#if i block out absalom what an arc!

[thychesters]

the straw hats are back up and are ready for round two yesssssss everybody's here!!! even this funky skeleton dude!! lola's crew is hightailing it but i cannot wait for the straw hats to burn this place to the ground

love to see the crew all fighting together and playing to one another's strengths. is that not what makes this crew a crew. cannot wait for them to kick ass as a team building exercise

[supersoftly]

As a female One Piece fan, how do you feel about how increasingly sexualized the female characters have become? The biggest example is probably Nami, who started out with a tomboyish design and fairly practical outfits but is now a scantily-clad fanservice character with massive breasts.

Depends. If you're talking about the anime, they deliberately take creative freedoms to accentuate fanservice, and sure, it's a little annoying for them to be changing the blocking of the source just to put Robin's boobs up front, but in terms of manga, it's kinda almost always been like that? You can go back as far as the East Blue arcs and characters like Vivi, post-devil fruit Alvida and Nojiko already wearing what could be considered suggestive clothing and/or rocking the One Piece female standard body type. Jump into the Arabasta arc and you've got Miss Doublefinger basically in fetish gear. I think Oda has always made a conscious decision that despite having sexy characters as a constant in his story, he rarely draws or depicts them as sexualized, but even then it's almost always accompanied by a visual gag or bit. The only scenes I can recall on hand that explicitly had more (arguably darker) sexual tones was when Absalom spied on Nami in the shower, and him grabbing and licking Robin, but like all despicable One Piece characters similar to that of Spandam, they usually get a ridiculous level of comeuppance (in this case, being murdered by the Blackbeard Pirates).

Now I've had this discussion about Nami specifically before and I haven't changed my position even after all these years. As an audience, we're introduced to Nami as Arlong's crew Nami; an underling forced to work under the very despot who killed her adopted mother at the threat of murdering everyone and everything she's ever loved and cared about. That's the Nami we know right up until her facade breaks down and genuinely asks for Luffy to help her. That Nami, despite greed being an intrinsic part of her character, almost never acts selfishly or in her own interests beyond stealing money to buy her village back for all of her childhood into her developing years as a woman. None of that time is spent thinking about herself, she's fueled by vengeance and fear, there's no time allowed to be thinking about trivial girly things that most 10-17 year olds should be allowed to think about. So when Nami is finally freed, she stops hiding herself, she finally indulges in herself and becomes her final form, this beautiful, smart, greedy girlboss that can canonically harm Luffy if she's angry enough because it's funny! Everyone agrees Nami is beautiful in-world, but out of necessity as a cat-burglar, she dressed for her occupation. Freed of that obligation, every colour page and title cover, openings in the anime and even in the movies, Nami's downtime is depicted as having a good time with her crew; shopping clothing and accessories with Robin, putting her hair up in different fun hairstyles, wearing clothes that makes her happy because she's confident and unafraid anymore. To me, that's what Nami always was, despite how one might judge how she dresses or how she looks now.

I will agree though I do miss her original asymmetrical pixiebob, and I also wish Oda had went with her original design with the cyborg arm :p

[vulpinmusings]

Ski’tar and Friends part 3: The Endless Vermati

The continuing adventures of Ski’tar, Ysoki explosives master.  This time: a near-death experience dungeon-crawling through a spaceship made of skeletons as it falls apart around our ears.

Part one

Part two

Space is deadly cold.  The Drift is arguably colder because it has no natural stars spewing radiation everywhere.  The interior of an Eoxian bone-ship with a damaged necromantic power core is, somehow, even colder.

The Endless Vermati’s exterior construction, all bone spikes, made it unfeasible to try docking with it properly, so we had to just fly as close to it as possible and leap across the void into one of its cargo bays.  Sixer volunteered to make the fateful first leap, and he took a rope with him that Vemir and I could use to haul ourselves across in a more reasonable manner.  I was concerned about how I was going to get my tank-treaded and decidedly not flight-capable Drone across the gap, but Captain Navasi found a second rope that I could use to haul the Drone over once I was on the Vermati.  He also casually mentioned that we happened to be quite close to a Drift Beacon, which did a lot to explain how Captain Arvin was able to communicate with us so easily from real space.

It was immediately clear upon our arrival in the cargo bay that the Endless Vermati was in even worse shape than I’d initially suspected.  Putting aside the numerous intentional fist-sized gaps in the bone lattices that made up the walls, the cargo bay was a wreck, crackling with cold necrotic energy, and contained jack-all in the way of lootables.  I did find a working computer terminal near one of the doors, and despite the strangeness of its Eoxian hardware I had no trouble hacking into it for information.  The computer primarily contained lists that were of little use aside from the crew manifest that informed us that the Vermati had a crew of five.  I managed to gain limited access to the ship’s power grid through the computer, enough to reduce the amount of necrotic energy arcing around everywhere.  I couldn’t shut down everything, and even if could have I wouldn’t have, since I didn’t want to leave any doors sealed or other information sources unavailable.

Leaving the cargo bay, we found ourselves in a hallway that branched in three directions.  With no compelling reason to choose one over the others, Vemir arbitrarily pointed us down the middle path, toward the center of the ship and the bridge.  A short way down we found rows of glowing stations along both walls.  A careful inspection revealed they were auxiliary power stations containing a necromantic power core, small enough to carry.  We discussed Vemir’s bounty job and how vague the request for an Eoxian power core had been, and concluded that taking a small, undamaged one was a significantly better idea than trying to haul the ship’s main – and leaking – core out of the Vermati and onto the Loreseeker.  Vemir tried to pull the core out of one of that stations by brute force, but lost his grip and fell comically.  I, shaking my head, went over, pressed the clearly-marked button for releasing the core for replacement, and tossed the thing to Vemir.  He looked embarrassed, but didn’t say anything as he stood back up.

No sooner was Vemir upright again than a skeletal Eoxian emerged from the freaking wall next to Sixer and attacked him.  As the rest of us fumbled at the surprise, a wave of cold necrotic energy washed over us and invigorated the skeleton.  It clawed at Sixer again and took a significant chunk out of his armor and shredded his chest enough to expose some inner android bits. My Drone and I flanked the skeleton and burned out what few fleshy parts it had with our laspistols, taking it down.

Damaged but still functional, Sixer insisted he could go on with us, so we continued down the hall.  As we neared the end, two more skeletons popped out of the walls.  One grabbed me and the other went after Sixer as another necrotic wave passed through us.  The wave must have scrambled my Drone’s circuits, because it couldn’t land a single shot on the skeleton threatening Sixer despite being right next to it.  Vemir tried to go to Sixer’s assistance, only to find himself being menaced by a third skeleton under the floor.  I put my agile Ysoki moxie to good use in slipping out of my captor’s grip, knifing it in its shriveled stomach, and then jumping back to take it down with a well-aimed pistol shot.  Vemir was backing away from his under-floor assailant while trying to line up a shot through the bone lattice.  Since the skeleton was fixated entirely on Vemir, I had little trouble lining up a shot of my own that pierced the thing from skull to boney toe, downing it in a single shot.  I couldn’t help but give the Kasantha a cocky smirk and a theatrical twirl of my laspistol.

The skeleton assaulting Sixer proved to be as nasty as its predecessor, landing a blow that broke the android’s helmet and tore out a good chunk of his neck.  As Sixer went down, struggling to stay operational, I shot out part of the skeleton’s spine, claiming the kill shot on every foe we’d encountered so far.  Vemir was a bit put-out by being outdone by a simple mechanic like that, but we put ego aside in the name of patching up Sixer.  Using Vemir’s medkit, I managed to get Sixer’s neck mostly put back together and his suit’s environment protections working, and Vemir handed over a couple magic potions that boosted Sixer’s self-repair processes and got the android back in working order.

Captain Navasi commed us for a status report, and I summed up the situation nicely: we’d taken out four-fifths of the crew, nearly lost Sixer, and were on the look-out for the last crew member or something I could hack for information on the Unbounded Wayfarer. Navasi was relieved we hadn’t lost anyone yet and told us to hurry; the ship was deteriorating.

We reached the bridge without incident and found it was in worse shape than the rest of the ship.  There was only one operational station I could use.  Naturally, it had stronger security than the computer in the cargo bay, and I only got past its firewall by the skin of my teeth.  Once I was in, though, finding the info we needed was cake.  I learned that the Endless Vermati had been in poor shape when we found it because they’d run afoul of some pirates, something Vemir took notable interest in.  I also found instructions on the safe handling and transport of Eoxian power cores, which would make Navasi more comfortable about Vemir bringing one back to the Loreseeker. Most importantly, I found what we’d come on board to find: the last known location of the Unbounded Wayfarer.  The Eoxians had spotted it near a planet in the Vast known as Ulmarid.

I immediately commed Navasi to relay the information.  There was at least one Eoxian still on board (I was starting to wonder if the skeletons had just been created from the walls by some necromancy spell) and the place was falling apart so I wanted to be sure the Wayfarer’s location was known in case we couldn’t get away in time.  As we were chatting, a tremor rocked the ship and Navasi told us they’d just detected the Vermati’s main core was exploding.  Still on the computer, I caught wind of someone else logging into the network and trying to lock us in the bridge.  After a little cyber-scuffle I managed to block the lockdown command, and my opponent logged out and, a few seconds later, the computer reported an escape pod had been launched.

By this point, the ship was definitely starting to fall apart, so we booked it.  Sixer, still wobbly from almost dying, stumbled a few times, but between Vemir’s assistance and me correctly deducing exactly how the ship was going to fall apart we managed to get ourselves and Sixer to the cargo bay. Sixer and I worked together to shove my Drone toward the Loreskeer, where Navasi was waiting to catch it, and then we all jumped.

Vemir got us out of the blast radius of the Endless Vermati’s final demise.  It was a fascinating sight, seeing those bones shatter amid bursts of eerie blue light, but I had no regrets about not taking a power core or two for myself.  My perfect boom is not something I’ll accomplish through magic, and if I never feel the touch of necromancy magic in particular again, I’ll be be happy.

As a reward for surviving and obtaining the information we needed, Captain Navasi opened a secret compartment full of what he termed “delicacies,” including candied meat.  We appreciated the thought, and I’ll try anything once, but none of us were particularly enthused by the selection. All we really wanted was a bit of rest and directions of our next move.

We called up Captain Arvin to report.  The planet Ulmarid isn’t well known, which makes a Starfinder Society ship’s presence there not too surprising.  That did mean, however, that we’d need to wait for a bit while Arvin does some research.  In the meantime, we were to return to Absalom Station and presumably find something small to occupy ourselves with there.

[fableweaver]

Arc of the Errant Knight

Arc of the Errant Knight

Pepper side stepped the swing from the quarter staff and lashed out quickly with her own staff. Kaelynn blocked the blow with a hollow ring from her own staff, now on the defensive. The two women continued trading blows with the hollow thump of wood filling the solar where they practiced. Their audience watched on with wordless attention neither cheering nor displeased with what they saw.

At last Pepper swiped with her staff knocking Kaelynn’s legs out from under her. A round of applause sounded then and Pepper helped Kaelynn to her feet. The Countess smiled at her and bowed, shaking her hand.

“A good match,” Kaelynn said pleased, sweat darkening her pale blonde hair. Despite her words that she would leave after the wedding Kaelynn had stayed and had quickly become Pepper’s favorite sparing partner.

“Indeed,” Pepper said grinning. She had taken to coming to the solar to practice with some of the other young Aldan, and found she liked many of these people.

“Perhaps I should consider the same oath you have taken,” Kaelynn said nodding to Pepper’s right side.

“Ye hardly need it,” Pepper said and Kaelynn laughed.

“Modest as always,” Dacre said with a grin. He was one of the many young men that frequented the solar, and Pepper at first had mistaken his light manor as flirtations until he made it clear he much preferred men over women. He was lithe like most Aldan, a simple woodsman he claimed, but for his good looks.

“A princess must be modest,” Fulk said and dodged Pepper elbow aimed at his ribs. Fulk was a servant in the palace, not a guard but a simple cook he said. Though he was deadly with daggers and had a sharp tongue at times.

“I be no princess,” Pepper growled. “Er at least no dainty un.”

“The gods forbid you ever try your hand at dainty matters,” Fulk said. “My ears are still bleeding from when you tried the harp the other day.”

“Aye,” Pepper said suppressing a grin and turning to the silent member of the gathering. “Yer harp be alright baint it Jude?”

Jude looked up from his harp, though older than them he still appeared in his mid-twenties. He was watery of looks; his hair lanky white and blue eyes had a drooping cast to them. Pepper suspected he only came to the solar to chase after Dacre who seemed only mildly interested in his company.

