trying to put the term in something the Kostral would understand, ”If it’s not well… when we fight! We wouldn’t want a pe- a creature that dies because it’s being eaten alive before a battle. Surely you can understand that?” she said incredulously.

“I didn’t say it’s got to be one that dies,” Split looked at her sideways with an eye now fully open, “One you can eat on the go, but it keeps walking. There’s things like that where I come from. You take off a piece, they just keep going. Sometimes grow it right back. We get one like them, we don’t need to worry about walking or eating either.” The front-eyes facing the goddess blinked. “You got something like that?”

Arya seemed to let out a rather annoyed sigh, but said nothing else.

Chopstick nodded, turning her clipboard around to reveal a doodle of some vaguely quadrupedal blob with two stick figures on top of it. One of them had four limbs, while the other had six, and an open mouth with an arrow drawn to the ‘jackalope’s’ rump. “Something like this? I can do this.” She pulled out the scribble and handed it to them. “So, how were you intending to pay for it?”

”Pay? What's that? Arya asked.

Choppy inhaled but did not drop her smile. “If I give you this eatable jackalope, or edibunny if you will, what are you going to give me in return?”

“Afraid we don’t have much to offer right now,” Split interjected, weighing her weapon in her hands, “All we’ve got is this axe, and I need it, or-” she pointed at the shimmering ring on Arya’s finger, “that shiny thing, and it doesn’t do anything. But we can do it like this. Next time you go see Narzhak about that knife, you take the pay from him. He’ll have all kinds of things down there.” Her eyes glistened with vicious amusement. “That look good to you?”

“Well, I’m not sure if I can trust you to speak for Narzhak, but…” She craned her neck, just slightly. The red fist shone on the kostral’s shoulder. “You do have his trademark. I’ll pay you what I owe him, and that’ll do for your half of the bunny. As for you… She turned to Arya.

“I happen to disagree with your friend about that ring. It does do something. It glows! I love glowy things, and I can make a lantern out of it. If it doesn’t have any other use to you, I’d be more than happy to take it off your hands for the jackalope.” She shrugged. “Whaddya say?”

Arya shuffled awkwardly, looking down at the band of starlight, suddenly wishing that the Kostral had not said anything about her ring.

Without looking at Choppy, she said, ”I… don’t know. It was a gift, from my father. It…” her voice fell silent. They were right, she didn’t even know what the ring did, furthermore, she didn’t even know why she cared so much for it. It had caused her so much grief already. The ring had made her angry in the face of Shengshi and Kalmar, it had ruined their view of her, for no other reason then what the meaning behind it was. Still, maybe it meant that her Father cared about her…

Or maybe he felt guilty, and ashamed of her and this ring simply alleviated his guilty conscience. If he had truly cared, Orvus would have spoken to her. And then when he gave this ring to her, it would have meant so much more. Now… Now it was just a reminder that she just wasn’t wanted. The ring’s beauty was a lie, and one she had fallen for.

Arya’s eyes snapped up to Choppy, as she took the ring off. She outstretched her hand to Choppy, the ring cool in her hand.

”Here. Take it.” she said impassively, before sighing again, ”Just… I don’t want this jackalope to feel pain when… when someone wants to eat it.” she said, giving Split a cold side glance. Arya shouldn’t have felt so upset over something so minor, but it did bother her greatly. But could she really blame the Kostral? It was just in Split’s nature… and would perhaps be of some familiarity in the strange world she found herself in. Something of home.

Arya’s expression softened, and she looked back at Choppy expectantly. The wild god clasped Arya’s hands in all three of her own, warming it. When Chopstick withdrew, the ring was on one of her own fingers, and a little bell rested in Arya’s palm. Like the ring, it was of some material dark, perhaps black, but with faint glitters of white- bright impurities in an Orvite surface.

“Sleep on it,” she advised. “I’ll spend the night around here. If you haven’t changed your mind by morning, the jackalope will come. I’ll be gone before dawn.” She paused, then added, “Oh, and one last thing, Split-tooth: if you see my clone, punch her. That’s part of the deal. Kapische?”

“Got it.” The kostral’s narrow mouth stretched in imitation of a smile. It was a rather unnerving sight to anyone who might care about the wholeness of their body. “But don’t get mad if I can’t tell you apart and smack you instead. If you sound the same, you’re going to look awful similar too. Daughter and twin, that’s two times you’re like each other.”

“I’ll burn that bridge when I come to it,” she shrugged.

”Thank you, Choppy. But- Oh! What about the Coffee? Where do we take it?” Arya asked, looking up from the small bell in her hand. She had almost forgotten about the reason they had summoned the God in the first place, all because of a bunny. Split nodded in agreement with the question.

“Oh, yeah. Just ride the rabbit,” she shrugged. “It knows its way around, you’ll pick up the Route soon enough. I wouldn’t sell you a mount that couldn’t get you to where you were going, now, would I-” A pause. “I... am not selling you a mount that can’t get you to where you are going.”

Arya gave a nod, then said, ”That’s good to hear.” she then clenched her fist over the small bell, the metal cold, before saying, ”Um, you can stay with us here, tonight, if you want. We’d be happy to have you. No need to be a stranger, the fire can keep many warm.” her eyes seemed to smile softly, before Arya, with bunny and bell in hand, went over to sit on a log before the smoldering flames. She had a lot on her mind, and a decision to make- one that had already been made, in fact.

Split started to stand up on four legs to follow, but stopped midway. “Or stay here, the cold’s not bad either. Unless you want to cook that other rabbit.” The discovery that things could be held over a fire to make them taste better had kept her cheerful for the best part of the last two weeks. Her idea of cooked and better-tasting as charred outside, raw inside was not everyone’s, if Arya’s reaction was anything to go by, but Choppy looked kostral-like enough that she might share it. Like the others in the Pit. She would have to show them sometime. “Or sleep, that feels better over there.”

