《Gods of the mountain》 Prologue There was a small cut on her hand where the side had scraped against the stone windowsill. Saia looked in shock as the tiniest drop of blood surfaced on her brown skin. ¡°It''s nothing,¡± she said out loud while she covered the cut with the other hand. And it was nothing, really. She''d been leaning out of the window in hopes to see her dad''s boat on the glimmering sea of the bay. The village''s clocktower had stricken the third hour, startling her, and the hand had slipped on a portion of the windowsill that hadn''t been properly levigated. She''d barely registered it after all the excitement she''d been feeling since waking up that morning. It didn''t hurt, it had already stopped bleeding. But to the goddess, it didn''t matter. ¡°You have to be more careful, my child.¡± The voice would have been soothing, had it belonged to anyone else. Saia retracted her clasped hands, but the air pried them apart. The cut stung a bit while it closed. ¡°Thank you,¡± Saia said, hoping the goddess¡¯s attention would be captured by something else. ¡°You were lucky I was paying attention, or you could have fallen.¡± Saia glanced at the window: she had been careful to keep both feet on the floor, and she just wasn''t tall enough to lean that far. ¡°A bad fall could ruin your future. What do you want to be when you grow up?¡± Saia remembered her mom''s advice: ¡®be vague¡¯. Obviously she couldn''t explain her why, with the goddess listening to every word, but she didn''t need to. ¡°I don''t know yet.¡± ¡°Well, I need a reader for the thirdday ceremonies. You should start coming to the temple after school, so I can hear you practice.¡± Saia strained not to make a face. ¡°But.. but I thought the reader was Taide¡±. ¡°She needs more time with her family. You''ll find that being a reader requires a lot more effort than it seems.¡± ¡°But I don''t want to be a reader.¡± Maybe it was just her fear, but the air in the room became slightly colder. ¡°Well, you need to do something, child. I¡¯m giving you an option, a very important job, the opportunity to serve me and the whole village to the best of your abilities. It''s very selfish of you to tell me ''no'' without even trying.¡± Saia didn''t know what to say or how to react. She looked down at her hand, now perfect as if she''d never slipped. ¡°It''s not complicated, you''ll just have to read. I''ve heard you in class, you have a nice voice and you¡¯re faster than the other children. You can learn to do even better.¡± Saia stepped back towards the wall, her round eyes open wide. She wanted to run away, past her and her sister''s beds, and go to the pond alone, but her mom had told her to wait for her return. Besides, that wouldn''t have been enough to get rid of the goddess. ¡°I want to be a fisher,¡± she blurted out. ¡°I want to catch sea snakes like my dad.¡± The instant of silence made her regret everything. ¡°You''re too young to make this decision,¡± the goddess said, voice cold in Saia''s ears. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to your parents.¡± Saia waited some more, but the voice didn''t come back. She felt relief, but knew better than releasing it with a sigh. The goddess never truly left. ¡°Saia!¡± she heard her mom''s voice from the window. ¡°I¡¯m coming," she answered. She checked her clothes one last time before leaving the room: the tunic she was wearing was made of two pieces of cloth sewn together, one blue and one orange, with laces joining them at her upper back. There were four laces in place of each sleeve, and even if she had seen the pattern dozens of times on her sister, she wasn''t sure she had managed to weave it correctly around her arms. She guessed not, since the first thing her mom did after hugging her was to fix the laces on her shoulders. ¡°Almost perfect,¡± Lada said, adjusting an orange lace over a blue one. ¡°I just want you to be at your best for the first day. Turn around, please.¡± She checked the laces at the back and nodded approvingly at Saia¡¯s hair, tied in four rows of braids close to her scalp. She closed the front door of the house, took Saia''s hand and started walking towards the northern part of the village. The road became steeper the closer they got to the mountain. Saia looked up at its peak framed by clouds: the sacred texts always talked about its holy nature, of how dangerous it was for humans to leave its protection and even more to climb its flanks. The light reflected on the rocks as if they were sea waves, making it difficult to look at it for too long. Saia blinked away the spots in her vision, focusing on the street. It became a stone staircase at every turn, then a normal street again, when the ascent was gentler. The houses at the sides were large, each built of wood and stones to host multiple generations of the same family. They became more sparse while Saia and her mom approached the junction: to the left, a path cut across a field, climbed a hill of grass, curved towards the very edge of the forest and completed its ascent in front of Vizena¡¯s temple. To the right, a gravel path continued towards the daisies pond. Saia perceived her mom''s gentle grip on her hand become imperceptibly stronger. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I''m bringing her to the pond today. My daughter has completed her training as a secret keeper.¡± Saia realized she was talking to Vizena. She looked back to the cylindrical shape of the temple, with its large windows and giant doors: she could only see a glimpse of the statue inside. She turned around immediately, scared that the goddess could notice her looking. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°She''s never expressed any desire to become a reader," Lada said. "I''ll bring her to you immediately as soon as she does.¡± There were two people standing on the side of the path: Saia recognized her friend Ceila and her father. He was talking to the air just as Lada was, but with less determination in his voice. ¡°A dancer? Sure, if it''s your will¡­¡± He glanced at Ceila, and she glared back. ¡°She''s not much of a dancer, though. Maybe you should look for someone else... Yes, I understand. Yes.¡± He trailed off, shoulders hunched in defeat. Saia greeted Ceila. She waved back, making the line of bracelets on her white arm tinkle gently. She was wearing a green and black tunic, her blonde hair braided around the head. She tugged at her dad''s arm, pointing towards the pond, but he only made two steps forward before stopping, overwhelmed by the conversation with the goddess. Lada greeted them with a nod and a brief smile, still answering the goddess¡¯s questions. She kept going, bringing Saia with her, until Ceila and her dad had disappeared behind a mound of earth. Saia wasn¡¯t sad for long, because now she could see the daisies pond in the distance. It was small, with shallow water that bubbled with frogs and tadpoles in spring. Children in colored tunics were sitting in silent rows on the grass full of flowers. ¡°I know you consider it a stupid tradition, I know that to you it¡¯s just useless talking, but I beg you," Lada said, lowering her voice. "Let Saia come here after school. It''s important.¡± Saia couldn''t guess what the goddess¡¯s answer had been, because Lada leaned forward to kiss her on the head. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in two hours. Don''t worry and do what the other kids do.¡± Saia nodded. She watched her mom leave, then approached the rows of sitting children. She recognized two of her friends from school, but when she got closer, all of the children pointed at the far end of the last row. ¡°Order of arrival,¡± a kid said with an air of superiority that betrayed how he was repeating the words of some adult. Saia found her spot next to a boy she didn¡¯t know, with a pretty braid of black hair and a pink and purple tunic. There were more people on the other side of the pond, half-hidden by tall grass and canes. She could see two old people, each sitting in front of a different child. They seemed to be talking, even if she couldn''t guess about what. After a while, one of the kids in front of the old people stood, immediately imitated by the first of the children who were waiting. They walked along the pond in opposite directions, one towards an old woman, the other back to the waiting children. They all shifted until no empty spot was left in the first row. More children had arrived in the time it took Saia to finally reach that first spot. Ceila was now sitting two rows behind her, so they could only smile and wave at each other. Then, a child on the other side of the pond got up, and Saia realized it was finally her turn. She was too bored to worry at that point, so she ran towards the elder that was waiting for her. ¡°You''re new,¡± he said, greeting her with a smile. Saia nodded. He gestured for her to sit in front of him, and she obeyed. ¡°What do I have to do?¡± she asked. ¡°We will only talk, but I want you to do more than just listen. Pay attention to what''s being said, and what is not being said. Maybe you won''t understand immediately and you''ll have questions. Don''t ask them.¡± ¡°The teacher says to always ask when we don''t understand something.¡± ¡°And you should always do that, but not here. Just speak as you normally would and pay attention. And remember your training as a secret keeper.¡± Every hint of a smile disappeared as he said the last sentence. It only returned after Saia nodded. ¡°Good,¡± he said. ¡°Tell me about your family.¡± Saia relaxed a bit when she realized that the question was very easy. ¡°There is my mom, my dad, my two brothers and my sister. But I have more family that lives in another house.¡± ¡°So you live with five people.¡± He traced a horizontal line with his right index finger on the back of his left wrist. Saia was unsure if he had done that on purpose or he was just scratching his hand, but she couldn''t ask, so she waited. ¡°Tell me about your father. What''s his job?¡± ¡°He''s a fisher. He goes on a boat with my brother and catches sea snakes.¡± Obviously they didn''t only catch sea snakes, but they were the most interesting prey, with their black and red body and long teeth. ¡°A fisher,¡± the elder repeated, raising and lowering his bent index finger. This time, Saia recognized the gesture. Or better, she remembered she had already seen it somewhere, but couldn''t pinpoint exactly where. ¡°And your mother?¡± ¡°She''s a sky watcher. She studies the sky and the stars and always knows when it rains.¡± The elder''s eyes became narrower and he didn''t do any gestures. At first, Saia thought she''d said something wrong, or that he disliked sky watchers for some weird reason. Then she realized he was just trying very intensely to remember something. He shook his head. ¡°We''ll talk about her next time. But it''s a good thing that she always knows when rain comes.¡± And he raised an open hand at his side, always the right one for some reason, then let it fall, as if he had no more energy to keep it raised. This time, Saia was sure she''d already seen that gesture. One morning, after waking up earlier than usual, she¡¯d seen her parents in the kitchen, immersed in a discussion that was more animated than usual. Her dad kept repeating that he had to go, that the goddess wanted to celebrate the midsummer festival with a dinner of fish for the whole community. Every time her mom answered that if it was the goddess¡¯s will, she couldn''t stop him, but she''d be worried sick until he came home. With her right hand, she repeated the same gesture of the elder. She stopped as soon as she saw Saia standing in the doorway. From that day on, Saia had started noticing the weird gestures everywhere: her teacher used them with his colleagues, her grandma while talking to the neighbour, and strangers when they haggled at the market. But as soon as she got closer, they stopped and kept on talking normally. Those gestures were very different from the words of the sign language they studied at school: they were always done so quickly that they could be exchanged for other things, like scratching or trying to catch an insect in mid-air. As if people weren¡¯t actually supposed to see them. She had many questions now, but she pretended it was a task of her secret keeper training, like hiding a pretty blue stone in her pocket for months without showing it to her friends or not telling anyone about the piece of cake that the baker gave to anyone who knocked on his door twice at noon. ¡°Now,¡± the elder said, ¡°give me three blades of grass.¡± He repeated the first gesture he¡¯d made, the index tracing a line across the wrist. Saia tore three blades from the grass she was sitting on and gave them to the elder. He raised them to his eyes, quickly counted under his breath, then let them fall between them. ¡°Thank you,¡± he murmured, but his eyes were serious. ¡°Now I want six of them.¡± And he repeated the gesture. Saia obeyed, but the reaction was the same. Even if he was thanking her, she could sense he wasn''t happy with what she was doing. ¡°Four,¡± he said, gesturing again. This time, Saia took five blades of grass. The elder gave her a large smile. ¡°This is not the right number, child,¡± he said, his tone gentle. Saia wanted to protest, but he seemed happy, so she concluded that he wanted her to give him the wrong amount of grass. She couldn''t understand why he didn''t just ask for five blades of grass. She didn''t like having to guess, just as she didn''t like that her mother had to be polite with the goddess and couldn''t tell her to leave her alone. ¡°I think it''s enough for today,¡± the elder said. ¡°You''ll continue next week, either with me or someone else. If you come here a little earlier, we can talk about your mom''s job before the lesson begins.¡± Saia nodded. She greeted him and returned to the other side of the pond, to wait for her mother with the other kids that had finished their lesson, as the elder had called it. Her mom seemed happy: she gave her a warm hug before they headed home. That night, at the kitchen¡¯s table, Saia saw for the first time her parents and siblings use the quick gestures while they talked. They didn''t use them a lot, just one every few sentences. They all looked happy for no apparent reason, and their happiness seemed to be directed at her, but nobody explained her why. It was as if they''d let her on a big secret, without anyone telling her exactly what it was. She wanted to ask, but she was a secret keeper. So she just observed the gestures, trying to guess their meaning inside her head, and kept the silence. 1.1 - The tremor Saia slipped through the doors of the temple. She tried to close them softly behind her, but a small echo escaped and reverberated inside the room, making heads turn along its passage. Saia ignored them, looking past the crowd absorbed in prayer, towards the tall statue of basalt on the other side of the temple. It depicted a man draped in a golden robe, probably another gift from the tailor. The candles and the evening sun cast deep shadows on his face, highlighting the wide, downturned eyes and the chiselled curls on his head. The prayer ended. A young woman with a green dress and a black braid stepped behind the lectern. She gave the statue an uncertain look, as if asking for permission. The man of basalt lowered his eyes on her and smiled with his lips. The woman smiled back, then grabbed the book on the lectern as if to prevent it from running away and started reading. Saia felt uncomfortable standing at the back of the crowd, so she headed towards the left side of the temple. The walls of gray marble formed a circle, with round half-columns jutting out at regular intervals. She found a spot between two of the benches that were positioned along the perimeter of the room. She leaned against the wall, listening to the ceremony while she looked out through one of the tall windows of the temple: on that side, they overlooked a gentle slope, the village below, and the sea embracing it. On the opposite, they showed the trees on the flank of the mountain. Even if she''d arrived late on purpose to avoid most of the ceremony, it dragged on for at least half an hour more. It ended with a speech from Koidan himself, slowly pacing on the marble pedestal to look at everyone in the crowd while he reminded them to be better people. After the final prayer, most of the assembly started filing out of the temple. Only a few people remained, sitting down on the benches to talk to the god alone. Even if they could get his attention anywhere in the village, the temple had an aura of warmth that made people feel heard and accepted, with the candles on the windowsills and the blue carpet on the stone floor. ¡°Everything alright, old man?¡± Saia whispered. ¡°You sound too complacent for someone that arrived so late.¡± His voice was deep, clear, not old at all. But she liked to make fun of him, especially since everybody else was so serious and formal when talking to him. ¡°Oh, sorry. I''ll offer you some snake skins as a sign of my devotion.¡± He made an exaggeratedly disgusted sound. Saia smiled. ¡°Love the shawl,¡± he said. It was orange, with stylized yellow fish sewn here and there. She¡¯d wrapped it around her forehead to prevent the strands of coily hair from falling on her eyes while she worked. ¡°Thank you. I like your dress too, is it new?¡± The statue raised an arm, showing how large the sleeve was. ¡°A gift from the tailor, for healing his hand.¡± ¡°I know I shouldn''t pry, but¡­¡± ¡°He stabbed it with a pair of scissors. Slammed his hand down on the sofa without realizing they were upright between two pillows.¡± His voice sounded so annoyed Saia had to stifle a laugh. ¡°I wish people were more careful,¡± Koidan continued. ¡°Sometimes it feels like I care for their safety more than they do.¡± He had expressed similar complaints in the past, but his voice had never sounded that bitter. Saia moved away from the wall and looked at the statue, trying to decipher his neutral expression. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± ¡°Yes, don''t worry. I''m just tired.¡± Saia wondered whether gods could actually get tired or it was just his way of avoiding the question. She knew asking would have been useless: she''d asked a lot of questions in the last two years, never getting an answer in return. ¡°What about you?¡± he asked. ¡°You¡¯re fishing tonight?¡± ¡°I¡¯m actually going right now. Just need to bring Lihana her order, first.¡± She tapped the bag hanging diagonally from her shoulder. It contained almost everything she needed for fishing, with the addition of two dead snakes carefully wrapped in multiple layers of paper. ¡°They''re pretty big. I¡¯m sure they''ll become an excellent soup.¡± The statue turned its head towards the opposite window. ¡°More problems. Sorry, we''ll talk next time. Focusing on so many conversations at once makes it difficult to deal with other stuff.¡± Saia nodded. She took an instant to appreciate the calming atmosphere of the temple before abandoning it for the warm spring evening outside. The sunset was slowly approaching, and with it dinner time. She went down the road that connected the temple to the village, leaving behind the dark shape of the mountain. The clang of kitchenware from open windows accompanied her walk to Lihana¡¯s house. The shutters, usually open wide during the day, were sealed in the evening. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. She knocked. Lihana opened the door an instant later. A smile unfolded on her round face. ¡°Saia, hi!¡± Saia greeted her and extracted the wrapped sea snakes from her bag. Lihana took them carefully, as if they were still alive. The back of her hands was dotted with clusters of tiny red, black and occasionally white scales. There were more on her temples, on the bridge of her small nose, and at the base of the neck. ¡°How much do I owe you?¡± ¡°Five, this time.¡± Saia heard voices and clang of kitchenware. ¡°You can pay tomorrow, if you''re busy.¡± ¡±No, it¡¯s fine. Give me a second, I need to put these down.¡± She disappeared into the complete darkness inside the house. Saia waited, looking around the empty street, until Lihana emerged again. Her usually blue eyes glistened of a golden tint in the dark. ¡°Here,¡± she said, piling five coins on Saia''s open hand. ¡°Were you at the ceremony today? The singer of the first prayer was incredible." Saia nodded, mentally cursing for being late the only day when the ceremony was interesting. She let Lihana return to her dinner and walked home, towards the outskirts of the village. The houses of the area were all small and fairly recent compared to the rest. Her own was little more than a cube of red-tinted wood with two windows on the front. The line of white stones that divided Koidan''s territory from the rest of the mountain stopped against one wall and continued from the opposite one, dividing her house in two. She grabbed the handle of the metal bucket hung next to the door and headed towards the beach on the east side of the village. The sea was calm, reflected light danced on the water. A family of two dads and two kids was sitting on a rough blanket on the sand, admiring the sunset while they ate. Saia greeted them with a nod and walked on, towards the line of white stones that cut the beach in two. A sign was planted there, showing a stylized eye with a yellow line across it. ¡°Look,¡± yelled one of the kids. ¡°She''s crossing the line. Why she can and I can''t?¡± Saia turned her head to see one of the little boys pointing at her. ¡°Because it''s dangerous,¡± said one of the men, giving Saia an apologetic smile. ¡°If you hurt yourself or the cloud people take you, Koidan can''t save you there.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Saia was already too far to hear the answer. It wouldn''t have been a good one anyway: nobody knew why the god''s protection stopped at the line of white stones, or why there were some empty spaces between the territory of one god and the village of another. She had asked Koidan, of course, but he hadn''t revealed anything. She approached the cave at the end of the beach. The entrance opened on the outside of a huge rock, half as tall as the clock''s tower and several houses large. It was probably part of the mountain once, but now the beach surrounded it on all sides, except from behind, where the forest started. Only a thin strip of sand divided it from the sea. The inside was almost completely dark. Saia opened the bag as she entered and took out a pair of leather gloves, a box of matches and a stick torch. She put on the gloves and lighted the torch. The fire created glimmers on the little pools of water near the entrance, barely reaching the bigger ones, deeper into the cave. Most of them were connected to the sea through underground tunnels created by the passage of water. Sea snakes travelled through these tunnels to access the pools, where they could mate and eat the little fish that lived between the red and green algae at the bottom. Saia walked on the thin layer of sand that covered the stone floor, watching her steps carefully: even if her leather boots were enough to protect her from snake bites, she didn''t want to fall into a pool by mistake. She reached one of the biggest ones and kneeled, keeping the torch above the water. She took a string from the bag with her free hand. A piece of dried meat dangled from the opposite side. She lowered it onto the water until it was barely touching the top of the algae. She pinned the string down with a knee, freeing her hand so that she could snatch a snake as soon as it appeared. The cave was almost silent, except for the splashing of water in the pools and the distant crash of the waves on the rocks. It used to terrify her, back when she still lived there. Now she found it soothing and familiar. It reminded her of the boat, of the days spent at sea with her siblings, of the fish they managed to catch. She never liked fish, their dumb eyes and the slimy texture of their bodies, their smell. Sea snakes, on the contrary, had always fascinated her. Her father was the only one in her family who knew how to catch them without getting bitten, hands bare, without fear. She missed him so much. A snake''s head peered through the algae. Saia held her breath and remained still as it swam towards the bait. She slowly lowered her free hand and stopped it a bit over the water¡¯s surface, eyes fixed on the black and red scales. Small waves broke the calm surface of the pool. The floor below Saia quivered, then trembled. She lost her balance and tipped forward, towards the water. She let the torch fall onto the sand and slammed both hands down, gripping the pool''s edge. She managed to stop, her face close to the surface of the pool. Remembering the snakes'' tendency to bite everything that moved, she pushed herself back, away from the water. She stayed there for a moment, breathing fast, suddenly aware of the stone ceiling above her. She grabbed torch and string and hurried out of the cave. She stood outside, some steps away from the entrance, waiting for her heart to stop pounding. She looked back towards the village, wondering whether the tremor had reached the houses. The family on the beach was frantically putting away the food, both of the children crying. She walked towards them, anxious to cross the line of white stones and be back under Koidan¡¯s protection. She''d never experienced anything like that. The sacred texts mentioned the earth trembling, cracking, spilling fire, but she always thought those were metaphors or exaggerations. For the first time in her life, she wished she''d paid more attention during the ceremonies. ¡°Did you feel that?¡± one of the dads asked her, trying to comfort the youngest kid. Saia nodded. Her legs were trembling, so she stopped next to the family. They stood, waiting, shooting worried glances at the mountain and Koidan¡¯s temple. ¡°What happened?¡± she whispered, hoping he was listening. His voice boomed in her ears, startling her. ¡°Stay inside your houses,¡± he said. ¡°You don''t have anything to fear. Pray, rest, don''t come to the temple.¡± One of the fathers nodded. ¡°You''ve heard the god,¡± he said, taking the eldest kid¡¯s hand. ¡°Let''s go home.¡± The family walked towards the village. Saia stood alone for an instant, still bewildered, then followed them at a much slower pace. ¡°Saia,¡± she heard again, the voice lower and gentler. ¡°Come to the temple tomorrow morning at dawn. I need to talk to you.¡± She looked at the family in front of her: the parents were talking to each other and the children weren¡¯t crying anymore. It looked like she''d been the only one to receive that message. ¡°You¡¯ll have to answer a lot of questions, this time.¡± ¡°I will,¡± he said. ¡°But don¡¯t be late.¡± 1.2 - At the temple "Saia?" "I know, I know," she murmured, face buried in the pillow. "I''m up." She sat up with a groan. Barely any light entered from the two windows at the sides of the door. She looked past the table at the center of the room, towards the tank of seawater under one of the windows. Two sea snakes were resting on the mound of earth at the center of the tank. "I thought you got up early to fish,¡± Koidan said. Saia yawned. ¡°Only if I didn¡¯t go fishing the night before.¡± ¡°Oh. Sorry.¡± ¡°See you at the temple.¡± The only room of the house was cut in half by a white line painted on the floor. She crossed it to take her bag from a chair, then again to feed the snakes in the tank with dried meat. She knew it wasn''t good for them, but she didn''t have time to buy fresh seafood. She left the house, ignoring her rumbling stomach, and started her ascent towards the temple. The doors opened while she approached, just enough to let her through. Inside, the candles were all flickering. The sun had just begun to rise, after all. She was alone with the giant statue of Koidan. Her heart beat faster as the memories tried to resurface, but she pushed them down with a resolute step forward. ¡°So much secrecy,¡± she commented, letting the doors close behind her. ¡°Stay near the window, please,¡± Koidan said. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when to get closer.¡± Saia quickly changed direction and stood next to the window on the right, the one that faced the mountain. ¡°Thank you. I know it''s a weird request, but the situation is quite dire.¡± ¡°Are you referring to the tremor or something else?¡± ¡°Something else, but it¡¯s related. I need your help to fix a problem. It''ll be complicated and it¡¯ll take up a bit of your time. In exchange, I''ll answer your questions.¡± Saia raised her eyebrows. ¡°Even about the gods?¡± ¡°Especially about them. I''ll go as far as saying that you''ll learn everything you need to know just by helping me.¡± ¡°Why? What do I have to do?¡± He kept the silence for an instant. ¡°There isn''t an easy way to say this, but... I''m dying.¡± Saia narrowed her eyes in confusion. ¡°You what?¡± ¡°Every deity has a limited amount of energy. We use it to do everything: talk to people, heal them, move things around, even just existing. Once the energy is finished, we die.