“She is recovering Lady Pepper and I beg you not to torture her with your ministrations again,” Jude said. “I’m still having difficulty tuning her.”

They all laughed at that, Pepper feeling the good humor going around. Pepper retrieved Melanthios and belted him on, feeling better with the familiar weight. She didn’t spar with him, not against Kaelynn who was not a master swordswoman. Melanthios was too sharp and deadly to risk in a sparing match unless both combatants were masters in the sword. Pepper suddenly remembered Darin then, a longing to have him here and spar with him overwhelming her. Memories of not just their sword match but what they had done after made her blood rise.

“The dragon blade is an impressive piece of work,” Kaelynn said and Pepper shook herself out of her melancholy.

“Aye, dwarvish smiths be the best there be,” Pepper said.

“Our lost kin to the north were always good smiths,” Kaelynn said.

“Why baint ye ever go ta visit them?” Pepper asked, the thought occurring to her.

“We thought they were lost,” Fulk answered. “We assumed after all these centuries they had died out after the Phay had marched.”

“Those few that were sent to look for them at first never returned,” Kaelynn said.

“Like the un what were sent with the song ta the dwarves,” Pepper said.

“Yes, and some after during the Cursed Age,” Kaelynn answered.

“Well what bout after the Cursed Age?” Pepper asked.

“By that time we were able to send people there and some returned but found nothing,” Kaelynn said. “Those mountains are vast, all they found were the remains of giants. How did you find them?”

“Luck mostly but I headed fer the Grandfather o Waters,” Pepper answered. “It be the tallest peak in the mountains. Baint they look there?”

“I don’t know,” Kaelynn said and she looked to Jude.

“I’ve heard they tried but couldn’t find the entrance to the city,” Jude answered.

“What? It were a great gate o carved dragons,” Pepper said.

“They found that but the gate was closed and no one answered when they hailed,” Jude said. “Why the dwarves chose not to answer, well you’d have to ask them.”

Pepper thought that over and realized it had probably been likely that the dwarves had shut out mankind. After they had agreed not to raid Daunish lands they probably lost all interest in mankind even the Aldan.

“They be a stubborn sort,” Pepper said to the amusement of everyone.

“Aye well ye’d ken best,” Dacre said with a grin, copying her accent. Pepper blushed, she hadn’t confided anything to them, but Dacre seemed to read her well.

“I’d best be goin,” Pepper said to hide her embarrassment. “I’ve somewhat ta do with mine sister.”

She bid farewell to them and hurried out of the solar. The Aldan had built many public buildings; one was the solar where sparing matches, gymnastics, and other exercising could be performed in the warmth of indoors. There were many people here, but it wasn’t overly crowded, and Pepper left with few noticing her.

Leaving the solar Pepper made her way through the city much like the Aldan. She had gotten used to the jumping and climbing that went on over the city, and grew to enjoy it as well. She never realized how much she enjoyed climbing trees until now; in the moors she had never encountered a tree worth climbing. She arrived at Kaden’s house only a little out of breath, a cloud coming from her mouth and attracting the notice of a nearby sylph. Pepper ignored the Wild Kin as it chased the cloud away, going into the house.

She found Kaden alone painting once again.

“Where be Bailey?” Pepper asked.

“Out shopping with Basil,” Kaden answered. “They left not too long ago.”

She doubted his ability to tell time, Kaden tended to lose sight of things while he painted. She walked over to see he was working on the large painting he had done of Tir Aesclinn, admiring his work.

“It be good,” Pepper said.

“Not as good as the real thing,” Kaden answered.

“Ye’ll never get it that good,” Pepper said.

“I can try,” Kaden said before he sighed heavily and put his brush down. He looked up at her, his eyes soft. “I need a break from this though. Would you be willing to try letting me draw you again?”

Pepper blushed. The first time she had been very reluctant and relieved when he had drawn her. It had been exhilarating, yet the look in his eyes told her he had no real interest in her as a lover. It had been refreshing since Kaden was a bit like Darin in that respect, he treated her like a person not a receptacle for his cock. Yet unlike Darin he had no interest in taking their relationship any further than it already was.

“Ye be sure Bailey n Basil baint return soon?” Pepper asked and he nodded. “Alright.”

Kaden hurried to prepare his materials, cleaning his brush first then going to gather a sketchbook and pensile. Pepper was about to sit at the table again but Kaden stopped her.

“Can we try the bed instead, you don’t have to lie down,” Kaden said. Pepper looked from him to the bed she shared with Bailey.

“Alright,” Pepper said. She went to the bed and rearranged the pillows so she could recline against the wall. She sat down and pulled off her tunic, sitting back against the pillows. She looked up at Kaden and saw him watching her carefully, much like she was an animal he was about to draw. Then he turned to his paper and began.

Once again her heart was pounding, but eventually she became bored. The sound of graphite against paper was soothing, and Pepper relaxed after her morning exercise. At last Kaden finished and showed her the sketch, Pepper marveling at how she looked in the drawing.

“Ye baint show this ta any un will ye?” Pepper asked.

“No, may I draw another?” Kaden asked. Pepper nodded and he directed her to another position, this time she had her back to him. He did two more drawings, one from the back and the other from her right side.

“You really must let me paint you sometime,” Kaden said. “You have a lovely skin tone.”

“I baint sure I could sit still long enough,” Pepper said.

“I’ll try when you’re asleep,” Kaden said. “Though I’m not sure I could stand your snoring.”

Pepper tossed a pillow at him and Kaden ducked, going back to his drawing. She laughed though and he grinned with her. The door opened then and Pepper grabbed her tunic and pulled it on. They stepped out from behind the screen to find Basil and Bailey setting down the groceries.

“Hey Pepper,” Bailey said, hefting Matt up on her hip. The child had grown enough that he could sit up on his own and could voice a few nonsense words. “Ye ready fer our lessons?”

“Aye,” Pepper said, they had to go meet Absalom for their lessons in the Elder magic.

“Ye’ll take care o Matt?” Bailey said as she handed the child over to Kaden. Matt squirmed a bit, reaching for his mother so Bailey gave him a kiss on the forehead which seemed to calm him.

“Of course,” Kaden said.

“Ye baint just sit there n draw him like last time?” Bailey said sternly. Kaden had let Matt nearly crawl into the fire having been too preoccupied drawing to stop him; even though Matt had been the subject he had been drawing.

“I’ll watch him,” Basil said taking Matt from Kaden. Bailey nodded and kissed her son once more. They bid goodbye to Kaden and Basil before they donned their cloaks and left. It had only been a few days since Absalom had joined them and so far they had managed to keep his true identity a secret. It wasn’t hard either; no one came to visit much.

As they walked through the paths of the forest they passed many people about on the bridges. Decorations of holly, mistletoe, and cedar joined the snow in a spark of green over the white dust.

“It be the winter solstice already?” Bailey said surprised.

“Ye’ve been cooped up too long Bailey,” Pepper said. “N here they call it Cael’s Day.”

Pepper was still surprised by the Aldan’s acceptance of the Sect. The Sect here though seemed nothing like what they had experienced. They believed in the Phay, and didn’t condemn witchcraft. Most of the Aldan Sect clerics seemed like philosophers and poets. Since they had closed their borders, the Sect here was cut off from the rest of the Sect and so seemed to revert to an older form of ecclesial rules. Kaelynn had told her that the Sect had once been like what it was like in Alda now.

“Aye right but seems ta be they honorin some o the old ways,” Bailey said pointing. Pepper followed her gaze and saw a fire burning where children were throwing pine cones into the flames. Burning pine cones was said to bring luck for the rest of winter, though in Daun they usually burned nut shells instead.

“Kaelynn told me that unce the borders were closed the Aldan slipped back inta the old ways,” Pepper said. “She said it were cause now they baint worry bout the Regarians gettin all huffy bout it. But it be a mix here.”

They passed a couple exchanging gifts, the two women smiling and laughing as they unwrapped the gifts to find they had gotten each other the same thing.

“It be good ta mix old n new,” Bailey said and Pepper nodded. There was something about Bailey that told Pepper something had changed. Since they had found Absalom Bailey seemed resigned, and Pepper doubted it was the old king that had changed her.

“Bailey, ye be alright?” Pepper asked, venturing a worried query as she pulled her sister to the side hiding behind a bough of a fur tree. She could see the denial about to come out and quickly continued. “Nowt Bailey, baint lie. I ken somewhat be off, ye be mine sister n I baint want lies. Ye’ve lied ta me enough as is.”

Pepper felt bad for the guilt that flashed through Bailey’s eyes, but she knew it had been the only way to get her to talk.

“I be pregnant,” Bailey said softly. Pepper felt her stomach boil and swallowed hard on the acidic taste that filled her mouth and the equally acidic words.

“N ye be alright with that?” Pepper asked.

“Nowt, but I’ll keep the babe,” Bailey said. “I baint hide that from Ian ifn we meet gain.”

“Ye will,” Pepper said. “What o Ashel? Does he ken?”

“Nowt yet,” Bailey answered. “But I had tea with him yesterday. I wanted ta get ta ken him since....”

“What o Ian?” Pepper asked and saw the pain that question caused. “Bailey, ye love him.”

“Do I?” Bailey asked and looked at Pepper so uncertain. Pepper felt suddenly lost at the doubt she saw in her sister’s eyes. She had never seen Bailey doubt her feelings for Ian once she had decided she loved him. Pepper had seen her uncertainty when the two had first married, but she had seen that flourish into a comfortable love that had grown between them. It had made Pepper feel lonely to see some of her sister’s affection taken away by someone else.

“Ye do I ken it,” Pepper said fiercely.

“I baint ken that anymore Pepper,” Bailey said shaking her head. “Maybe I really did love him then, er maybe I just let myself feel like I did since I were married ta him. I baint sure I really ken what love be.”

“Love be him pull both o us from dragon fire,” Pepper said. “Ye cause he love ye, n me cause he kens ye love me. Love be him offerin ye freedom from his touch after yer weddin night cause he saw what pain ye were in. Love be ye stoppin takin my tea cause ye want his child, the child ye hold every night.”

Bailey stared at Pepper shocked, her mouth slightly open.

“I kenned ye hated Ian,” Bailey said and Pepper looked away to think.

She hated Ian for taking Bailey’s affection and a piece of her heart. But thinking about it objectively, taking out that factor, she found she actually liked him. He was a man she could respect, one that loved her sister enough to do what he was capable of doing. Despite all her harsh words to him Pepper knew Ian was an intelligent kind man that though hardly voiced his thoughts listened to the thoughts of others.

“I hate him only fer bein between us,” Pepper said. “N I might never forgive him fer that. But I ken he loves ye n that ye love him.”

“Ifn I loved him so much Pepper n why did I choose ta marry another ta help the Phay march?” Bailey asked, her bitter cutting words only hurting herself. “Why did I put duty afore the un I love?”

“Cause that baint lessen yer love fer him!” Pepper said fiercely. “Ye baint love the Phay more than him just cause ye chose ta do yer duty. The two have nowt ta do with each other. Ye love the un ye love, n ye do what ye need ta do. It hurts aye ta be apart but ye ken as well as I that it’ll only lessen us ta do anything other than what we need ta do.

“I ken this cause I chose the same Bailey. I chose ta leave Darin ta seek out the song, yet I baint lost any o my love fer him.”

As soon as she said it Pepper realized she spoke the truth and felt her face flush with the realization. She really did love Darin, though he wasn’t always on her mind he was in her heart. No other could take his place there. Bailey’s eyes filled with tears, but they did not fall.

“N do ye ken he’ll take ye back fer ye leavin like ye did?” Bailey asked.

“I baint ken,” Pepper said. “But I ken he’ll understand, cause I ken he’d do the same.”

The tears fell.

“Ian baint chose that,” Bailey said. “He baint understand duty like that.”

“Nowt,” Pepper said softly, Ian had never been a man of honor. He was a good man, a kind one, but he did not understand the need to put duty over love. Bailey closed her eyes and Pepper saw her willing herself into calm. When she opened her eyes the tears were gone.

“Come on, Absalom be waitin,” Bailey said turning on her heel. Pepper followed her heart heavy. They descended the trees and to the darker forest floor. With the fields of crops fallow the sun stones were stored away, the bare winter trees letting light reach the forest floor. The pines and evergreens claimed some of this light and it made the forest floor a dim daylight that bordered twilight.

The twins walked through the farms and the presence of people began to thin until they were alone on the forest paths. Pepper was beginning to feel at home in the trees and looking at Bailey she saw it was the same for her sister. Though they were used to the open hills of the moors, the forest didn’t feel confining but comforting. The forest was silent in the winter, the silence of sleep and peace.