“I don’t sleep any more. But I’ll take you up on the fire and the roast,” she nodded, pulling a throwing knife from her hair and ending the spare rabbit with nary a squeak. “Want me to cook?”

Arya had heard the squeak, and instinctively shut her eyes as she clutched the other bunny tighter. After a moment, she opened them and continued to stroke the now, partnerless bunny.

“Sure.” The novelty of raw-and-charred had worn thin in the latest few days. Trying something else would not hurt, especially from someone who was maybe not seeing a rabbit for the first time. Split-Tooth crawled towards the fire, motioning for the goddess to follow. Settling down almost dangerously close to the flame, she turned an eye to Arya. “We’re making dinner. Want some?” She picked up a half-blackened bone, looked at it and tossed it away, adding “I’m not doing the cooking.”

The small girl looked at Split and shook her head, ”No, I’m not very hungry. Go ahead and eat.” she said somberly. And it was true, she had no appetite for what she had come to adore, it made her sad to see it eaten, but Arya knew it served a purpose that way. She gazed back into the fire, letting the flames dictate her thoughts.

“Alright,” said Chopstick, picking up the rabbit by the feet and briskly opening its hide around the belly as her hair produced a bundle of small vegetables, “I’m just gonna crisp this one up with some oil and garlic, real simple. Here, Split-tooth, build up that fire just a little bit more...”

Chopstick cooked, and they ate.




The jackalope arrived early the next morning.

Branches cracked beneath its padless feet, silencing what scant locusts dared chirp in the scrub of the Sandravii. Aye, the locusts fell quiet, and fell quiet far and wide, for those branches were logs, or had been a long time ago, when perhaps the oases had not yet dried up; and now they were splinters. The jackalope crushed them almost to dust.

It sniffed the air, as rabbits do.

Giant, fluffy, and straight of stride: all things promised, delivered. There was no waddling for this behemoth. Its legs were long and powerful, like those of an eland. Its back bore a cloth of shimmering silk, wide enough for three men to lay at their ease. As it was, Split-tooth and her largest mate could have ridden spaciously on the beast, with room for much luggage beside.

It bent its great head to the form of the demigoddess. Its antlers were more than vast enough to make up for the shattered firewood-tree, and were no less wooden, dry, and leafless. The fruits that hung from them leaned forwards, the whole rack creaking slightly, as it snuffled around Arya’s frame, searching for something.

Arya was immediately struck by the grandeur and the sheer beauty of the jackalope. Once again, she had never seen a creature like it before and was taken aback at how truly incredible it was. The small girl was a dwarf compared to it, and Arya could no longer contain her giddy excitement as it approached her. She jumped up and down with joy, her eyes expressing the most profound sense of joy that there could ever be.

Having said goodbye to her own bunny early in the morning, and away from prying eyes of hungry friends, Arya clutched the small bell in her hand and when the Jackalope came before her, she knew, somehow, that the bell was required.

She then outstretched her hand to show the bell to the Jackalope. It nudged the bell, drawing a distant, hollow clink, and its ears perked up. It clinked the bell again, nuzzling her hand in visible pleasure.

A clawed hand emerged from behind the creature, followed by a many-limbed shape hauling itself onto its back. Split prodded the silken draping, sniffed the jackalope’s fur and tentatively scraped its neck. When the placid beast did not try to shake her off, she clambered over to its horns, stretching her arms to feel its hide in various spots.

“Looks like you were on to something.” She turned her head downwards to peek at Arya from behind the branching horns. “This-” some chewing motions, “-edilope feels useful. The only part I don’t get is which piece is safe to eat. You think it’s this one?” She lightly nibbled one of the jackalope’s impressive ears, making it stir. “Or this?” A quick tasting of the flank drew a similarly irked response. Only then did the kostral’s glance fall on the dangling fruits. In a single movement, one was plucked from its horn and disappeared into a toothy maw.

Some munching, and Split was already reaching for a second. It tasted queer, but perhaps not so queer to her as it would to Arya. It was remarkably meaty, for such a sweet and colourful fruit. She stopped with a hand ready to snap it off and looked down again. “Want one?”

Arya had a hard time paying attention to Split’s words, for she was engrossed with hugging the jackalope’s head and relaxing in the warm, soft fur. After a moment of this, she looked up at Split and then floated up to take the fruit from Split. Hesitantly. She opened her mouth and took a bite, the fruit was savory and sweet.

Arya nodded and then said, ”Oh isn’t she wonderful Split? She’s everything we both wanted!” Arya flew around Split laughing and giggling before landing on the silk blanket. She outstretched herself, amazed at all the space there was. She lifted her head up at Split and said, ”Penelope! That’s what her name should be! What do you think?” she asked with wide eyes.

The kostral paused, fruit held inches from an open mouth. “It’s long, but it says she’s a ‘lope. That makes sense.” She settled down upon the cover in a sprawl, one arm rested on the closest horn bough. Another hand scratched the back of the jackalope’s neck, such as it was. “Now hold on to the fur. I don’t know how fast it is to go to that place, but if it’s like coming up here from down below, it’s going to be a blaze of a ride.” With no better means at hand, poking was the one way she could think of to make the newly named Penelope budge. “Let’s move, down there. We’re going to make a delivery.”




Earlier.

High into the heavens she stared, into the black heart of Veradax, but her mind was elsewhere. Her thumb turned the ring on her finger, slowly, around and around, around and around. Without looking away, she raised her hand, brought her knuckles to her mouth. She wet her lips, and whispered.