¡± ¡°So... so you''re been around for thousands of years, and your energy is finishing right now?¡± ¡°Yes. Well, no. It''s a bit more complicated than that, but you got the main idea.¡± ¡°That''s why the earth trembled? Because you''re dying?¡± ¡°The less energy I have, the more difficult it is to handle multiple things at once. I have to constantly be on the lookout for dangers, answer to people¡¯s prayers, and put my part of the effort into keeping the mountain from crumbling.¡± He paced on his pedestal, a habit he displayed often during speeches. ¡°Yesterday I was already taking care of three separate problems at once, when some cloud raiders decided to attack. I fended them off, but that meant letting go of the task I was paying less attention to: keeping the mountain whole.¡± Saia crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. ¡°It was the mountain, then? Does it happen often?" ¡°Oh, you have no idea. The only reason the mountain hasn''t fallen to pieces on our heads is because us deities are constantly using our energies to keep it together. It¡¯s not as stable as it looks.¡± Saia glanced at the portion of the mountain she could see through the window. ¡°So if you die¡­¡± ¡°The mountain will start to tremble just like yesterday.¡± ¡°We need to tell everyone, then,¡± Saia said, stepping forward. ¡°And keep the boats ready to leave." ¡°It won''t be necessary: the monks will replace me before we get to that point. And if you''ll help me, we won''t have to worry about that for at least five years.¡± ¡°Wait, stop. The monks?¡± She pondered the word for a second. She was pretty sure she¡¯d never heard it before. ¡°They... First of all, monks are people who live and pray together. They live on the mountain and observe us deities. As soon as they realize that one of us is dying, they replace them.¡± ¡°They live on the mountain?¡± ¡°Yes. They¡¯re well hidden.¡± Saia wanted to know more about that, but there were more pressing questions. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®replace¡¯? With another god?¡± ¡°Sort of, yes. My goal right now is to preserve my energies. This way, they won''t find out about me and I''ll survive a bit longer. And this is where you come in.¡± Saia straightened her back. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± ¡°Deactivate me.¡± ¡°What? That sounds like the opposite of what we''re trying to do.¡± ¡°The monks took measures to stop us gods in case we started abusing our powers or decided to rebel against them. Best I can describe it, they force us to fall asleep.¡± ¡°And wouldn''t that make the mountain tremble?¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°No. We''re conditioned to always use some energy for that, even when we''re asleep. It''s like breathing: you do it in your sleep and during the day, you can alter it consciously when you''re awake¡­¡± "And you might stop breathing for a second if you''re too overwhelmed. That¡¯s what happened, right?¡± The statue nodded. ¡°Being aware of my surroundings and of what¡¯s happening in the village requires a bit of energy that I would preserve if you deactivated me. We could decide together when I should be active or asleep, so that I can still take care of the village.¡± Saia nodded, lowering her eyes on the blue carpet in the center of the temple. ¡°Will you help me?¡± Koidan asked. ¡°Why are you asking me? Most people here would do anything for you without even questioning it.¡± Koidan stopped pacing and looked up at the ceiling, as if considering her question. ¡°I see them more as children I have to protect. I was there when each of them was born. They trust me completely, as if I couldn''t make mistakes.¡± ¡°So it''s just because I was born in another village? I''m not the only one here.¡± ¡°I know, but the others have the same blind trust towards me. Everyone is overly respectful, because they fear my anger. You treat me more like a person. You know how to survive on your own outside the village, you don''t call my name every time you have to fix something. You''re the closest thing to a friend I have here.¡± Saia couldn''t help but smile at that. ¡°You''re getting sentimental, old man.¡± ¡°So what do you think of my offer?¡± Saia untangled her arms and joined the hands behind her back, leaning against the wall. ¡°I consider you a sort of friend, too. Which is a weird thing to say of a god, but here I am.¡± ¡°Is that a yes?¡± ¡°I''ll do my best to help you. Having more information about the gods would be nice too, I guess.¡± ¡°Weird,¡± Koidan said. ¡°You were more determined about getting answers, in the past. You asked me something about gods and our powers every week after the ceremony. I couldn''t help but notice that you stopped in the last year or so.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Some things changed for me too.¡± Koidan was quiet, a question implicit in his silence. Saia traced with a finger the rough texture of the wall. It would have been nice to tell the truth to someone, after more than two years. But she couldn¡¯t reveal any details until she knew more about Koidan¡¯s relationship with the other gods. ¡°When I first got here, I wanted to fix a... mistake?¡± She pondered the word for a moment. ¡°It''s an understatement for what I did, but let''s go with that.¡± ¡°And now you don''t want to fix it anymore?¡± ¡°Now I''m resigned to the idea that it might not be possible. And I have a new life here. As much as I''d like to have my old one back, I don''t really need it.¡± The statue nodded. ¡°So,¡± Saia said, desperate not to dwell on her past, ¡°how do I deactivate you?¡± The statue gently turned towards her. ¡°This body is only a small part of me. I need to show you what''s inside, but the monks don''t want us to reveal who we are. They''re observing us, right now.¡± Saia looked sideways at the mountain behind the window. ¡°They''re hidden,¡± Koidan said. ¡°There''s another village up there. They''re very careful about keeping their secrets.¡± He leaned forward a bit. ¡°I imagine they''re wondering which deity caused the mountain to tremble. They probably saw you entering the temple. I want them to think that you''re distressed and came here to look for reassurance. So come forward slowly, lower your head, pretend to be sad and scared.¡± He extended one arm towards her, inviting her to approach. Saia stepped forward, doing her best to follow his instructions despite her heart sprinting at the idea of being observed. Once she was close enough to the statue, Koidan knelt with a knee on the pedestal and delicately lowered a hand on her shoulder. It was at least three times bigger than her head and made of very solid basalt. He just needed to apply a bit of pressure to crush her whole body. ¡°Open your bag.¡± Saia slid the bag to the front of her body and opened it. She wondered what the monks would have thought of that gesture, then realized they couldn''t see it: the sleeve of Koidan¡¯s golden dress was long enough to shield her, shoulders to knees, from any glance cast through the window. Koidan¡¯s chest started glowing with a golden light. He undid the first two buttons of the robe and pulled it down a bit, allowing Saia to see the cavity that was opening at the center of his chest. A blinding light came from within, forcing her to lower her eyes. ¡°Usually they could see this,¡± Koidan said, ¡°but with this light, at dawn, it''s a bit more subdued.¡± Saia felt something fall inside her bag. ¡°Close it.¡± She obeyed, trapping the golden light inside. The round cavity was now empty and rapidly closing. She let the bag fall casually at her side while Koidan stood again, his hand leaving her shoulder. ¡°Nod, then sit on the bench next to the door. I''ll explain what to do.¡± Saia obeyed. If she kept her back against the wall, they couldn''t see her from the window. ¡°You can look at it. Just be careful.¡± Saia opened a bit the flap that closed her bag. Anything more and the golden light would have blinded her. ¡°This is my real appearance,¡± Koidan said. ¡°The light? Because if there''s something else, I can''t see it.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± The light dimmed. There was a sphere of glass inside her bag, filled with a floating liquid, golden and bright. ¡°So this is you?¡± ¡°Yes. I''m the energy inside the sphere.¡± ¡°It doesn''t look like it''s fading.¡± ¡°Trust me, it is. You can pick it up if you want.¡± Saia touched the sphere with the tip of her index, expecting it to be hot. It wasn''t, so she balanced it in her palm. The light inside was slowly rotating. ¡°Well?¡± Koidan said. ¡°You''re silent.¡± ¡°It''s a lot to take in. Are the statues in the other villages like you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°So they''re losing their powers too.¡± ¡°I don''t know for sure. We don''t really contact each other, unless there''s some serious emergency going on. But I don''t think they are. Not all of them, at least. We were created at different times, some territories are bigger, in others there''s a lot more to manage. We don''t expend the same amounts of energy.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°You have this kind of energy in your body too, even if it''s not visible. Every living creature produces it, albeit in modest quantity. You can use it to make me sleep.¡± ¡°I didn''t know about any of that." ¡°The monks kept that a secret too. Now I''ll make you feel a specific sensation. Try to remember it as best as you can.¡± Saia felt as if she''d jumped in a pool of water, not as cold as the ones in the cave, not as warm as she''d like it to be. She could feel waves against her skin, inside her body, as if she was part of the water too. ¡°This is your energy. You can calm it down with your breath.¡± Saia breathed deeply. After a while the waves became slower and wider. ¡°Now push this feeling forward, towards me.¡± ¡°I don''t know what it means.¡± ¡°Try to make the waves flow from your body, to your hands, to me. It helps if you visualize it as a push.¡± Saia tried. ¡°Push with your mind, not your fingers.¡± She eased her grip. After what felt like one whole minute of visualization, she opened her eyes. ¡°I can''t.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, we''ll practice.¡± She glanced at the statue. ¡°Do I have to put you back?¡± ¡°No, that would be too risky. I was thinking... I know your privacy is very important to you, but you could keep me somewhere in your house. Once you''ve learned how to use this technique, I¡¯ll be asleep most of the time.¡± Saia retracted her hand, leaving the sphere inside the bag. ¡°It makes sense. There''s just one thing I don''t understand.¡± ¡°Just one? I''m lucky. This would be confusing for anyone.¡± ¡°What if you were evil and the monks wanted to stop you? You wouldn''t let them come close enough to touch the sphere and make you sleep.¡± ¡°This magic can be done from a distance. You just need to touch something that comes from the body of whoever you want to put to sleep. It works best if the creature is small and you''re using a tough material, like teeth or bones. Or glass, in my case.¡± ¡°Wait, creature? You mean it can be used on people too?¡± ¡°Yes, if the person who uses the magic is experienced enough. But it takes years to get to that point. It''s actually easier to put to sleep something like me than a living creature.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I genuinely don''t know.¡± Saia thought about his words. ¡°It still doesn¡¯t make sense. I can''t touch you against your will, so I can''t take a piece of glass from the sphere. Breaking you with a hammer would be more effective.¡± ¡°They already have a shard from each of us. If you look closely you can see the point where they removed it.¡± ¡°If I look any closer, I''ll burn my eyes,¡± Saia said, but examined the surface of the sphere anyway. A small portion of glass was missing, thin like a nail. She closed the bag. ¡°Good to know. Anything else?¡± ¡°Keep everything secret, obviously. Hide me well, don''t show me to anyone. We''ll discuss the details together, but you should absolutely wake me up if you hear of any problems or if you see suspicious clouds in the sky. Oh, and if you catch word of a foreigner walking around and asking questions, bring me back here immediately.¡± Saia nodded, rubbing a hand on her eyes. It was a lot to remember. At least, she reflected while returning home with a god in her bag, now she knew that deities weren''t as powerful as they seemed. If it was true for Koidan, it had to be true for Vizena too. She felt her anger stir, as hot as two years before. Maybe she couldn''t fix her mistakes, but she could get revenge. She didn''t know how to reach it yet, but it was possible, and for the moment that was all she needed to know. 1.3 - Dans first lesson A glimmer of light from the outside reflected on the pool¡¯s water. Saia blinked and lowered the arm that was holding the torch, stretching her back. She looked at the bucket next to her: it contained the two snakes she¡¯d caught, heads bound in pieces of cloth and dangling from the border, their bodies immersed in seawater. ¡°Saia?¡± a young voice called her from outside. She stood, wiping away the sand from her blue gown. ¡°You shouldn''t come this far,¡± she answered, wrapping a gloved hand around the bucket''s handle. ¡°You could step on a snake.¡± She approached the entrance of the cave. Dan was leaning forward to look inside without stepping on the stone floor. ¡°See? I didn''t enter.¡± Saia raised her eyebrows. Dan ignored her, looking inside the bucket she was holding. ¡°Two? How are you calling them?¡± ¡°I don''t give them names.¡± ¡°You should, though.¡± He held out a hand and Saia gave him the bucket to carry. He had grown a lot in the last months, and if his brother''s height was of any indication, he''d grow some more before the end of the year. Even if he still looked like a kid, with the freckles covering his cheeks, partially hidden by his tan. They walked towards the village, following the gentle curve of the beach. Saia noticed that Dan was shivering in the cold breeze that came from the sea, hunched over as if he could keep the warmth inside just by folding on himself, his blonde hair ruffled. ¡°Do you have a coat at home?¡± she asked. Dan shrugged, splashing some water from the bucket onto his leg. One of the snakes was sliding down, so he nudged it back with his bare hand. ¡°Careful,¡± Saia warned. ¡°They''re still dangerous.¡± ¡°But you catch them with your hands all the time.¡± ¡°Because I''ve practiced, and I always use my gloves.¡± She opened and closed her hands to show him. He nodded and looked down at the snakes again. ¡°Can you teach me?¡± he asked. They crossed the line of white stones before Saia was ready to answer. ¡°Is it something you actually want or you just had the idea right now?¡± He shrugged again. ¡°I like animals. I already know how to handle sheep and cows. Maybe if I learn how to catch sea snakes, I could sell their meat and stop going around asking for jobs.¡± Saia smiled. ¡°So you want to become my rival?¡± He smirked back, then returned serious. ¡°I want to be your apprentice. If you need one, I mean.¡± Saia stopped and gently grabbed his shoulder. ¡°Handling sea snakes is one thing, every fisher here knows how to do that when they find one in their nets. But I work in the cave.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°It''s dangerous. If they bite you¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± he repeated a bit louder, then produced a small, apologetic smile. ¡°I remember. It''s fine if you don''t want to, I have a job anyway.¡± Saia let him go and resumed walking. The idea of having an apprentice reminded her of the days spent on the boat with her dad. ¡°But your boss still doesn''t pay you enough, right?¡± she asked. Dan sighed. ¡°Yeah, same old story. I don¡¯t know how to make cheese, so if I ask for more he¡¯ll just find another assistant to handle his sheep.¡± They entered the village and followed the streets until they were in front of Saia''s house. She looked for the keys in her bag. ¡°And your brother? Has he sold some carpets, recently?¡± Dan hesitated. ¡°No. But I don''t mind it, really. The sheep are nice.¡± Saia refrained from commenting. She opened the door and glanced back at him. ¡°I have to feed the snakes. Do you want to help me?¡± Dan¡¯s eyes became wider. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Only if you promise to be careful and listen." He nodded vigorously. ¡°Promised!¡± ¡°Alright, then. Give me a second.¡± She took the bucket from Dan''s hands and entered, leaving him outside. She untied the snakes one by one and tossed them inside the tank, then crossed the room towards the only armchair, where she''d left the woolen blanket that was wrapped around Koidan. She glanced at the door to make sure Dan wasn''t watching before checking inside the blanket: Koidan was still there, asleep. His light was a shining blue floating inside the sphere, rotating so slowly it didn''t seem to move. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She put sphere and cloth inside her bag and called Dan. ¡°Here, put on the gloves,¡± she said, taking them off. They were a bit too large for his hands, which meant extra protection for the wrists. ¡°And here is the dried meat. You have to make sure they all eat at least one piece.¡± Dan examined them. ¡°Dried meat? I thought they ate fresh fish.¡± ¡°Only when I go to the market.¡± She didn''t have the heart to tell him it didn''t matter, since she¡¯d have sold them soon. ¡°Take a piece of meat and raise your arm high above the water. Like that, exactly, but keep both feet on the ground. And don''t stand on your toes!¡± The snakes were all swimming near the bottom of the tank, agitated by the movement outside. ¡°Can I let go now?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Yes. Try to remember which snake catches it.¡± He made a pained face. ¡°How do I distinguish them?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll learn by habit.¡± ¡°It would be easier if you gave them names.¡± He let go of the meat. As soon as the food touched the water, the snakes started a fight near the surface, teeth bare and tails lashing out. Dan laughed, putting a hand in front of his face to shield it from the splashes. Saia smiled and slightly bent forward to see which snake had caught the jerky. She pointed at it. ¡°Feed the others, now.¡± Dan did his best, but the same snake caught two more pieces of the food destined to the others. ¡°I can''t do it,¡± Dan said. Saia moved her fingers near the surface to catch the animal''s attention. It jumped, and she stepped aside, grabbing its head and forcing its mouth close. Dan jumped and clapped, the sound muffled by the gloves. ¡°Thank you,¡± Saia said with a half bow, snake dangling from her hand. ¡°Keep feeding them.¡± ¡°And that one?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll spill some venom. The herbalist needs two vials this week.¡± She stood in front of the table at the center of the room and grabbed an empty beaker. She eased her grip on the snake''s head until it could snap forward and bite the glass. The venom spilled down from its fangs in two transparent trickles. ¡°That''s so cool,¡± Dan said. Saia smiled and turned towards him so that he could see better. She held her breath when he saw the piece of dried meat he was dangling too close to the water, without paying attention. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± she began, but one of the snakes jumped out of the water before she could finish. Dan screamed and grabbed its body. The snake turned its head to face the arm that was holding it and bit the skin between glove and sleeve. Saia put down the becker and yanked the snake away from Dan. Holding both of the animals by the head, she tossed them back into the tank and turned to examine the bite. Two drops of blood hid the holes in Dan''s arm. He was breathing quickly, hands trembling. ¡°It bit me!¡± he said, as if he couldn''t believe it had actually happened. ¡°They tend to attack everything that moves. You always need to look at them, and never grab their body. Only the head.¡± She let go of his arm and approached the shelf next to the armchair, full of books and bottles with herbs. She pretended to look for something with a hand, while the other searched inside her bag. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Dan asked. ¡°Looking for something to slow down the venom until Koidan can take care of you.¡± Her hand found the cloth and started to unwrap it. ¡°He''s taking an awfully long time to heal me, uh?¡± ¡°Maybe he wants to teach you a lesson.¡± ¡°A lesson? Like ¡®always catch a snake from the head¡¯?¡± ¡°Also that. But mainly that you should be careful and not rely on his help, especially if you''re going to fish outside of his territory.¡± She finally touched the cold glass of the sphere. ¡°But yeah, if you learn how to grab a snake the right way you''re going to do just fine.¡± She tried to recall the sea of calmness, panicked when the sensations didn''t feel right. She breathed slowly, reminding herself of all the progress she had made in the past week. She pushed her energies forward and glanced down: the light had turned golden. ¡°Good morning,¡± she heard in her ear. ¡°I didn''t expect to wake up so soon.¡± Saia nodded in Dan''s direction. She hoped he understood the problem without having to explain what happened. ¡°Look!¡± Dan yelled. ¡°It''s disappearing.¡± He slid his fingers on the intact skin of his arm. Saia wondered how many days Koidan had just lost. ¡°Thank you,¡± she murmured, then touched the sphere again. The light became blue. She stared at it for an instant, then retracted her hand and let the bag fall at her side. ¡°Look, I''m fine!¡± Dan said, stepping forward. ¡°I can keep feeding them.¡± ¡°Absolutely not. I can''t let you do that until you know how to handle them." ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°We begin this fifthday. Come here at dawn.¡± Dan smiled. Saia fished three vissins from the pockets of her gown. Dan''s eyes went wide when he saw the metallic shine of the coins. ¡°For carrying the bucket. Keep them for yourself, don''t tell your brother." Dan took them carefully. ¡°See you on fifthday, then.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Saia opened the door. ¡°And tell Mor¨¬c I say hi.¡± After he was gone, Saia sighed and surveyed the room: there was a lot of water on the floor and the white line was a bit smudged. Not that the borders mattered, since Koidan lived in her house now; her room had become the center of his territory. She crossed the room and sat down on the armchair, holding the open bag on her legs. She touched the sphere. ¡°Did they bite him again?¡± Koidan asked. ¡°No, I just wanted to talk to you. About Dan, actually.¡± ¡°Something¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Could you find a way to give him some money? I don''t like that he has to go door by door to ask for work, on top of his job as a shepherd. People could treat him badly, and you''re not even there to protect him.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Because you''re not able to, or because you don''t want to?¡± ¡°I already gave him and Morin a house. I make sure they have enough food every time I''m awake. He wouldn''t need more money, if his brother didn''t waste every extra coin they have for his carpets.¡± ¡°I could tell Dan to keep them a secret.¡± ¡°It''s not just that. There are only two ways I could find money for him: either I extract the metals directly from the earth and shape them into coins, wasting energy for an amount that would last less than two weeks, or I rob someone. Which is exactly what the sentinels in the mountain are looking out for.¡± ¡°Not if you do it at night. I bet Orver wouldn''t even find out,¡± she added, thinking about the merchant. ¡°Saia, I won''t steal anything from anyone. Not even the richest person in the world, not using my powers, not with the responsibilities that come with my role.¡± Saia laid back on the armchair. ¡°You could ask for donations, then. We could use them to help Dan and whoever else needs it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m forbidden to ask for money. Plus, I¡¯m already helping people by making food more accessible, whenever possible. I can''t do anything more, especially now that I''m asleep most of the time.¡± The light became so bright Saia had to avert her eyes. ¡°Right now,¡± Koidan continued, ¡°there are twenty people in front of the temple. I bet about three of them are there to thank me, the rest wants to ask for my help. And I get it, it''s my job. But I''m literally dying just to listen to them. So I''ve decided my life is the priority, right now. If you really want to do something about Dan or the whoever elses you were talking about, do it yourself.¡± The light faded into a glimmer. ¡°I¡¯m sorry that you''re going through this, but it''s not Dan''s fault. He''s a kid, and he needs your help.¡± ¡°Let me sleep. Please.¡± Saia sighed in disapproval, but obeyed. Her ears were ringing a bit after that discussion. She''d always thought that gods could talk directly into people''s mind, but Koidan had explained to her that they just created voice-shaped vibrations inside their skull or the air around them. They didn''t actually have access to anyone''s thoughts, even if it was useful to have people think it worked that way. She couldn''t even begin to put into words the amount of relief that revelation had given her. A glance outside told her that the morning was half gone, and she still had venom to spill. She put on the gloves and set to work. 1.4 - Fire Saia stopped in front of the herbalist¡¯s shop and rested a bit. Most days, she could walk up there without breaking a sweat, even if it was one of the last buildings on the road before the path that led to the temple. This time, she was tired from carrying her heavy bag, filled with two vials of venom and three snakes she had to deliver to Lihana¡¯s house. She put down the bucket she was holding to wipe away the sweat from her hand: it was empty, but she planned to fill it with seafood for the snakes later at the market. Inside, Nikem was serving a customer. Saia nodded at him and stood back, pretending not to listen as the woman described her issues when eating certain foods. Nothing serious clearly, or Koidan would have already healed her. Nikem gave the patient a mixture of herbs to boil in water and a stone to put on her belly while she slept. Saia recognized its pink color: her grandma used to keep one of those in her hands every time she wasn''t tending to her flowers, cooking or playing cards with her friends. When she saw that Saia or one of her siblings was sad or upset, she told them to keep it in their palms. Just holding it for some seconds could make her feel better. Saia wondered whether it followed the same principle she used to put Koidan to sleep. The customer paid and left. Saia stepped back to avoid the opening door in the narrow space of the shop, then approached the herbalist. ¡°Hi,¡± Nikem greeted her with a big smile. ¡°How are the snakes today?¡± ¡°Nervous as always. Guess they''re not fans of this whole fishing thing." She opened her bag to look for the vials. She¡¯d left Koidan home, both for a lack of space and for fear that the blue light would have been visible when she opened the bag. At that moment, the mighty god of the village was hidden in a woolen blanket under her bed, asleep. Nikem carefully took a vial, holding it against the light that came through the window. ¡°Transparent with a hint of yellow. Extremely healthy, as usual.¡± He rummaged through the bag of coins at his side and took out six vissins. Saia was about to take them, when a scream made her freeze. ¡°Fire! There¡¯s a fire!¡± She looked at Nikem: for a second, they had the same alarmed expression. Then, he relaxed and gently put the money on the palm of her reaching hand. ¡°A lot of scary things happening these days, uh?¡± He put the vial of venom on an empty stand on the shelf behind him. ¡°And Koidan is slower than usual at solving them.¡± Saia produced a stiff smile. ¡°Yeah. Right.¡± She left and immediately looked for the column of smoke that would have betrayed Koidan¡¯s state to the monks. The sky was still clear, but a small crowd was gathering at the post office¡¯s square down the street. She needed to go back and wake up Koidan before the fire could spread, but it would take her a while to reach her house and nobody was trying to stop the flames. She had to tell them to do something, throw some water around, call for help, or the monks would have seen the fire and known that Koidan wasn''t protecting the village anymore. She ran towards the crowd, bucket clanging at her side. She immediately recognized the teacher, his wife and their two kids, all of them with curly white hair that was immediately recognizable in the mostly dark-haired crowd. They were the closest to the door, watching a window on the first floor: a trail of smoke was coming out of the cracks around the wooden frame, while only the tips of the flames were visible through the darkened glass. Saia slowed down as she approached the crowd. ¡°What happened?