They found Absalom where they had met before, at the stump of a forest giant. The great sequoia had fallen centuries ago and the stump had rotted out until there was a ring of mushrooms twenty paces across. It was a place of power.

The twins entered the circle and sat, the snow had not settled in this place and the moss was dry but cool. Absalom sat as if in meditation, still as stone and silent. Tobi sat next to him asleep, curled up and snoring lightly.

“So begins our second lesson,” Absalom said opening his eyes. “The first had been you teaching me of what you know; the second shall be me teaching you.”

“We cannot learn it all at unce,” Bailey said.

“You flatter me child,” Absalom said with a kind smile. “But I will not be your only teacher.”

He looked to Pepper who knew what he meant. She drew Melanthios and set him between them. For a moment it was a simple sword of advanced make, and then smoke began to rise. The smoke twisted and turned until it took the form of a dragon hovering over the blade like a wrath.

“Melanthios,” Absalom said nodding to the black dragon. “Good of you to join us. Though I feel you can teach these two more than I can.”

“If I had a body I could,” Melanthios answered. “As it is I cannot demonstrate most of the uses of Elder Magic in Miread. I have shown them how to weave skins but I fear that lesson had been a bit rushed. So I believe I will leave the teaching to you.”

“And time is short,” Absalom said ominously.

“Then let’s begin,” Bailey said and Absalom nodded.

Their lessons in the Elder Magic had been from their grandmother Rathnait mostly. Their step mother’s mother had been a witch of knowledge, but no great power. Her greatest skill had been earth singing, the process of tuning the earth so that it grew plants better. She always claimed that Meadhbh had been far stronger than her. The twins had little memory of their paternal grandmother who had now been reborn into Glen and had once been Lailoken the Oracle. She had still taught them what she could before she died when they were very young.

Bailey was more skilled than Pepper, but their recent trials had elevated them both in the powers of the Elder Magic to be almost equal in power. Bailey was stronger in the earth, earth singing and rain calling, and had a better knowledge of herb lore and warding. Pepper was better at summoning and had a stronger command of the Wild Kin than her sister.

The greater arts had been beyond them until recently and then they had only touched upon a few of them. Melanthios had woven skins for them and the twins had changed shape into birds. Pepper had already learned to speak through minds through Melanthios, though she could only do it with the dragon. Bailey had called lightning down in the battle against the dragon, but this had been a last stitch effort that she had not been able to repeat since it had come to her in the heat of battle.

“What will we start with?” Bailey asked. “Trappin moon beams? Weather weavin? Shape changin?”

“We will start with naming,” Absalom said and the twins had opposite reactions. Pepper felt disappointment, naming hardly seemed like the greatest art. Bailey felt fear, because she knew what naming entailed. “I can see neither of you know what naming really is.”

“Nowt I ken,” Bailey said softly in fear. “It be un o the greatest arts. Ta ken somewhat’s true name is ta hold power o’er them. Ye can even change somewhat ta suit yer need, like earth inta fire. That be why we hide our true names.”

“That is only partly true,” Absalom said with a kind smile. “Pepper what do you think of naming?”

“It baint be anythin special like,” Pepper said frowning. “Just cause I point ta a tree n say ‘tree’ baint make nowt happen.”

“Pepper ye ken it be lot more n that,” Bailey said frowning. “Namin be part o how summonin works.”

“Naming is more than even that,” Absalom said, his smile the same. “I’ll show you.”

He picked up a rock next to him and closed his hands over it. Pepper felt a stir of aether as Absalom pulled it into his hands, but otherwise she could not tell what he did. Then he opened his hands. The rock had changed shape, not in any large way it still looked like a rock, but Pepper realized now it was a different type of stone.

“What did ye do?” Pepper asked taking the rock and examining it. “Ye baint said anything.”

“I renamed it,” Absalom said. “I knew the original name of that rock, not the name of the type of rock but the original name of that particular stone. I then renamed it, changing its identity to that of one I made.”

“Sos this be a whole new rock?” Pepper asked as she took the stone.

“It was a piece of limestone gathered from around here,” Absalom answered. “Now it is a piece of sandstone from the Xinian desert.”

“What?” Pepper said amazed turning the stone over in her hand. “How?”

“Names are powerful things,” Absalom answered. “They define what it is you are referring to, it is the identity of the object or creature. Names are much more than the sound of which you speak to identify it. A true name comes from the soul, it is wordless and beyond the senses of the physical realm. Your names are more than just the sounds you make when you speak them, just as with any other living creature or object.

“For the Phay and others that live upon the lines a true name holds more power. We as mortals change our names and spirits with each life we live. The Phay however are immortal and they do not change as much as we do. So knowing an Elder Phay’s true name can give you a lot of power over them even if you are not as powerful as they are. Their names often come in pairs, like Arke the Color Weaver. That is not her true name, it is simply her face name paired with what she is. The Phay prefer this method of identifying each other so that they know who or what they are dealing with since they cannot call each other by their true names which would tell them that.

“Names tell us origins, where something came from. It tells us what that thing is, the present condition it is in. And they can even hint at what may become of it, the future that will come. Names tell us how something acts within time. Time is something the Elder Magic cannot master or control, only through naming can one even touch on time but manipulating the object which is acting in it. I cannot change the age of the thing either, this may be a different rock now but it is the same age as when I had changed it. You cannot add or take away something’s time.”

“How did ye change the name o this rock?” Bailey asked.

“By knowing something’s true name there is a silent accent,” Absalom said. “You not only know everything there is to know about that object but also have access to that thing’s essence. When someone calls you by name there is a moment of acknowledgement within the mind, and that is an open door to the essence of your being. If you are called by only part of your name or a false name the accent is lesser and the person who calls you does not have the power to control your entire being. Though it is possible for a caller to control a listener even with only part of their name, if the caller is stronger than the listener.

“I knew the true name of this rock so I had access to its essence. Once I knew everything about it I was able to impress my will on it. I willed it to change, imagining it as something new and impressing it upon the stone renaming it. This power is very much like the Phay’s ability to dream; only you cannot create out of aether like they can. You need something that already exists to change it; you cannot create like the Phay can with dreaming.”

“So be there a limit ta this namin?” Pepper asked. “Like I baint able ta turn this inta a bird?”

“No one can even the Phay don’t have that power,” Absalom answered. “Renaming something doesn’t mean erasing it and starting from scratch. You have to stick to what that thing is. If it is a rock then it will stay a rock, but I can change the type of rock it is and even its origins. I cannot turn it into anything living. The more complicated the object or lifeform the more complex its name is and thus the harder it is to change. Learning something or someone’s true name is a hard thing.”

“I ken a Dire Wolf what gave me his true name,” Pepper said. “Could I rename him?”

“You could if he was weaker in spirit than you,” Absalom answered. “You’d have to be close to him as well. When you rename a creature like that Dire Wolf, it will remain a Dire Wolf. Depending on how extreme you are you could erase all of his memories and rewrite new ones or even leave his memories blank. Or you could rename him to change his personality or even his gender. Or you could remove all vestiges of personality and identity, but erasing a name usually causes death as you destroy all of that person’s essence and vitality.

“I saw a man that the Crippled One had eaten his name and essence, how he was still alive I don’t know, but he cannot be renamed for he is nameless. This means that he cannot die as he has nothing to leave his body. I honestly don’t know what the Crippled One did to this man, nor did I know the Crippled One had such skill in naming. This man has no will or life in him, and is now an assassin for Loe. If you encounter him I doubt there is much you could do against him.”

“Baint we rename him?” Bailey asked. “Give him a new name?”

“That would just drain you of all vitality,” Absalom said shaking his head. “And since he is linked to the Crippled One all that power would just go to him. You cannot give him a new name. If you knew his true name you might be able to return it to him, but I don’t know if that will work. I believe that man is past saving at this point.

“We’ll move on to your names. What are your true names?”

“Ye first,” Pepper said stopping Bailey from answering immediately. “Absalom baint be yer true name. Aldan names have a hole in the middle baint they?”

“Very good, yes,” Absalom said smiling at her. “Now listen carefully, not with your ears but with your spirit. Sound is only one form of vibrations that ripple through the world and a true name is spoken with this underlying ripples. Even if a person without power were to know my name and speak it, they would not hold me to their will as they could not speak my true name in the vibrations of the world. I know both of you already have the power to sense and manipulate these ripples since you can summon and earth sing. So listen well.

“Absalom Alvarra of the Deep Woods.”

There was a thrum in the air and both twins felt the power of those words. Pepper’s ears rang and she shook her head to clear it of the dizziness that swept her. For a moment she though she felt as Absalom felt, hearing his heart beat in tandem with her own.

“Even speaking a name with power can over power someone who is weaker,” Absalom said and Pepper looked up at him. It was like she could see him clearly now and understood on a base level his expressions and thoughts. It was a bit like the link she had with Bailey.

“Alvarra,” Bailey said softly. “That be yer middle name? It sounds like…”

“Alvar was derived from it yes,” Absalom said. “I know I ran a big risk, even changing it slightly does not protect me entirely. Since the Phay had left however there were few that could use my true name against me. Now, what are your names?”

“Our grandmother Meadhbh named us,” Bailey said. “Our Da chose our face names. Mine true name be Baelmorea.”

Again there was a thrum in the air, but Pepper felt less of a change since she already knew her sister’s true name. Absalom absorbed it and nodded, then turned to Pepper. Pepper felt her face burn with shame; she hated her true name and was glad she hardly ever had to utter it. She had wanted a more beautiful elegant name like Bailey’s, or at least something that spoke of power and strength. She sighed and gathered herself, centering her spirit before she spoke.  

“Pippin,” Pepper said putting her power into her voice as she spoke her name. She expected Absalom to burst into laughter at the adorable name, but instead his smile became warmer and he nodded to her as well. She had never thought the name suited her, and still felt her face hot with a blush from having to speak it.

“What o Melanthios?” Pepper asked looking to the black dragon. He had slipped back into the sword again, but they all knew he was listening. “What be yer true name?”

“That I will not reveal given my current form,” Melanthios answered. “I am too vulnerable to the manipulations of naming when I am a sword. If I had a body I would have full range of my powers and spirit, but as it is I am limited in my capabilities.”

“Your names must be kept close, only voice them in places like these that are warded and only when needed,” Absalom said.

“We ken that well,” Pepper said.

“Yes but why?” Absalom said. “It is not just because someone could use it against you. Like I said before names tell you about a thing, its history and place in the present and even future. If someone were to know your true names then they would know everything about you. What you might do, what you hold dear, and what you fear.”

“Baint that mean we could gain that knowledge ourselves?” Bailey asked.

“N why baint we ken all bout ye fer kennin yer true name?” Pepper asked as well.

“Yes you can gain that knowledge and I will teach you how to glen it,” Absalom said. “The reason you don’t know everything about me upon hearing my name is because you have not yet looked Pepper. It is like knowing the title of a book; you know the title yet have yet to read the book itself. With my name I am now open to you, and you can gaze into my soul and read what you will.”

“Be that hurt you?” Bailey asked and Absalom smiled at her.

“No, it won’t hurt unless you are forceful,” Absalom said. “Soul gazing is a bit like this process but without the true name there is a limit to what one can see.”

“Sos we can we learn someun’s true name through soul gazin?” Pepper asked.

“Yes, but it is more complicated,” Absalom answered. “If the person is strong of spirit they can withhold it, I will teach you how to hold your name against someone who tries to take it. To the Phay it is rude to try to take a name without permission, or even an attack on them. The more complex the creature or object you are investigating the harder it is to learn its name simply by gazing into it. It is easier to get it to name itself.”

“N how do ye do that?” Pepper asked.

“With people it is easy since they can answer,” Absalom said with a chuckle and Pepper glared at him. “Most people do not hide their true name like the Aldan. But with others who cannot speak, like rocks or animals of lower intelligence, you can get them to answer with their name by lashing out with your own will power. Often they will defend with their name. It is a bit like shouting out into a crowd to see who cries out in answer. This method only works though on those of lower intelligence who do not know to guard their names.”

“Namin sounds a bit like all the arts rolled inta un,” Bailey said and Absalom nodded.

“More accurately the other arts were all derived from it,” Absalom said. “But naming was derived itself from the Phay’s power of dreaming. All forms of the Elder Magic came from this power of dreaming, the manipulation of aether to create life.”

“Alright,” Pepper said with a grin. “Namin be somewhat great. So ye can teach us this art?”

“I will have to teach you the others first,” Absalom said. “While the other arts were derived from naming, they are more simple and easier to learn. It will be easier for you to learn naming once you’ve mastered the other arts. But this all can wait, today is the winter solstice. You both should go and enjoy the celebration.”