“C’mon, baby,” said Chopstick Eyes. “Talk to me.”

The ring started to burn, radiating something that was not heat. She snarled, clenched her fist, as a black miasma whirled around it, ragged and flickering and gone as soon as it had come. She cooled the burnt finger in her mouth and she withdrew it.

Black like charcoal, with that same curious gleam. Her fingers were scorched, like meat in fire. She could see a white hint of bone beneath the ring.

She doesn’t know.

Chopstick smiled in the dark.

“Orvus...”







Journey





Something dark swam underneath blue waves. A long body went to and fro cutting through waves like a fish, but it wasn’t a fish, was it? Spiked horns broke the surface tension here and there, alluding to a dark omen upon the world. A stain, that moved and blighted where it went, humming as it did. Humming. Such a creature did not think as others did, no, it’s mind was sharpened with purpose, with want. That purpose was all it knew, but it hungered for more. It always hungered.

It was a she, and she swam for days through endless water. She did not stop to rest, for she was driven to find land. Only then could she rest, somewhere dark and quiet, away from the prying eyes of the sun. This it knew, this it wanted. And there came a time when deeper waters gave way to shallow, rocky shores full of little fishes. Useless souls, but they were a harbinger of white sands, sparkling in the light. And the form that was her, fell upon dry land at last with silent thuds.

Her claws dug into the soft soil, scales absorbing the heat from the sun, as she shook her blackened body dry. Four eyes, intelligent eyes, surveyed the area before her. Nothing but green and brown and red. Red. The color of blood. The color of hunger. Instinctually, she entered the dark tree line, for there was much to be done and a home was needed for her spawn. As her tail vanished into the giant trees, the beach left empty except for tracks, all that could be heard was a hum.

Azadine had arrived in the Great Hooflands.




Likewise, across the sea, Ansara scaled a mighty cliff. From the vast ocean below, a wall of rock jutted out to meet her and so she climbed. Claws struck stone with mighty blows, as the Reaper ascended. The rock was familiar to her, like a dream from long ago, and it provided her safe passage to the top. Then there before her was a vast ocean of green, split apart by a variety of rock and crevices. Tentatively, she reached the trees and began her journey into the unknown.

As the sun set, time and time again, Ansara became restless. Though she had found many suitable locations for her spawn, there was not enough life to sustain her, nonetheless her unborn. So she scoured the land, finding nothing but mundane life in her pursuit. That was until she reached the edge of the continent, and a new opportunity presented itself. Across the water that hissed and steamed, she saw the vaguest shape of land and the promise of a new future.

It was a risky decision, but the Reaper could not tarry in land that would not provide. Thus, with a mighty leap, the water of the Saluran Mendidih welcomed her in its embrace. This water was warmer, but not painfully so to the massive creature that she was. What proved to be a challenge, was the turbulent water. The currents were wild, and her tail was put to the extreme as she swam. But swim she did.

Upon arriving on the other side of the strait, Ansara climbed another cliff, shorter than the first. Once she pulled herself up on solid ground she took in this new land, like before. It was green, richly so, and before her there were mountains. Home.










Orvus arrived back on Veradax shortly after his chance meeting with Li’Kalla. Now he floated above the Mar Tree, which by that point had greatly covered the valley in floating motes. They bounced about, waiting for something to happen. His thoughts were dark, clouded with choices and decisions that needed to be made. Kalmar, as much as he hated to admit it, was right. Orvus was justifying his continued existence by wanting to destroy everything, just so he could prolong the inevitable. He had said it himself best, he was a selfish being who didn’t want to die.

He didn’t want to die. He wanted to fade away in the nothingness. Was it the same? Perhaps, but he was faced with a great dilemma, when would he ever see it again? Most likely never, but there was a chance it could happen. Would he jump at the occasion? Or would he stay his hand, and hesitate? Only time would tell, but his deliberation on that topic eased his mind little.

Then there was still the topic of his purpose. His siblings hated him already, their threats were apparent. Kalmar’s most of all. His brother would kill him if he kept on his current course, but what was his current course? Endless destruction until there was nothing left? Making that promise to Phystene felt so very long ago, almost like a distant memory. So much had changed since then, so much about himself had changed. Did he feel regret for what happened? An inkling perhaps... He had been so sure of himself, but now he was but hesitation.

The Mar tree was primed and ready to stream into Galbar, but Orvus did nothing now but stare. Was it really what he wanted? Why was it so hard to think and make a decision?

Why was it so difficult!

Orvus fell to the surface of the moon, and began to beat it the rock with his fist. His eyes expressed anger, a profound sense of rage. He just wanted it to end! What was holding him back! And as Orvus crushed the rock further, he saw a life that never should have been his. Memories of a dream, his dream. That was what he wanted. To feel, to be happy. To know what compassion felt like and yet, the one person he knew could help him, he had cast out. Because he was afraid of what he wanted. Because unlike the finality of death, of fading away to nothingness, it was unpredictable. Life was unpredictable.

That was his fear and to overcome it, would be to change everything about himself. For better or for worse.

And Orvus knew, that he couldn’t do it. Not yet.

He was too broken. Too afraid.

It was easier to be hated. But perhaps… perhaps he could try?

He flew up, leaving the giant crater he pummeled below him. Now over the Mar Valley, he snapped his fingers and all at once, the motes began to circle above the tree, as the gateway on Veradax came overhead, it’s scarlet lightning the only source of light. And without further hesitation, the motes began to fly upwards, to Galbar.

A pang of regret washed over him briefly, before dissipating as he moved his hand out before him. If his siblings were so set on him having a new purpose, and to maintain some sort of ‘balance’ then they would see this as necessary. Still, his gateway needed some sort of protection. Guardians, perhaps?