¡± she asked to no one in particular. The old woman who sold fabrics at the market turned to look at her. ¡°I heard it was a candle.¡± Saia thanked her. She made her way towards the house and the family in front of it. One of the kids was crying, his mother gently stroking his head. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± she murmured. ¡°Everything will be fine.¡± Her husband was talking with a neighbor about the incident, stopping every few words to look at the house or yell to his other kid to stop tugging at his hand. Saia looked at the rest of the crowd: some of them were chatting in a low voice, others stared at the flames with their hands clasped behind their backs. As if they were in a temple, looking at their god''s statue, waiting for it to talk. Saia stepped into the empty half-circle in front of the house, both hands closed on the bucket''s handle. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Listen up,¡± she shouted. Everybody looked at her. ¡°We can''t just wait until Koidan stops the fire.¡± She remembered Dan''s visit. ¡°What if he wants to test us? See if we''re able to take care of this on our own?¡± They stared at her for some instants, then looked at each other. Saia heard them murmuring, but nobody addressed her directly. ¡°Why us, then?¡± the teacher asked. Saia turned to look at him. The chatter died again. ¡°We go to the temple every fifthday,¡± he continued, gesturing at his family. ¡°Everybody has seen us there. We pray before every meal. I''ve always thanked Koidan when he''s helped me. He saved my life.¡± He pulled up a pant leg, showing a long scar so faint it was almost invisible on his white skin. ¡°I cut it on a rock while I was swimming. I''d have drowned if Koidan hadn''t saved me.¡± He let the cloth fall back. ¡°You said it''s a test. What if he wants to test my faith in him? That I won''t do anything even if my house is burning, because I trust he''ll save me?¡± He crossed his arms and stared at her as if waiting for an answer. Saia clutched the bucket tighter, then glanced at the fire. ¡°Things are changing,¡± she said. ¡°Koidan is slower at answering our prayers. Haven''t you noticed?" She ignored the man in front of her and looked at the crowd while she spoke. She knew encouraging them to openly discuss the situation was worse than letting the doubts in their minds fester alone. But she could think about that later, after the fire was extinguished. ¡°He''s not answering my prayers,¡± a woman said. ¡°My niece sprained her ankle,¡± said an old man. ¡°She can''t work now. Won''t be able to for a while.¡± Indistinct murmurs reported similar incidents, nothing either Saia or the monks could have noticed. A man was going on about how he had to swim for, he swore, towerlengths to catch his boat after a strong wind had brought it offshore. ¡°Why didn''t you tie it then, you drunkard?¡± a woman shouted. That was the problem, Saia thought. Not people relying on Koidan, but depending on him too much. She had to convince them to act as if they had to face all of the consequences of their mistakes, as bad as they could be. They had to think like she did when fishing for snakes in a cave that was outside of any god''s territory. But first, there was a fire to tame. ¡°Take the buckets,¡± she shouted, raising her own. ¡°Form a line. We''ll talk to Koidan later.¡± They started moving towards their houses, hesitantly. Saia sighed and ran up to the nearest fountain, hoping they would follow her example. When she returned, clothes splashed with the water that had escaped the bucket, she saw the flames clearly through the window on the first floor. Multiple trails of gray smoke were ascending where the monks could see them. There was no time to go back home. She kicked the door to open it completely and ran through the rooms until she found a staircase. At the top, there was a corridor full of smoke. She stepped back and coughed the stink away, then took a deep breath and held it while she ran towards the room on fire. She saw a glimpse of the bedroom while she emptied the bucket on the curtains in flames, then retracted as quickly as possible. She ran down the stairs, fearing how big the fire could get before she was back. Someone bumped into her. The buckets collided with a clang. ¡°Second door to the left,¡± Saia said, pressing her back against the wall to let the other person through. The people outside were reluctantly forming a line, even if there weren''t enough buckets to make it effective. Saia joined them, transporting empty buckets in one direction and full ones in the other before handing them to the next person. Everybody was shouting to hurry up. A couple of people ran away to look for help. Only a handful remained at a safe distance from the house. Mainly old people, but Saia recognized the herbalist, with a deep frown on his face. The teacher left the kids with his wife and started walking towards the line with deliberate slowness, as if they only had to be grateful to receive his help. Saia gritted her teeth, but kept focused on the task at hand. She could feel the line getting tighter every step less she had to make to reach the people next to her. The buckets moved faster in both directions. There was no way the monks hadn''t notice what was happening, but she had to keep going in the off chance they could tame the fire. She was too tired to run home, or even think about something that wasn''t going back and forth and hope for the best. They continued for two hours, or so it seemed to her tired arms. Some buckets were heavier than others, full of sand instead of water. The line slowly shifted towards the house while the people closest to the fire joined the opposite end, coughing. Saia found herself back inside, pouring water directly onto the flames. She took one of the spare shirts from her bag and bound it around her neck, to protect her nose and mouth from the smoke. They put out the flames one by one until the last one was extinguished. Shelves and books were completely burnt, the floor threatened to collapse, but at least the other rooms were safe. Saia joined the people downstairs and shouted the news to the rest of the line. The ones who were still carrying a bucket put it down to cheer with the others. Saia looked at the pail she was clutching in her hand: it was too old to be hers, but there was no hope to find it amongst the others, so she hooked it over her elbow. People were congratulating each other and cheering, but given enough time they¡¯d have started to remember the conversation they were having earlier, when they openly admitted that Koidan wasn''t helping them anymore and the god hadn''t done anything to prove them wrong. She had to say something, but she was tired and the words refused to come. She needed to talk to Koidan, first. ¡°Everyone,¡± she called. ¡°Tell people to go to the temple on thirdday at five. If there''s a lot of us, maybe Koidan will answer our questions.¡± The ones who were listening to her nodded in agreement. When she turned to leave, she found someone looking at her: a young woman about her age, curly black hair down to her shoulders, wearing an orange shirt and bronze bracelets on her dark brown skin. The woman smiled at her and Saia hesitantly smiled back, trying to remember who she was. ¡°I just wanted to thank you,¡± she said. ¡°If it weren''t for you, the post office would have burned down.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t thank me, I couldn¡¯t have done it alone.¡± She nodded to the woman and started to leave, thinking that she could ask Koidan who that stranger was. She stopped after two steps, so abruptly that the bucket bumped against her leg. Asking Koidan to do something she could do herself was exactly the kind of attitude she was trying to fight. She turned towards the woman. ¡°I fear I have forgotten your name.¡± She smiled. ¡°Ailima, but everyone calls me Aili.¡± Saia tried to memorize her face. ¡°I¡¯m Saia. See you on thirdday.¡± And she headed home. 1.5 - Planning ¡°You what?¡± Saia winced, inadvertently squeezing the head of the snake she was holding. ¡°Sorry,¡± Koidan said, lowering his voice, ¡°but why risking your life when you can call me?¡± She let the animal fall back into the tank. ¡°I just wanted people to limit the damage while I went home to wake you up. But, you know, it was working, so I stayed to help.¡± She put a hand into the water and wiggled her fingers to attract another snake. ¡°Plus, some people needed to realize you can¡¯t always be there for them.¡± ¡°I should be, though. It¡¯s the reason I exist. What we''re doing is,¡± he paused, as if looking for the right word, ¡°irregular.¡± Saia glanced at his sphere: it was on top of a heap of clothes on her bed, irradiating the only light in the room. It was getting dark outside and Saia had closed the shutters to enjoy the golden light without attracting attention. ¡°There was a bit of smoke,¡± she said, returning to the tank. ¡°And the line of people with buckets wasn''t exactly inconspicuous.¡± She wiggled her fingers some more, looking at the snakes near the bottom. Feeding them had been a mistake: they were too distracted by the fresh fish to pay her any attention, and she needed to fill two vials of venom before ninthday. ¡°That''s a problem. They''ll send someone to check that everything¡¯s fine.¡± Koidan''s light was rotating faster than usual. ¡°They''ll probably look for me inside the statue, to make sure that I''m still in my place. Could you bring me back, tomorrow?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± A snake caught sight of her hand. Instead of slowly swimming up to the prey and bite at the last instant, it jumped out, fangs bare, aiming at Saia instead of her hand. She was paying attention to its movements, so she managed to dodge by leaning to one side. She tried to catch the snake in mid-air with her gloved hand, but her movement was too fast and she punched it instead. The snake landed onto the table and started thrashing around, dangerously close to the glass beakers and the vials with the little venom Saia had already spilled. She ran forward, water dripping from her hand all over the floor. Before she could get to the snake, its writhing shape went limp, mouth close. Saia touched it with a gloved index and retracted her hand immediately. The animal didn''t react. ¡°You killed it?¡± ¡°No, I used the same magic I taught you. It¡¯s sleeping.¡± Saia took the snake by the head. ¡°Thank you. You can release it, now.¡± Koidan obeyed. Saia felt the animal try to open its jaws and attack. She let it bite the glass of a beaker. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to touch it.¡± ¡°That limitation only applies to humans.¡± ¡°Why''s that?¡± ¡°Deities are more powerful, our energy came from the mountain. You, instead, can only count on what your body produces, and it''s not much.¡± Saia nodded, letting the snake bite one last time. ¡°Can I make them fall asleep too?¡± ¡°You could, but it''s dangerous. And yes, I know I''m saying this to a person who fishes sea snakes for a living.¡± Saia smiled. ¡°The thing is,¡± Koidan continued, ¡°if they were attacking you while you put them to sleep, they¡¯ll try to bite you again as soon as you wake them up.¡± ¡°They always do that.¡± ¡°Well, keep it in mind anyway. Also, if you''re controlling a snake and you fall asleep or someone knocks you unconscious, they''ll awake immediately.¡± Saia freed the snake and immediately caught another one. She closed her eyes and thought about the waves. ¡°Are you listening?¡± Koidan asked. ¡°Yes. I''m trying to use your trick on this young lady,¡± she said, raising the snake over her head. ¡°You have to touch her directly. Well, either her or one of her scales.¡± She slid a glove off and touched the snake''s body. She tried to recall the waves while the animal recoiled from her touch. ¡°You know,¡± Koidan said after a while, ¡°I don''t usually listen to people''s conversations, but I couldn''t help noticing that a lot of them are talking about thirdday as if they''re expecting something to happen.¡± Saia opened her eyes. ¡°Yeah, I wanted to tell you about it.¡± She dropped the snake into the water. ¡°People are expressing their concerns about their god not helping them anymore.¡± ¡°So they noticed,¡± Koidan said. His light dimmed. Saia approached the bed. ¡°Well, it was inevitable,¡± she said, sitting next to him. ¡°If you expect someone¡¯s help even to wash the sole of your feet, at some point you¡¯re bound to smell something.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Koidan laughed. ¡°You''re a terrible person.¡± ¡°It''s true, though,¡± Saia said with a smile. ¡°They, we, were counting on you for everything. So I told them to come to the temple this thirdday at five.¡± ¡°And what are you going to tell them?¡± ¡°I don''t know. I want them to understand that you won''t be able to take care of us as you did before, but they''re too used to the way things have always been.¡± ¡°You got them to help you with the fire, though.¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°That was different. They feared for their houses, there was an immediate danger, they half-knew you weren''t there for them and didn''t want to take the risk. The sane ones, at least,¡± she added, thinking about the teacher. ¡°Plus, I didn''t exactly give a speech. I just splashed some water around and people decided to help me.¡± Koidan¡¯s light rotated faster. ¡°Talking in public isn''t difficult, you only have to practice. I had a lot of problems too, at the beginning.¡± ¡°You mean two hundred years ago? Doesn''t count. But we could use your experience in speeches.¡± ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± Saia leaned back until her head rested against the wall. ¡°You could just tell them they have to take care of themselves. You''re the god, they''ll listen to you.¡± The light dimmed a bit. ¡°I don''t think so. They''ll start to wonder why their god is the only one who doesn''t function properly. Word of my announcement would spread, the other spheres will know about it and ally against me. And I''m too weak to fight them.¡± ¡°Why would they do that?¡± ¡°Because none of us can outright refuse to do our job. Mistakes are allowed, provided they aren''t too serious. And there''s this unspoken agreement that if one of us isn''t working properly but still manages to hide it to the monks, the others will let them be. But telling people I won''t help them anymore? That''s like declaring war.¡± Saia raised her eyebrows. ¡°Are you guys really that mean with each other?¡± ¡°The people who observe us would punish everyone who isn¡¯t.¡± ¡°So we have to explain the situation without attracting the other gods'' attention.¡± She sighed. ¡°Great.¡± She looked at the snakes in the tank. Two of them were curled up on the mound of earth, to take in the remaining heath of the day. A third one got out of the water and tried to find a place beside them, but they threatened him with hisses and bumps of the head. Saia knew that they fought for everything: food, light, access to water. But every time they saw her approach the tank, they left the mound and swam deep, forgetting any dispute. ¡°We need something scary,¡± she said. ¡°So scary that people won''t even talk about it, for fear of attracting its attention. You''ll tell them that this enemy requires all of your efforts, so you won''t be able to listen to every single prayer anymore.¡± Koidan¡¯s light brightened a little. ¡°This might actually work. But what could this enemy be? Cloud people?¡± She thought about it for a while. ¡°No, they don''t feel dangerous enough.¡± ¡°Because you''ve never seen them attack. I can assure you they know how to craft their weapons.¡± ¡°Yeah, but people don''t really understand that. We know the stories, but we''ve never had to fight because you and the other gods protected us. And it would be weird for you to require so much attention to drive them away, when it took you just an instant in the past.¡± ¡°I get your point, but they''re the most dangerous thing I have to deal with.¡± Saia kicked off her boots, then put the feet on the bed and hugged her legs. She thought of all the things that scared her. Most of them weren''t the kind you could just fight, even using the powers of a god. They mainly had something to do with losing her family. Maybe she had already lost a parent or a sibling, but she didn''t know because she lived away from them. What if they had tried to find her, but Vizena had... She straightened her back. ¡°What?¡± Koidan asked. Saia looked at him and smirked. ¡°I found the scariest thing in the world. Ready to hear it?¡± The light dimmed, then started spinning faster. ¡°I''m not sure I like your expression, but I''m curious.¡± Saia crossed her leg on the bed. ¡°An evil god.¡± She waited for his reaction. The light seemed to slow down a bit. ¡°What do you mean, exactly?¡± ¡°You''ll tell them there''s a god like you who wants to destroy the village and that he''s so powerful you have to spend all of your time fighting him.¡± ¡°I don''t know. Why would that be better than the cloud raiders?¡± ¡°Because it would be here, not above the clouds. Plus, they know how powerful you are. They''ll think the other god can hear everything, like you do, so if you warn them about saying something to people from the other villages they''ll listen. I don''t know how the other gods would react if something slipped, though. Do you think they''d attack you?¡± Koidan rotated in silence for a while. ¡°I don''t think so. But they know that there can''t be more gods like us, so this could get them curious. I don''t want them to alert the monks only because they think there''s a new threat nobody knows anything about.¡± Saia nodded slowly, staring at the woolen blanket. ¡°How do you feel about telling them what you''re going to do?¡± The light stopped. ¡°I mean,¡± Saia added, ¡°you could say it''s a, let me think, an experiment?¡± ¡°For what?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I don''t know.¡± Koidan¡¯s light moved again, dividing into streams that followed different orbits. ¡°Contacting the other spheres would be by itself something out of the ordinary. They''ll assume I did it because my experiment could influence their territories in some ways. And if I played it down, I''d only make them suspicious.¡± Saia lowered her head. ¡°Right.¡± ¡°Don''t get me wrong, I like your idea. It''s just that dealing with the other gods is a delicate matter.¡± Saia put both hands behind her on the bed and leaned backward. ¡°It''s weird: you''d think after all this time together you were at least good neighbors.¡± ¡°Our concept of a good neighborhood is not to interfere with each other.¡± ¡°What if one of you needs help with something?¡± ¡°We are omnipotent. If one of us needs help, it means their powers are fading and we need to report them to the monks.¡± Saia looked at him. ¡°You would do that? Report someone, I mean.¡± The light flickered. ¡°Well.¡± It dimmed visibly, then regained brightness, and faded again. ¡°I''d like to say I wouldn''t. I know for sure that two hundred years ago I''d have done it without even thinking about it. Even fought against a rebel, if necessary.¡± He kept spinning in silence for a long time. ¡°But?¡± Saia asked. ¡°But at some point, I began to understand that rules can be harmful when taken to an extreme. If you micromanage your territory, for example, you''re bound to waste a lot of energy for nothing. Some mistakes and oddities can be accepted without many consequences.¡± He started rotating faster, in a vaguely clockwise direction. ¡°But now I''m weaker than ever, with more things to protect. I can''t afford to have the monks suspect me of being allied with a traitor.¡± ¡°So you would.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Saia nodded. She turned towards the snakes, back propped up against the wall. ¡°Why?¡± Koidan asked in a thin voice. ¡°No reason in particular.¡± Saia smiled a bit. ¡°I just don''t know much about your relationship with the other gods. I was curious.¡± ¡°But you didn''t expect me to answer that.¡± ¡°No. I find it strange that you don''t have any god friends.¡± ¡°I don''t. Besides, I can only contact Dore and Mivion because our territories border with each other. For everybody else, I need to send messengers.¡± ¡°Oh, really? That''s great. I think it solves our problems pretty well.¡± The light faltered. ¡°I don''t understand.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll explain later. We have a lot of things to talk about.¡± She closed her eyes. ¡°But now my body has just remembered I''ve been carrying buckets for the whole afternoon.¡± She yawned. ¡°Move me somewhere else before you fall asleep. I could do it myself, but¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯d waste energy. Got it.¡± She reluctantly got up, wrapped the sphere in the blanket and hid it under the bed. Then, she laid down, the side of her face on the silk pillow. ¡°Tell me if there are weird monks walking around,¡± she mumbled. ¡°Sure. Good night.¡± 1.6 - Second jobs Saia reached the temple before the bells of the clocktower could strike the fifth hour. She vaguely remembered Koidan talking about the maintenance work he had to do once every month to make sure the clock was always on time. She leaned against one of the closed doors of the temple. ¡°You ready?¡± she murmured. ¡°Almost,¡± Koidan said in her ears. ¡°I''m rehearsing the list.¡± ¡°Why? We wrote it down, just read it when it''s time.¡± ¡°An important part of public speaking is the tone of voice you use. The emotions. The diction. I can focus on them better if I don''t have to read at the same time.¡± ¡°Whatever, just add ¡®find someone who knows how to repair clocks¡¯ at the bottom.¡± ¡°I knew I was forgetting something.¡± Saia was distracted by the approach of the first two inhabitants. ¡°Hi, snake lady,¡± Dan shouted, waving an arm. Mor¨¬c, his older brother, followed him with both hands in his pockets. He nodded in her direction, chewing on something. Saia smiled. ¡°You''re back! How did it go?¡± ¡°I pretended to be looking for a cousin that owed me some money,¡± Dan said. ¡°I asked around for directions and knocked on doors. I''ve told the story to a bunch of people and their god asked me for details.¡± Saia held her breath. ¡°You talked directly to Dore?¡± ¡°Yeah, him. He was nice. I mean, ours is nicer,¡± he added, glancing at the temple, ¡°but Dore¡¯s also, you know, fun. He actually liked the prank. He gave me some advice, maybe it could be useful.¡± Saia raised an eyebrow. ¡°Like?¡± ¡°That telling people isn''t enough, we should also paint some weird symbols around the village. And that we need to distract Koidan, because he would never let us do it.¡± ¡°Do you think I''m not funny?¡± Koidan asked in Saia¡¯s ears. ¡°Dan,¡± she said, ¡°you know it''s not a joke, right? There really is an evil god here.¡± He tilted his head. ¡°Then why did you want us to tell Izgos and Tilau¡¯s people we wanted to make a prank?¡± She shrugged and pointed at the temple. ¡°I don''t know. Orders from above.¡± ¡°Why did he ask you and not us?¡± Saia smirked. ¡°Who knows. Maybe it''s because you don''t find him funny.¡± She looked at Mor¨¬c. He stared back at her from above, still chewing on something of increasingly indefinite nature. His hair was black where his brother¡¯s was blond, but it was constantly ruffled all the same. ¡°And you?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Everything went well?¡± ¡°Yep. I pretended to be drunk and shouted what we wanted to do until Mivion kicked me back here. It was just wind but it felt like a punch in the face.¡± He resumed staring at Saia. ¡°Right¡±, she said, and fished inside the bag for the money. While Mor¨¬c was counting the coins, Saia watched the end of the path that led to the temple, hoping nobody would appear at that moment. ¡°You gave me one vissin more,¡± Mor¨¬c said. ¡°Oh, really? Well, keep it.¡± ¡°No,¡± he said, and extended the hand that was holding the coin until it was too close to Saia¡¯s face to be ignored. Saia took it with a sigh. ¡°You''re annoying, you know?¡± Mor¨¬c shrugged and walked up to the temple. Saia was about to put the money back in her bag, when she saw Dan''s gaze lingering on her hand. She gave him two vissins as soon as Mor¨¬c turned to spit something. The two brothers stood with their backs propped against the temple¡¯s wall while Saia waited nervously near the entrance. Someone was getting closer to the end of the path. Saia recognized the woman that had hugged her after the fire was extinguished. It took her a second to remember her name: Aili. She smiled at Saia. ¡°Thank you again. You''ve been incredibly brave.¡± ¡°It''s nothing,¡± Saia mumbled, hoping she wouldn''t have kept thanking her every time they met. Aili looked at the two boys. ¡°Sorry, am I late?¡± she asked. Dan and Mor¨¬c exchanged a glance out of the corner of their eyes. ¡°No, on the contrary,¡± Saia said. ¡°But the doors are closed, so we might have to wait a little while.¡± Aili nodded and sat on the grass near the wall. ¡°I really don''t want to miss this.¡± She looked at them as if expecting an answer, then lowered her eyes. ¡°In your opinion, why Koidan doesn''t help us anymore?¡± Mor¨¬c shrugged. Saia was still thinking about what to answer, when Aili spoke again. ¡°I have three theories. Who knows which one is right, though. If any of them is, I mean.¡± Saia saw Dan open his mouth as if to speak. She touched his shoulder with a finger and slightly shook her head. He glanced at her, but didn''t speak. ¡°Which theories?¡± she asked. ¡°The first one''s a bit silly,¡± Aili began with an apologetic smile. ¡°He just doesn''t want to help us anymore, for some reason. Maybe he just got tired and decided we aren''t worth the trouble. Or maybe he wanted to see how we''d behave without him. Or he was just bored.¡± Saia raised an eyebrow. ¡°Bored?¡± ¡°I said it''s silly. But if it''s true, there isn''t much we can do. Beg the other gods to deal with serious emergencies, maybe. But it''s never happened before, as far as I know.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Her black eyes were focused on a point in the distance. ¡°The second one''s more interesting: he wants to help us, but there''s an external force that''s preventing him from doing so. Maybe it has something to do with the earthquake or the mountain. Or there''s another god who''s working against him.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Dan said before Saia could stop him. ¡°I think that too.¡± Aili smiled. ¡°Really?¡± Dan noticed Saia¡¯s glare. He kicked a pebble with his foot. ¡°But it doesn''t make sense. It''s not like there are evil gods around, right?¡± ¡°Saia,¡± Koidan said, ¡°maybe it''s time to intervene.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°I think the truth is much more complicated than this. It''s not something that can be guessed just by making theories.¡± Aili''s shoulders hunched a bit. ¡°I agree, but I like to think about possible explanations before getting the official one.¡± ¡°Let her speak, I''m curious.¡± Saia turned to look at Mor¨¬c. He had a half-grin on his face. ¡°Thank you. I''ll be quick,¡± Aili said. ¡°I made a bit of research on the past of the village: there were three windows of time in which accidents happened more frequently. They''re also evenly spaced, about two hundred years between one another.¡± Saia realized she was tightening her crossed arms against her chest. She eased the pressure a bit. ¡°So what?¡± ¡°So our god''s willingness to help us follows a cycle. I don''t know about you, but I find it strange. Unless his power has to be recharged after a while.¡± She hesitantly glanced at the temple before continuing. ¡°Which means that our god might not be a god at all. Or at least, that his powers come from an external source.¡± She gave another brief look at the building and stopped talking. Which was a good thing, because Saia could only hear the blood pounding in her ears. She cleared her throat. ¡°Well, maybe there''s something that happens every two hundred years and he needs all of his attention to fight it.¡± Aili nodded. ¡°That''s a good point. I''ve already thought about that, and I think there are two options: either he isn''t omnipotent, so he''s not really a god, or gods are different from what we''ve been taught. Or, as you say, my second theory is right and there''s an external force that opposes him every two hundred years. I find it a bit unlikely, but who knows at this point.¡± ¡°Wow,¡± Koidan murmured, ¡°that''s impressive.¡± Saia frowned. She mumbled something about coming back soon, then circled around the temple. ¡°What the fuck?¡± she shouted under her breath. ¡°And what was that, anyway? She almost figured everything out, and you praise her?¡± ¡°I''m as worried as you are, but not entirely surprised. I''ve seen her grow up, she''s always been the smartest kid in the classroom.¡± Saia sat with her back against the wall. ¡°Remind me again what job we gave her?¡± ¡°Administrator of resources. She''ll have to decide how to face the problems and which team will take care of them.