“I baint be in much o a celebratory mood,” Bailey said sadly putting her hand on her belly. Pepper felt some of the rage boil in her again and absently reached for Melanthios’ hilt, simply to have something to grip. As she gripped the dragon sword the desire to rid her sister of the child in her consumed her for a moment.

:Don’t!: Melanthios’ mental shout startled Pepper into dropping him, Bailey and Absalom looking to her surprised.

“Sorry, Melanthios said I were squeezing him too hard,” Pepper said embarrassed. “The lump o iron be more sensitive en I kenned.”

Her attempt at humor lightened the mood a bit though no one laughed.

“How bout we go ta the library instead?” Bailey asked Absalom. “Ifn we baint be learnin the Elder Magic I’d like ta do somewhat in the search fer the song. I ken we all would like ta explore there n it’ll be real quiet taday.”

“Very well,” Absalom said with a kind smile. He stood and helped Bailey to her feet. Pepper sheathed Melanthios and stood as well, but fell back as Bailey and Absalom walked hand in hand. She glanced down to see Tobi had woken and was walking next to her; the little dog looked up and wagged his tail at her. Pepper scratched his ears before she followed Bailey and Absalom back towards the lights of the city.

:What were that bout?: Pepper asked as they walked, her thought sent to Melanthios.

:What?: Melanthios asked.

:Yer shout: Pepper answered. :Ye were much more worried bout Bailey’s unborn babe than I’d ken ye ta be.:

:She would be devastated if you even suggested it Pepper: Melanthios answered. :I’m just looking out for you and her.:

Pepper had grown used to the speaking between minds now and she could tell that Melanthios was holding something back. There was a quality to hearing only a voice that let one detect lies and half-truths more easily.

:Melanthios: Pepper said gripping the hilt again. :Ifn we be meant ta work tagether I’d have the truth from ye, no more o this dancin round the facts like ye be protectin me. Out with it.:

There was a pause, long enough that Pepper wondered if the dragon could flee the blade and hide. At last a sigh sounded, a mental sound rather that an actual exhalation.

:It is a long story but Bailey does not carry Ashel’s child: Melanthios said. Instead of relief Pepper felt fear at his tone. :What she originally carried was a child that would be that of the blind one and hers. Now she carries three children each with a shard of Aoife’s broken spirit.:

Pepper did her best not to lose her step as they began to climb back into the trees. When they were on level ground again, Pepper having carried Tobi up the ladder, she turned her attention back to Melanthios.

:Tell me what happened: Pepper said hardly.

Speaking mind-to-mind had some advantages in that one could send thoughts rather than just words to the one they spoke to. It made conversations much faster as you didn’t have to form all the words simply let the thoughts slide into the other person. So in a matter of a few minutes Melanthios had related the events of Aoife’s attack and Glen’s heroics.

:Why baint ye tell us?: Pepper asked.

:The Crippled One seeks Aoife: Melanthios answered. :It is dangerous to voice her name on the winds lest he hear it. In her current state it would be Bailey’s death and Aoife’s to try and wrest the soul shards from her and you know the Crippled One may do just that if he got his hands on her. He has no patience to wait for a birth. I sought to hide the children, only you, me, and Glen know that Aoife resides in Bailey’s womb. It is best we keep it that way.:

:Bailey deserves ta ken: Pepper argued. :N she can keep it secret.:

:I know she can but it may affect how she sees her children: Melanthios said. :If she knew her body might reject the babes in a miscarriage. It has happened before when mortal women bear the children of Phay, the foreign spirit feels wrong to them and the body rejects it. Right now as long as she doesn’t know her body has accepted them.:

:But she kens she cheated on Ian n holds another man’s child, but it be Ian’s child: Pepper said angrily. Then she remembered that Melanthios had pushed for them to get married to Kaden and Ashel. :Why did ye suggest we marry ifn ye kenned that Bailey already be with child?:

:If the whole world thought that the child was Ashel’s it would hide the fact that it is Aoife: Melanthios answered. :The child was conceived two moons before your wedding. If the Crippled One learned Bailey was with child just after Aoife went missing he would know where to look for Aoife. But if Bailey was found pregnant by another man after Aoife went missing then he will overlook it.:

:N how’d he learn bout it anyways?: Pepper asked.

:He has men working for him Pepper: Melanthios said. :I know you think Alda safe but we cannot know what gossip goes on beyond the borders through trade. It is safest to assume your enemy might learn your secrets and keep them safe. The best way to do that is to leak false information and lies.:

Pepper mulled over his words as she watched Bailey walk arm-in-arm with Absalom. She wasn’t sure he was right, but Pepper knew Melanthios knew what he was talking about. He could be wrong about a lot of his assumptions, but one thing he was right on was safety. His lies hadn’t put them in jeopardy, if anything they had protected them, and so far they seemed to be working. If Pepper revealed the truth now she could cause more harm than good.

Still she watched her sister walking and knew her to be in pain, not in body but in spirit.

:Telling her will not alleviate her guilt: Melanthios said sensing Pepper’s thoughts. :Only one person can heal her of the hurt she has caused herself.:

:Ian: Pepper said sadly knowing it to be true. Bailey would be only slightly relieved to learn that the child was Ian’s, but she had still let another man touch her in the most intimate of ways. Worst the child wasn’t really hers or Ian’s anymore, but a Phay spirit that had been forced into her. Pepper had read stories of changelings, Phay children placed in cribs and the human child stolen. It was the first time she had encountered a changeling of the womb.

:Actually most changelings are that: Absalom said. :Sometimes a spirit that is not human is reborn into a human body. Sometimes it is a Phay’s spirit; sometimes it is an animal’s. Children born with the wrong type of spirit usually die shortly as their body cannot hold the alien spirit. I’m hoping with Aoife’s spirit divided into three it will be different for her:

:Will ye stop listenin ta me think: Pepper said crossly.

:I’m just trying to help: Melanthios said. :So will you keep this a secret?:

:Fer now: Pepper said crossly. :But when it be close ta when she be due I be tellin her. She needs ta ken what she birthin.:

:Of course: Melanthios said and then Pepper sensed his withdrawal from her thoughts.

They had reached the library and Pepper looked up at the building once again impressed with Aldan architecture. The vast hall was built in a grotto of hawthorn trees, their branches now bare in the grips of He Who Bites. The hall was a long building of arches, buttressed with the living hawthorns around it. The great doors were round but closed against the cold. A sign was on the side of the building, declaring this Hawthorn Hall in Aldan lettering which Pepper was still learning to read.

Absalom led the way to the great doors and opened them with ease. The entry hall was a wide stone room, the stone tiles of the floor arranged in a pattern of leaves. The ceiling was painted with a scene of the sky, which lessened the darkness of the timbers of the walls and stone floor. Mage lamps burned to light the room, a great chandelier lighting the room

“Why mage lights?” Pepper whispered, her voice sounding loud even here. “Ye have sunstones here.”

“After the Phay marched we cannot make sunstones,” Absalom answered. “Capturing sunlight is different than catching moon beams. So the stones we have now go only to growing crops. Since the mages have their own lights we never saw the need for more sunstones. Mage lights though are not like sunstones since their light doesn’t grow plants well. Also sunlight is too harsh on books so artificial mage light is better.”

“Why be sunlight different than moon light?” Bailey asked.

“Moon light is sun light reflected by the moon,” Absalom answered. “It is gentler and easier to capture and hold in a stone. Sunlight is stronger so it is harder to hold. Sunstones are lain out in the sun to collect the light and recharge them; a sunstone never dies as long as it can be charged. A special stone is needed to hold sunlight; the dwarves had this stone and used to trade it to us. After the Phay marched we lost contact with them.”

Pepper hadn’t seen how these stones were made or harvested, but she had seen how the dwarves relied on the sunstones. The stones provided sunlight in the underground, which meant the dwarves had hardly needed to venture above ground.

“Come let us look around,” Absalom said leading the way to the library. The hall opened out into a vast tunnel like structure a balcony looking out over the aisles of shelves. Instead of neat orderly rows however the shelves were all set into a vast maze of books. The walls were lined with shelves as well; all lit by great globes of mages lights.

“I designed and commissioned the library myself,” Absalom said grinning. “I’m glad to see they didn’t change my design.”

“Why a maze?” Pepper asked incredulous. “Baint that make it harder ta find things?”

“Not if it is organized properly,” Absalom said as he shrugged. “And I dislike orderly and neat, it makes me want to mess with it.”

He chuckled as he led the way down the spiral stairs into the bowels of the maze of the library. The twins followed and immediately found themselves lost in the turnings of the maze. Absalom led the way, seeming to know the maze like the back of his hand. The books weren’t all of Aldan make. The Aldan bound their books in a simple manor with thread and parchment, the covers often soft leather or thick paper. Regarian books were bound with glue and wood covers, paper pages in the center. Markian books were like Regarian, though tended to be less ornate. Lirians preferred scrolls of rice paper or parchment, rolled and kept in bamboo cases. Hyrian books were bamboo or reeds flattened and tied together in a flat plane and then folded into boxes. Nyrgard used parchment and animal hide, but also bound in the traditional book manor. Dridians did as well but their books tended to be the sturdiest of them all, enchanted to withstand any abuse. Daun of course wrote on clay tablets. Xin wrote on scrolls like Lir, though theirs tended to be on parchment or animal hide.

The books were all stored on shelves, the scrolls in groves or cubies, and the tablets in slots on their sides. Pepper could see no rhyme or reason in the ordering of the texts, everything was mixed together. The shelves stood ten spans high and the maze was complicated in its turnings and dead ends. They were alone in the library as far as Pepper could see, hearing no one in the maze with them.

They often passed dead ends, Pepper seeing statues or art stored in the little corners of the library. There were often little displays of musical instruments or art along with the books, making the place seem very much like a bizarre collection of lost oddities.  

“This is not the only library in Alda, just the oldest,” Absalom said as they walked through the maze. “I’m afraid my design made it a bit unpopular so only scholars and the like visit it.”

“I wonder why,” Pepper muttered. Despite the apparent age of most of the books and scrolls they seemed in good condition and the shelves were free of dust. Pepper looked around for the cause of this, but could find nothing so she asked Absalom.

“Mage enchantments,” Absalom answered. “They have ones to keep away dust and prevent wear and tear from age. Don’t ask me how; the mages were always secret about their powers. They scoffed at the idea of anyone else learning their magic. They seemed to be under the impression that it is a racial trait.”

“Ye mean it baint?” Pepper asked.

“I don’t know,” Absalom said. “But the Elder Magic isn’t. There are plenty of races that can bear it, in the Aldan it just tends to be more common and powerful.”

Pepper had no answer for that and they kept walking through the maze. They didn’t stop to remove any books, Absalom seeming to lead the way with an end in sight. Pepper couldn’t imagine where that end might be, the library seemed to be a pointless maze of books. She looked at Bailey and saw happiness in her eyes as she gazed around at the books. Bailey would be returning here just to sample some of the books that were written here. But first Pepper knew Bailey would have to learn to read the Aldan script, something they were both undertaking with Kaden’s instruction.

They reached a junction and Pepper realized they were in the center of the library telling by the walls a ceiling far above. The meeting way had six aisles leading from it, and was wide enough to hold a cabin. Pepper felt the air here was slightly different and then realized what it was.

“This be a place where the lines meet,” Pepper said amazed.

“Usually such places only occur at the meeting of streams or groves of trees or standing stones,” Absalom said. “These places are usually formed because the lines meet there, not the other way around. But this place, I managed to arrange for a line to come here by building the library. The entire maze is meant to channel the aether so it met at this spot.”

“Why baint ye build a maze o bushes instead o books?” Bailey asked. “Baint that work better?”

“Well a maze of living plants would be harder to maintain,” Absalom answered. “And a stone maze wouldn’t channel enough aether as the element of earth holds the least amount of it. So I made a maze using wood, that of the shelves, and living stone. I suppose you didn’t notice that the stone tile on which we’ve been walking is living stone.”

Pepper hadn’t noticed but now that she looked she realized the tile had been laid to a pattern with living stone and ordinary stone, making another channel of the aether.

“This place is a place of earth powers,” Absalom said looking at the tile at his feet. “One of my many creations, but is one of the few survivors of time.”

“I be sorry ta hear that Absalom,” Bailey said. Absalom looked at them both, his eyes old and weary.

“I set out centuries ago to bring stability to the kingdoms,” Absalom said. “Now they are a war once more. But it is not the Crippled Ones’ fault, or not his alone. The kingdoms never achieved peace, even after my intervention there was never a time without bloodshed somewhere in Miread. I had believed I could bring not only peace to the kingdoms, but wonder as well. The powers of the Phay are needed in this world, it is smaller without them. But I failed to bring the peace they needed to live in this world.”