And so Orvus moved his hand up to the clouds, and from it he pulled down a piece of lightning. It seemed to scream in defiance at being taken from its home, but Orvus did not care. With a flick of his wrist, the lightning changed, elongating, twisting and breaking into many long appendages. A large torso appeared, then a head with six scarlet coals. It’s mouth opened, revealing rows and rows of sharp teeth and then the creature screamed, erupting from its maw came a torrent of red energy.

It broke free from Orvus and gazed down to look up it’s god.

”You are called the Gate Lord. Do your duty.” Orvus commanded, and so it was done.

The massive creature took off, flying into the storm where it disappeared.

But Orvus was unsatisfied. Something else ached to be created, to be given its own purpose. He flew down to the Mar tree, and broke off two branches. With these branches he flew up and once again floated before the Gate.

He let go up both branches, but willed them to stay afloat. As he worked upon the branches, they grew larger, longer and twisted into a crown of spikes. A blackened body came forth, one at a time from either branch, twisting down into a tail. From the torso came four arms with terrible claws, and two legs. Both took feminine forms, as scales overtook their bodies. Four scarlet coals opened upon their faces, and then eight eyes looked down upon Orvus.

”You are Reapers, and you shall have many Spawn.” he looked to the right one, ”Azadine is your name,” Orvus said before looking over at the other one, ”Ansara is yours. Now go, Galbar awaits.” And the two creatures floated off towards the gateway, as silently as they had come into the world.

Orvus was weary now, and tired. With things set in motion upon Veradax, he looked to Galbar once more and flew off to meet it.




A short while later, he arrived in a place that felt familiar. A small island chain in the middle of the vast ocean, it was there he could feel the Orvium buried beneath the waves, but this was not what Orvus came for. He looked over each island, and even saw a strange cold one, but this did not interest him.

He landed upon an island close to it, one that was fresh with land and fertile. Though he could not feel any of it, Orvus broke a stick from a tree, found a rock and then a vine. As he worked upon the materials, he came to a small clearing and there. He didn’t know what compelled him to do so, but perhaps he could start to feel something by… by growing something.

And so he struck the ground with his makeshift hoe.




Back at the gateway, Azadine and Ansara land in the Maelstrom’s waters. They briefly lock eyes, before swimming off in different directions. Azadine swims off towards Atokhekwoi, while Ansara swims in the direction of Pāṟa. All around them and throughout the storm, the motes begin to fly off in every direction, leaving the Gate Lord to fly around the Maelstrom’s eye.









&

Split-Tooth





There was blue above her, green below her, and dim shapes on the horizon in every direction. Arya knew not how long she flew, but fly she did in no particular direction. It was only when land was but a distant memory that she finally calmed down enough to just stop, and think. And there she was, floating in the endless sky reflecting on what she had just done. Her anger had at last grown cold, fizzling out into other emotions. Now she was afraid, scared, angry, and alone but most importantly, she felt regret and shame. Shame for how she had acted, and regret for what she had done as she left the Jiangzhou behind. She shouldn’t have lashed out as she had did, but it had happened regardless. Why had her father come to see her, but not speak with her? Why had he given her a ring and these… powers? So had so many questions and now no one to answer them for her.

The small girl choked back tears. For some reason, even when she felt like they would all but dry up, they continued to flow. Each tear falling down, down and down. Never to be see again.

She had never felt so angry before, at being lied to, for not being told the truth. Why had her anger consumed her so? For simply wanting to see her father? Why was she like this? It was highly unsightly to lose control so easily and she hated herself for the destruction she had caused. Thus, she was scared of herself, and afraid of what she was capable of. If she had been able to do that much damage to a ship… there was no telling what she could do to a living being and she grew sick just thinking about it.

She had already hurt so many. Arryn, Kalmar, Shengshi and the countless water servants that got caught up in the blast. The small girl looked down at her trembling hands, and she blamed herself for everything. It was her fault, all of it. She had made Arryn leave. She had disappointed Kalmar. She had said such terrible things to Shengshi, she had infuriated him and then blown up apart of his boat and for what? Because her lord had lied to her for the right reasons? Because she missed her father? Because… because she wanted to see him? That was no excuse to act like… a child. Not anymore. Her hands balled into fists as she looked up. Her tears stopped flowing and her eyes grew with determination.

”I have to be better than this. I… I have to apologize.” she spun around, ”I have to go back!” she said aloud for no one to hear. Only then did it dawn upon her, she had no idea what direction she had come from. She looked below, realizing the land was no familiar to her, and more importantly, the Nanhe was gone.

And then a voice from the heavens made her jump in the air, and she almost fell. The voice, belonging to someone named Choppy, echoed all around her from seemingly nowhere. It was an odd speech, and one Arya didn’t fully comprehend. She had no idea what a delivery hotline was, nor what a business entailed. When the voice finished, it left Arya with far more questions than answers. What was coffee? Security staff? A hotel? But the girl would have to think about it later, for right now, she had to fly.

And so fly she did.




Night faded to day, and back again more times than not. Arya was no closer now to the Jiangzhou then she had been. She stopped several times to rest, but the weight to press on was overpowering.

As night grew dark once again, the light from Heliopolis fading, Arya looked up to see the dim glow from Veradax, and the soft brightness from the Lustrous Garden. It was only then did Arya realize just how lost she truly was. She had no idea where here was, or where she had been going. Only the outline of a vast abyss was below her, and in the distance, a small dot of red. Whatever that was, she did not want to find out. As the night dragged on, Arya began to feel despair. She had been a fool for leaving, she should have stayed, at least then she would be somewhere safe and warm.