¡± ¡°Didn''t we give that task to the letter carrier?¡± ¡°She is the letter carrier.¡± Saia raised her eyebrows. Now that she thought about it, the teacher''s house was right next to the post office. The person who worked there was always ready to carry anything at any time of the day, even in other villages, provided she was paid adequately. ¡°Well, we need to find another administrator.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°Because she''ll find out who you are in no time if we give her any more information.¡± ¡°Unless she sees my sphere, there''s no way she can guess what I am. You can''t deduct something like this.¡± ¡°She doesn''t need to. She just has to realize that something''s off and that there are monks to fix it. Are you willing to risk that?¡± The silence told her that no, he wasn''t. ¡°Who should take the job, then?¡± he asked. Saia thought about it for a while, staring at the trees that surrounded the grass around the temple. ¡°I have no idea. You''re the one who knows everybody here.¡± ¡°I do, and the ones who could handle the task have either less free time or less patience than her.¡± Saia raised her hands. ¡°Okay, I''ll trust you on this. If we can''t give her anything else to do, then we need to watch her constantly. And you''re going to be asleep most of the time.¡± She tapped her chin with a finger. ¡°Maybe I could ask Mor¨¬c and Dan to keep an eye on her. I can pay them for a while.¡± ¡°You''d have to explain what to pay attention to. And, no offence, but I don''t trust them enough.¡± ¡°They''re good guys.¡± ¡°I can see that, but they''re just not reliable. Sorry.¡± Saia rested her head against the wall. ¡°I don''t agree, but fine. Your secret, your decision. But the problem remains.¡± Silence again. She could imagine the light rotate inside the sphere. ¡°Aili won''t be able to take care of everything by herself,¡± Koidan said. ¡°Especially if she¡¯ll have to deliver mail in the meantime. Maybe we could use one less firefighter and one more administrator''s assistant.¡± Saia frowned, then her eyes widened. ¡°Me? I thought we agreed that I don¡¯t have enough patience to deal with people.¡± ¡°Aili would do most of the work. You could take on a minor role, like managing the payments.¡± ¡°Minor?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s nothing different than what you already do to manage your own money, just with bigger amounts.¡± The clock''s bell tolled five times. ¡°You have to decide now,¡± Koidan said. ¡°I know. Don''t pressure me.¡± She put a hand on her forehead. Working with Aili meant weighting each word before it was spoken. At least, she was used to the mental work it entailed. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea,¡± she said, ¡°but I don''t want her to be free to make up theories as she pleases.¡± ¡°So?¡± She sighed. ¡°So I''ll do it.¡± She walked back to the temple¡¯s entrance. A small crowd was waiting in front of the doors. Saia greeted them with nods and the occasional smile before leaning against the wall next to Dan. Mor¨¬c was chewing on something, hopefully different from what he had spat. Aili was talking with the tailor about some pants she had commissioned. More people were arriving from the village. The doors opened with a creak. Everybody became quiet and turned towards the building. ¡°Welcome,¡± Koidan said. ¡°I owe all of you an explanation. Please, come inside.¡± People entered in silence. Saia waited outside until they were all in, then followed them and closed the doors. Koidan didn''t stop her, which meant that nobody else was coming. She noticed that the crowd had stopped before reaching the center of the temple and was now moving to stand near the walls, clearly avoiding the area in front of the statue. They probably remembered how they had complained about Koidan and were realizing he had probably heard everything. Except he hadn''t, because he was asleep. Dan tugged at her arm. ¡°Why did you say that there''s an evil god and then acted all mysterious when Aili was talking about it?¡± Koidan must have heard him, because he chose that moment to speak. ¡°As you have noticed, in the last two weeks I haven¡¯t been taking care of the village like I always did, even if your devotion and faith were as strong as ever. It wasn''t a decision I took lightly, but it was necessary for the good of the village.¡± The statue¡¯s mouth moved as if he was talking through it. Saia considered it a waste of energy, but maybe it helped delivering the speech with more clarity. ¡°Now I''m going to tell you the reason for my disappearance. But first, remember to stay calm and don''t rush to hasty conclusions.¡± People started whispering to each other even before he could finish the sentence. ¡°A week ago, a new god has appeared in the village. Apparently, all he wants is to destroy us. But don''t worry,¡± he said, raising his voice above the chatter that was exploding around the temple, ¡°I''m fighting him. I''ll be able to protect you, but I can''t focus on both him and the village''s matters at the same time. In short: I''ll need everyone''s help. Quiet!¡± Everybody shut up. Saia almost laughed at how sudden it was. ¡°You are not in danger. However, I suggest not to talk about the other god unless you''re inside the temple. In addition, I''ll need each one of you, including the people who are absent, to take on one more job for the sake of the community. I''ve assigned your roles keeping in mind your free time and your abilities. Please step forward when you hear your name.¡± He paused, as if to clear his throat or unfold a list, but the basalt didn''t move. Then, he started reading the list of people they had prepared, waiting for each person to step forward from the crowd before calling the next. Most of them were artisans. Mor¨¬c patted his brother''s shoulder before strolling forward. ¡°You are the firefighters. Your task will be to drop everything at the first sign of a fire. You''ll find the buckets in the post office.¡± The group waited on one side of the temple as another one was called: the cleaners, who didn''t have much time to spare but could take care of the roads where they lived. The healers, young people that would be trained by the herbalist to treat minor injuries. The sentinels, who lived near the borders and had to check the identity of whoever entered the territory. The listeners, who had to notify any problems to the post office and needed a better name, as Dan commented before joining them. Saia felt everyone''s eyes on her as she stood at the center of the temple, beside Aili and five muscular people who looked like dock workers. ¡°Then we have the administrator of resources, Ailima, and her assistant, Saia. They''ll coordinate your efforts and make sure all of you play your part. You can avoid to, if you want, provided you pay twenty vissins. Your money will be put in a fund that will be used to pay someone else to do the job in your place. If you want to be one of the substitutes, you''ll be put in a waiting list and called as soon as there''s an available job.¡± The basalt man pointed at the remaining group and listed their names, plus two more who weren¡¯t present at the moment. ¡°You are the guards. You''ll look out for trouble and arrest criminals. I set up two cells at the base of the clocktower you can use for detaining them.¡± The word ''criminals'' made the guards look at each other, but none of them commented. ¡°Now you can go. The administrator will figure out how to organize your turns and let you know how to proceed as soon as possible.¡± Aili nodded. She was holding the hem of her shirt with both hands and seemed to tremble a bit, but she gave the statue a wide smile. Saia couldn''t understand whether she was nervous or excited. Everyone left the temple, casting glances at the two women. Saia stepped aside, out of the stream of people. She knew they didn''t dare express it before their god, but they weren''t enjoying the idea of more work and would have done everything to avoid it. A problem Aili had to solve, with her help. ¡°Oh, I almost forgot again,¡± Koidan said. Everybody stopped and turned towards the statue. ¡°Does any of you know how to fix clocks?¡± 1.7 - Milvia Saia came home from the post office. After so much time spent arguing with people who didn''t want to pay anything for not attending to their tasks and substitutes that requested a higher pay to take their place, she felt the urge to run to the cave and fish snakes for the rest of the day. Following that urge for two weeks straight had filled her tank to the point she considered buying another one, to separate the adults from the juveniles. Or even better, the ones she could control from the ones she couldn''t. She left her bag on the bed and awakened Koidan. She expected him to say something, at least acknowledge that she was there, but the seconds passed without him saying a single word. She tapped on the glass of the sphere. ¡°I''m here. Are you alright?¡± The light stopped for an instant ¡°Sorry, I was just... observing.¡± He sounded sadder than usual. Saia put the sphere down on the pillow and sat next to it. ¡°Something happened?¡± ¡°Yes, a lot of things. Kaia gave birth to her twins. Sulsem died last night, I don''t even know how.¡± ¡°He was very old.¡± ¡°It''s not that. I''ve seen countless deaths, but I''ve always been there. I saw these people being born, and now I''m missing all the most important moments of their lives. I''m missing everything. I''m wondering if what we''re doing is even worth it.¡± ¡°You''d prefer to die? Is it what you''re trying to tell me?¡± ¡°No. I don''t know, Saia. I''m not more important than Sulsem was, maybe it would''ve been better if I went with him.¡± ¡°You can''t really be thinking that.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re right, I¡¯m not. But if I were a good god, I would have accepted my fate for the sake of my people.¡± Saia stood and started pacing in front of the bed. It was all she could do to stop herself from screaming in frustration. All that work at the post office, all of her efforts in keeping his secrets with Aili constantly at her side, and he was the one who wanted to give up. She breathed slowly, trying to calm down, thinking of all the things he had done to help her since she''d arrived at the village. He was a good god and a good friend, and keeping him alive was worth it. She tried to think of a way to make him feel better. ¡°Why don''t you leave? Visit some other village, make a trip across the sea? Maybe going away from this whole situation would help you. We can take care of ourselves, now.¡± ¡°I don''t have a lot of energy left and I can¡¯t go that far. I have to stay near the mountain, or I won''t be able to prevent it from trembling again.¡± ¡°How far can you go?¡± The light slowed down. ¡°I don''t know. From the temple, I can control the area inside the line of stones. If I move away¡­ I¡¯d say about the end of the beach in both directions.¡± Saia raised her eyes to the ceiling, making some quick math, then nodded to herself. ¡°Do you have any plans for today?¡± she asked him. ¡°No. I''ll give Sulsem¡¯s family my condolences and Kaia my congratulations, then I think I''ll go back to sleep.¡± ¡°Tell me when you''re ready.¡± He dimmed and returned quiet. Saia fed the snakes. She wanted to show Koidan what she was capable of, but it didn''t look like it was the right moment for that. ¡°Done,¡± he said. She put him to sleep and into her bag, then hung it on her shoulder. She left the house, walking at a brisk pace, headed towards the cave. She stopped some steps before the entrance, kneeled on the sand with her back towards the mountain, and awakened Koidan without taking the sphere out of the bag. ¡°What¡­¡± he started, then paused. ¡°Oh.¡± Saia smiled and let him examine his surroundings while she took out the leather boots and put them on in place of her sandals. Usually snakes spent the day at sea, but she didn¡¯t want to risk meeting the stragglers. ¡°Is that the cave in which you fish?¡± Saia nodded. ¡°It''s... it''s beautiful. I can sense it from here. Can we go inside?¡± Saia brought him into the cave. She was used to seeing it at night, in total darkness, with just the light of a torch shining on the pools. During the day, a faint glow was suspended in the air, while shadows danced on the water. There were small holes on the walls and ceiling, borders levigated by ancient tides. The light entered from there, even if the far end of the cave was still mostly in the dark. Saia took the sphere out of the bag and held it in front of her, more to observe Koidan¡¯s reaction than for a real necessity; she knew he''d seen every single corner of the cave the instant she awakened him. He didn''t say a word, but his light was shining so bright it was impossible to look at. It reflected on the waves and rocks and made the sand glisten, until the ceiling looked like the surface of the sea at dawn. Saia kneeled next to a pool, gathered the sand to form a small mound and pressed the sphere down on top of it to make sure it wouldn''t roll away.She put on the gloves and looked carefully inside the pool to make sure there weren''t snakes ready to attack, then sat on the border, feet dangling inside the water. She sighed while the cold liquid filled her boots. Red and green algae jotted out of the stone walls, their long strands swaying as if moved by an invisible current. ¡°Do you like it?¡± she asked. ¡°It feels so different from the village. The rocks are older than me. There''s nothing here that was created or changed by a human hand. Thank you.¡± Saia laughed. ¡°You''re welcome, but it''s nothing special. A nice cave with a bit of privacy from prying gods, that''s all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been two hundred years since the last time I could leave the temple freely. I¡¯ve never been here, never experienced this place. That¡¯s why I appreciate it so much.¡± Saia nodded. She took some water with a cupped hand, then splashed it on her arm. She did the same with the other, then refreshed her face. ¡°And what were you doing before those two hundred years?¡± He didn¡¯t answer for some instants. ¡°I lived on the mountain with the monks. But I have to warn you, I can¡¯t answer questions about them without putting you in danger.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what they could do if they found out. They¡¯re not above killing someone, even if I think they would try less extreme measures, first.¡± Saia raised her eyebrows, still moving the water with the tip of her fingers. ¡°How would they find out?¡± ¡°They come here every once in a while to check that everything¡¯s fine, or to recruit people into their ranks.¡± Saia stopped and turned towards the sphere. ¡°They do that?¡± ¡°Yes. Sometimes they find people who are acting selflessly for the good of their villages and they ask them to join. It¡¯s rare, though.¡± ¡°So I can¡¯t ask you to elaborate on that, right? Or on anything else that regards the monks?¡± ¡°We made a pact, so I will answer your questions. I just want to make sure that you know the potential consequences and that you reflect a bit about it before I give you information you shouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°Thank you for the warning, then.¡± ¡°There¡¯s one thing I can tell you, though: my actual name, from before I became Koidan, is Zeles.¡± Saia gaped at him. ¡°Obviously don¡¯t tell anyone,¡± he added. ¡°You know I won¡¯t. Thank you for trusting me with this secret.¡± She splashed her feet in the water. ¡°It¡¯s warm today, do you want me to put you inside the pool?¡± ¡°Thank you, but no, I¡¯m already feeling the water. It seems perfect for a bath.¡± ¡°I know, right? I used to swim here from time to time when there weren¡¯t snakes around.¡± ¡°Snakes like that one?¡± Saia frowned. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°What?¡± A splash of water caught her in the face. She jumped out of the pool, wiping her eyes with a hand, and tried to see where the animal had landed. Koidan¡¯s laugh filled the cave. Saia stopped, then joined him. ¡°Not fair,¡± she said, emptying her boots of the water. ¡°I can¡¯t splash you back.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve made something that might convince you to forgive me.¡± A glimmer on the right side of the cave made her turn. There were five new holes on the wall, larger than the ones created by the tides and clustered together. The wall in that point curved to meet the ceiling, so they could shine on what laid below: a new pool. Saia cautiously stepped forward to look inside. The water was still filling the cavity, entering from a circular opening near the bottom. ¡°It¡¯s connected to the sea,¡± Koidan said. ¡°I made the tunnel small and convoluted enough that snakes shouldn¡¯t be able to enter from there. I imagine you could easily catch the ones that come from the land.¡± Saia looked at the water. She was about to ask how much energy it had cost him, but decided she didn¡¯t want to know. There was no way to get it back, after all. ¡°Thank you. It¡¯s beautiful.¡± She observed the water level rising as the sea provided the water to fill the pool. ¡°Unrelated, but¡­ Can spheres give their energy to each other?¡± she asked. ¡°Yes, but nobody would ever do it. Knowing when your life is going to end is already stressful enough, nobody would shorten it on purpose.¡± ¡°But using it for a pool is fine?¡± ¡°The other gods are little more than strangers to me. You are my friend, and the only reason I''m still alive.¡± Saia didn''t know what to answer, so she just stepped onto the slightly elevated borders of the pool, kicked off her boots, then slowly lowered her body into the water until she was submerged up to her neck. ¡°Amazing. One of these each morning, and I''ll never feel drowsy again.¡± ¡°Glad you like it.¡± The distant sound of three bell tolls resounded in the cave. Saia groaned in frustration. ¡°I have to go back. Aili wants to assign next week''s incomplete shifts to the substitutes before tomorrow.¡± ¡°Makes sense.¡± Saia climbed out of the pool and put her sandals on. ¡°Yes, but why do I have to be there? And don''t you dare to dry my clothes, it''s so hot today I don''t risk catching a cold.¡± ¡°Well, you''re her assistant. Maybe she needs your opinion.¡± Saia put Koidan into the bag, then hung it on her shoulder and left the cave. ¡°She doesn''t. Every time we sit down to draw the week¡¯s table of turns, she already knows who to put into the empty slots. I don''t even have time to read the list of available people. She''s too quick, and she''s always right.¡± ¡°She''s just very organized. She has to travel a lot to carry her letters in all of the villages.¡± Saia crossed the line of white stones. ¡°Oh, it goes beyond that.¡± ¡°She might make a mistake. It''s a good thing you''re there to correct her.¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°She''s never wrong. A couple of times it looked like she was, so obviously I told her. Turns out she was right. I feel stupid every time she explains why she chose someone to do a job and I have to agree.¡± ¡°I told you making her the administrator would have been a good idea. And the fact that she''s smart doesn''t make you stupid.¡± Saia realized she still had the gloves on. She put them into the bag. ¡°Wait,¡± Koidan said. ¡°Are those scales?¡± Saia took out the gloves again to show him the seven black and red scales sewn in the shape of a square on the back of her left glove. ¡°I''ve been practicing a lot. Now I can more or less control them from a short distance. Well, make them sleep, at least.¡± ¡°In just two weeks? Impressive.¡± ¡°Blame the post office. Half the days it''s full of people asking for something, money generally, and the other half I''m lucky if I see another person. And it''s usually just Aili.¡± ¡°Still impressive. Either you''re very talented with magic or you understand sea snakes really well, which is a talent on its own.¡± ¡°They''re not very complicated. They see something move, they attack until it''s dead. If it''s dead, they eat it. They need the sun more than they need food, and only leave the water to lay their eggs and rest.¡± ¡°I didn''t know any of that.¡± Saia shrugged. ¡°It''s my job. At least, my main one. The one I''m good at. Maybe I should leave the role of assistant to someone who knows what they''re doing.¡± She realized they had reached the village and a sentinel was looking straight at her through a window. He waved, and Saia answered with a nod. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not as bad as you¡¯re thinking,¡± Koidan said. Saia shrugged and headed towards her house. ¡°So,¡± Koidan said as soon as she¡¯d opened the door. ¡°See you in two days, same time?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± She smirked. "Don''t be late." She heard him sigh of exasperation inside her head and put him to sleep, wrapped up in a woolen blanket that she hid under the bed. She changed into a dry shirt and pants and tapped the snakes¡¯ tank before leaving. Three people were waiting in line at the post office. Aili was explaining to the first one that in order to skip his turn with only two days of notice he had to pay twelve vissins. ¡°Oh, Saia,¡± she said with a smile, ¡°can you deal with the queue? I still have to see what turns aren''t covered yet.¡± She nodded and took her place behind the wooden counter. The man in front of her sometimes bought snake meat from her, often enough that she couldn''t afford to be rude to him. She started explaining the payment system while Aili disappeared upstairs. ¡°Yes, but two weeks ago it was different.¡± ¡°Yeah, and you''d have had to pay more.¡± ¡°My brother gave only one day of notice and didn''t pay this much.¡± She was about to explain to him that the amount was lower because his brother had a different job, when Dan stepped through the door. ¡°I need to talk to you,¡± he told her, skipping the line. He looked paler than usual. ¡°Something happened?¡± ¡°Yeah. Aili''s here?¡± Saia''s shoulders dropped a bit. She pointed at the ceiling. ¡°She''s drawing some tables or something.¡± ¡°Cool. Come with me?¡± He walked past the counter and up the stairs without waiting for an answer. Saia excused herself and followed him. They entered a room full of drawers, which in turn were occupied by sheets of paper. Aili was hunched on a large table at the center of the room, looking at a list of names. Dan put his hands on the wood. ¡°Hi, boss administrator in charge.¡± ¡°Hi, Dan. I''m a bit busy right now.¡± ¡°We have a problem.¡± ¡°You can just write it down, let''s see,¡± she looked around the room, then pointed at a sheet nailed to the wall, ¡°there. I''ll look into it when I''m finished.¡± He shook his head. ¡°It''s urgent. It''s... oh, fuck it.¡± He looked at Saia. ¡°Milvia was killed.¡± The two women glanced at each other. ¡°Who''s Milvia?¡± Saia asked. Dan sighed. ¡°The florist. She was always at the market. She sold food, too.¡± Aili brought her hands to her mouth. ¡°Mili? That Mili? With blond hair and...¡± She trailed off, holding back a sob. ¡°Yeah, her,¡± Dan said. Saia lowered her head. She didn¡¯t know Milvia personally, but she had bought products at her stall before. A nice girl, always with a fresh flower behind an ear. ¡°She was killed?¡± Saia asked. ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°Her cousin knocked at the door for an hour, then called a guard, Onis. They broke a window to enter and found her dead. She was bleeding from the back of her head. It''s better if you see it yourself.¡± Aili wiped her eyes and sniffed. She started to fold the list. ¡°I''m coming with you.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Yeah, me too.¡± Aili looked at her. ¡°I think it''s better if you take care of the people downstairs. If it''s not much trouble, I mean.¡± Saia looked straight into her eyes. She hadn''t felt stupid for two weeks straight just to let her leave on her own. ¡°I''ll tell them we''re closed. This is an emergency.¡± Aili let her shoulders slump. ¡°Okay.¡± Dan was already descending the stairs, so Saia hurried behind him. There was a fourth person in the post office now, talking under his breath to the others. ¡°Do you think it was the evil god?¡± he asked the man who had complained about the twelve vissins. Another one shushed him. ¡°You heard Koidan: don''t say these things outside the temple. What if he has killed that girl because she talked about him?¡± ¡°So he has killed her.¡± ¡°Please,¡± Aili said in a loud voice, ¡°stay calm and don''t rush to conclusions. We''re going to take care of it.¡± Saia held the door open. ¡°And the office''s closed. Return tomorrow.¡± Once everyone was out, she stepped aside to let Aili lock the door. She noticed that her hands were trembling. ¡°This way,¡± Dan said, heading towards the eastern part of the village. The house¡¯s entrance was flanked by two tall vases full of yellow flowers. A person was standing to the side with a brown shawl around their neck. A guard, probably the one who broke the paneless window at the left of the entrance. They looked up, but didn''t say anything. ¡°Is this Milvia''s house?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Dan said, walking past her. He exchanged a nod with the guard and held the door open, standing outside the house. Saia stepped in after Aili. The room was filled with various plants in vases. Saucepans of different sizes and materials were hanging from the walls in the kitchen area, over a stone counter still stained with food. There was a table in the center of the room and two doors, both open: one led to a small bedroom, the other to a garden. Saia could see rows of lettuce, carrots and other vegetables in front of a low fence. Aili circled the table, then jumped and covered her mouth with her hands. ¡°She''s here.¡± Saia leaned forward: Milvia was laying on her back with her eyes open. The stream of blood came from a wound in the back of her head, hidden by her blond hair. Aili sobbed. ¡°She was so beautiful. And sweet,¡± her voice trembled. ¡°Anbem¡¯s going to be devastated.¡± Saia opened her mouth, but she didn''t know what to say. She rested her hands on the back of a chair and let Aili cry. She thought about her trip with Koidan. Maybe if she hadn''t brought him away from the village, he could have stopped the murderer. Or maybe not, considering... ¡°I need fresh air,¡± Aili said. ¡°I can''t think straight.¡± And she left the room through the door that led to the garden. Saia kept staring at the body. Maybe Koidan couldn''t have done anything, because the murder didn''t happen while he was awake. Otherwise, he would have said something about Milvia after their return from the cave. She hurried outside. Orange trees in big vases were aligned along the left and right sides of the fence, where the garden bordered with the neighbors¡¯. Aili was staring at a line of pots on a bench, each of them filled with pink flowers. ¡°We have to hurry,¡± Saia said. ¡°She was just killed. Not more than twenty minutes ago.¡± Aili stared at her, a tear on her cheek. It fell when she spoke. ¡°I know.¡± She pointed at the vases. ¡°The soil in the first three is still wet, and it''s hot enough that it should have dried by now. The others haven''t been watered. This also means that she was taking care of the flowers, when she was interrupted by something, or someone, that made her go back inside.¡± She stared at the flowers for a while, then sighed. ¡°I can''t figure it out right now, but we should talk to her cousin. If she has really knocked on the door for one hour, it means that the murderer managed to enter the house, kill Mili and get out without her noticing anything. I don''t know about you, but I find it unlikely.¡± She turned around, murmured something that Saia couldn''t understand, then got closer to the first line of lettuce. ¡°Let¡¯s assume for a moment that the cousin said the truth: the murderer was either already inside the house, and I''d rule it out because the doors are all intact, or they climbed over the fence. Maybe Mili noticed them and tried to run away, but they managed to kill her before she could escape.¡± She paced in front of the garden. ¡°But no, I don''t see any footprints. They could have entered from one of the neighboring gardens, but somehow I doubt it. Climbing over these vases doesn''t seem easy,¡± she said, pointing at the orange trees. ¡°Mili would have noticed them. I can''t rule it out, though.¡± Saia realized she was gaping at Aili. She recomposed herself. ¡°So, we need to find the cousin?¡± ¡°Yes. I think she was lying.¡± Saia nodded, thinking that whatever had happened, the only way to catch the murderer was to wake up Koidan and tell him everything. ¡°Look, I need to go home for a second. Ask Dan where this cousin lives, we can catch up there, okay?¡± She turned to leave. ¡°Wait,¡± Aili said. ¡°I''ll come with you.¡± Saia froze. ¡°Don''t worry, I''ll be quick.¡± ¡°It''s not that. I¡­¡± Aili sighed. ¡°I want you to know that I appreciate your help. I was thrilled when Koidan told us to work together. You saved my house, and probably the whole village, and I''ll be eternally grateful for that.