Pepper listened to his words and felt a sudden realization.

“Bullshit,” Pepper said and Absalom looked at her shocked. “Ye ken the Phay want all lovely peace n happiness fer all? That baint be any fun er at all interestin. The world baint be made o peace er war, it be made o life. N life be both a beautiful light o happiness n glory while bein shit n mud n hard work. The Phay forgot this, n rather than deal with the reality o life they marched ta Tir Aesclinn where their powers made that world a bit better.

“Only now they ken they baint be the un great deity Phay no more. They need ta live in  Miread among the shitty beauty that be this world. Nowt all ken this as well as some, but they ken ifn they want their kith n kin ta live n exist, they need ta march.

“Sos Absalom ye baint failed nowt. The Phay needed ta learn their lesson n learned it they have. What ye did baint have any effect on them er their march. But I ken it did have effect fer men, the Kingdoms may nowt be at peace n never really were but ye brought us ta an age where we could flourish n grow, n that be far better than peace. I harp a bit on hows the world be, how the old ways have died n the new seem lesser than the old. But I ken the new be better, ifn it lets the old live on ta a new age. The kingdoms baint be perfect, but they be far more than a disaster.”

Absalom was crying, silent tears sliding down his face as he stared at her in awe.

“Another age be beginning Absalom,” Bailey said and he turned to her. “Un that ye set out ta begin nearly seven centuries ago. The Phay are gonna march, n we have ta be ready fer them when they do. We been talkin all this time bout findin the song n Eileen reborn, but what we’ve forgotten be what ye set out ta do in the first place. We have ta prepare the kingdoms fer the Phay’s return. Alda be more en ready ta accept their lost kin. But the rest baint be at all.”

“That task is beyond me now,” Absalom said shaking his head.

“Nowt I ken,” Bailey said. “N it be beyond me n Pepper. Ye said afore that Arke had a mission fer all her chosen. I kennin she has un ready ta prepare the kingdoms. I baint ken who, but I trust her ta be prepared.”

“What we need ta worry bout be the Crippled Un,” Pepper said. “We need ta clear him n his armies ifn the Phay be returnin.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Absalom asked with a wry grin.

“I’ve plans,” Pepper said solemnly ignoring Bailey’s inquiry look. Pepper was a warrior at heart, and her plans were not to just sit around while a war raged at the borders of the forest. “But fer now I plan ta look through these books. He Who Bites be no time fer battle though Loe seems ta think he can. Fer now I will learn the Elder Magic, n what we can from the books here. So Absalom, ye be ready ta teach us?”

Absalom looked at Bailey and Pepper a long time, Pepper guessing what was going through his mind. He was an old man, looking on the youthful generation that was to walk in his steps. They were his legacy and they were awaiting his guiding hand, the joy of a teacher about to step into his roll lit his eyes. At the same time a sadness dimmed them, the knowledge that he was to leave them balancing this joy.

“Then let us begin,” Absalom said with the resignation of age, yet the ring of hope.

[alexiethymia]

OP 859 Initial Reaction

1. Bege’s probaby expecting an “All according to Keikaku” moment, but by placing Luffy as the lynch-pin of his plan, it’ll end up in a “WTF?!?!” moment instead. Do you not see that smol bean’s devious smile? If only Bege could have learned pointers from Law.

2. Luffy planning his own thing can only end up in misery or pure chaos. Probably both.

3. Also, what’s with the plan itself? There are so so many things that can go wrong. I don’t think earplugs will be enough to block out BM’s COC if it gets unleashed. The Tamate Box will probably blow up and Luffy mistakes that for the signal. 

4. There were so many new names that popped out that it’s hard to make guesses. I hope we see familiar faces. This Mother Caramel seems like an intriguing enigma. Somebody over at OJ pointed out how Pudding’s cafe is probably named after her. 

5. Speaking of Pudding, my sanami thoughts are as follows, so you can skip it if you want. @eleamaya made a post showing how Pudding’s words seem to be a callback to that one moment in Thriller Bark. Honestly, I thought so too! I find it sweet how much of a romantic Sanji is that he’s so vehement against kissing Pudding (another parallel to Nami with Absalom) now that he knows everything is a lie. And as I’m sure everyone has already noticed, the silhouette from a few chapters back doesn’t match Pudding’s current hair and dress at all. I can’t say it’s coincidence now. It really seems to be a callback to TB.

6. All the set-up chapter are over, 860 will mark the start of the Red Wedding (funny how in this scenario, we’re cheering on the Boltons) and utter chaos will reign because Something Will Definitely Go Wrong. (Too many variables have been left out for us readers. Like the positions of the other Strawhat Crew members while the plan is being executed, for example. Also, me thinks Bege has a secret trump card, because he’s far too confident. Idk why I think it might be Pudding. Likely because of fedora-wearing Nitro. Rabian is probably a homie loyal to BM, so she has to present an act of being loyal to her to fool him, also fooling us readers in the process. Don’t get me wrong. I believe her ruthless personality is genuine. She might have the same motivations as Chiffon.)

7. It’s really hard to predict how anything will go because the scenario is completely different from all of the previous arcs . There’s no kingdom to save, no trusted friends to rely on save for two minks, all of the allies the SH crew have are borne of necessity and are in fact former enemies whom they despise. It’s hard to imagine the assassination will go smoothly, so once it fails, what then? How do they get out of the clusterfudge? What match-ups will there be? (It kind of reminds me of the Marineford Arc with how crazy it is, but nononononono please for the love of everything good in One Piece, let the parallels end there!) With that said, I’m looking forward to this roller-coaster!  

[remotecontrolchuck]

Toonami Night Review: Boxes and Bubbles Edition

Well the first Toonami run of February 2017 has ended, and we’re off to a good start. We got to see Goku and Beerus fight for the first time, JoJo take one of the Pillar Men, and the start of a new filler arc on Shippuden, this time involving a busty kunoichi and a lot of bubbles of all things.

And of course Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex returns for another run after One Punch Man ended again last week. Always nice to see a cyberpunk anime on the block, or is this post cyberpunk, I could never tell which. Then again, it’s all a matter of perspective I guess.

Anyway, nice to see the series again on Toonami, didn’t think it would be after being played so much long ago. Then again, some times I think it’s good to bring back old reruns once in a while to give us a break from all the new ones, it’s kind of refreshing actually.

Plus, of all the old shows they could play again for the rerun slot, Ghost in the Shell was a good choice, considering the upcoming live action movie that’s premiering next month. And while I know there’s been a lot of criticism regarding the film, I still plan on watching it, and see how it turns out.

But I digress, there’s still things to look forward to this month. And from Last Saturday night’s episodes, I can tell we’re going to be in for some fun in the coming weeks. So with that said, let’s get on with the recaps!

Dragon Ball Super: As the gang enjoy their cruise, Goku finally gets Beerus to fight him, much to King Kai’s dismay. However. Despite being quite powerful himself, especially in Super Saiyan Level 3, Goku learns the hard way that he has a long way to go if wants to take on a god.

DBZ Kai: After Lil Goten surprises Gohan by going Super Saiyan, Videl arrives for her flying lessons, only to get into a lengthy argument with a suddenly immature Chi-Chi armed with childish insults. Can I get a “Hell No!” and a “Nyeh!”

JJBA: Caesar and JoJo have their first time taking on a Pillar Man, Wamuu. Caeser is the first to go at him, but his Hamon bubbles are no match for the proud ancient warrior. JoJo then takes a crack at him, using a few new tricks with his Hamon Clackers, and manages to get a few good hits.

Unfortunately for JoJo, Wamuu soon begins beating the crap of him, seemingly killing him. Finished, the pillar man then turns his attention to Caesar and Speedwagon, intending to kill them next. However, JoJo is in fact alive, but barely so.

Using what strength he has left, JoJo desperately crawls towards the mining cart, playing dead on the ground whenever Wamuu turns to see him. While this may seem quite cowardly, it was nothing more than a ploy to get the Pillar Man away from Caesar and Speedwagon.

Disengaging the brakes, JoJo tries to come up with a plan to destroy Wamuu, as the cart takes them further into the ruins. Finding a stick of dynamite, the young man decides to use it against the Pillar Man, but the latter catches on to what he’s planning and soon sends the chart flying.

Upon crashing, JoJo lands on the ground, too tired and beaten to get up. Wamuu soon walks towards him, and prepares to deliver the final blow to the fallen Joestar. However, JoJo manages to convince the Pillar man that he could be stronger in a month’s time if he spared him.

Intrigued and wanting to battle a worthy opponent, Wamuu agrees to JoJo’s request. However, to make sure the young man doesn’t try to back out of their fight, the Pillar man inserts a poisonous ring around his aorta that will kill him in 33 days unless he defeats him and claim the antidote from his lip ring.

Their wager soon interests the other Pillar Man Esidisi (who showed up with Kars to see what was the hold up), and decides to get in on it as well. Inserting another poisonous ring around JoJo’s windpipe, Esidisi tells Joestar to face him later on in order to acquire the antidote that is his nose ring.

Kars tells them to hurry up, and they soon depart into the night. Meanwhile, JoJo collapses from exhaustion and is soon attended to by Caesar. After witnessing Joestar’s resolve, the young Zeppeli vows to become stronger with him in order to defeat the Pillar Men.

Whew, with that long episode summary out of the way we’ll move onto the next show on the recap.

Gundam Unicorn: After the hostage negotiation fails to stop Full Frontal from attacking, Banagher gets in the Gundam Unicorn and takes on the Second Coming of Char. Unfortunately it doesn’t go well for him, as Marida intervenes with her Kshatriya and knocks the young pilot out.

The Sleeves soon take Banagher and the Gundam away, leaving Mineva Zabi behind as Federation’s prisoner. While she talks with Ensign Riddhe Marcenas about politics and family, Banagher is soon brought to Full Frontal for questioning.

Hunter X Hunter: Gon returns home with Killua, and he soon introduces his friend to Aunt Mito and Grandma Abe. After some fun and a nice meal, Aunt Mito and Gon have a discussion about Ging.. After telling Gon the truth regarding his father, Mito hands the young hunter a box Ging had left behind.

Taking the box to his room, Gon and Killua find a way to open it using nen, which then leaves them with another box that was inside it. Gon then opens that box with his Hunter license, and inside it they find a ring, a memory card, and a cassette tape.

Deciding to play the tape first, Gon inserts it into a cassette player, along with an empty tape to copy it just in case. Pressing play, the two sit back and listen. Suddenly, Ging voices begins to speak, saying that the tape was meant for Gon. Even more surprising, he then asks if Gon would like to meet him.

Naruto Shippuden: It’s filler time again, and this time it involves a forbidden technique and bubbles. One night, a rogue group of ninja bandits begin invading the Tsuchigumo clan’s fortress, activating a few of its traps. This soon alerts the servant named Tonbee, and quickly warns Hotaru of the invaders.

Hotaru ( a kunoichi and granddaughter of the late En no Gyōja, the former leader of the Tsuchigumo) soons leaves the fort with her guardian Utakata, a shinobi that attacks using bubbles. As they escape, Tonbee sends a message to Lady Tsunade for help, before taking on the rogue bandits.

Upon receiving the message, Tsunade sends word to Team 7 to protect Hotaru and prevent the bandits from acquiring the Tsuchigumo clan’s forbidden technique. They soon find the two in the woods, with Naruto attacking Utakata, believing the latter to be an attacking enemy.

Hotaru manages to stop Naruto from attacking her guardian, and he soon apologizes for doing so. Utakata accepts his apology, and then tells him and the rest of Team 7 to protect the Tsuchigumo heir as he heads off. Hotaru tries to stop him, wanting him to stay, but he soon flies off in a giant bubble.

One Piece: Hogback and Absalom secretly depart from Thriller Back with an unconscious Moriah. While they do, the two discuss Blackbeard becoming a warlord after defeating Ace. The next day, the Straw Hats celebrate their victory, as well as having their shadows back.

But as they celebrate, Luffy and most of his crew still wonder what happened to Zoro, who was severely wounded after his encounter with Kuma. The Risky Brothers, having seen the whole thing, we’re about to tell them before being stopped by Sanji.

Sanji tells the Risky Brothers not to tell Luffy of what Zoro did, believing he would be upset if he knew Zoro had suffered all the pain he had taken for his friends. The two comply with Sanji’s demand and keep their mouths shut. However, Robin manages to eavesdrop on their conversation.

Later on, the Straw Hats and everyone else on Thriller Bark continue to party by having a large feast, complete with a lot of booze. As they do, Brook begins playing the piano for everyone to dance to. While he plays, Luffy asks the skeleton again if wants to join his crew, to which he declines.