Her thoughts dragged on as she dwelled upon her failures, and her mood turned from despair to sorrow once more but on she flew. She had too.

When dawn at last broke, bathing her in an early morning glow, she was reinvigorated little. The light gave her vision to what was below- a vast sea of yellow, intersected with vast crude objects of iron. It was an abysmal place, and one Arya knew she did not belong in. She began to turn around, woefully off course.

It was only then did she see the storm brewing. A vast cloud mimicking the landscape below. Her eyes went wide, and Arya knew she had to fly faster then she had ever gone before, less the storm swallow her whole.

The sun, once warm and kind, bore down upon her with impunity as she flew. She felt her glowing skin burn from it’s radiance, and unbeknownst to her, her skin began to turn a shade of pink. The inky black skin upon her arms and legs, felt as if they were on fire but she couldn’t stop.

She turned around, only to see the storm was gaining. This prompted her to panic, and in doing so, something clicked inside of Arya. A different power, something strange. She felt herself burst with speed unlike anything she had felt before, and as the storm’s shadow began to cover her, the small girl outraced it and began to distance herself.

She began to giggle, then laugh as she felt blissful relief from the fact she wasn’t going to die. Her smile and laughter quickly faded however, for in the distance, there was but blackness.




If there was a downside to the surface being pleasantly cold, it was that how cold exactly would change in a blink. It wasn’t bad, Split-Tooth thought, but the swings from cold to colder and back were getting tiresome. It did not help matters that the sky changed too, clear, then dark, then clear again. The first time it happened it left her so lost she didn’t feel like sleeping for several more days. Maybe the Pit really was the only good place, she considered.

No, of course it wasn’t. She’d only think that because of habit. Her mind had shaken off the hand lazily lying over it, but there were more things left she had the Fell One to thank for. Not knowing things was another chain she needed to be rid of. At first she’d thought it would be easier than snapping the iron fingers in her head, but it was more complicated than it sounded. Finding out about something wasn’t anywhere as hard as fighting a hand she couldn’t see. It was just that there were many more things to find out about than hands to fight. Learning about them all would take a long time yet.

And all she’d seen so far had just been more rocks and sky.

The sky alone was more than enough to keep her busy. So far, it had looked as if it could be either clear or dark, with one large fire or many small ones. But now and then, she’d seen clouds big enough to make a clear sky dark, and something like an eye that made light when it wasn’t day. Useless things, but they made the world feel more lively. It wouldn’t have been as hard to guard a hatchery up here, if it wasn’t so cold.

She wanted to check herself again, but stopped. There was nothing wrong with guarding hatcheries. The Fell One might’ve made the kostral that way, but he was smart enough to make them good. The wrong part was only having lichens to eat while you did it, as if the ones who made clubs instead mattered more.

There came another large cloud, larger than any she’d seen. The surface had storms too, then. It was far enough not to choke her, which was just as well. She didn’t like how it gleamed, as one of the fire-clouds below. Being white didn’t make much of a difference that she cared to find out. Or having spots- Wait, storms didn’t have spots.

Split-Tooth leapt over a jutting rock with three arms, clambering up with the other free ones. Her shoulder had stopped stinging a while ago, and it felt good to stretch every limb again.

She strained her front eyes, still surprised by how far she could see. No, that spot wasn’t part of the storm. Something was flying ahead of it.




Before Arya was a land that looked very familiar to her. Blackened, dark and foreboding. A wasteland, different then Veradax, but a wasteland nonetheless. Most intriguing to her were the stones that seemed to float in one place. And at the center of the wasteland, a massive black hole, like a scar in the earth, seemed to expand forever before her. It was frightening to say the least, and Arya did not want to know what monstrosity- no, what god had created it. She dared not to fly over it, for fear of being swallowed and as such, she began to her descent. She needed to rest and recuperate to journey back over the desert.

She came down on a crag jutting out over a small barrenless spot. From Kalmar’s teachings, she knew this place would provide an excellent lookout incase she wasn’t alone. And it was there the girl sat down, nestled in the shade of a rocky overhead. She let out a satisfying sigh. The cold rock mixed with the shade felt wonderful on her burned skin.

Either the crag’s position was lacking, or that which approached was unusually skilled, but the large moving shadow did not become clearly visible until it was close. An acrid smell of something bestial wafted over her as the blot came into sight, stepping carefully on four limbs.

Over the scorched ground, now in plain sight, stood a bizarrely hideous creature, gazing at Arya with dark inexpressive eyes. Its powerful grey-skinned body seemed at ease, though the oversized gleaming axe held in its foremost two hands belied its wariness. Its unseen teeth gritted together rhythmically with an audible rasping.

The beast curiously turned its head to one side, snapped its jaws and moved a step towards her.

Arya’s black eyes went wide as she saw the thing. It had too many limbs and carried, what she could only assume, was a weapon. As soon as it took a step toward her, Arya stood up quickly, her back to the wall. If she tried to fly, the thing would probably attack her. She was cornered.

She looked at it, and spoke, her voice shaky, ”S-Stay back!” she tried to yell, but her words conveyed anything but. She could feel her hands tightening into balls, and the thought of what she did back on the boat haunted her.

Once again she shouted, ”S-Stay back! I-I don’t want to hurt you!”

The creature stopped, absently stirring its mouth with chewing motions. Then it spoke in a voice surprisingly articulate for coming from such an ill-shaped thing, though snarling and grinding.

“Sure you don’t? That’s a new one.” If its speech could be said to carry anything, it was a weary disbelief. Nevertheless, after some hesitation, it slightly lowered its axe. Its next words might have been an order as much as a question in their tonelessness. “What are you?”