¡± She smiled a bit. Saia looked at her sideways. ¡°Why are you telling me this?¡± ¡°Because I don''t want you to hate me.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Aili took a deep breath. ¡°I think you''re hiding something.¡± Saia produced a nervous smile. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You looked so sure of yourself when you said that Mili was killed just a few minutes ago, but you didn''t even see the flowers. How did you guess that?¡± Saia spread her arms. ¡°I don''t know. Gut feeling?¡± Aili shook her head a bit. ¡°We''re in the middle of something important and you want to go home alone. Can you at least tell me why?¡± Saia stared at her. ¡°I have to¡­ feed the snakes.¡± ¡°So why you don''t want me to come with you?¡± Saia thought about it. On one side, she didn''t really hide the woolen blanket. Who knew what Aili could guess just by seeing it. On the other, leaving her alone would have made her more suspicious, and the whole point of coming along to see what happened was to keep an eye on her. She shrugged. ¡°My house is a mess. If you''re alright with that, you can come.¡± 1.8 - Investigation Saia stepped inside her house and immediately glanced at the bed: the woolen blanket was well hidden on the floor in the corner of the room, impossible to notice while standing. Now the problem was touching the sphere inside without alerting Aili. She turned to see her gaping at the tank. ¡°You have a lot of snakes.¡± Saia let the bag on a chair, took some strips of dried meat from a jar and approached the tank. She dangled one portion on the water, then dropped it. Aili got closer, but stopped at a safe distance. ¡°You have to feed them one by one?¡± ¡°Yes, or the strong ones will eat everything.¡± ¡°Can I help you?¡± Saia glanced at her. Even Dan, after three lessons on how to pick up and handle sea snakes, hadn¡¯t yet earned the right to feed them again. But it could keep Aili distracted. ¡°Yes, but wear my gloves and be careful,¡± she said, taking them out of the bag. While Aili put them on, she explained her what to do. Her eyes seemed focused on taking in every single piece of information, so when she finally nodded and declared to be ready, Saia believed her. Aili fed the first snake, fascinated by the fight that ensued among the animals. Saia stepped back, took a vissin from her pocket and let it fall onto the floor near the bed. ¡°Damn,¡± she uttered, just loud enough to be heard by Aili. ¡°Stupid pocket.¡± She laid down with her belly against the pavement. The coin was just in front of her, but she ignored it and reached for the woolen blanket. She started unfolding it, but stopped when the blue light began to shine through. ¡°Everything all right?¡± Aili asked. Saia heard her step closer. There was no way she could hide the golden light from her once Koidan was awake. She took the coin and showed it to Aili. ¡°Don''t worry, I found it.¡± She went back to the tank and helped her feed the snakes. She couldn''t ask Aili to leave her alone without making her suspicious, but they also risked facing a murderer soon. ¡°Shouldn''t we get a weapon?¡± she asked. ¡°Or bring a guard with us?¡± ¡°We can take some knives, if that reassures you. And the guards, well, it¡¯s complicated. They pretty much agreed that they¡¯ll stop minor trifles, but if we want them to deal with serious crimes we¡¯ll have to pay everyone involved thirty vissins a day.¡± ¡°Too much.¡± ¡°Exactly. Let''s talk with the cousin, then we''ll pay one of them to come with us just for today.¡± Saia nodded and dropped another strip of meat. ¡°We could take a snake,¡± she said. Aili looked at her. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Saia waited for another animal to approach the surface, then yanked it out of the water. She thought about the sea and the snake went limp. ¡°Are you insane?¡± Aili yelled. ¡°It could''ve hurt you.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, it¡¯s paralyzed now. It won''t move again until I want it to.¡± She reached the table and took a beaker. She freed the snake just enough to let it bite the glass, then put it to sleep again. Aili frowned. ¡°I''m pretty sure it doesn''t work like that.¡± ¡°It does.¡± She put the snake inside the bag. ¡°You can''t do that,¡± Aili said. ¡°How are you so sure it won''t hurt you?¡± Saia sighed. ¡°I know how sea snakes work, I¡¯ll take the risk. Let¡¯s go.¡± She was outside before Aili could protest. ¡°I really want to trust you,¡± she said, following her. ¡°But you''re making it a bit too difficult.¡± Saia locked the door. ¡°Can we talk about this later?¡± Aili crossed her arms, but didn''t answer. Dan had told them that Mili''s cousin was Liraira, Orver¡¯s daughter, so they headed towards the merchant''s house. It was next to the central square and four times larger than a common house. The windows were all shut and nobody was carrying crates in or out of the small warehouse next to the building. They stopped in front of the double doors and knocked. A series of hurried steps got closer and stopped in front of the doors. ¡°Who''s there?¡± a masculine voice asked. ¡°Ailima and Saia. We need to talk to Liraira, if possible.¡± The door to the left opened enough to show a servant dressed in the deep blue of mourning. ¡°She''s still shocked by the death of her cousin.¡± Aili lowered her head a bit. ¡°We are too, but we need to find out who did it. It''s the only way to get some relief.¡± The servant glanced behind himself, then pulled both doors open. ¡°Follow me.¡± He led them through the hall, then inside a corridor, a second one, and into a living room. There was a lot of free space, with three tables and some chairs piled next to a wall. A young woman was sitting in front of a piano, her back to it, hands folded in her lap. She stared at the floor with swollen eyes, her dark brown hair tied in a ruffled tail. Orver, a tall man with gray hair and a short beard, was pacing in front of a window. ¡°Sir,¡± the servant knocked on the door to get his attention. ¡°The administrator and her assistant.¡± The merchant stopped, looked at them, then nodded. ¡°Thank you. We were expecting your visit, after what happened. Please, enter.¡± They glanced at each other before stepping forward. Aili took a deep breath. For a second, Saia thought she was going to cry again. ¡°Mili was an amazing person. I can''t even imagine how devastated you must feel.¡± Orver nodded again, then looked at the young woman. ¡°Milvia and Liraira grew up together. It''s as if she''s lost a sister.¡± His daughter glanced up, then resumed staring at the floor. Aili made a step towards her. ¡°I don''t want to disrespect your grief, but I need to ask you some questions.¡± Liraira gripped her skirt, but nodded. Aili sat next to her on the opposite side of the bench. ¡°Have you seen or heard something while you were knocking at the door?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°No.¡± She didn''t move, not even to shake her head. Aili exchanged a glance with Saia. ¡°I don''t want to insist, but we''re sure that Mili was killed more or less half an hour ago. This means that it happened while you were there. That''s why we need every detail you can remember.¡± Liraira''s hands twitched. ¡°I don''t remember anything.¡± ¡°Liraira,¡± her father called. ¡°Tell them what you said to me.¡± She tightened her lips and shook her head. Aili turned towards Orver. ¡°What do you mean?¡± But he kept staring at his daughter. Saia put her back against the wall and crossed her arms, shifting her gaze from one to the other. ¡°I don''t understand.¡± ¡°I wasn''t knocking at the door,¡± Liraira said. ¡°I was inside the house.¡± She hunched over and lowered her head onto her hands. ¡°It''s okay,¡± Aili said. ¡°We''re not here to judge you. We just need to know what happened.¡± Saia frowned. She didn¡¯t understand why Aili was behaving as if she was certain Liraira wasn''t the murderer. The young woman sighed. ¡°I was at the market,¡± she said, straightening her back against the piano, ¡°when I saw a man following me. I tried to elude him, but he got closer. I was so scared that I could only think about finding a place to hide. My cousin¡­¡° She pressed a hand against her mouth. When she lowered it, her stare was lost on the floor. ¡°Mili''s house was next to market¡¯s street, so I went there. Of course she wasn¡¯t home, but I had the keys, so I got in and waited. He banged at the door, shouting my name.¡± ¡°Are you sure it was him?¡± Aili asked. ¡°I saw him from the window. I feared he could break it and enter, so I ran into Mili''s bedroom, locked the door and hid under the bed. He kept knocking for a bit, then stopped. I don''t know where he went.¡± ¡°He probably just waited outside,¡± Aili said. ¡°He couldn''t break a window if there were people around.¡± ¡°After a while,¡± Liraira continued, ¡°I heard someone unlocking the door. I recognized Mili''s voice. She was talking with that man. He said that he was one of my father''s employees in Elgen, that he needed to find our house and was tired from the journey. Mili believed him and offered to cook something.¡± Aili shook her head and looked down. ¡°They talked about us,¡± Liraira said. ¡°My father, me, the family''s business. He asked if we were close. He seemed calm, so I thought he was just looking for information about me and wouldn''t have hurt her. That''s why I stayed hidden.¡± She looked at Aili, then turned towards Saia, and finally glanced at her father. ¡°It''s the only thing you could have done,¡± he said. Aili nodded. ¡°He''s right. He''d have killed you too if he knew you were still there. What happened next?¡± ¡°He was eating while Mili went to water the flowers. I couldn''t hear her voice anymore, but I heard his answers and it didn¡¯t look like they were talking about anything important.¡± She breathed in. ¡°After a while, he called for Mili, saying he had to go. Then, I heard a loud,¡± she waved her hands in the air, ¡°sound, I don''t know how to describe it. And something fell. I didn''t realize it was Mili. I just stayed hidden and listened to what was happening. He walked around the room, then the door opened and closed. I thought it was a trap, so I waited for a long time before leaving the room. And when I did...¡± She put the back of her hand on her mouth, too late to stop a sob. ¡°She was dead,¡± Saia said. Liraira nodded, and the movement made some tears fall. She wiped them away. ¡°Yes. I saw her and looked for help. I found a guard outside. They told Dan to call you and accompanied me home.¡± Saia nodded. Aili was wiping her eyes. She realized everybody was staring at her and murmured an excuse. Liraira stood. ¡°If you don''t have other questions, I''d like to go, now.¡± ¡°I have one,¡± Saia glanced at Aili, but she was still trying to stop her tears. ¡°Do you know something else about this man? How tall he was, eyes, hair and the like? Do you know his name?¡± Liraira hugged her waist. ¡°It was Lorim. Or maybe Loren, I didn''t hear well. He seemed a little taller than me, brown hair, pale skin, light eyes but I didn''t see which color. Let''s see... Deep voice.¡± She narrowed her eyes, then shook her head. ¡°I don''t remember anything else.¡± Saia nodded and looked at Aili. She had calmed down, but didn''t seem to have more questions. ¡°Thank you,¡± she murmured instead. Liraira bowed her head and left the room. After she closed the door, Orver turned towards Aili. ¡°Why do you know Milvia?¡± ¡°I''ve seen her at the market.¡± ¡°Only her close friends call her Mili. I''m sure Liraira knows all of them, but she doesn¡¯t know you.¡± Aili took a deep breath. ¡°I was a regular customer. Can I ask you some questions about this Lorim?¡± He frowned. ¡°I know she said he was one of my employees, but I assure you I don''t know anyone with that name. And if he is, he can''t possibly come from Elgen, because I know everyone there.¡± ¡°Maybe one of your employees hired him.¡± ¡°Not with my permission, I can assure you. But I''ll write them a letter.¡± Aili nodded, then looked outside the window. ¡°If things went as Liraira said...¡± ¡°You don''t believe her?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Aili said, ¡°but she was still scared and confused. Maybe she missed something.¡± Orver crossed his arms. ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°I think that Lorim, for now let''s assume it''s his name, wanted to kill Liraira to take revenge on you. So he convinced Mili to let him in, probably with a lie. When he found out that Mili was really close to you, he killed her instead.¡± ¡°Then why he didn¡¯t try to kill me?¡± Aili leaned back. The piano emitted two high notes. ¡°I don''t know. It depends on his reasons to take revenge on you. Have you made any enemies recently?¡± ¡°Sometimes I need to make tough business choices, but I try to never burn any bridge.¡± ¡°What kind of choices?¡± Saia asked. ¡°I¡¯ve had to lay people off. I change suppliers sometimes, if I find a better¡­¡± He stopped, staring at the wall as if he''d just remembered something. ¡°I had a supplier of beer from this village who might correspond to the description. Blue eyes, deep voice, and he was called Loriem, actually.¡± Aili and Saia glanced at each other. ¡°And he doesn''t sell you beer anymore?¡± Saia asked. ¡°No, I was offered a lower price from a brewery in Izgos. Loriem didn''t take it well at all.¡± Aili put her elbows on her knees. ¡°I imagine he must have lost a lot of sales, right?¡± Orver nodded. ¡°I bought dozens of barrels from him each year. But he became rich with my money, so he shouldn''t have any complaints.¡± ¡°Maybe he thought you betrayed him.¡± ¡°There was nothing to betray. I can choose from whom to buy my beer.¡± ¡°I agree, but I''m trying to think like him. Where does he live?¡± ¡°Down at the docks. It¡¯s a two stories house with a large garden, I don¡¯t remember the address. But I stopped working with him three years ago, why would he act now?¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy: he knew there was a good chance Koidan wouldn''t have stopped him.¡± Orver put a hand on the windowsill and looked outside. ¡°Right, because he has to fight the evil god. Couldn''t even spare a second to save Milvia.¡± Saia clenched her fists. ¡°It''s not Koidan¡¯s fault if this Loriem is a piece of crap.¡± ¡°Thank you for your collaboration,¡± Aili said, raising her voice to partially cover Saia''s words. ¡°We should go, now. We¡¯ve troubled you enough.¡± Saia nodded and followed her out of the room. The servant showed them out and closed the double doors behind them. ¡°He didn''t like me,¡± Aili said. Saia rolled her eyes. ¡°So what? Nobody likes him.¡± They got to the end of the road, then stopped. ¡°What do we do now?¡± Saia asked. Aili looked around as if in search of an answer. ¡°Maybe Loriem has killed Mili, but we should talk to him before doing anything else.¡± ¡°Talk? With a murderer?¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯m scared too.¡± They stared at the ground. Saia put her back against the stone wall of a house. ¡°Maybe we could make him believe we don''t know anything. That we want to talk to him just to, I don''t know, change his task.¡± ¡°Right after Mili was killed?¡± Aili shook her head. ¡°Everyone has heard of it by now, he''ll be expecting us. And even if he believed us, we couldn''t ask him anything too personal without making him suspicious.¡± ¡°Do you have a better idea?¡± Aili opened the palms of her hands at her sides. ¡°Let¡¯s just go there? We''ll observe him for a while. Maybe we can find some clues about how he killed Mili.¡± She headed down the street. Saia followed her. ¡°And why do we care?¡± ¡°Because we can''t be certain it was him until he either admits he''s the murderer or we find something that tells us he is without a doubt.¡± ¡°It just makes things more difficult.¡± ¡°I know. But would you like it to be imprisoned just because Orver said you killed someone?¡± ¡°Yeah, no. You''re right.¡± They walked in silence for a bit. ¡°You¡¯re the letter carrier, right?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Yeah. Why?¡± ¡°And you haven''t met this Loriem before?¡± Aili shook her head. ¡°It happens. Some people never send or receive letters.¡± And she gave Saia a curious look, making clear that she was talking about her, too. Saia ignored her. She let her go first when they entered a narrow alley. ¡°Why that question?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Nothing important.¡± Her tone hadn¡¯t been convincing, but she didn''t press the issue further. ¡°We''re not going to the docks,¡± Saia pointed out. ¡°I want to go back to Milvia''s house first. We can get updates on the situation and maybe convince a guard to come with us.¡± Saia nodded. She looked at Aili, her long hair swaying behind her, and wondered whether she¡¯d delivered some delicate mail in the past. Something the gods couldn''t know anything about. ¡°Aili,¡± she called. ¡°If you answer my question, I''ll answer yours.¡± The woman stopped and turned towards her. ¡°We''re short on time, but... What do you want to know?¡± Saia glanced up at the windows of the buildings at their sides: they were all closed and scattered just under the roof, too high for anyone to hear them. ¡°Have you ever carried something unusual?¡± ¡°Unusual like what? They did ask me to deliver a cow once, and I swear I''ll never do that again. And I''d prefer not to deal with snakes. Unless they''re dead and you beg me enough.¡± She smiled. Saia shook her head. ¡°No, I meant something that has to be kept secret. From a god, for example.¡± Aili''s expression dropped into a frown. ¡°You do realize it doesn''t sound good, right?¡± Saia sighed. ¡°I had some problems with Vizena. I''m sure she''d destroy all of my letters the moment they arrived in her territory. Or do something worse, like changing the content, or¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°I don''t know, but I can''t risk it. That''s why I asked.¡± ¡°Are you sure you can''t talk to her about it?¡± ¡°No. Look, forget it.¡± She tried to walk past Aili, but the alley was too narrow. ¡°Wait. Maybe there¡¯s something I can do, but there''s no guarantee it''ll work.¡± Saia stopped and crossed her arms. She stared at the wall to avoid Aili''s gaze. ¡°It''s fine, you don''t have to.¡± ¡°But I want to help you, really.¡± She put a strand of hair behind her ear. ¡°Vizena is a tough one, because she checks every single letter. First of all, we won''t put your name on it, nor the ones of your relatives. But that''s not enough, because sometimes she reads the text too.¡± Saia exhaled sharply. ¡°Of course she does.¡± ¡°I''ll carry with me something more interesting,¡± Aili said. ¡°Hopefully she''ll only focus on that. I do it all the time when I have to deliver sensitive things.¡± ¡°Something like what?¡± ¡°I don''t know. Usually I just write fake letters from a crook to some sort of accomplice. I try to make them as complicated as possible, so it takes a long time to understand what they say. Vizena in particular can''t stand bad handwriting.¡± She resumed walking. ¡°Don''t worry, we''ll figure something out. But we should go now.¡± Saia followed her, wondering how many things Aili had already guessed just from that conversation. 1.9 - The brewer A small crowd had gathered in front of Milvia''s house. The three guards on duty that day were sitting on the stairs to prevent anyone from entering. Aili walked up to the one who had broken the window when Liraira had given the alarm. ¡°Hi, Onis. Anything happened while we were away?¡± They shook their head, whipping the air with a short brown braid. ¡°There was a group that said they were her friends.¡± Onis nodded in the crowd''s direction. ¡°We told them to wait. I think that made them angry.¡± ¡°Good idea, we don''t want people to touch anything until we find out what happened.¡± Aili cleared her throat. ¡°Listen, we know it seems dangerous, but we need to talk to someone who might be the murderer. Can you come with us?¡± Onis glanced at the ground. ¡°Reporting problems is one thing, but I have a job and a family.¡± ¡°I get it. We can give you ten vissins now, regardless of what happens, and twenty more if he''s the murderer and we catch him.¡± Onis thought about it for some instants, then nodded. Aili smiled. ¡°Great. Let''s go, then.¡± They cut through the crowd, the guard walking at the front to clear the way. Saia stared straight ahead. Some people were shouting their indignation, angry at Koidan but still too afraid to express it freely, but most were asking for reassurance, a sign of the god, or just a word from the people who seemed closest to him. But there wasn''t enough time for that; they had to learn how to reassure themselves. Luckily, the crowd returned in front of the house once the group had reached the end of the street. Onis slowed down to walk beside Saia and Aili. ¡°They think that the evil god killed that girl. Who knows, maybe it''s true.¡± Saia stiffened, but didn''t reply. Aili gestured for them to turn right. They headed down the large road that connected the central square to the docks. It broke into three smaller streets toward the end, and Aili confidently chose the middle one. ¡°It should be the third house on the left,¡± she said, then stopped. ¡°Is there somewhere we can hide? I want to observe the area before talking to him.¡± Onis put their braid on a shoulder. ¡°Not here, but we can circle around.¡± They entered a side street and looked at the back of the house. They found the garden Orver had talked about, enclosed by a fence. The tall grass hid half of the backdoor from their view. ¡°That''s Loriem''s house,¡± Onis said hesitantly. Aili stopped. ¡°Do you know him?¡± ¡°Not well. I see him often when I go to Taitia¡¯s with the other guards. Sometimes he offers us some of his beer. Oh, look.¡± They pointed at the farthest corner of the backyard. ¡°He¡¯s there.¡± Saia narrowed her eyes. Someone was moving up and down, disappearing into the grass before emerging again. ¡°What is he doing?¡± ¡°Choosing the herbs for his beer.¡± Aili wrinkled her nose. ¡°From his backyard?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but it tastes amazing.¡± Saia looked around. Apart from two men talking to each other from windows on opposite sides of the street, there wasn''t anyone else. ¡°What now?¡± Aili straightened. ¡°Onis, you''ll go guard the front door in case he tries to run. Saia and I will talk to him from the fence, so he won''t feel threatened or try to hurt us.¡± The guard nodded. ¡°I don''t know how to fight, though.¡± ¡°Just follow him. Even better, put a barrel at the entrance to stop him in case he tries to leave. We¡¯ll scream if we need you.¡± Onis nodded and left. Aili took a deep breath, then looked at Saia. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°It depends. What are we going to tell him?¡± ¡°That we''re planning a meeting and... And he''s seen us.¡± Aili forced a smile and waved. ¡°Come on,¡± she said, advancing toward the house. Loriem was looking at them with a bundle of grass in his hands. ¡°Good afternoon,¡± Aili widened her smile, then returned serious. ¡°You''re the brewer everyone talks about, right?¡± He lifted his chin. ¡°I make beer, yeah. I''m about to prepare another batch.¡± He raised the herbs. Aili nodded. ¡°Good. I''m not going to waste much of your time. We just wanted to organize a meeting with the whole village to talk about what happened and thought that maybe we could buy a barrel from you.¡± He glanced at Saia, then back at Aili. ¡°You''re talking about the dead girl, right?¡± ¡°Yes, exactly. The meeting''s about that.¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Saia noticed that Aili''s hand was trembling. She must have realized that too, because she clenched her fingers and lowered the fist at her side. ¡°A disgrace,¡± the man said. ¡°The evil god has made his first victim.¡± Aili swallowed. ¡°Just a question, where were you earlier this afternoon? We''re asking this to everyone,¡± she added quickly, ¡°just to make sure that she was actually killed by the evil god and not one of us.¡± Now she was also sweating. Saia resisted the urge to take her aside and tell her to calm down. The man looked up, squinting a bit. ¡°Let me think... I went to Taitia''s. You know, the tavern down at the docks. Ate something, then returned home. Now I''m brewing my beer.¡± Aili nodded. Saia noticed that the man''s grip on the bundle of grass was so tight his fingers had blanked. ¡°How much do you sell it for?¡± Aili asked. ¡°A barrel''s twenty vissins. Not negotiable.¡± ¡°Can we taste it, then? To be sure it''s what we''re looking for.¡± He nodded and headed inside. Once he¡¯d disappeared behind the door, Aili let out a long sigh. ¡°That was scary.¡± Saia drummed her fingers on her bag. ¡°What do we do when he comes back?¡± ¡°I don''t know. I think we should just drink our beers, promise him we''ll think about buying it, then go to Taitia''s. Maybe the owner can tell us whether he was actually there.¡± ¡°What if Taitia doesn''t remember? And he could have paid her to tell a lie. He knows we suspect him now, I don''t think he''ll stay here and wait for us to come back.¡± Aili brought a hand to her forehead and closed her eyes for an instant. ¡°I know, but I don''t have a better idea. If I ask anything else, he''ll know for sure that we suspect him and become either more cautious or violent.¡± Saia looked at the house. She noticed some movement inside, but couldn''t see clearly what Loriem was doing. He could have been poisoning the beer, for all they knew. Her fingers stopped on the bag. ¡°I have an idea.¡± She opened it and took out the sea snake. She tossed it where Loriem had been standing and reached over the fence to move the tall grass around until it wasn¡¯t visible anymore. Aili gripped the fence with both hands. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Saia was about to explain when the man opened the door, his back against the wood. He walked up to the two women with a mug in each hand. ¡°There you go. It''s twelve vissins in total.¡± Aili searched in the pockets of her pants while Saia looked into the bag. She tucked the leather gloves under her arm before opening a small purse half filled with coins. She took the beer and let the six vissins fall onto Loriem''s open hand. He crossed his arms, waiting. Aili took a sip and raised her eyebrows. ¡°This is good.¡± Loriem nodded. He looked at Saia, then at her mug. She held the gloves with her free hand and brought the mug to her lips. She didn''t remember which scale belonged to that snake. She covered them all with her palm and focused until she felt the sea waves under her skin. She agitated them with her thoughts until they were buzzing. A soft rustling caught Loriem''s attention. ¡°What the...¡± He jumped back with a shriek. The snake held onto his leg as he staggered and fell into the tall grass, clawing at his pant leg. Saia touched the scales again, and the animal went limp, half-hidden by the herbs. She stepped forward and put her hands on the fence. ¡°Listen to me, Loriem. I know it hurts, but if you''re honest with me I can give you an antidote.¡± He sat on the grass, wide eyes pointed at the two red dots on his leg. ¡°I''m gonna die. Shit, I''m gonna die!¡± Aili clutched the mug with both hands, making the beer tremble with her. ¡°I don''t... What...¡± Saia glanced at her, then focused on the man. ¡°Have you killed Milvia?¡± He tilted his head in her direction, keeping his eyes on the bite. ¡°Whatever you say. Just give me the antidote.¡± He reached out with a hand. ¡°How?¡± she said. ¡°Tell me exactly what happened.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± Aili shouted. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Saia said. Loriem looked around, sweat spilling from his forehead. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Just give me the antidote.¡± Saia gripped the fence, then turned and approached Aili. ¡°What should I ask him?¡± ¡°Just... Just heal him. I need to think about it.¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°I can''t. I left the antidote at home.¡± ¡°What?¡± She turned toward the general direction of her house. At least, it wasn''t far. ¡°I''ll be quick,¡± she said, talking under her breath so that Loriem couldn''t understand. ¡°Just keep asking him questions. Tell him he''ll have the antidote when he tells the truth.¡± Aili pressed the mug against her chest with both hands. ¡°What if he¡¯s actually innocent?¡± ¡°I''ll heal him anyway, I don''t want to kill anyone.¡± Onis was walking toward them, alerted by the shouts. Saia waved at them and ran away. She only stopped once in front of her house, panting. She closed the door behind her and kneeled in front of the bed. She fished the sphere out of the blanket, sat with her back against the side of the bed and recalled the waves. ¡°Before you say anything,¡± she said as soon as the light turned golden, ¡°there''s a man who was bitten by a snake. Can you heal him?¡± The light spun in silence. Saia watched as it slowed down. ¡°Milvia''s dead¡±, Koidan said. ¡°Loriem''s blood''s full of venom. There''s one of your snakes next to him and it isn''t moving. Did you use magic outside?