Brook tells Luffy that he had made a promise to see Laboon again, but Luffy explains to him that he has also met Laboon, and that the whale was alive and doing well. Surprised by the news, Brook begins to cry happily before having a flashback to when he first met Laboon all those years ago.

GitS: SAC: After resolving a hostage situation at a geisha house, Section 9 continues an investigation regarding a Japanese foreign minister, after the latter had taken an interest in a report containing sensitive government information.

As Section 9 investigates, they soon discover that the foreign minister was in fact an agent from the American Empire (apparently in this universe the U.S. collapsed after World War III, and was split into three successor states), having switched his cyberbrain with that of the minister’s in order to acquire the report.

Moving into action, Chief Aramaki and Section 9 manage to apprehend the “minister”, after the latter’s plane was suddenly delayed. Having arrested the intelligence agent and recover the sensitive document, Section 9 congratulate themselves on a job well done before returning to HQ.

And that’s it for the recap! Wow that took so long to write, glad to have finally finished it. Anyway, I’ll see you guys next Saturday night for another awesome run of Toonami. Enjoy the rest of the week and Stay Gold!

[fableweaver]

Arc of the Little Saint

Demi had never been through the northern part of the holy city and was glad to be traveling with the Dontamen when she had. The northern part of the city was home to the slums and the poor, vast numbers of people crammed into a small space. This place had seen the most battles of the city, and so much lay in ruins. Many of the people had set up shanty houses or tents in the ruins, making a maze of the streets and buildings. Ippa stared out at the crowded streets and the crumbling buildings here in awe.

“I thought the holy city would be cleaner,” she said staring at the piles of refuse in alleyways. From the elephant’s back they had a good view of the streets and people.

“It is, this is just the poor parts of the city,” Demi answered, wanting Ippa to give the holy city a chance.

Since the elephants could only travel the wider streets they had a limited path they could take through the city. As they rode they came to a grand square where a fountain stood with a large pool. Ippa gasped to see the statue in the middle of the fountain and Demi blushed as well. She had never seen the famous statue of Dione, the demi goddess of love. She was completely naked, and carven with enough detail to appear lifelike.

People lounged around the fountain, some even swimming in it, and Demi spotted a few ochre women. Their hair and skin dyed red with ochre so they could be spotted in crowds, these women were sworn to spread love like Dione. Demi blushed to see some bearing their breasts, others with bare legs as they lounged around the fountains waiting for men to come to them. Ippa saw them and blushed looking away to the crowds.

“Do you see your family?” Ippa asked.

“They wouldn’t be here,” Demi answered staring out into the crowd. The nomads gathered in the south of the city, all the people here were Lonemen the stationary people of the desert. As they rode through the slums they saw many people, the sick, the old, the young, and many others. There were foreigners as well and Ippa gasped when she saw them.

“That one is completely white!” she shouted pointing at a man dressed in robes with silver coins hanging from the hems. His hair and skin were bone white and when he turned they saw his eyes were red. He wasn’t on foot; he rode a camel with a caravan of other Lonemen and slaves.

“That’s a mage of the north,” Demi said having heard of them but never seeing one. They rarely traveled so far south, and she wondered what brought the mage to Evalon.

“Mage?” Ippa asked. “What is a mage?”

“They have magic powers,” Demi said grinning, Tri had teased her with the same stories and she couldn’t resist doing the same. “They can make cloth fly and stones shine. I even heard they have turned men into toads.”

Ippa squealed and hid until they passed the mage but returned to gaze out into the city again. A deep bell tolled telling it was time for Pale Hour prayers. The people stopped like a tide halting, animals brought to a halt. Prayers were offered out in the streets with little ceremony, hand signs given to the sky. The prayers were short and soon everyone was moving again.

They were traveling south through the city, and at last passed a canal that separated the slums from the craftsman’s district. Here the buildings became nicer, and a strange mix between the Xinian style and northern style. Some windows had shutters instead of curtains, and the doors were square rather than the arch entrance typical of Xinian architecture.

The people were of better class, with nicer kaftans and healthier complexion. There were still a few shady people lingering in shadows, but the working class ignored them as they went about their business. They passed by a great bazaar, Demi and Ippa getting a great view of the market through the tall arched opening. The bazaar was in a hall taller than the elephants and covered in a mosaic of colorful tiles. They saw great tables and wagons covered in piles of fine spices, fruits of every color and shape, gems and jewelry, and silks and fine fabrics. The smell of curry and saffron mixed with the perfumes of jasmine and lily.

They passed the bazaar, Demi knowing there were many just like it over the city. The main road they followed lead out into another wheel of traffic, all centered around the temple of Lun. Demi made a sign of reverence as they rode by the great white temple dedicated to the goddess of the moon. Made of all white marble the temple was a great dome supported by tall pillars.

Clerics and holy women moved in and out of the temple, wearing Lun’s symbol and silver. Ippa stared, making a sign of reverence as well. They had to ride around the temple and on through the city some more. The buildings became nicer and Demi knew they were approaching the Arc.

Here in the holy city the wealthier lived near the water the life of everything in the desert. They emerged out of the buildings and saw the greatest view of the holy city. The Arc flowed before them in a wide swath, dark blue and clear in Sol’s light. Across the water was the peninsula; at the tip was Sol’s Temple.

A great dome plated with gold burned like Sol at the tip of the peninsula a true tribute to the Sun God. The rest of the peninsula was green, a jungle in the middle of a city. It was beautiful, reminding Demi of the Oasis of Hamil. The gardens were made on a hill of the peninsula, an artificial landmass made in the middle of the city. Boats and ships of every size traveled the river, some a wealthy lord’s barge and other’s a poor man’s skiff. The shore here was small docks and homes of the well to working class, verandas and gardens looking out over the water.

To the east Demi could see the hill that the palace sat on and Isra’s temple not far from it. Below the palace were the wealthy homes of the rich traders and lords of Xin, marble shinning in the sun. They were far from the palace so it was hard to see through the heat and dust on the horizon.

“How will we cross?” Ippa asked, the water was deep and far.

“There is a bridge to the west of here,” Demi answered.

Traveling along the river let the elephant’s cool their feet and be free of the press of the crowds. Demi and Ippa looked to the south, watching the green gardens and the ships sail slowly past. There were others in the water as well, bathing or cooling themselves in the great stream. Here the river never shrank and was always cool and clear water. Many said it was the blessings of the gods, now Demi guessed it was something more.

Sol rose higher in the sky as they traveled, and Demi knew it would take them a good part of the day to even reach the bridge. There were ferries that most people used to cross the Arc here, but of course none were big enough for the elephants. The bells tolled again to call for the High Hour prayers. In the middle of the day many took their leave of the sun, but just as many flocked to the river and canals to keep cool.

“It is so beautiful here,” Ippa sighed looking out over the gardens. “Do you know the history of the city?”

“My mother taught me much,” Demi answered. “The city has been fought over for centuries in the Cursed Age. The Regarians came and saw the riches of the desert, if they wished control of those riches they needed to get control of the Arc and thus the holy city. To those of Xin this place has always been sacred, always holy. The Regarians brought the word of the gods to us and we gladly took to them.”

“For we were like the desert dry and in need of faith,” Ippa said nodding; she knew how the Sect had come to Xin.

“Yes, but while we were willing to listen to the words of the gods we would not give the most holy of places to the Regarians. For an Age we warred with them, control of the holy city shifted season to season. Until the Green Man came.”

“Green Man?” Ippa asked amazed.

“In the north his is known as Absalom of the Deep Woods,” Demi answered. “The first High King of the Nine Kingdoms. He came and spoke to the Elders of the city; Evalon was once ruled by an elite few rather than one single king. He said he wanted peace, to make it so only trade would come to Xin and our holy city would stay ours.

“The elders agreed and sent a representative to the moot of Kings. He became our first king, King Loearuna of the Lonemen.”

“The king now is Nejem,” Ippa said.

“The Nejems took Xin’s throne from the Jiras,” Demi answered; “Who took it from the Loearuna early in the history of the kingdoms.”

“I take it there is a long story to all that,” Ippa said sounding a little bored with history.

“There is but, I do not know it,” Demi answered. “Our peoples have cared only that the holy city remains ours, we do not care who rules it.”

“True,” Ippa said turning back to the view. “Look, the bridge!”

Demi joined her and looked out to see the bridge spanning over the river. Great sandstone blocks covered in white crumbling plaster arched over the river, tall enough to let ships pass by under it. It was a grand structure, symbols to the gods painted or molded into the sides of the bridge. It was a northerner’s construct; Xinians did not have the knowledge to build such a large structure. Many people and animals lounged in the shaded water under the bridge, the water there coolest of all.

A great staircase led down into the water, which the elephants used to get up the bank and onto the bridge. Again, they were granted a fantastic view of the city and river from the bridge and Demi hurried to the other side to see the city to the west. Ippa joined her to see the rest of the city. To the west there were many guard towers and walls, the buildings lower under the wall. The river continued on beyond the wall to water the fields and farms downstream.

“What is that place?” Ippa asked pointing to the south west of them. Demi looked to see the great walled portion of the city.

“That is the slave district,” Demi answered and Ippa grew morose.

They rode on over the bridge and into the gardens. Great tall trees, strangler figs, rubber trees, eucalyptus, palms, magnolias, sandalwood, teaks, and even bamboo stood shading the road. The smell of vegetation and water was strong in the dappled shade, the traffic moved slowly as everyone wanted to savor the greenery. Ippa stared with her mouth slightly agape; she had probably never seen so much greenery in her life.

Birds chattered and sang like a crowd talking all at once, many visible in the branches of the trees. It was law in Evalon that once a bird roosted in these trees it would remain free and untouched, so many birds lived here. The same applied to monkeys, frogs, and other animals. Many people came and fed them, so it wasn’t surprising to see monkeys and birds crowding the road waiting for a treat.

Demi ducked into the tent and fetched some flat bread, Vega looking at her before going back to sleep. Demi tore up pieces and held her hands out. She didn’t have long to wait as a parrot flew down to land on her arm and begin to eat.

“You really are a Pinmen,” Ippa said impressed.

“They know me well,” Demi answered and pointed. Ippa laughed as she looked up to see a whole gaggle of parrots on the top of their tent waiting for some bread. “Watch,” Demi said with a smile. She tossed the bread up into the air and the parrots flew in great flock; not even a crumb fell to the ground.  

They reached Eha’s temple in the middle of the jungle, and Ippa gasped to see it. The Goddess of the Dusk’s temple was an archway, the gateway wide and the marble carven into elaborate designs. The structure was a square but the opening a rounded arch, giving plenty of space for carvings in the marble. They passed through the gate, making signs to the goddess of the dusk.

They moved on through the jungle, passing other marble statues and sculptures along the road side. Ippa laughed at a monkey that sat on the head of a distinguished statue of a king. They reached the edge of the jungle once again crossing another bridge over the other branch of the Arc. To the west was the slave district, but Ippa and Demi turned to the east to look at the rest of the city.

Just before them were the docks, ships by the score gathered along the bank and wharfs. Warehouses stood by the docks, low stone buildings for the goods the ships brought. Further upstream stood the Temple of Cael; the grand tower standing tall over the warehouses. Beyond that tower was the merchant district, the homes of the wealthy merchants of Xin. A hill rose behind the merchant district, even larger wealthier houses of the lords of Xin rested.

Just visible over the city was the palace and Isra’s temple. They seemed to hover on the horizon, shimmering in the heat of the day like mirages.

The bridge did not lead to the docks or the merchant district however. Leaning out of the tent they could look ahead and see the nomad’s district. Here there were no permanent buildings but for the temples and the walls of the city. Tents covered the whole of the plain, colorful or drab, great or poor. The animals of the nomads gathered in corals, each type of mount getting their own space since some did not get along well with the other.

They reached the end of the bridge and walked out into the streets of the nomads’ district. Demi knew this place well and was already looking for the Pinmen camp. Palm trees shaded wells and the streets, monkeys and birds roosting in the trees.

“We will go to the Dontamen’s camp first,” Ippa said. “Then we can go look for your family.”

Demi nodded, and watched reluctantly as they rode through the tent city. Each tribe tended to group together near the corals where their animals were kept. Tents tended to take on characteristics of each tribe, Pinmen hanging feathers for instance. The streets were fluid but wide, the nomads liked going where they pleased.

The Wickerfolk camped near the bridge, rather than tents they lived in woven wicker huts that were just as disposable. There were many of the Wickerfolk, their boats either still in the canal or stored on shore since they could be easily carried. The Pridesmen made camp near the slave district where all their money was made. None of the Panthra were allowed in the holy city, so the Pridesmen made their camps alone in low domed tents.