Arya sighed in relief as the thing lowered it’s axe slightly, but she still remained on edge. She hadn't been sure the thing was capable of speech, but now she knew it was, she could talk to it. It spoke strangely, but that didn’t bother her in the slightest.

Quietly she started, ”W-What?,” and then she spoke louder. ”My name is Arya, who are you?” she said, emphasizing name.

The being raised one of its middle hands and prodded something inside its mouth with a clawed finger.

“I’m some-” it seemed to break into hesitation for a moment, then continued, “-one with a split tooth. They just call me that. Split-Tooth.” It blinked with one of the eyes that faced forward. “What makes you an Arya?”

Arya blinked at the question and began to speak, but stopped with little more than an, “I-”. She didn’t really know how to answer Split-Tooth’s question. She just was who she was. Kalmar had named her, so too did Shengshi, but telling the creature her second name would probably just confuse it even more.

There was a long pause before she said, ”I just am who I am. Arya is just a name. Names can change, but who we are,” she pointed at herself, ”Who we really are, is inside of us. So, to answer your question, I make me an Arya.” she said, a bit of pride leaking into her voice.

A low growl from somewhere inside Split-Tooth’s chest followed her words. Both of its eyes briefly narrowed, and its jaws clenched together with a scraping rattle.

“What’s inside can change too, you know. Most of time, it better do.” The creature swiftly rolled its forearms in their sockets, gathering itself again. “Some way of giving names that is. Where I come from, everyone’s called like something you can see. That’s how you know who’s what. Only ones who name things something else is gods.”

As if catching itself on something, Split-Tooth suddenly stretched its back, suddenly seeming to grow taller and broader. Its hands tightened, barely perceptibly, on the axe’s haft. “You’re no god, are you?”

Split-Tooth’s perception of names was strangely enlightening and it also made Arya not really ever want to visit it’s home. At the mention of Gods, and Split-Tooths sudden growth, Arya seemed to shrink against the rock. She hadn’t realized just how tall the thing actually was and it seemed to be… to be upset?

”I’m no God, Split-Tooth.” she said quickly, ”Not in the slightest!”

At her reassurance, the creature deflated, sinking back to all fours in what, even in such a monstrous frame, was clearly relief. This time, its weapon stayed low.

“Good thing.” It nodded, or at least moved its head in some sort of acquiescence. “Maybe not for you, I’m sure they have it good. For everyone.”

With a single motion, it flung its axe over its shoulder. As its arm rose to follow it, it bared a spot on the being’s shoulder, scarred with a large, dull-red mark of a closed gauntlet in a circle.

“But if you know what a god is, you’ll know that yourself too.”

Arya hesitated, her eyes intrigued at the large scar. It wasn’t familiar to her, but to Split-Tooth, it seemed to mean a great amount. She had to be careful what she next said, else she draw the thing’s ire.

”Not all of them are so needlessly cruel, Split-Tooth. Whoever did that to you is not a god, but a monster.” she spoke softly, thinking of the Gods she had met. Kalmar, Shengshi, even Arae- all of them had been kind to her. But her father? He was… cruel.

”Who did that to you?” she asked, her voice full of concern.

“This?” The creature glanced at the brand with one of its lateral eyes and chortled. “This thing helped, if you’ll believe. I was worse off without it. The one who did it didn’t mean it that way, of course.”

Now seemingly fully at ease, Split-Tooth crouched on her lower arms, crossing her forward ones. The axe was leaned against her back.

“It was one called” it struggled with the word, its mouth involuntarily stiffening. After a few attempts, it finally spat it out, “Narzhak. Great One, he calls himself. Me, I won’t give him more than Fell.” It churned again, as if having made an extremely witty joke. “I know he’s met others who are like him. They don’t all show it, but it’s inside, like you say. We’ve either heard of different gods, and there’d need to be a lot of them…” It scratched its jaw under the notorious tooth. “Or you haven’t been looking close enough.”

”Narzhak…” she said to herself. The God of War, is what she had learned. Then this realm, this ‘world scar’ must be from his doing. And Split-Tooth, must be some sort of, servant, or worse, a slave. It sounded like it had no love for Narzhak however, so it’s loyalties were questionable and for good reason, she thought, looking at the brand again.

By this point, Arya stood a bit taller, and more in a relaxed position. She was still weary of the creature, but she didn’t believe it was going to hurt her.

”I’m sorry he did that to you, even if it helped. No one should be forced to do anything, or have anything forced upon them. Some gods know that, but some do not.” she said sadly. She looked at the being in front of her with a gleam in her eye and spoke, ”Split-Tooth, there are many Gods and Goddesses in this world. I know of most, and I’ve even met a few of them. Not all are like Narzhak, but you are right, some are and they hide so many things and think so many things and are so many things. My father is one such god. His name is Orvus, and he is… difficult, and cruel. He cast me out from up there.” she finished, walking over to be out from under the rock and then pointing up at the moon.

“Being cast out isn’t all bad, either. Think of it as let out,” Split-Tooth mused, one eye glancing upwards. “I couldn’t wait to get out of the warrens when I hatched. Never got far before now. Maybe you’re right about them, though. If there’s really that many. It would be a good thing for a change.”

The eye turned back down. The creature shifted its head to one side, now curiously examining Arya with full three of its gazes. “Even then, you’ve got to be sure before you believe one. A few days ago I still thought Narzhak’d given us everything good we have.” It scratched the other side of its neck. “He really did, but it was much less than he’d have us know. If you know a god, it just means you need to be even more careful. They can do things you won’t believe until you feel them, and you won’t even notice.”