¡± ¡°Yes, but I hid the snake in the grass first. Loriem and Aili didn''t notice anything, so I don''t think the sentinels did.¡± ¡°Aili¡¯s trembling, Saia. And she''s asking questions to Loriem about Milvia''s,¡± he paused, ¡°murder?¡± He sounded surprised. ¡°And what are they saying?¡± Saia realized she was gripping the sphere too tight. ¡°Loriem''s admitting he did it. What happened, Saia?¡± She told him, from their visit to Milvia''s house to how they confronted Loriem. ¡°You should have just awakened me,¡± Koidan said. ¡°I¡¯d have fixed everything. There was no need for this.¡± ¡°Everything? Even resurrected Milvia?¡± ¡°No, but I''d have noticed that there''s a stone frypan stained with Milvia''s blood in a side street, and that some of it is also on the clothes under Loriem''s bed.¡± ¡°Aili would¡¯ve found out that you''re a sphere.¡± ¡°Yes, and that''s clearly more important than catching a murderer before he runs away.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry for trying to help you.¡± The light slowed down. ¡°This is all my fault. The earthquake, the fire, and now Milvia''s death.¡± He sounded incredulous, as if he had just realized what had happened. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been so selfish to think that I could escape my fate without consequences, she¡¯d still be alive.¡± ¡°Loriem murdered her, not you.¡± ¡°Yes, because he knew I wasn¡¯t there. I should have never told that lie about the evil god. I¡­ I just couldn¡¯t imagine any of my people becoming murderers as soon as I turned my back.¡± Saia sighed. ¡°So what¡¯s your plan now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay awake and face the consequences.¡± ¡°And die.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lived for two hundred years. Milvia was only twenty-six.¡± The light dimmed so suddenly Saia had to blink away the afterimage of the furniture from her sight. She felt a wave of sadness creep up from her hands to her chest and meet the tension that was already there. She breathed deeply, trying not to cry. ¡°I¡¯ve been selfish, and foolish. I¡¯ve failed Milvia and all of my people.¡± Saia closed her eyes for an instant, trying to calm down and think rationally about all of the possible ways she could fix that mess. She didn¡¯t want Koidan to be replaced. ¡°How much can you go on without sleeping with the energy you have left?¡± ¡°Who knows? My guess is about a year, maybe less if I make another mistake and the monks find out about it. Let¡¯s just try to enjoy the time we have left, and¡­¡± Saia shut him down. She stared at the sphere in her hand, blue light rotating slowly. She put him down on the blanket and stared some more. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± she whispered. ¡°Shit shit shit shit.¡± She brought both hands to her mouth and sobbed. She thought about waking him up again, before it was too late to apologize, and tell him she was sorry. But then what? He would have died. ''His people'' wouldn''t have even noticed. They would have kept being careless and dependent on Koidan like babies. And what if the next one, the substitute, wasn''t like Koidan at all? She knew that bad gods existed, and nothing could guarantee her that the next one wouldn¡¯t have been exactly like Vizena. She just needed time to think. She could find a solution, discuss a better system with Aili to prevent crimes. Paying the guards to patrol the city was the first step, and even if she didn''t know what could come next, there were a million other things to try that were better than just letting Koidan die. She wrapped him up in the blanket and hid him. She stood, a hand on her forehead. They were waiting for her. Loriem had to be imprisoned, Onis wanted their pay, Aili needed an explanation and more answers than what Saia was willing to provide. But she wasn''t ready to face them. She opened her bag and dropped it next to the tank. She fished the snakes out one by one, putting them to sleep before letting them fall into the bag. She looked outside the window, waiting for a moment of quiet in the street, then locked the door behind her and left. 1.10 - The ship Saia was startled out of her sleep by the ghost of a burning sensation on her leg. The feeling disappeared as soon as she opened her eyes. She raised her head, bound in a green shawl, from the stacked gloves she¡¯d used as a pillow. The patches of light glistening on the sand were so numerous it could only be late afternoon, when the sun was low enough to shine through all of the holes in the walls of rock. She sat and arched her back, forward then backward. Sleeping on the stone pavement of the cave was just as fun as she remembered. She drank from her canteen, forcing herself to put it away into the bag without quenching her thirst, despite her sore throat. She didn¡¯t want to go back to the village to get some more water. Her stomach grumbled. She sighed and stood to check on the snakes. She¡¯d freed them inside the pool that Koidan had gifted her, even if it felt like another betrayal. But she couldn¡¯t let them swim back to the sea, especially not now that they were her only sustenance. She wiggled a hand in the water, without even wearing the gloves, and caught one. She recognized it from the pattern of the scales as one of the snakes she could control and let it fall back into the water. ¡°Saia,¡± Dan shouted outside the cave. She froze. There were two people on the beach, but the low sun didn''t allow her to identify them. If the short one was Dan, the other had to be Mor¨¬c. ¡°I''m here,¡± she said with a raspy voice. They got closer to the entrance. Dan put a hand on one of the rock walls and leaned forward to look inside. The other person, Aili, stared at Saia with crossed arms. She looked like she wanted to say something, but lowered her eyes instead. Saia looked at her for some instants, then dried her hands on the skirt and approached them. ¡°Hi.¡± She stopped, uncertain of what to say next. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Dan stepped inside. He smiled. ¡°If you wanted to hold off my lesson, you could have just said it.¡± Saia tried to smile back. ¡°Is it fifthday already?¡± ¡°You''ve been gone for two days,¡± Aili murmured without looking at her. ¡°We put Loriem in prison and held Milvia''s funeral.¡± Saia nodded, glad she didn''t mention the venom in front of Dan. ¡°I''m sorry for the lesson, I just had some personal issues and needed some space to think. Why are you two here?¡± He looked at Aili. She sighed and let her arms fall to her sides. ¡°Because we were worried about you. And there''s a new issue I don''t know how to handle. I need your opinion.¡± Saia almost laughed. ¡°You know it''s not true, but thank you for coming here. I''m fine, I just need some more time alone.¡± She smiled at Dan and turned toward her pool. ¡°Please,¡± Aili said, in a tone that was too harsh to be imploring. ¡°Only you can solve this.¡± Saia stopped, her shoulders dropping. She looked at the floor of sand-covered rock. ¡°What problem are you talking about? Another murder?¡± ¡°A ship.¡± Saia frowned. ¡°So what?¡± But Aili held her stare, lips pressed tight. ¡°Oh. But that''s just... not possible. Is it?¡± Saia put a hand on her forehead. ¡°You sure there isn''t a shield or something like that?¡± Aili shook her head. ¡°You have to see it,¡± Dan said. ¡°It''s so cool.¡± Saia looked at him, then at Aili. She sighed. ¡°Just let me take my things, first.¡± She returned to the pool, fished each snake out of the water and put it to sleep before shoving it into the bag. ¡°Do you really have to take them with you?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Yes. I''m going back to my house after this.¡± She managed to fit all of them inside the bag. There wasn''t space for anything else, so she kept her gloves on and left the remains of the snakes she''d killed behind a rock. As soon as they were out of the cave, she saw the issue floating on the water in front of the harbor. ¡°Fucking goddess, it''s huge.¡± ¡°Right?¡± Dan said. ¡°And it has an entire row of harpoons.¡± Saia gaped at him. Usually, merchant ships only had one harpoon, in case they had to sail out of the gods'' range during their trips around the villages. But it was a precaution nobody ever had to use. ¡°A fisher saw it offshore yesterday evening,¡± Aili said. ¡°It started to come closer at dawn. This morning, it stopped there, in front of the harbor. Everybody¡¯s worried because the harpoons are facing the village.¡± Saia looked at her. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Have you seen who¡¯s onboard?¡± ¡°We saw some people on deck. Someone said they let down the sails. A fisher tried to get closer to look for any shields that could identify the village, but they shot at him. He''s fine, they avoided both him and the boat. They just wanted to scare him.¡± She ran a hand on her forehead. ¡°First the mountain trembles, then a murder, then this. So many things that never happened before, it makes you wonder what comes next. Cloud people?¡± She glanced at the sky, as if they were descending on them right at that moment. Saia looked down to the grains of sand that were passing by while they almost ran toward the village. ¡°We could try talking to them. Make clear we don''t want to attack and maybe send someone on the ship.¡± ¡°Can I come?¡± Dan asked. ¡°And how do we signal them anything, exactly?¡± Aili asked. ¡°For all we know, they don''t even speak our language. I don''t think we should risk it, if there''s a simpler solution to the problem.¡± And she kept staring at Saia. Dan looked from one woman to the other, then shrugged and turned his attention back to the ship. ¡°What if I can''t?¡± Saia murmured. Aili opened her mouth as if to reply, then glanced at Dan. ¡°I''m sorry, but we need to talk in private.¡± He shrugged again and walked faster. Aili spoke once he was far enough ¡°The other day something healed Loriem while I was talking to him. One second he was sweating and could barely think straight, the next Onis had to restrain him or he''d run away. All of this happened while you were away to look for some sort of antidote. But you didn''t return, even though his life depended on you. And now, you aren''t surprised to know he survived. When I told you we''d put him in prison, you didn''t even react, as if it was something you already knew.¡± Saia looked at the sea. ¡°So what?¡± ¡°So I want to know what happened. You said you have personal issues to think about. You were the first to react when there was a fire, Koidan put you in a position of power even though you''ve always kept to yourself, you''re a foreigner, apparently you had issues with Vizena, and I have no idea of what''s going on.¡± She was almost shouting. Dan turned toward them, eyes wide. Aili stopped and covered her face with both hands. ¡°I hate not knowing things,¡± she said. ¡°I keep coming up with theories, but I''m too tired to really think about them. Since I became administrator, it''s been a problem after another.¡± She let her arms fall at her sides. ¡°Do me a favor and make that ship go away. I don''t care how. Go talk to them, pay them, do whatever you did the other day, I don''t even want to know what it is. Just solve this. Please.¡± She left Saia there and headed toward the village alone, almost running. Dan waited for Saia to approach him with a confused look on his face. They walked on at a slower pace. ¡°Did you talk about me?¡± Dan asked. Saia stared at Aili''s distant figure. ¡°No. She wants me to make the ship go away.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And I don''t know what to do. Look, I''m sorry for the lesson. I forgot what day it was.¡± Dan shrugged. ¡°It happens. My brother forgets to eat sometimes. He just keeps working at the carpets until he''s too tired, then he goes to sleep.¡± ¡°Has he sold anything? Recently, I mean.¡± Dan shook his head. ¡°He''s planning a trip around the mountain, though. He wants to visit all of the villages and stop at every market to sell his stuff.¡± Saia glanced at him. ¡°And you''re going too?¡± He put his hands in his pockets. ¡°I have to ask my boss if he needs help with the sheep. I don''t want him to think I''m being lazy.¡± Saia shook her head, but didn''t answer. Dan kicked a shell into the sea. ¡°I''d like to go there so much.¡± ¡°On the ship?¡± ¡°Yeah. It looks awesome.¡± Saia forced a smile. They parted as soon as they arrived at the village. Saia slowly walked toward her house. She didn''t know what to tell Koidan. She briefly considered bringing him a gift, but there was nothing she could give to an omnipotent god. Nothing that could change what she¡¯d done. She set to cleaning the tank. She scrubbed the glass walls, then lifted the container with both hands and carried it outside through the backdoor, leaning back to support its weight. She emptied it of both water and soil on a patch of tall grass. The street behind her house was empty: her neighbors were probably down at the docks to see the ship. She took a shovel from the pile of tools in a corner of her house and dug new soil to place at the center of the tank. She half-filled it using the pump outside before carrying it back into the room, then used the bucket to fill it to the brim with slightly salty water: it wasn¡¯t exactly like swimming in the sea, but the snakes could still live comfortably in it. By the time she had awakened and freed them inside the tank, she still had no idea of what to tell Koidan. ''Sorry'' sounded empty compared to what she''d done, but it was a start. She sighed, then took the sphere from the bottom of the bag. ¡°I''m sorry,¡± she said as soon as the light turned golden. ¡°I shouldn''t have done that. I was just worried that you...¡± The sphere sprang out of her hands and landed at the center of the table. ¡°You went too far,¡± Koidan said. ¡°I''m going back to the temple.¡± Saia stood. ¡°Wait. Can we talk first, please?¡± The sphere rose in the air. ¡°You had your chance to talk, but you shut me down. What was your plan? Keeping me asleep forever?¡± ¡°I didn''t have a plan, I was just panicking. But we can''t give up now. It''s not even been a month. Let¡¯s try for two more weeks, okay? And if something serious happens again, you''ll return to the temple.¡± Koidan''s light shrank to a faint speck. ¡°There''s a ship.¡± Saia sighed. ¡°Aili said it arrived last evening. I hate asking for your help after what happened, but can you drive it away?¡± ¡°You don''t understand. Ships from the outside shouldn''t be able to come here, at all. There''s a creature that guards the¡­¡± The light stopped moving for an instant. ¡°Oh. Of course.¡± Saia took another step forward. ¡°What happened?¡± The sphere lowered on the wooden surface. ¡°If the guardian fails to keep the ships away, the gods have to do that. But it hasn''t happened in over a century. I thought everyone knew it''s a dangerous route by now.¡± The light pulsed, one moment barely visible, the next flaring with the intensity of a campfire. It looked like a scared heart. ¡°The sentinels won''t let me get away with it. I fucked up.¡± Saia released her breath. ¡°I fucked up. You were right: there are things we can''t solve alone.¡± She stared at him in silence. The light slowed down. ¡°Well, I have to drive them out anyway. I don''t know what their intentions are, but they have a lot of weapons.¡± Saia hesitated, but she really wanted to know. ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°Tanhata. Now let me focus.¡± Saia frowned, but decided not to question him further. Instead, she opened the window and crossed her arms on the windowsill. The docks were hidden by a line of houses, but she could see the ship behind them. The sails unfurled as the wind raised to fill them. Waves hit the stern, gradually increasing in height. The ship moved toward the open sea, unresponsive to the efforts of the little silhouettes running on the deck. It took a long time for it to disappear from Saia''s sight. ¡°Done,¡± Koidan said, his light brightening a bit. ¡°They''re outside of my range, now. I hope they won''t come back.¡± Saia swallowed. ¡°How much did it cost you?¡± ¡°It doesn''t matter. My energy will end, eventually, and there''s nothing we can do about it. I''m going back to the temple.¡± Saia lowered her head. ¡°Can you bring me there?¡± he asked. ¡°Flying isn''t difficult, but I have to be careful not to be spotted. I¡¯m not sure I can focus enough right now.¡± Saia nodded and reached out to pick him up. ¡°Don''t touch me,¡± he said. ¡°Just open your bag.¡± She lowered her hand and obeyed, telling herself she didn''t deserve to feel hurt. Koidan rose in the air and started floating toward her. He had almost reached the bag, when his light turned blue. Saia leapt forward and caught him with both hands before he could shatter on the floor. She laid with her stomach against the wooden boards, looking at the sphere. ¡°Koidan?¡± she called, but knew he couldn¡¯t hear her. Someone knocked at the door, startling her. She shoved Koidan inside the bag and hid him under the bed along with the woolen blanket, then approached the window. A man dressed in a long gray tunic was waiting outside. He looked at the sea, shielding his eyes against the sun with a hand. He gave the air a quick nod, then he knocked again. 1.11 - Letters Aili let out a sigh as the ship disappeared. The cheer of the crowd was immediately followed by hushed conversations asking where it had come from. ¡°Koidan be thanked,¡± a fisher said. Aili nodded her agreement along with some others, but for different reasons. What they had witnessed could only be the work of a god, maybe Koidan, maybe someone else. It was the second time he helped them after his speech at the temple, the first being healing Loriem. Both times, Saia wasn''t present when the problem had been solved, and the ship had been removed only after she¡¯d learned about its existence, even though it had been anchored in the bay since dawn for everyone to see. She needed to have a conversation with her, later. Someone tapped on her shoulder. Liraira was standing behind her, dressed in black, hair tied in a tight bun. Aili smiled. ¡°Hi. Can I help you?¡± Liraira nodded and handed her an envelope. ¡°It''s for Milvia''s boyfriend.¡± Aili took it. ¡°Does he know about her?¡± Liraira pressed her lips together. ¡°That is none of your business.¡± ¡°No, sorry, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll deliver it.¡± Liraira reached for the leather belt around her waist and opened a small purse. ¡°How much do I owe you?¡± ¡°Two vissins.¡± Aili took them from her hand and put them into one of her pants¡¯ pockets. ¡°Just in time,¡± she said, hoping to lighten the conversation. ¡°I¡¯m going to Narumi, today. I''ll stop at Anbem¡¯s house.¡± Liraira looked at her sideways. ¡°How do you know his name?¡± Aili straightened her back. ¡°Mili told me.¡± ¡°You weren''t close, though.¡± ¡°No, but I knew her enough to say that she was an amazing person.¡± Liraira nodded, her eyes wandering toward the horizon. She tilted her neck in a way that made Aili think about a heron. ¡°Have you or your friend done something to make the ship go away?¡± Aili thought about Saia. Whatever she had done, it was clearly a secret. ¡°No, not at all. Why?¡± Liraira''s temples bulged a bit. ¡°So Koidan isn''t that busy, after all. He just decided that Mili wasn''t worth saving. Good to know.¡± She nodded as a way of greeting and turned to leave. Aili reached out with a hand to stop her, but she didn''t know what to say. After Liraira had disappeared into a side alley, she looked at the envelope and recognized her calligraphy in the address. She''d sent Koidan knew how many letters to Mili in the years Aili had worked as a letter carrier. She¡¯d left her bag at the post office, so she headed there. She had other things to deliver and the ship¡¯s problem had been resolved, so she could leave immediately and be back before evening. She expected to find Saia there, but the door was still locked. She crossed the room and climbed the stairs behind the counter, up to the first floor. The bag was on the table: she put Liraira''s letter inside it and wrote Saia a note about dusting the furniture when she had some time to spare. She left, bag dangling at her side, and headed down the road that led to Izgos, and from there to Narumi. She stopped before crossing the line of white stones and took a deep breath, surveying the small area between Koidan¡¯s and Mivion¡¯s territories. To her right, there were grass and rocks for half a towerlength, before the trees of the internal forest started, a bit higher up than the road. To the left, a small descent led to a cluster of big rocks constantly hit by sea waves. It was one of the safest neutral areas between the villages, open enough to make potential dangers easy to spot. Still, leaving a god¡¯s protection, even if that god wasn¡¯t protecting his people all that much, always made her a bit anxious. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. She took a deep breath and stepped forward. She tried to pay attention to the trees at her right as well as to the creepy cloud that floated alone above the mountain, but her thoughts returned to Saia and her connection to Koidan. She silently listed all of the theories that were rolling through her head: that Saia was Koidan; that she was the other god, the evil one that had appeared some weeks before; that she was just human, but somewhat able to fight the evil deity, giving Koidan the time to focus on the village for a bit. She stroked her forehead. Without more information, she could only think in circles and exhaust herself. The heat didn''t help. She thought about the trip she had to make around Narumi instead, in order to deliver the letters in the shortest amount of time. She wondered what Mairi had written to her sister: maybe something about the trip she was planning with her husband. And what name had Vonem and his wife decided for their future child? Certainly he had included it in the letter to his mother. She stopped in front of the line of white stones that traced Mivion¡¯s territory. There was also Liraira''s letter to Anbem. Aili had given him an envelope from Orver just the day before. Whatever his daughter wanted to add, it was personal enough not to be included in the official condolence letter. She stared at the stones, gripping her bag. She glanced at the grass to her right, then at the trees above. The forest looked scary, but as long as she stood close to the border and paid attention to her surroundings she wouldn¡¯t have been in any danger. She walked past the trees and found a small area on the ground hidden by bushes. She sat there, back against a trunk, and looked around to be sure she wasn''t visible from the road. She put the bag on her crossed legs and opened it. The letters looked all the same from above, aligned as they were in order of destination. She lifted the first one and checked the recipient: it was an old woman who raised donkeys and rented some room in her old house. She let it fall back into the heap of letters and looked at the next. It was Mairi¡¯s. She barely looked at the seal before breaking it. Her handwriting was even more chaotic than usual. Aili only had to read the first two sentences to feel all of her excitement for the upcoming trip. She smiled wider as Mairi described the places she wanted to visit: Elgen and Narumi¡¯s temples, to begin with, then the tulip field and the famous teardrop lake. She folded the letter, slid it into the envelope and put it back in the right spot. This time, she picked the letter that interested her the most. She took some instants to admire the albatross depicted on the seal before breaking it. Anbem, there''s one good thing about Mili¡¯s death: I can stop pretending to tolerate you. First of all, I suggest you find a new job, because I asked my father to fire you. Second, I''ve heard that your house belongs to a really nice lady. So nice I think she''ll gladly throw you out on the street if I ask her politely and give her a hundred vissins. I haven''t spoken to her yet, so maybe you don''t have to worry about this right now. Since you lack any sort of self-awareness, you''re probably wondering why I''m doing this. Well, I want you to stop and think for a second about where you were the day Mili was killed. Or the day before, or really every single day before that for the last two years. Do you want a clue? Not. With. Her. I''m not saying you could have done anything useful, like getting killed in her place, because we both know what kind of lazy scum you are. But you could have at least had the decency not to stay with her after you got your job from my father. Because that was the only thing you wanted, right? The letter continued for two more pages, but Aili had to stop to take a deep breath. She could feel Liraira''s hate seep through every word. She couldn¡¯t even imagine Anbem''s reaction in receiving that letter so soon after his girlfriend¡¯s death. She jumped at the sound of a broken branch. She shoved the letter into the bag and leaned forward to peer through the bushes: someone wearing a gray tunic was walking next to the white stones, on Mivion¡¯s side. A hood covered the stranger¡¯s head, and the clothes were loose enough that she couldn¡¯t guess anything about the person that was wearing them. They were headed roughly in her direction, but from the way they brushed aside a branch without caring about the noise they were making, they didn''t seem to mind being noticed. ¡°Letter carrier?¡± they called with a low feminine voice. ¡°Where are you?¡± Aili gripped the strap of her bag. She didn''t know what was more alarming: the fact she didn''t recognize that voice, or that the stranger didn¡¯t know her name. She cursed herself for leaving the protection of the gods. She waited, eyes fixed on the hooded woman. She stopped, looked around, then stepped forward among the trees until she walked past the area where Aili was sitting. She waited for her to be far enough, then closed the bag, hung it across her shoulder and left, walking fast from tree to tree to remain hidden. As soon as she was out of the forest, she started running toward the road. She glanced one last time behind her before crossing the line of white stones with the calm attitude of a regular visitor. ¡°Good morning, Aili,¡± Mivion¡¯s voice said in her ears. ¡°You seem scared, what happened?¡± Aili forced a smile. ¡°My respects, goddess. I had to¡­¡± She glanced back again. ¡°I slept in.¡± She opened the bag without waiting for the goddess to ask about it. ¡°Everything seems fine, thank you. I''m surprised Koidan only opened two letters, today.¡± Aili closed the bag. ¡°Maybe he was busier than usual. Or less paranoid.¡± She promised herself she''d double her weekly prayer for that. ¡°Good,¡± the goddess said. ¡°You can go on. Have a nice day.¡± Aili thanked her with a smile and resumed walking. After three steps, the goddess called her again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but there''s a¡­¡± The voice stopped for an instant. ¡°A person who wants to talk to you.¡± Aili turned: the woman in gray was walking toward her. She made some steps backwards, but her back bumped into something invisible. A wall of air. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Mivion said, ¡°but you have to talk to her. I won''t allow you to escape. I promise she¡¯s not dangerous.¡± Aili looked up, as if she could see the goddess¡¯s face, then lowered her eyes on the stranger. She was taking off the hood, revealing black hair tied in parallel rows, a tall brown forehead glistening with sweat, and gentle black eyes that were smiling along with her lips, as if she was genuinely happy to see Aili for some reason. She was clearly older than her, at least forty years old, but her aura of calm confidence made her quite attractive. Aili felt her fear evaporate, replaced with curiosity. She let go of the bag¡¯s strap and waited for the stranger to approach her. 1.12 - The stranger Saia let the stranger knock a third time while she thought about what to do. He was probably a monk. She hoped he wasn¡¯t there because he knew she was hiding Zeles in her house. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you enter,¡± the man said in a trembling voice that made him sound older. ¡°Open, please. I just want to talk." He glanced at the window. Saia froze, but his eyes wandered further as if he hadn''t seen her. She stepped back. The obvious solution was waking Koidan up, but if the monks knew he was awake they¡¯d just use the shard to put him to sleep, as they had just done. Plus, Saia didn¡¯t like how resigned he had sounded when talking about going back to the temple. She couldn¡¯t risk that he would just leave with the stranger. She waited. The man made two steps to the left and sat down with his back against the wall. He took a fig from his tunic''s pocket and started eating it, staring at the sea with his dark eyes. Despite his voice and the wrinkles on his face, his short hair was mostly black. Saia clenched her hand around a curtain. She could have left from the backdoor, but doing so would have proved she had something to hide. At least he couldn''t force her to open the door, or he would have already done that. She opened the window a bit. The creaking made the man turn. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked. He swallowed and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. ¡°My name''s Coram. I''m here to make you an offer. Can I enter?¡± Saia put her elbows on the windowsill. His accent made her think of the northern villages. ¡°What offer?¡± The man smiled a bit. ¡°Straight to the point. Well, let''s say me and my colleagues have noticed that you and your friend are working hard to help this village. I''ve asked around, and everybody agrees that you¡¯re doing everything that Koidan isn''t able to do anymore. We want to tell you the truth about,¡± he waved his hand in the air, ¡°many things, and maybe give you a place among us.¡± Saia stared at him in silence for some instants. ¡°I don''t understand.¡± The man looked around. ¡°I can''t tell you anything more from here. Can I enter?¡± ¡°No.¡± He pressed his free hand on the wall behind him and stood. ¡°Well, I have to go then. If you change your mind, go to the spot where the eastern border of the village crosses the forest. I¡¯ll wait for you there.¡± ¡°You''re crazy if you think anyone would accept. Especially now that¡­¡± She stopped just in time, but the man nodded. ¡°Especially now that Koidan can''t protect you anymore. Yes, I know. If you feel unsafe, bring a weapon with you, or that strong guard that helped you and your friend. Or don''t come at all.¡± He walked toward the market, still eating his fig. Saia glanced at her bed from above her shoulder, considering whether to ask Koidan for advice. Zeles, she remembered. She hadn¡¯t had the chance to ask him what name he preferred, but if he had revealed her his old one, it meant he considered it important. She crossed the room and kneeled to pick up the sphere. His words from before made her hesitate. There was the risk he would talk to Coram, or do something else that would reveal she knew how to wake up a god. After a second of staring, she wrapped him in the blanket, put it into her bag and stood. She opened the door a crack to check the street: the stranger was still walking in the distance, at a slow pace. She needed to follow him to make sure he left the village, and only then she could think about awakening Zeles. She was about to leave the house, when she thought about Coram''s remark about bringing a weapon with her. She closed the door and looked around the room: she already had a knife in her bag, taking one more wouldn¡¯t change the fact that she didn¡¯t know how to fight with it. Anything else was too big to conceal. That only left the snakes. She filled her bag with the adults she could control through the glove, cursing when the water on their bodies dripped on the floor. After a quick glance around to make sure she wasn''t forgetting anything, she closed the door and locked it. She followed the distant figure of the man, walking close to the buildings. People kept their distance from him, staring as he walked past them. Saia felt her heart accelerate when she realized that the next thing they saw was her. An old lady asked her who he was. Saia managed to step into a side alley before the small crowd that wanted to hear the answer could attract Coram''s attention. ¡°I saw him talking to the teacher,¡± a man said, ¡°just as the kids were leaving, can you believe it?¡± Saia raised her hands before anyone else could speak. ¡°Just behave as if he didn¡¯t exist. And ignore me too. I¡¯m trying to understand why he¡¯s here.¡± They looked at one another. Saia didn''t wait for an answer and returned to the main street. She couldn¡¯t see the monk anymore, so she walked faster in the general direction he had taken. She found him two streets over, just as he was taking the path that led to the temple. Saia followed him, hiding behind the trees when he stopped to admire the view. As if he couldn¡¯t see it any time he wanted from the top of the mountain. Once at the top, he entered the building. Saia circled around it, bent over to avoid being spotted through one of the windows. She reached the one just at the left of Koidan¡¯s statue and stopped to peek inside. Coram approached the deity and stopped just in front of the pedestal. He knelt and pressed a point near the border between Koidan¡¯s feet. A large panel of marble slid aside, revealing a horizontal cavity. The monk took out a folded ladder and opened it just in front of the statue, the top just in front of its chest. He also extracted two tools Saia didn¡¯t recognize before climbing the ladder. She watched in horror as Coram put the pointy end of a tool on Koidan¡¯s chest, then hit the other extremity with the other. A piece of basalt fell onto the floor, showing the empty cavity where Zeles¡¯s sphere had been. The monk shouted something, then furiously climbed down. He put away ladder and tools, closed the cavity by touching another point in the pedestal, then walked around the room, looking up and down, behind the chandeliers and along the perimeter of the temple. Saia stepped aside to avoid being spotted while he examined the windows. As soon as he stepped away, she circled back toward the entrance and hid behind a tree. Stolen story; please report. A bit more time passed before Coram left the temple, fumbling in his tunic''s pockets. Saia couldn¡¯t see what he was holding, aside from a rectangular shape and shining surface. The man turned to face the mountain. Only his arms seemed to move, but the fabric of the tunic hid what he was doing. He turned and marched down the path, a deep crease on his forehead. Saia followed him, hoping he would just leave, but he returned to the village instead. He only took side streets, changing direction every time he spotted some people in front of him. He only stopped here and there to look through some windows, hands cupped at the sides of his face. One time, a man yelled at him from the second floor, but he walked on without even glancing at him. Saia didn''t know for how long she had followed him, but her feet were pulsing when he entered Taitia¡¯s tavern. She sat on the dock, hidden between a barrel and a boat, and took off her sandals. She considered dipping her toes into the water, but it was too dark to see whether there were sea snakes around, so she just kept her feet on the wooden boards. The clock struck five times. Saia''s stomach growled: she hadn''t eaten anything since getting up. But she couldn''t lose sight of Coram, especially now that he was looking for Zeles. She thought about his offer: if the sentinels really wanted to talk to her, that could have been a good opportunity to know more about them. Coram didn''t seem to suspect her, so they had no reason to hurt her. And if they tried, she had her snakes, even if they could attack her too if she wasn¡¯t careful. He had talked about ''her friend''. Maybe he had already met Aili, wherever she was at that moment. A good twenty minutes after the clock had struck six times, Coram left the tavern. He put a hand on the wall and stood there for an instant with his eyes closed before heading toward the beach. He walked slowly now, with a bit of a limp. Saia put on the sandals and hurried behind him. There was no cover on the beach, so she took a parallel path that ran through the trees. She could only see Coram''s silhouette, dark against the setting sun. He just walked on, stopping now and then to look at something on the sand, probably some shell or pebble. The road on which Saia was traveling started to curve, hiding the beach with the bushes growing to the right. Saia crossed the street and laid down, covered by the tall grass. She advanced on her elbows and knees until she could see the beach again. Coram was a bit behind, but he was still following the shore. Something sparkled on the sand. Coram stopped and looked up, higher than Saia''s hiding spot. She followed his gaze, but could only see the mountain. A light flickered in a cluster of rocks, a common spectacle that some people attributed to the shining surface of the mountain¡¯s stones, others to its holy nature. Now they reminded her of the signals made with mirrors between boats. She turned to find Coram looking straight at her, and even knowing she was hidden enough, she felt her heart accelerate. He started walking toward her, so fast he was almost running. Saia moved back, still laying down to avoid being seen. But it was useless if the people inside the mountain had told him she was there. As soon as her sandals touched the bare ground of the road, she stood and wiped the dust from her clothes. She made some steps forward, slow enough to give Coram the time to climb up the slope. She hummed and looked at the sky, trying to give the impression she was minding her own business. She heard him panting somewhere behind her and turned. He had stopped on the side of the road, hands on his knees. ¡°Oh, it''s you.¡± Saia knew she wasn''t able to sound surprised, so she aimed for unimpressed. ¡°Following me around isn''t a good way to make me want to talk to you.¡± Coram got closer. His nose was reddish, either because of the run or the visit to the tavern. ¡°Were you following me?¡± he said, still breathing heavily. ¡°What? No, I was going to the cave to do my job.¡± He hesitated at that. ¡°Oh. It makes sense.¡± He looked around and scratched his head. ¡°Well, I''m going in the same direction. Can I come with you?¡± Saia didn''t want to go back before she was certain he had left Zeles¡¯s territory. But she couldn''t refuse and follow him anyway, or the other monks would have alerted him again. She shrugged. ¡°Fine. But I have some questions for you.¡± ¡°All I wanted when I knocked at your door was a conversation. Questions were accounted for.¡± ¡°You can''t blame me for not trusting a stranger. How do you know who I am, by the way? I''ve never seen you before.¡± He started walking along the road. Saia went with him, keeping a couple of steps of distance between them. ¡°We¡¯ve been observing your village for a long time. You probably already guessed that, but your god has disappeared. We knew it was going to happen, but not before two years from now. That''s why we didn''t immediately understand why you and your friend were working so hard, even though you both had jobs to think about. You spent all of your free time in the post office, and people tended to run to you as soon as something happened, so we started to suspect things weren''t going as they should. The ship was the confirmation we needed.¡± ¡°For what?¡± Saia asked, realizing he wasn''t going to add more. ¡°Oh, sorry. I''m still a bit¡­¡± He raised a hand toward his temple, then let it fall at his side. ¡°For helping you. When one of the deities doesn¡¯t tend to their tasks, we step in until the order is restored. I was sent to investigate, and now that we know Zeles, sorry, Koidan isn''t helping you anymore, we¡¯ll take care of your village.¡± Saia held her breath when he said Koidan¡¯s actual name. She glanced at the man, but he was looking ahead, at the slope they had to descend if they wanted to return to the beach. Saia let him go first. ¡°You''re talking about other people like you. Who are you? And where do you live?¡± She expected him to avoid the question, but it was important she asked anyway, lest he thought she already knew that. ¡°We''re monks,¡± he said. ¡°People who live together in pursuit of a common faith.¡± ¡°You mean like praying to the gods?¡± He looked at her, then shook his head. ¡°The gods are a small part of it. We believe in order, in the viss inside of all living things, and in the sacrifice of some for the good of everyone. And we live inside the mountain.¡± Saia wanted to ask so many questions, but feared to reveal the things she already knew. ¡°Why?¡± she only asked. ¡°To observe, and to live outside of the gods¡¯ influence. Otherwise, they would be free to destroy us whenever they wanted.¡± Saia stepped on the sand right after him. ¡°Why are you so sure the gods can''t do anything to you? They''re pretty powerful.¡± Coram smiled a bit. ¡°I can''t tell you this unless you accept my offer.¡± ¡°You haven''t told me what it''s about, yet.¡± ¡°I will, or rather, we will, if you¡¯ll come with me up the mountain.¡± ¡°What if I wanted more time to think about it?¡± ¡°You won''t have it. It''s a test. We have to know if you''d trust us even when the events around you don''t seem to make sense. Even if you don''t know anything about us, apart from what we believe in. But don''t worry: once you''ll have heard the offer, you''ll be given some time to consider it.¡± Saia realized they were almost at the cave. She looked at the mountain, dark against the sunset-pink sky. The bag felt a bit heavier. If she were to go, she couldn''t bring Zeles with her, as much as she wanted to. If they found him, all she had done up to that point would have been useless. She gripped the leather strap. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you. But first, I have to do something. It won¡¯t take much time, I only need the cave.¡± She pointed at the entrance in the wall of rock. Coram nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you. But we have to go before the sun disappears.¡± Saia started running on the sand. She only slowed down once inside the cave, startled by the echo of her steps. She approached the pool Zeles had created, eyes on the ground to spot any snakes before they could bite her exposed feet. After glancing behind her shoulder to check that Coram wasn''t in front of the entrance, she took Zeles out of the bag and kneeled next to a rock. She put him down on the ground and tried to cover him with sand, but there was the risk that an animal would knock him aside and let his light shine through. She looked around. The only thing that seemed good enough to keep the sphere hidden was the pool. She took out the woolen blanket from the bag, wrapped him until he wasn¡¯t visible anymore, then added algae taken from the other pools. She immersed the bundle in the water and let go, watching as it sunk to the bottom. She covered it with some more algae and small rocks, then freed two of her sea snakes inside the water. She stood: from afar, the bundle seemed just a rock covered in plants, and the constant movement of the animals would have discouraged anyone from looking closer. She walked backwards until she couldn¡¯t see the bottom anymore, then turned around and left the cave. She found Coram sitting on a rock with his back to the entrance. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± she said. ¡°Good. Our fellow travelers have almost arrived.¡± He nodded in the mountain''s direction. Two people were coming out of the forest. When they got closer, Saia could see that one of them, a woman she¡¯d never seen before, was wearing a tunic identical to Coram¡¯s. The other was Aili, waving at her without a hint of a smile. Coram stood. ¡°Let''s go. The path is long.¡± 1.13 - Encounters in the forest The monks led them along an invisible path that zigzagged between the trees. Saia walked some steps behind, trying to catch the topic of their whispered conversation. Every now and then they changed direction, apparently without a reason. ¡°Black dots,¡± Aili murmured at her side. Saia tried to decipher her words for three steps before giving up. ¡°What?¡± Aili pointed at the base of one tree. ¡°They''re small enough to look like they''re part of the bark.¡± Saia squinted. Now that she¡¯d noticed one, it was easier to find the others. Her mind had already registered them as part of her surroundings, like leaves or insects. ¡°I''m sorry for yelling at you,¡± Aili said. Saia glanced at her, then shrugged. ¡°You looked like you needed to vent.¡± ¡°And you won''t tell me how you made Koidan help you, right?¡± ¡°I don''t know what you''re talking about.¡± Aili sighed. ¡°Sure you don''t.¡± She nodded in the monks¡¯ direction. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°I don''t trust them.¡± ¡°Me neither. But they seem to know what happened, and I haven''t seen anything that makes me think they''re lying.¡± "What has your monk told you?" "My monk? Well, she talked about the principles of their order. She said they¡¯d been observing us and know of our efforts." She returned serious. "You know, it''s funny because she thought we did all of that of our initiative, but when I told her of the evil god she looked seriously worried.¡± Saia stopped. ¡°You told her of the evil god?¡± ¡°Yeah. Since we were outside of Lausune, there was no risk he could hear us. And I thought Daira already knew.¡± Saia put a hand on her forehead. Now the monks were sure that Zeles wasn''t following the rules before disappearing. If they even suspected him before. Aili frowned and took a step forward. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± Saia lowered her hand, letting it dangle at her side. She nodded and resumed walking. ¡°Wait.¡± Aili hurried up to reach her. ¡°Have I said something wrong?¡± The monks noticed they were falling behind and stopped. Saia slowed down. ¡°No,¡± she whispered, ¡°but we shouldn''t reveal too much, unless they don''t give us more information.¡± They walked in silence until the monks resumed their conversation. ¡°You really aren''t in a position to say that,¡± Aili commented. Saia rolled her eyes. ¡°Again?¡± ¡°I''m just saying. If you were more open with me about...¡± ¡°No,¡± Saia said. ¡°Don''t ask me again.¡± Aili groaned in exasperation, but didn''t reply. When the monks stopped again, it was so dark Saia could barely see the mixture of fallen leaves, grass and rocks on which they were standing. ¡°Wait here,¡± Coram said. ¡°We''re going forward to make sure we''re on the right path.¡± Saia crossed her arms. Now that she wasn''t moving, the wind felt cold against her back. ¡°Can we light a fire?¡± ¡°No, they could see us.¡± ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Daira added before Saia could ask who ¡®they¡¯ was. ¡°There''s a shelter higher up. We just have to make sure we''re following the right path.¡± She went with Coram, deeper into the forest. Saia sat on a flat rock. Aili stood next to her, hugging her own torso. ¡°I hope they''ll let us sleep somewhere.¡± Saia looked at her. ¡°You want to spend the night here? On the mountain?¡± ¡°Better than going back. It''s freezing.¡± Saia shook her head and opened the bag to look for clothes. The sight of the snakes almost made her jump. She lowered the flap before Aili could see them. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go back anyway,¡± she said. Aili glanced at her, but didn''t answer. They stared at Lausune, visible in the distance through the foliage, until the two monks came back. ¡°We found it,¡± Coram said. ¡°Follow us. It isn''t far.¡± Daira stepped forward to give each of them a bundle of gray cloth. ¡°They''ll keep you warm.¡± Saia stood, unfolding the bundle: it was a tunic, identical to the one the monks were wearing. The texture was rough, but it felt lighter than it seemed. On the outside, there were strings to pull near the sleeves, neck and shoulders to make them fit tighter, a necessary adjustment since the tunics were at least two sizes too big. There was a line of purple string sewn on the inside of the tunic, creating circular shapes and waves all along the torso and sleeves. She wondered what it was for, but a gust of air convinced her to wear the tunic over her clothes. Aili stared at her own a bit longer before doing the same. Saia wanted to ask her what she thought about it, but the monks were already leaving and she didn''t want to get lost in the dark. They walked up a slope. As soon as they reached the top, the monks froze. ¡°Have we arrived?¡± Aili asked. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Coram turned with a finger on his lips and pointed at the forest in front of them. Saia stepped forward to look above Daira¡¯s shoulder: something was moving between the bushes. At first, she thought it was a small donkey, the creepiest one she¡¯d ever seen. When it came closer, muzzle on the ground, she concluded it didn¡¯t have anything to do with any animal she knew. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± she whispered. ¡°A boar,¡± Aili replied. ¡°Sometimes they call it demon-sheep. But I thought they were just a local legend.¡± Saia looked at the creature. Whoever gave it that name had never seen a sheep. ¡°It looks more like a pig, though,¡± Aili continued. Saia glanced at her. ¡°Really? I''ve never seen one.¡± ¡°Shut up,¡± Coram hissed. ¡°It could attack.¡± The creature made two steps forward. Its eyes glinted when it raised its head to look in their direction. Daira put a knee on the ground and slid off her flat shoes, eyes on the animal. ¡°Hide somewhere, I¡¯ll deal with it.¡± Coram nodded. He stepped sideways, toward a group of trees, without turning his back to the boar. He tugged at Saia''s sleeve as he walked past her, and she did the same to Aili before following him. When each of them was hidden behind a trunk, Daira stood and took a step forward. ¡°What is she doing?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Why provoke it?¡± Coram shushed her. ¡°It¡¯s better to get rid of it now,¡± he whispered quickly. ¡°Or it could attack us later.¡± Daira advanced two steps, then reached out with both hands to grab a low branch. She tugged at it, as if to test whether it could hold her weight. The shower of leaves that followed startled the animal. Daira let go of the branch, hands on her mouth. She emitted a high-pitched squeak that made Saia jump. The boar took a step back, then sprinted toward Daira. She lowered her arms and hunched forward. Saia noticed the boar had tusks, jutting out like upside-down snake fangs. Daira jumped, grasped the branch with both hands, then kicked the boar''s back as it ran beneath her. The animal''s muzzle hit the ground, the huge body rolling over, until it stopped some steps away from Aili¡¯s hiding point. She shrieked and stepped back, hands over her mouth, and bumped into Saia. Saia glanced at Coram, hoping he would explain to Aili that she had nothing to worry about, that it was just magic. He approached Daira instead, to give her a pat on the back. She said something and the two of them laughed. ¡°What happened?¡± Aili murmured. Saia remembered how she had tried to comfort Liraira. She reached out with a hand and put it on her shoulder. It was trembling, like the rest of her body. ¡°Don''t worry.¡± Aili looked at her. ¡°They¡¯re strong enough to kill a boar with a kick and we''re alone with them in the forest.¡± Saia sighed and let her go. She couldn''t say anything about magic with the monks so close. ¡°It''s still breathing,¡± she only said. ¡°They just stunned it.¡± Aili narrowed her eyes on the creature''s body: the flanks were inflating at a regular rhythm. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Coram asked, approaching them. ¡°I assure you the boar''s still alive and will get up as if nothing happened.¡± Daira put on her shoes and stood. ¡°It''s late, they probably started without us.¡± They all followed her deeper into the forest, until they reached a clearing. A huge tent was placed in the middle: it was made of rough yellowish cloth suspended on wooden poles, visible through the pale light coming from the inside. More poles were placed horizontally on each pair of vertical ones, giving solidity to the structure. All in all, the tent was big enough to comfortably host eight people. Saia tried and failed to count the silhouettes that were moving inside, with only their heads identifying them as human. Their voices were loud enough that Saia could distinguish a word here and there, but not the topic of the conversation. Coram gestured for them to wait outside with him while Daira entered. As soon as she stepped inside, the voices lowered to whispers. Saia exchanged a glance with Aili, but she only found the same confusion she was feeling. Daira put her head out and looked at them. ¡°You can come in.¡± Then, looking at Coram: ¡°The others will stand guard, so you can enter too.¡± He nodded, relaxing his stance a bit. He entered first while Daira kept the entrance of the tent open. Aili seemed still shocked by the encounter with the boar, while Saia was the one who had a clearer idea, even if vague, of what was happening, so she entered next. She counted six people inside, Coram excluded. They were sitting in a circle, with plates in the center. Apart from the gray tunics they all wore, they didn¡¯t look any different than the people she could find in any of the villages. Two of the monks stood and gestured for Saia and Aili to take their place as they left the tent. While they hesitantly sat down, the other monks moved the empty plates to a corner of the tent and positioned the remaining food in a way that made it easily accessible to everyone. Daira sat down in an empty spot in the circle. ¡°Sorry if we started without you," a man said, ¡°but you were taking forever.¡± ¡°Have you found it?¡± a woman asked, voice low, looking at Coram. He shook his head while he put what looked like a meatball in his mouth. Another monk was pouring something dark, probably wine, from a bottle into two clean glasses. ¡°Here,¡± he said, passing them to the monks, then gave Saia and Aili an interrogative look. They both shook their heads, Aili with a lot more emphasis. She looked unable to keep herself still, fidgeting with the hem of the tunic and changing position too often for somebody who had just sat down. ¡°You can eat, if you want,¡± Daira said. ¡°What about telling us why we''re here, first?¡± Saia asked. Daira looked at the woman who had asked Coram whether they had found ¡®it¡¯. ¡®It¡¯ being Zeles, clearly. ¡°You start.¡± She looked like she wanted to protest, then put down her glass and sat straighter. Her brown hair was cut short and a touch of red powder tinged her pale cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m Haina,¡± she said. ¡°We''re monks, but I guess they''ve already told you that.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Daira confirmed. ¡°They also know a bit about Koidan¡¯s situation.¡± ¡°Well, we''ve invited you here to talk about us and what we believe in.¡± Her tone was similar to the one teachers used with young children, articulating every word clearly and at a slightly slower pace than a normal conversation. She looked around, as if to see if somebody wanted to take the explanation from there, but most of the monks were focused on the food. Two men were whispering to each other. They both laughed softly. Daira shot them a look of disapproval, made less effective by the fact that she was chewing on something. ¡°If nobody has anything to object,¡± Haina continued, ¡°I¡¯d like to present the broad beliefs of our order, and then talk about how we live and how we''re organized.¡± ¡°You''re making it sound like a history lesson,¡± said one of the monks who had laughed, a man with dark brown skin and a bald head. ¡°Shut up, Ebus,¡± Coram murmured, gesturing for Aili to give him the bottle of wine. He took it from her shaking hands and filled his glass again. ¡°Our core principle is that the sacrifice of some leads to the happiness of everyone. If some people willingly choose to sacrifice a bit of their lives and freedom to work toward the common good, everybody will benefit from it.¡± Aili seemed to ground herself a bit. ¡°Why not expect the same amount of sacrifice from everyone? Wouldn''t that reach the same goal in a quicker and fairer way?¡± Haina looked a bit surprised at that interruption. The monk who was sitting next to Ebus and had laughed with him raised his hand to signal that he wanted to answer, even if he was still chewing on some food. Saia observed him while they waited. His short hair was black and straight, shining in the lanterns¡¯ lights, his black eyes underlined by the dark circles of someone who didn¡¯t get much sleep. ¡°Because it needs a huge amount of organization. I''m Cailes, by the way,¡± he added. "You need a system to ensure that everybody will sacrifice the same amount of the same resources, but the people in control shouldn''t be able to escape the system either. It''s easier to keep a small group organized and focused on one goal.¡± ¡°And you have that kind of system?¡± ¡°We''ve been at it for centuries," Ebus answered. ¡°I think we can say that we do.¡± Aili nodded, looking more thoughtful than satisfied by the answers. At least she wasn''t trembling anymore. ¡°We make sure that everything in the villages works properly and intervene when it doesn¡¯t,¡± Haina continued. "Your village is going through a crisis, but in three months everything will be back to normal.¡± ¡°You talked about needing our help for that,¡± Saia said. ¡°What if we decided not to join you?¡± ¡°Oh, we all know you won''t join us,¡± Ebus said, but this time Cailes gently elbowed him instead of laughing. ¡°We need your help regardless of what you''ll choose to do,¡± Daira said, glaring at Ebus. ¡°It''s not essential, but it will simplify everything.¡± ¡°Okay, good," Aili said. "But what do you want us to do?