Past the Pridesmen stood the Temple of Winds, dedicated to the four gods of the winds. The temple was a giant wind flute, a tall pillar carven with holes that caused a droning sound every time the wind blew through it. The gods of the winds were never depicted in physical form; they were believed to be sounds rather than had physical bodies.

Around the temple gathered the Galesmen and their wind contraptions. They had open tents pale in color, wind chimes singing everywhere. Past the Galesmen and the Temple of the Winds were the Dunesmen. They had a good portion of the city, their tents large but conservative in color. It was slightly military here, the Dunesmen never relaxed. Ippa stared at a fighting ring where several Dunesmen were practicing with their sabers.

They rode on through the Dunesmen’s camp to the Horse Lords’ camp. Their camp was more opulent but just as large, great pens for their herds. In the middle of their camp was Mercore’s Temple. The demi god of travel was the most sacred of the gods to the nomads so here the temple was the greatest in this part of the city. The temple had four tiers, four long staircases leading up to the altar. The white sandstone was painted blue and green, kept clean and beautiful from dust.

They rode up to the temple, bells were sounding again to call for the Burning Hour Prayers. They got down off the elephant and joined the crowd around the temple and offered their prayers to the demi god. Mounting up again they set out past the Temple of Mercore. Next to the Horse Lords were the Llemen, their tents well-kept and camels pampered. They had few pens for other animals, so goats wandered around freely.

Past the Llemen were the Pinmen. Demi leaned out of the tent precariously as she gazed out at the familiar tents. They were all colorful, and many bird perches stood with tropical birds roosting and feeding at the offered seeds. The Pennam were gathered in a pen, many tribes gathered here. Demi did not see her family but the Pinmen camp was great, they could be there still.

Past the Pinmen camp was the Zarman camp. Here the tents were modest in color but not in size, Testudines resting in the sun. The Zarmen did not bring the Hannah into the city; it was too dangerous to bring such predators among the other mounts. They neared the hill where the wealthy lived and this was where the Dontamen had their camp. Their tents were great and they had a good amount of space for their elephants.

They found a space to set up camp and began unloading the elephants. Demi stood by with Ippa, waiting for the men to be done with setting up camp. She kept looking back towards the Pinmen camp as Sol began sinking low in the sky. At last Hamid came over to them, the camp set up and the elephants tended to.

“It is near our Ebbing Hour prayers,” he said looking at Demi apologetically. “I think it best we rest for the day and we can begin the search for your family tomorrow. It is dangerous in the city at night.”

“Of course,” Demi said disappointed. They went to one of the tents and sat for supper, Ippa and Demi had been too excited through the day to eat. They dined on a fair feast, pilaf, grilled goat, stewed squash, flat bread, goat cheese, and spiced pineapples. After supper it was time for their prayers, they went out and offered their prayers to the stars. Afterwards Hamid insisted they go to bed, both exhausted from their travel and excitement.

Demi fell asleep easily despite her anxiety, her sleep dreamless and peaceful. The next day she woke well before dawn and woke Ippa as well.

“What is it?” Ippa asked sleepily.

“Come on, I’m going to look for my family,” Demi said. “Let’s go before your father wakes.”

“Alright,” Ippa said, her eyes sparkling with mischief. They dressed and grabbed a few oranges for breakfast. They quickly cast their rising hour prayers to the sky. Demi grabbed a stick and carried Vega on her shoulder. They hurried out of camp, only a few other people were stirring. Demi led the way back towards the Pinmen camp, but it took longer on foot. Nearly an hour later they reached the Pinmen camp, Sol starting to rise.

Demi led the way, walking among the tents and looking for a familiar one. For most of the morning they circled through the camp, but Demi did not see a familiar tent anywhere. The Pennam all were different, their saddles and feathers marked to show what tribe they belonged to, but none were of the Kartal tribe.

“Don’t worry, you’ll find them,” Ippa said after their Pale Hour prayers. “Maybe they’ve camped somewhere else. Here,” Ippa said holding out her purse string which held several silver royals and some copper pieces.

“For what?” Demi asked.

“I would feel naked without my ivory, I am sure you feel the same without your feathers,” Ippa said with a smile. Demi smiled back to her gratefully and took a few coins. She went up to a feather merchant who was selling many colorful feathers and some Pinmen kaftans. She bought a new kufiyah, a handful of feathers, a kaftan, and a new sash embroidered with a feather pattern.

“I’ll trade you all of this for that shawl you’re wearing,” the merchant said as Demi started to take off the fine Dontamen indigo shawl she wore. She turned to Ippa who nodded; it would save her coin it seemed. Demi handed it over and dressed, feeling better to wear familiar clothes. “You are a Pinmen right?” the merchant asked.

“Yes sir,” Demi said. “My tribe is the Kartal tribe and last rested at the Oasis of Hamil. I was separated from my family and have been traveling with various tribes until I got here. I am looking for my family; they were supposed to be here weeks ago.”

“The Kartal tribe?” the merchant said seeming to think. “No, I’m afraid I haven’t heard of anyone from there arriving. Keep looking, maybe someone else has heard something.”

Demi nodded and continued on. She and Ippa continued to search the camp, but Demi didn’t see any familiar faces or Pennam. After High Hour prayers they ate at a food stand, goat stew, flat bread, and mangos. They rested through the hottest hours of the day in a common tent.

“We should ask around like that merchant said,” Ippa said and Demi nodded.

Their search continued Demi questioning other merchants and Pinmen. Sol began to sink in the sky and after Burning Hour prayers Demi called a halt.

“We said nothing when we left, your father must be worried by now,” Demi said.

“You’re right,” Ippa said. “We’ll come back tomorrow.”

“No one has seen them,” Demi said as they started to walk back to the Dontamen’s camp.

“There are many people here,” Ippa said.

“But my family would have gotten here months ago,” Demi said.

“Maybe they left,” Ippa said. “We should ask those that have been here since then, maybe they know when they left.”

“My mother was sent here to get answers for the omens,” Demi said shaking her head. “She wouldn’t have left until she learned something.”

“Maybe she did,” Ippa said. “We should ask about the omens as well.”

Demi sighed; she could only feel hopelessly alone. They returned to the Dontamen’s camp and got a scolding for going off alone. That night at dinner they shared a tent with the other Dontamen from the desert. Tales were being told and news shared. At first the talk concerned the rains and when they would come, until Hamid called for attention.

“Friends, we have a visitor from the Pinmen with us,” Hamid said, and everyone turned to him. “She is a lost one and has a long tale to tell. Demi.”

Demi felt her face grow hot as everyone looked at her, but she took her place in the center where the story teller was. She told her tale as best she could, everyone listening with rapt attention. When she finished she bowed and was about to retreat when someone asked a question. Before she knew it, Demi was answering a thousand questions, details of her story she had forgotten. They spent most of the night on Demi’s story, and she was hoarse by the time they finished.

Little did Demi know this was just the beginning. During the next few days she went in search for her family, but still learned nothing from those she spoke to. But word had spread in another way, from the Dontamen her story spread and wherever she went people asked to hear her tale. Soon at every meal time or just after prayers Demi was dragged to one camp or another to tell her story. Not just to the Pinmen, but to all the nomads.

She could see how the tale was popular, it was a modern-day Tales of the Lost, a wanderer facing dangers and guided by the gods. But it seemed more than that. Demi had kept out the ideas she had about what Slad had told her about the origins of the Arc, but she kept Slad in the story. The news of the Phay marching seemed to inspire people, and Demi saw elders and young alike seeming to come alive with the idea.

The news of change was interesting enough, but Demi realized it was more than that. It was the idea that there was something greater out there, that there were spirits other than themselves who were intelligent as well. Beings that as old tales said were great and powerful in the ways of nature and arcane arts. It was news of change and something beyond the ordinary.

Demi went from camp to camp daily on requests to tell her story so much she soon lost the time to continue her hunt. Umat and Ippa went with her everywhere, Demi feeling a bit strange to be escorted like she was someone of import. Her search going astray Demi was ready to give up after ten days.

“You can stay with us,” Ippa said that night as she combed Demi’s hair. Her hair was only shoulder length, but longer than Ippa’s peach fuzz. “I know my father would accept you.”

“Maybe,” Demi said despondently. She knew the way back to the Oasis of Hamil, but without someone to take her she would never reach it. But her tribe would have moved on by now and she had no way of knowing which oasis they moved on to.

“You’ve looked everywhere,” Ippa said.

“No, there is one place we haven’t looked yet,” Demi said realizing she was right.

“Where?” Ippa asked.

“The slave district,” Demi answered and Ippa gasped. “If my family was captured by Pridesmen they would end up in the holy city to be traded, it is where most slaves end up since this is where the market is.”

“Wouldn’t the Pridesmen just keep them?” Ippa asked.

“The Pridesmen sell slaves, they only keep a few,” Demi answered.

“Umat will never let us go to the slave district,” Ippa said.

“That is why I need you to distract him, so I can get away tomorrow,” Demi answered.

“I won’t let you go alone!” Ippa argued.

“I’ve faced Pridesmen, sandstorms, hyena, crocodiles, and even a Phay spirit,” Demi said. “I can face the slave district. They’re my family Ippa not yours.”

“You’re my friend!” Ippa said.

“So I need you to stay behind and send Umat after me if I don’t come back,” Demi said. “I’ll take Vega with me, don’t worry.”

“I will worry,” Ippa said churlishly. Demi smiled sadly and hugged her, grateful for her support. The next day, after pale hour prayers they set out into the city again, Umat walking alongside them with a spear resting against his shoulder. When they reached the Temple of Mercore Demi nodded to Ippa.

“Ouch!” Ippa said, maybe a bit too dramatically, and stumbled.

“Ippa, what’s wrong?” Umat said helping her stand.

“My sandal,” Ippa said hopping around on one foot and drawing Umat’s attention away. Demi slipped off into the crowd silently, Vega still perched on the stick she carried. The crowds were thick around the temple; it was a meeting place of many roads after all. Demi got away quickly, walking fast but not running.

On foot it took her a long time to walk the distance to the slave district. Shortly after High hour prayers she stood at the end of the bridge that led to the slave district. The crowds were just as thick, but many of those coming and going were Chainmen. Pridesmen led groups chained together over the bridge and to the heavily guarded district.

Over the south, on another island, stood the temple of the two demi gods Mavors and Saepit; a grand guard tower where the holy cities knights and warriors lived. The demi gods of war and guardians were the patrons of warriors, and so the guards of the city made home in their temple.

Demi took a deep breath and walked out onto the bridge. The slave district was well guarded with a thick wall, more to prevent the escape of slaves than to guard against attack. Entering the gates Demi balked at the smell of this part of the city. Stripped of the smells of spices and perfume, all that remained was the overall reek of humanity crammed into a small space. The buildings were low like barns, and as Demi walked past a few where the great doors stood open she saw people crammed into the buildings. All were Chainmen.

Looking around at the wash of humanity Demi wondered how she could find her family in all this. She never knew so many people were enslaved and had been born into slavery; wandering for an hour she still couldn’t find her family. She feared asking questions lest she attract attention. Slaves and Pridesmen were not the only ones here. The guards of the city loitered around, armed with fine sabers and bronze mail.

There was also the Lonemen, the wealthy looking to buy their slaves. Some seemed to be servants of the wealthy, prideful and servile at the same time. Demi felt very out of place, none of the other nomads were here.

She noticed something else as well among the slaves, men in burlap cloaks whispering to the other slaves. She recognized them as like the man from Kurone, the rotted man named Jerimiah of Dalton. She was surprised at how many there were, almost every building had one man like them in it. Some were chained, and others huddled in corners begging for alms. They were lepers, people avoiding their bandaged wrapped limbs and putrid odor.

Demi emerged into the market square and stopped in awe. A great stage was set up in the middle of the square and there an auction was going on. Slaves were brought forward, and bids were called out, the overall noise of the crowd deafening. Demi looked at those up for auction but again none were her family. She moved on, Sol growing high in Empyria. Prayers were not held and Demi feared stopping to pray so she gave her prayers while she walked.

The people she passed seemed desolate, without hope, crushed under the weight of their chains. Some still bore their henna telling of their tribes or place of origin, others seemed so drained of individuality they seemed like husks. There were men, women, even children, all bearing the brand of a chain somewhere on their bodies. They wore the poorest of clothes, some even naked except for the manacles that bound them. Her heart was breaking at every empty stare she met.