Split-Tooth’s head snapped back into a straight position with an abrupt crunch. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”

Arya thought upon Split-Tooth’s words and began to nod in agreement. If Veradax was anything like this place, she probably would go crazy. At the same time, she still wanted to see it for herself, so she could at least know. There was also the fact she had believed Shengshi without even questioning it when he told her how she had gotten her powers. Perhaps she did need to be cautious. A reserved caution.

At the sound of the question, Arya looked back up at Split and said, ”I… I made a mistake. I got angry when I shouldn’t have… I hurt those I call friends. All because I overreacted. I may have blown a hole in a boat,” she squinted, realizing that Split wouldn’t actually know what a boat is, ”A big thing that can float on water and is made of wood, a light substance. Anyways, I was a wreck, so I left. I need to go back though, so I can ask for forgiveness. I realized that what I did wasn’t the best thing to do. How about you? Why are you here?” she asked.

“I’m looking for coffee,” Split replied simply. It made some empty chewing motions, then added, “Somebody said there are sentries on watch somewhere that need coffee, so I thought I’d give a hand.”

Some more chewing. “I don’t know what you’d call a friend, but if you made holes in their things, they must be enemies now. I wouldn’t go back so fast. They’re counting on that. Make yourself ready first, they’ll be sure to have an ambush. If there’s too many of them, don’t go back at all, it’s safer.” A dim eye glistened with bitter amusement. “I’m one to speak. But I have this,” It bent a side-arm backwards and tapped the massive blade near its back. “You look young and haven’t got anything. Hatchlings don’t go on lurker hunts.”

It fell silent for some instants, still besides a sparse blinking across its four eyes. Then, it glanced up. “Do you at least know what coffee is?”

The small girl found it amusing that the creature was trying to find coffee. Arya didn’t even know what it was, it sounded dangerous, but Split could probably take it. She also felt stupid for not explaining what a friend was.

At Split’s mention of enemies, Arya’s heart began to beat faster. Would Shengshi and Kalmar become her enemies? Would they hate her for what she had done? But she quickly found that the notion was ridiculous, and hoped that they would only be slightly angry with her. However, once again, there was a certain truth to Split’s words. She couldn’t go back, not yet. She had to let things cool down, but she would, and when she did Arya would apologize so profusely, unlike anyone had ever apologized before. Her eyes squinted again at the mention of her being young and a ‘hatchling’ but arguing was probably pointless.

She followed Split’s gaze and looked up as well.

”I don’t know what coffee is, but I think I might know a way to find out. If you… If you want me to help?” she asked hesitantly.

Though its head remained upturned in an indeterminate direction, two of the creature’s eyes looked back at her.

“Six eyes are better than four, aren’t they?”

The girl’s eyes seemed to smile at being accepted.

With the same lightness, odd for something so bulky, Split leaned down on its front arms towards her.

“And it’s sure they’re better than two. You’ll get yourself killed if you don’t have someone to look out for you.” Its mouth spluttered something indistinct, sounds vaguely similar to a scornful ”need to go back” practically inaudible in it. “Looks like I’m not done watching the hatchery yet.” In one fluid motion, it was up on five arms, the last one holding the axe over its back. “Things don’t find themselves on their own. Let’s go.”

She started to sigh, ”I’m not-” she let a deep breath, ”Alright!” she said enthusiastically. And as she floated after Split, a question that had been nagging Arya finally burst out.

”So, are you a boy, or a girl?”

“Me?” Split did not so much as turn to look. “I’m “her”. You’d call it…” A finger pensively ran along the axe’s blade. “A mother.”

Arya wasn’t that surprised, it seemed to fit Split-Tooth being a mother.

”I see, so you’re a girl, Split-Tooth.” she said out loud, flipping upside down and looking up at the sky another thought coming to mind, ”Hmm. We should probably work on your name though.”









&

Li’Kalla


Goddess of Rain
8 FP - 13 MP





Orvus silently floated across the vast ocean of Ashalla, going not in any particular direction. He had far too much on his mind to actually think about a destination. Arya was chief among those thoughts, and always his choice he had to make, one day.

Eventually, Orvus spotted an island in the distance, teeming with life. Vibrant and green, above all else he felt the presence of a God. Li’Kalla to be precise, the Goddess of Rain. He had not met her, in fact, he only knew her by name. He wondered what she looked like, but other then that, he continued on his way. There was no point in finding another sibling, especially one who probably regarded life just like the others.

He passed over the island, seeing nothing of great interest besides, well, a lot of water. Eventually Orvus began to pass over spires of somesort. Very crude looking things, made of mud and what he thought was clay. Upon closer inspection, he even creatures in abundance. Little mounds of dirt and clay and mud that seemed to… roll about.

”HEY, LI’KALLA!”


”Ah!” A small yelp came from the other side of a large spire, carrying with it a splattering noise and a gasp, ”Oh, sorry Rick’Ard! I-I didn’t mean to hurt you, it’s just Chopstick Eyes...” The soft voice trailed off, muttering apologies and excuses to a being whose presence was so diminutive, it might as well be invisible.

The voice that broke his silence was obnoxiously loud, and seemed to shout around the entire world. When it finished, Orvus still had no idea what this ‘chopstick eyes’ was besides his minut understanding from the Architect. But before he could even think about that, another voice, one much closer broke not far from him.

Thus, whether he wanted to or not, Orvus would investigate, finding the blue Goddess mucking around with the same creatures he had seen before. He floated up behind her, and watched with impassive eyes. She was… playing?

She giggled as a small clump of slightly dry mud made its way down the side of the nearest spire, rolling towards her excruciatingly slowly. After a moment, she tensed up.