“Demi!” she whirled at the sound of her name and saw her mother standing at the end of the street. She wasn’t in chains, still wearing her kaftan and feathers in her kufiyah. Demi cried out and ran, Vega giving a squawk and flying off her perch. Hemi ran to meet her, scooping her up in a warm hung. Demi felt tears burn her eyes as she buried her face in her mother’s breasts. For a long time, they just held each other, Demi drinking in her scent of jasmine and pepper. At last they parted, Hemi smiling down at her warmly.

“How did you get here?” Hemi asked.

“That’s a long story,” Demi answered. “Where is everyone else?”

“I sent them back to the oasis,” Hemi said. “We could not stay here long if we remained in numbers.”

“Mother,” Demi said hugging her again. Hemi sighed heavily as she held her, rubbing her back soothingly.

“You aren’t a slave, are you?” Hemi asked worried. “I’ve come here every day looking for you.”

“No, are you?” Demi asked. “How have you lived in the holy city all this time alone?”

“I’m not a slave, come let us leave this horrid place,” Hemi said.

Demi nodded as she took her mother’s hand. Hemi took up the perch and waved to Vega who swopped down to land on the perch. Demi felt such utter relief to know her mother was alright, and eager to tell her tale.

“When I realized we lost you all I could do was send Vega back to you,” Hemi said as they walked. “I am so sorry Demi.”

“You saved me though mother,” Demi answered. “Vega saved me. What happened after we got separated?”

“We traveled on,” Hemi answered. “The Pridesmen grew thicker as we rode north; we had to avoid many hunting parties. We reached Evalon at the end of the month of Vina. After a few weeks of searching I realized it would be best to send our family back, this quest will take a long time. I’ve made my way in the merchant district tending to a wealthy merchant’s pet birds. Every day I came here searching for you, dreading the day I saw you in chains. What of you? When did you arrive? How did you escape the Pridesmen?”

“That is a very long story…” Demi began to say just as they arrived at the market square. She stopped when she saw a man stepping up onto the platform of the slave market. He was one of the rotten men, flies buzzing around him. She wondered what a rotten man was being sold for when one of the guards shouted.

“Get off there scum!” The guard shouted but the man ignored him. He threw off his burlap cloak to reveal his body was covered in sores and peeling off his flesh.

“Brethren!” the man shouted in such a powerful voice Demi saw dust stir. Stillness reached the crowd as all heads turned to the man. “Rise up my brethren in chains. It is time to claim what was stolen, your freedom!”

He raised his arms bound in manacles and an iron chain and tore the bindings like they were rope. Slaves shouted, and chains rattled as men charged at the guards. Demi turned to see the streets filling with slaves rattling their chains. Hemi shouted as she pulled Demi along, Vega taking flight. The crowd erupted in chaos, women screaming and people running. Hemi struck out with the stick Vega had perched on, using it to club her way through the panicked crowd.

Demi gripped her hand suddenly afraid to be separated from her mother again. They pushed their way through the crowd, moving like swimmers through a stormy sea. Someone pushed Demi from the side and she lost hold of her mother’s hand. She heard Hemi shout, but she had to think on keeping her feet or she would be trampled.

Suddenly she was out of the crowd, stumbling into an empty space before the stage. There stood the rotten man, covered in gore from several dead guards around him. He saw her and his eyes flashed with a strange shadow.

“Who are you?” he asked as his eyes narrowed. Demi couldn’t answer as she looked for a means of escape, but the crowd was still thick though fleeing. Several more slaves leapt down from the stage, all strong looking men though they were still bound with their chains. “I said who are you?” the rotten man repeated as he advanced on her.

Vega dived out of the sky like an angel of victory, clawing at the man’s eyes. He shouted angrily, not in pain, and lashed out at Vega. His fist caught the vulture and she fell to the cobblestones in a burst of feathers. Demi felt a moment of fear suffused with anger. She rushed forward and attacked the man with her fists.

He laughed and grabbed her with a grip like iron, pinning her arms to her sides and lifting her up effortlessly. Demi saw his eyes darken with a shadow and felt her body go cold. Her hands and feet went numb as the heat of her body leached out of her. The man grinned opening his mouth as if he intended to eat her. Demi shivered at the black maw that opened, all light seeming to leech away into that darkness.

Then he stopped, his eyes widening. Demi felt something in her stirring in response to this power, this hunger. Not a light or a similar power to it, something so indescribable it could not even compare.

“Divinity,” a voice that was not the man’s but came from him whispered. “You are a new deity.”

Then that darkness fled, not just from her but from the man as well. He dropped her, falling to his knees before her. Demi watched astonished as his skin suddenly healed the boils and rotten flesh healing over as if it never was. His eyes cleared and he looking up at Demi with tears in his eyes.

“Thank you,” he whispered and began to weep. Demi felt compelled to show him some comfort and put her hand on his head.

“What did you do?” Demi turned to see one of the slaves standing over her, his golden eyes wide. He had been a Pridesmen, a failed warrior telling by his shaven head. Demi reached out to him, she didn’t know why, and touched the manacles around his wrists. With a soft click almost like the sigh of a babe going to sleep, the manacles fell from his wrists. The once slave raised his arm, staring at his hand as if he had never seen it before.

Demi heard the rattle of chains and more slaves approached her. Hands touched her gently, not groping or pulling, but soft touches as if they feared she would break. Every hand that touched her, their manacles fell away. Demi didn’t feel any overwhelming power in her doing this, they just touched her, and the locks were free. She didn’t understand what was happening but thought it best to just let it happen.

And then she remembered her mother and Vega. She pushed her way through the crowd and they parted easily from her. She moved to where Vega fell and found the vulture laying on the stones. Her heart in her throat Demi knelt next to the vulture and felt her chest. She felt the soft flutter of her heart and the slight movement of her chest, she lived.

Nearly weeping Demi took off her sash and wrapped it around Vega, lifting her up into her arms. The palm nut vulture was a large bird, her wingspan was nearly as long as Demi was tall and lifting her was no small feat. All the time the slaves did not cease in their soft touches to Demi’s head and back, but she found she could ignore them. She turned then to look for her mother, but the press of slaves around her was too great.

Demi thought then of the platform and knew if she was to spot her mother it would be from there. She hurried through the crowd and they parted to let her pass, Demi feeling them follow after her, their hands tugging at her kaftan like the wind. She got to the platform and climbed the stairs; no one followed her from there. She hurried up to the platform and looked out over the crowd and balked.

The square was full of slaves, many shaking their chains and looking up at her imploringly. She put Vega down gently and stood before them on the stage. They were shouting, chanting and Demi stared in shock.

“Chain Breaker! Chain Breaker! Chain Breaker!”

Chain Breaker, Tí Re Laricar, the man that had set free over a thousand slaves and led them to paradise in the desert; they were calling her Chain Breaker. Demi looked out over the crowd seeing nothing but slaves. If her mother was still in the square Demi couldn’t see her. Movement and shouts at the far end of the square drew her eye and she looked out to the street that led to one of the gates.

A line of soldiers was marching down the street, a captain at the head telling by his bronze helm with a white plume. They would be there in moments and the blood shed would begin. They wouldn’t kill many but they would kill enough to get the crowd in line.

“Beware!” Demi shouted, sure that no one would hear her over the chanting. But the moment she spoke the crowd fell silent, Demi feeling all eyes on her. “Beware,” she said again, putting effort in controlling her voice so it was strong and did not waver. “The soldiers are coming, you must flee.”

“Chain Breaker! Lead us to freedom!” Someone in the crowd shouted. Demi could see women in the crowd now, even some children on the strong shoulders of men. She felt tears well up, fear and compassion for these people.

“The greatest freedom is in life itself!” Demi shouted. “They can never take that from you!”

Then the guards arrived in the square. The captain shouted orders, Demi too far to hear them exactly, and the guards moved out into formation. The crowd shrank back, women crying out and Demi saw the guards draw their sabers.

Someone grabbed her from behind, lifting her from the back of her kaftan. Demi cried out as they held her out over the crowd, and she heard them collectively gasp and moan.

“Deceiver!” the man that held Demi shouted. She turned her head to see he was another rotten man, his eyes mad and empty. “Brethren do not let this liar lead you from your freedom. Take up the chains that shackle you and stand against those who steal your liberty!”

He shook Demi, and she reached up instinctively and grabbed his wrist to hang on. She felt that strange sensation again when she touched his skin and she felt his grip go lax. A woman screamed but Demi managed to grab onto the edge of the stage before she fell. She pulled herself up onto the stage shakily and looked at the man that had held her.

He was staring at her wide eyed, his skin healing of the leprous flesh that afflicted him. Demi looked back at the crowd, seeing them staring up in awe. The guards and their captain were staring as well, mouths hanging open. Demi stood again and raised her hands to hold their attention.

“I call for peace, do not throw your lives away!” Demi called out.

A chain fell with a rattle, and soon thousands joined it. The slaves fell to their knees before her, weeping and crying out. Demi felt glad no blood was spilled, but at the same time she felt a sour taste in her mouth. She felt like she had lied to them; that she had captured them in their prison just as the Pridesmen and other slave traders had done.

“Thank you,” the man said, and Demi looked at him. He was on his knees before her, his forehead on the ground in the lowest groveling pose.

“Please get up,” Demi said heartbroken.

“You freed me, you saved my soul,” the man said but Demi wasn’t sure she had done that at all. A shouted order drew her attention back to the crowd and she saw the guards were moving through the crowd now. Some were going about gathering the slaves again, their sabers sheathed as they tried to guide the weeping people away. They seemed almost shocked as well, glancing over at Demi, but she could not read their expressions from the distance.

The captain however was marching over with five other guards, the crowd parting to let him past. He covered the distance quickly and as Demi turned to gather Vega in her arms again he was already mounting the steps. He marched up on stage and Demi got a good look at him now.

He wore sandals and a cotton kaftan under a coat of bronze mail. Over the mail he wore a breastplate of polished bronze, Sol’s sun emblazoned in the metal. His helm was round and embossed with intricate details, a white plumed feather from an ostrich toping it. He was a handsome man, a Lonemen without henna or marking. His skin was dark like Demi’s but his eyes were blue, telling of foreigner blood in his line.

He marched up to Demi and loomed over her, his cold blue eyes looking down at her seeming to glow from the shadow of his helm. Then he turned away to look at the man that had attacked her, he still knelt prostrate.

“Chain him,” the captain ordered his men and they took the slave and chained him. “Who are you?” He asked the man who let the guards manacle him without complaint.

“Zackary,” the man answered.

“And are you a member of the Legion of Creed?” the captain asked.

“I was,” Zackary answered and looked up at Demi. “Until I was freed.”

The captain looked at Demi frowning and then back at the guards that held Zackary.

“Take him to the temple of Sol, his fire will find the truth from this man,” the captain ordered and the guards nodded as they dragged the man away. Demi held Vega tighter as the captain turned back to her. “Who are you?”

“Demi rah Kartal,” Demi answered in a small voice.

“Are you with the Legion?” the captain asked and she quickly shook her head. “How did you heal that man?”

“I don’t know,” Demi answered. “Please I need to find my mother; she was here when the riots started.”

The captains frown grew deeper and Demi feared he would order her taken to the temple of Sol. He reached out and she flinched away from his hand as he grasped her by the chin and made her look at him. He stared at her and Demi felt her cheeks begin to flush under his regard. At last he let her go, shaking his head.

“I am no holy man,” he muttered. “I am taking you to Euria’s temple.”

“Why?” Demi asked astonished. Euria was the most holy of the gods to the Xinians, they favored the goddess of rain over all the other gods. Her temple was just near the palace where she needed to go. But Demi needed to find her mother first; she could have been hurt from the riots.

“You just performed a miracle before a thousand witnesses,” the captain answered; “Healing a man of leprosy in an instant. Only the Grand Sect can determine if you really are a miracle worker.”

Demi was speechless, staring at him in awe. She hadn’t thought what she had done was a miracle, she wasn’t even sure she had done anything. Yet she knew she could not escape, if she tried this man would put her in chains. At least he wasn’t taking her to Sol’s Temple, where she was sure torture would be used to get the truth from her. Since she herself did not know the truth she hoped the Grand Sect would be able to see answers she could not.

“What is your name?” Demi asked not sure why she did.

“Captain Makar,” he answered. “Captain of the Fifth Battalion.”

Demi shivered, there were twelve battalions that guarded the city; the fifth oversaw the slave district. As a captain Makar commanded a hundred men of the eight hundred that made up the entire battalion. He was only answerable to the General of the Fifth Battalion; Makar was a man of standing then.

“I will personally see to your safety,” Makar said, and Demi looked up at him a little surprised to see he was earnest.

“Very well,” Demi said as she bowed her head to him. “I’m in your care.”

He motioned for her to go first and followed her, Demi feeling his shadow loom over her. Holding Vega close to her chest she walked on to another journey.