It was sudden. In a explosion of movement, she turned around and crawled back several meters! She hid behind the clump -- which was actually too small to even cover her foot -- and screamed. “AAAAH! I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING, HE CAME WITH ME, I DIDN’T TAKE HIM FROM HIS LITTLE CLUMP FAMIL-”

She froze, looking at the hazy, shadowy figure floating before her. Tall as the most elite of knights, with the same look in his eyes… Even though this entity’s were different in appearance, there was the same suffocating aura. She tried to speak, but she couldn’t open her mouth. She just stared back at him.

Moments passed, and she sat on her ankles and slowly, carefully draped an arm, shakily, over her chest and averted her eyes.

“... O-Orvus, correct?”

Orvus watched the peculiar sight unfold before him, his sister was a strange one, and her outburst was unwarranted. Regardless, she was obviously afraid of him. The way her face froze in fear, and how she averted her gaze, and covered herself. It was odd, but a small part of it felt strangely good.

”Correct.” he stated flatly.

”...” Li’Kalla’s lip quivered, and her right wing started to twitch. ”Um, this i-is Rick’Ard. He’s a m-mud clump I found n-near my m-” She spoke, her voice gradually rising in tone until she just squeaked and closed her eyes tightly.

Orvus cocked his head to the side as she began to speak. She wasn’t just afraid of him, she was terrified and Orvus knew that feeling all too well. Did he inspire so much fear, or was it something else entirely? Regardless, it began to pain him to see her in such a state, to see her just like he had been and so Orvus fell to the ground, his feet silently hitting earth. He crouched before her, in a less threatening posture, and looked to this ‘Rick’Ard’ she spoke of. It was a creature of mud, carrying the smallest of souls inside of it. Disappointing but not surprising. He looked back to Li’Kalla and realized that she was… naive, almost innocently so.

After a moment, Orvus’ eyes seemed to frown slightly, and when he spoke, his voice was soft, ”Li’Kalla. I’m not going to hurt you. So tell me, where did you find this, ‘Rick’Ard’?”

Li’Kalla hesitatingly opened her left eye first, and upon seeing nothing suspicious, she relaxed a little. However, she never took her arm off her body. ‘That’s what they always say,’ She thought, ‘Not going to hurt me…’

She took in a deep breath and gave a little flap of her wings. ”I-I found him near my home, the Manor, M-Mister Orvus. They all came about during this reaaaally long, tiresome rain… I saw Rick’Ard, he rolled toward me and I-I gave him his name and took him with me on a small flight.” She shrank a little, and sighed ”I-I think he’s only with me because he likes the water on my skin, though.”

”I see.” he seemed to whisper. Li’Kalla was like a child...and another chord seemed to strike inside of him, reminding Orvus of Arya. ”Water has many uses. If anything, you are giving that creature life, and in return, he is making you… happy.” he said unsure of himself. Quickly he asked, ”Do you enjoy flying?”

Li'Kalla perked up and nodded, “Oh, yes! I-I'm fairly new to it, but Sis Azura taught me. Have you met her? She's really nice.” Li'Kalla said with a faint smile.

Orvus briefly remembered that he had crashed through The Blue once, killing several creatures as he went. But said, ”Hmm. No, I have not met Azura, but I’ll take your word for it.” Orvus paused, ”Your wings are… good? To fly, I mean.” he asked again.

The Goddess grinned at the mention of her wings and flapped them proudly, “Yes! They're super good and warm and dry. After Azura taught me how to fly, I can get around the Island very quickly. You could probably grow wings too, Mister Orvus. I can give you some feathers to get started with like Azura did with me and you can use them as a starting point!”

Orvus thought for a moment, but realized wings weren’t really his style. ”I am honored that you think me worthy of some of your feathers, but I cannot take them. Wings may suit you and Azura, but I think another way might work for me.” he said softly.

“Like what?” Li'Kalla asked equally softly, tilting her head curiously.

”Hmm. Long have I pondered this. Floating about is so… slow my dear. At least for me. I desire to travel quickly, through even spheres. Here, watch.” Orvus said, slowly standing up. And he looked up to the stars, beginning to float, but quickly stopped and looked down to Li’Kalla.

”I have a gift for you.” he said, and like before, he willed into existence a small ring made of Orvium and it too was dotted with bright stars that seemed to shimmer. He floated it over to Li’Kalla. ”Wear it, or do not, I do not mind either way. It does nothing, at least not for one such as you, but, it does look… pretty, does it not?”

Li'Kalla breathed an evident sigh of relief upon seeing the ring, a sudden tension having taken hold of her upon mention of a gift. Her eyes lit up when she laid them on the beautiful ring, and she thankfully took it in her hands, inspecting it for a moment with her fingers before sliding it onto her left hand's index finger. “I-It's beautiful, thank you! How did you fit stars insid-” Li'Kalla stopped and chuckled, “Huh, that's a dumb question, isn't it Mr. Orvus?”

Orvus’s eyes seemed to smile before they quickly became stone once again. He said, ”No, not a dumb question. Just a curious one. It was nice meeting you Li’Kalla. Perhaps we shall see each other again… one day. Now, goodbye.” Orvus said, before looking back up at the stars.

He then willed himself to fly as fast as he could, then faster and faster and in the blink of an eye he exited the Atmosphere and was well on his way to his own sphere. To Li’Kalla, she would have seen Orvus for a brief moment before he cast himself into the stars like a comet, leaving behind a very loud WHUMP, as the sound barrier was broken.

Once her wince at the loud sound subsided, she looked up at the spot in the sky Orvus had disappeared in, and pursed her lips.

“He felt… Different, didn't he, Rick'Ard? Like he wasn't complete. Well, at least he can fly now.” She muttered to the mud clump as she scooped it up in her hands and flapped her wings powerfully, beginning the flight back to her Manor.




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