¡± ¡°Tell your people that Koidan sent us to help him take care of the village," Coram said. ¡°This way, they''ll listen to us. See?¡± he added, looking at the other monks. ¡°You should give them the facts straight. You all talk too much.¡± ¡°And you drink even more,¡± Ebus said. ¡°Alright.¡± Haina clapped her hands to capture everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Do you have any questions, up to this point?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Saia said. ¡°A lot. How do you plan to solve the situation, exactly?¡± ¡°We''ll do everything in our power to help the village like Koidan would. Healing people, giving food to whoever needs it, prevent crimes, solve problems in general.¡± ¡°Essentially what we''re already doing,¡± Aili said. ¡°Well, yeah, it''s actually the first time we see a village behave this way after their deity starts disappearing. We''ll have to adapt our usual strategy. We were very impressed by the system you two came up with, it''s weirdly similar to ours. That''s why we chose you.¡± ¡°We didn''t come up with it,¡± Aili said. ¡°Koidan did.¡± Haina¡¯s joyful expression faltered. ¡°What?¡± 1.14 - The monks Saia barely managed to keep a calm face while the monks exchanged glances in absolute silence. ¡°What?¡± the one at Haina''s left repeated. They were a person with long black hair tied in a bun on the top of the head and prominent cheekbones. They''d never spoken before. ¡°What exactly has Koidan told you?¡± ¡°That there is an evil god in the village,¡± Aili started. ¡°And he''s fighting him, so he can''t take care of us like he did before. Then he divided us into groups and gave each one a task. Ours was to keep track of everything and make most of the decisions in his place.¡± Another round of glances. Daira and Coram both nodded when they met the eyes of the others. ¡°She told me that,¡± Daira said. ¡°It''s difficult to believe.¡± ¡°A drunk man at the tavern mentioned something like that,¡± Coram said. ¡°Everybody else was trying to make him shut up, but I didn''t think much of it.¡± He looked at Saia. ¡°Why didn''t you tell me?¡± She shrugged. ¡°I thought you already knew. You seemed to know everything.¡± ¡°How he dared?¡± the person to Haina¡¯s left said. She put a hand on their shoulder. ¡°Maybe he didn''t have any ill intent, Maris.¡± ¡°I think he was just trying to save his ass," Ebus said. ¡°Find an explanation for why his powers were fading, and at the same time make sure that any issue was being fixed in some way.¡± ¡°It''s a coward move,¡± Maris said. ¡°He already had two hundred years.¡± Saia dared a glance in Aili''s direction. She was very still now, hands joined in her lap, as if she was following the exchange with her whole body as well as with her eyes. Saia wanted to stop the discussion in some way, prevent the monks to give her any more information. She''d have connected it to what she already knew and spit the whole explanation back at them, everything from where to find Zeles to Saia''s involvement. But she couldn''t say anything without the risk of giving her more answers. ¡°Do you think the tremor was his fault, too?¡± Daira asked. ¡°Obviously,¡± Maris answered. ¡°We can''t be sure of that," Cailes said. "But the ship certainly was.¡± ¡°And the fire,¡± Ebus added. ¡°It''s Zel- Koidan we''re talking about,¡± Coram said, cheeks red again. ¡°He''s always been extremely helpful every time we needed him. He never gave us any reason to suspect he didn''t want to follow the rules, and it¡¯s not something I can say of every god. What if something is actually happening and his disappearance isn''t his fault?¡± ¡°We should talk about this later, don''t you think?¡± Haina said, covering a bit his last words. "We still have an explanation to finish, and our guests might want to sleep, at some point." They all became quiet as she continued. ¡°We live inside the mountain. We are divided into three groups, each taking care of an aspect of the village¡¯s life. The helpers make sure that we all stay alive: we cook food, sew clothes, take care of the animals, clean the common spaces, make art. Each of us is specialized in one or two main occupations, but obviously we help each other when we can.¡± ¡°What do you do?¡± Aili asked. ¡°I¡¯m a teacher. Ebus is a cook.¡± ¡°I also take care of the sheep, sometimes,¡± he said. ¡°The next group are the sentinels. They mostly observe what''s happening in the villages, to make sure there are no problems.¡± ¡°We also guard the mountain in general, and take care of security inside the village,¡± Maris said. ¡°Maris and Coram are sentinels,¡± Haina explained. ¡°The last group are the scholars. I was one of them, before realizing I preferred to be a teacher.¡± ¡°We study pretty much everything,¡± Cailes said. ¡°From math to history to viss manipulation. And religion, obviously. Each of us works on a main subject, trying to expand the knowledge¡­¡± ¡°Wait, viss manipulation?¡± Aili said. ¡°Did I hear that right?¡± ¡°I fear it''s another thing we can only explain if you''ll join us.¡± ¡°Do you remember the boar?¡± Daira said. ¡°That''s what viss manipulation can do.¡± ¡°I have no idea what that means, but yeah, good example,¡± Cailes continued. ¡°I¡¯m a botanist, with some interest in chemistry on the side. Daira here specializes in magic. Or viss manipulation, as it''s formally called.¡± ¡°And I''m a prior,¡± Daira added. ¡°So I don''t have time to study much else.¡± ¡°A prior?¡± ¡°Yes. There are three priors for each group. I obviously work with the scholars, while Maris is one of the sentinels'' priors. We make sure that everybody in our group follows the rules and we assist the abbot in making the most important decisions.¡± ¡°The abbot supervises everything,¡± Coram said, eyes fixed on the ground and half-closed by sleep. ¡°He knows every detail about what''s going on in the village and is the only one who can change our rules, provided he has the support of at least one prior from each group.¡± The silence returned inside the tent. Ebus made a big yawn. ¡°Any questions?¡± Haina asked, then nudged the last half-full plate toward them. ¡°You didn''t eat anything.¡± Saia took a meatball. Even if her stomach was still tangled with anxiety, she wanted an excuse not to speak. ¡°Yes,¡± Aili said. ¡°You talked about children. Are they born in the village or do you take them from the outside? Do they become monks too?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°They are born in the village. We can have relationships with each other, but only helpers can decide to have or adopt kids. If a scholar or a sentinel wants to have a family, they have to leave their position first.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It''s a matter of focus,¡± Cailes said. ¡°Scholars should consider the subject they study the most important part of their life. Having a family would disrupt that. And there are so few of us, spread thin on so many subjects, that we can''t really allow anyone to be distracted by other things.¡± ¡°And a relationship wouldn''t disrupt that?¡± Aili asked. ¡°No. When it''s between two monks, they both know how important each other''s work is for the village, and they''re going to respect that. A child wouldn''t be able to give that much space to their parent, nor should they be required to.¡± ¡°And once the kids are older, do you go back to your position of scholar?¡± ¡°Usually, yes.¡± ¡°And what about sentinels?¡± Aili asked, turning to look at Maris. ¡°Mostly the same reason, but it¡¯s also important that we remain as neutral as possible, since we¡¯re the ones who take care of crimes and misbehaviors. We can¡¯t favor anyone, least of all our children.¡± Aili nodded, even if judging by the glance she shot Cailes she was still unconvinced about the scholars leaving their studies. ¡°About them becoming monks,¡± Haina said. ¡°They all receive the same education, and they get a chance to work with all three groups, even if obviously they''re not involved in the most difficult parts of their job. From the moment they turn twenty, they have a year to decide whether to stay in the village and become monks, and which group they''d like to join. Then, they discuss with the priors about their specific occupation, which will be usually different from what they wanted at the beginning. They''ll have the chance to get the task they want later.¡± ¡°And what about the ones who don''t want to be monks?¡± There were some glances exchanged, mostly in Ebus'' direction, but he was focused on plucking away a fallen hair from Cailes¡¯s tunic. ¡°It happens rarely,¡± Haina said. ¡°We generally find the right place for everyone. But if someone doesn''t want to be a monk, they have to leave.¡± ¡°It can also happen if they commit a trust crime,¡± Maris added. ¡°In that case, they are forced to leave.¡± Saia wanted to ask what a trust crime was, but Haina continued without giving her the chance to. ¡°Yes, but that''s rare too. In this case, the village is chosen based on what they did.¡± Saia frowned. ¡°And you don''t fear that they will reveal something about this place?¡± ¡°The gods know that they have to kill them immediately if they ever try that.¡± Aili sat up straighter in hearing those words. ¡°But it hasn''t happened in decades. When we''re little, we have to learn how to keep a secret properly, no matter how much pressure we are put under.¡± Saia¡¯s eyes widened. She didn''t say anything, but she saw Maris nod. ¡°You''re from Suimer, right?¡± They noticed the confused expressions of the others and added: "They train on a light form of secret-keeping.¡± They said that with an uncertain look to Saia. She nodded, still shocked to find secret-keeping so far away from her village. ¡°What is it?¡± Aili asked. ¡°We teach kids to keep secrets and important information to themselves, essentially.¡± Haina turned to look at Saia. "You''ve been a lot more quiet than we expected. Do you have any questions?" She rubbed her hands together to clean them from the bread crumbs and gain some time to think. ¡°You said you have kids that can become monks. So why would you ask us to join you?¡± ¡°Yeah, right?¡± Ebus said. "It doesn''t make sense.¡± ¡°Because,¡± Haina started, glaring at him, ¡°the abbot wanted us to.¡± Daira sighed and shook her head. ¡°You make it look like our abbot doesn''t have a reason for this." She looked at Saia, hunching a bit forward as if cutting off the other monks from the conversation. ¡°It''s an old tradition that started before the villages were founded. It was born from the understanding that we always need a connection with the external world and fresh perspectives of people who don''t come from our village. So every time a god starts disappearing we choose at least one person from their village, provided they have shown spirit of sacrifice or contributed to keeping the community safe when the god couldn''t do it, and then ask them to join our village.¡± ¡°There are more criteria,¡± Haina added. ¡°For example, the person shouldn¡¯t have close ties, like partners, kids or elders who depend on them.¡± ¡°All true, but the abbot should also consider that we''re a couple of hundred more than the original monks,¡± Cailes said. ¡°We already need to be careful with the resources we have, adding more people isn''t going to help.¡± ¡°Who are you to say what the abbot should or shouldn''t do?¡± Maris said, voice calm but threatening. ¡°It''s better not to discuss these things here,¡± Daira said. ¡°Especially not criticize the abbot in front of people who have never met him.¡± ¡°Two more monks won''t make a difference,¡± Haina added. ¡°We''d be happy to have you among us, if you decide that you like our beliefs.¡± Cailes looked at Ebus, as if in search of support, but he only shrugged and looked at him with a hint of a smile in his eyes. ¡°Have any other gods disappeared recently?¡± Saia asked. Haina opened her mouth, but Maris cut her off. ¡°We''re not allowed to talk about it.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°And, last question, had the people you made this offer to in the past joined your village?¡± ¡°Yes, but it hasn¡¯t happened in a while,¡± Haina said. ¡°Can''t blame them,¡± Ebus commented. ¡°Why would they leave their villages, possibly forever, to follow some weird strangers they didn''t know existed up to the day before.¡± The other monks didn¡¯t argue with that sentence, even if it seemed to go against the very reason they were all inside that tent. ¡°At least we get to celebrate a bit,¡± Ebus continued, tipping his glass of wine toward the newcomers. ¡°A nice evening in the woods with good food, away from obligations.¡± ¡°Anyways,¡± Daira said. ¡°Coram is almost asleep, so if you don''t have more questions I have to ask you: would you be interested in joining us? You don''t have to decide straight away, you''ll have a whole night and a day to think about it, and then a week to spend among us and learn more.¡± Saia was about to shake her head, but Aili spoke first. ¡°I¡¯d like to.¡± Daira¡¯s eyes widened. She turned toward the others, as if to make sure that they had heard too. ¡°What?¡± Ebus and Haina said at the same time. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Saia asked her in a whisper. Aili looked at her and smiled. ¡°Yes. You can take my place as the administrator, right? And if you need help finding an assistant, I have some candidates in mind.¡± ¡°It won''t be necessary,¡± Maris said. ¡°We''re taking the lead from now on, until Koidan is restored.¡± ¡°Is this really happening?¡± Ebus asked to no one in particular. Saia realized she was still staring at Aili, so she lowered her eyes on the rough red rug on which they were all sitting. The monks were still talking to each other, but she wasn''t listening. She pictured Aili going up the mountain alone with the monks while she stayed behind, with a sleeping god that was about to die and would have resigned himself as soon as she''d awakened him. She couldn''t see a way to both save Zeles and get her revenge if she stayed there. He probably would have never talked to her again, and there was nowhere else she could go to find answers. ¡°I was thinking to join too,¡± she said. The monks became quiet again. ¡°This is completely unexpected,¡± Cailes said. ¡°One of them becoming a monk was already unlikely, but this hasn''t happened since¡­¡± He trailed off. Saia knew that Aili was looking at her, but she kept her eyes on Haina¡¯s face. ¡°Now what?¡± The monk seemed to return to reality. ¡°Now... Now you''ll spend the night here, and think about what we told you. We¡¯ll wake you in the morning to go to Lausune together, in order to organize the next three months.¡± Daira nodded and stood. ¡°You can finish the food, if you want. We''ve also brought you some water.¡± She pointed at a bottle in the corner. ¡°We''d also have left you the wine, but Coram has finished it.¡± He was basically asleep. Maris had to help him stand with Ebus''s help. Cailes took the pile of dirty plates and walked out of the tent. Saia heard him talk with the two monks outside, but she didn''t understand what he was saying. ¡°Here, have some sheets,¡± Haina said, passing her a pile of multicolored fabrics. ¡°Have a good night.¡± They all left. Saia waited for a second, then stood to check from the entrance that they were actually walking away. The air was colder than the morning wind coming from the sea. She let the cloth fall back into place, acutely aware of the presence of Aili behind her, like a wave ready to hit. 1.15 - Night in the tent Aili was still sitting on one of the pillows, hugging her knees, feet crossed in front of her. She didn''t even glance up as Saia crossed the room to fill her glass with water. She drank it in a gulp, then filled it again and finished that too. She abandoned it on one of the rugs that covered the ground and took a green blanket from the pile that Haina had given them. The fabric was soft, more than what could usually be found at Lausune¡¯s market. Blue trees were embroidered along the border. Saia looked around for a good spot. She wanted to ask Aili where she intended to sleep, but she was still staring at the red rug, deeply in thought. So Saia put down her blanket on the right side of the tent, next to the wall of cloth. She opened the bag to look for the orange shawl. She planned to wrap her hair and fall asleep immediately to avoid Aili''s questions until the next morning. The moment she saw the snakes, she realized it wasn¡¯t possible. She touched their scales, remembering Zeles¡¯s words: if she fell asleep while she was using magic on them, they would wake up. She couldn''t sleep that night if she wanted to be still alive the next morning. ¡°I was thinking¡­¡± Aili said, startling her a bit. ¡°What they did to the boar, is it the same thing you do to your snakes?¡± Saia closed the bag before Aili could look inside. ¡°No,¡± she said, knowing she wouldn''t have believed her. ¡°You weren''t surprised when they talked about that thing. The ¡®viss¡¯.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what that word means.¡± That, at least, was true: she had realized they were talking about the energies inside living creatures only when Daira had mentioned the boar. Aili turned to face her. ¡°Where have you learnt it? Was it one of the monks? Did you already know about them, too?¡± Saia shook her head and didn''t answer. Her training as a secret-keeper was thumping at the back of her head, reminding her of the last time she didn''t listen to it. ¡°I can''t talk about these things.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Can you please leave me alone?¡± Aili kept staring at her. ¡°You looked quite scared of the monks,¡± she said. ¡°Why did you choose to join them?¡± "I already..." Saia started, voice raised, but then realized that there could still be monks nearby, so she lowered it. ¡°I already said everything I had to say about that. And what about you, anyway? Why did you choose to join them?¡± ¡°I have no problem talking about that.¡± ¡°Good for you.¡± Saia kept staring at her bag, hoping that Aili would leave her alone. ¡°I consider you my friend,¡± Aili said. ¡°Or at least someone I can trust. We worked side by side for two weeks before all of these strange things started happening, and you keep getting more and more mysterious. But now we''re alone. Even when we''ll join the monks, we''ll always have more in common with each other than with them. So I want you to know that I''m on your side, and I''ll have your back if you need my help. You don''t have to be scared of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°You look scared.¡± ¡°Stop telling me how I look. You''re wrong.¡± Aili crossed her legs and started fidgeting with the frayed edge of a rug. ¡°What''s the oldest event you studied at school about the history of your village?¡± Saia was so taken by surprise by that change of topic she couldn''t even begin to think about an answer. ¡°In Lausune we learned about the outbreak of fever that happened six hundred years ago and lasted for a month before Koidan stopped it. But further than that? The teacher only talked about a ''foundation'', but wasn''t able to provide any details about it. We just know that the village started existing, at some point, but there''s no record of who was living there in that period. Not in the archives, not in history books. I''ve travelled a lot, I''ve read almost everything I could find about the history of the villages, but the oldest event they mentioned happened eight hundred years ago. Nobody knows what the foundation is and who did it. And these people, these monks, apparently existed before that.¡± ¡°So what? Maybe they lived here before everybody else arrived.¡± ¡°But then why nobody ever wrote down anything about these things? Were there conflicts for the land? Were the gods still there, protecting us, or they arrived later?¡° Aili¡¯s stomach growled, so she leaned back to take one of the four left meatballs. She pushed the plate toward Saia. ¡°Or maybe,¡± she continued, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. ¡°Maybe somebody did, and everything was destroyed. Maybe the gods were involved, maybe it''s the monks'' fault, who knows. But they seem to have the answers, and if joining them is the only way to find out what happened, I''ll do it.¡± ¡°You''re going to change your whole life just because you want to know how the villages were founded?¡± Aili nodded, chewing a piece of meatball. ¡°Why? What if it''s something boring like ¡®they arrived, found a good spot and started building¡¯?¡± ¡°I have a feeling it''s not that simple. There is the fact that gods have to disappear at least every two hundred years, and somehow it''s the monks who have to ¡®restore¡¯ them, they said. And a lot of villages have faced some incidents during that period of time where the gods didn''t seem to exist. For us, it was the outbreak of fever. Two hundred years ago apparently nothing happened, but this month we already had an earthquake, a fire, a murder, and a ship from outside the villages. Compared to similar events in other villages, it''s too much happening in a short amount of time. Something''s going on.¡± ¡°Koidan talked about being distracted by the evil god.¡± ¡°But the monks seemed skeptical about it.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Not Coram.¡± Aili narrowed her eyes and looked up, as if trying to remember. ¡°No, I''m pretty sure he talked about ''something going on'', but he didn''t mention the evil god. But yeah, let''s keep that as a possible explanation. Still weird that it hasn''t happened before.¡± ¡°If they actually hid every information about what happened during the foundation, why they didn''t hide these events you¡¯re talking about?¡± ¡°Oh, but they did. I didn''t find them in the books.¡± Saia tilted her head. ¡°And where, then?¡± Aili looked slightly embarrassed for an instant. ¡°From people, mainly. I always try to talk to them when I travel through the villages. There are a lot of stories that were passed on from generation to generation. They look like family legends, things you tell kids to make them sleep, but they''re pretty consistent across the families in the same village.¡± She took another bite and chewed for a bit before continuing. "Take Elgen, for example: some of the elders talk about a deluge, some say there was a day where the boats became alive and left the village. And one of the local heroes is a man who made a pact with the sea to save his daughter from drowning, giving his life in return." ¡°And what actually happened?¡± ¡°Nobody knows, but I''m pretty sure that it rained insistently for days, causing the river next to Elgen to flood the houses to the point people thought it was the sea.¡± ¡°And the boats?¡± ¡°Some of them were freed by the current and got stranded with the tide.¡± ¡°And you managed to find out all of that by asking people?¡± Aili nodded. ¡°If they''re really trying to keep everything hidden,¡± Saia said, ¡°wouldn¡¯t the monks try to stop you?¡± ¡°I think they did. Mivion asked me some weird questions, once.¡± ¡°Weird how?¡± ¡°I don''t remember the exact words, but she asked me about random events that happened in the villages, to list the name of the gods in clockwise order, then again one by one, randomly this time.¡± Saia thought about how Coram had said Zeles¡¯s name instead of Koidan¡¯s. ¡°Maybe she wanted to know whether you were an exiled monk,¡± she said. Aili hugged her legs. ¡°That''s what I think too, after what they''ve told us. Which means I got really close to being killed. And to think that the conversation seemed so natural at the time, even if a bit confusing.¡± She finished eating the meatball, glancing up every once in a while. Saia let go of her bag¡¯s strap and ran her hands on the rough leather. Aili could have put her in trouble already. She hadn''t told the monks about talking to her right before the ship disappeared, Loriem being healed from the venom while she was away, her trick with the snakes. ¡°I can''t tell you everything because there''s a person I have to protect.¡± ¡°The one who taught you magic?¡± Saia nodded heavily. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Don''t worry. I''m not telling them.¡± ¡°Well, I''m keeping some stuff for myself, just to be sure. I do know how to put snakes to sleep and I can wake them up when I want by touching either them or one of these scales.¡± She extracted a glove from the bag and showed it to Aili. ¡°I have to focus and kind of... Imagine a sea inside me and channel the waves toward them. It''s difficult to explain.¡± ¡°Can I?¡± Aili asked, extending a hand. Saia gave her one of the gloves and watched as she examined it. ¡°When you let me wear them at your house I thought they were just decorations.¡± She passed the index on the shiny surface of the scales. ¡°Why gloves?¡± ¡°I always have them with me. Apart from that, they have nothing special.¡± Aili nodded and gave her the glove back. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between touching the snakes and touching their scales?" ¡°Not much. The scales are more difficult to work with, but it''s easier to control more than one snake. You can use anything, teeth, bones, skin, as long as it comes from the animal you want to put to sleep.¡± ¡°I wonder why.¡± ¡°I have no idea. But there''s another problem.¡± She sighed, looking at the sleeping snakes. ¡°If I fall asleep or become unconscious in some way, they will awake immediately.¡± ¡°I can imagine how it can be a problem.¡± Saia produced a bitter smile, tilting the open bag toward her. ¡°Oh, you have no idea.¡± Aili''s eyes widened. ¡°You brought them with you?¡± ¡°I don''t trust these monks.¡± ¡°This is so unbelievably dangerous!¡± Aili hugged her legs closer. ¡°What if the boar attacked you? Or the monks did? You could have got bitten.¡± Saia sighed. ¡°Yeah, I didn''t think this through. And now I can''t sleep.¡± She closed the bag and let if fall on the rug. ¡°No.¡± Aili stood. "We have to find a solution.¡± ¡°The solution is me not sleeping. You don''t have to do anything.¡± She watched her walk up to the entrance. ¡°Where are you going?¡± Aili put her head outside. She seemed ready to step out, but a huff of cold air entered and she closed the flaps immediately. ¡°I can''t see anything. There could be a boar two steps away from the tent and I wouldn''t even notice.¡± ¡°What were you even looking for?¡± ¡°A stone. We could seal the bag with something heavy.¡± ¡°They would kill each other during the night.¡± ¡°Better than biting us.¡± ¡°I agree, but we wouldn''t be able to sleep anyway. And they could fight hard enough to free themselves.¡± Aili put her hands on her hips, looking around. ¡°Do you see anything that could restrain them?¡± ¡°No,¡± Saia said, but searched the room with her eyes anyway. ¡°The only way to stop a sea snake is to block its head.¡± Aili kneeled to take a rug in her hands. ¡°Do you think we could tie them up well enough with these? It would be better to cut them, but¡­¡± ¡°I have a knife,¡± Saia said. ¡°But no, I don''t think it will be enough.¡± She raised her eyes to the torches planted on the ground, then higher, to the vertical and horizontal poles that kept up the tent. ¡°We could hang them,¡± she said. ¡°But we''ll have to tie the head tight, so that they won''t be able to see any movement or open their jaws. And keep them near the fires; the warmth makes them sleepy.¡± Aili smiled. ¡°I like this plan. I''ll do the cutting, you''ll tie them.¡± Saia nodded and passed her the knife. They went to work, Aili taking a piece from each of the rugs and working on the borders to make it look like they were intact, even if shorter, while Saia used all of her knowledge of knots and snake anatomy to make the wraps as tight as possible without hurting the animals. ¡°You didn''t tell me why you decided to join the monks,¡± Aili said while they worked. ¡°I need information too. About the gods, specifically.¡± ¡°You''re passionate about religion?¡± ¡°No.¡± She was determined to end the conversation there, then she remembered Aili''s words about Vizena being ''a difficult one''. ¡°You''ve been to Suimer before, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been everywhere around the mountain.¡± ¡°Have you noticed anything weird about the people there?¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°The way they speak, for example. Is there an accent or something like that?¡± ¡°That''s very vague and extremely specific at the same time. But no, I can¡¯t remember anything of the sorts.¡± Saia nodded, even if that was the worst thing Aili could have said. ¡°If you want to know anything else, I''m always glad to talk about my experiences in the other villages. And from what I''ve understood, yours wasn''t a very happy departure.¡± ¡°Thank you, but I''ve heard all I needed.¡± Aili shrugged and resumed sawing. After all of the snakes were hanging from one of the horizontal poles, Saia woke one of them up, sending forward her buzzing energy. It started whipping its tail around, the movements gradually becoming slower. The knots didn''t budge at all. ¡°We did a good job.¡± Aili yawned. ¡°Great, because I''m exhausted.¡± She put the last pillow on top of the barrier of spare cloth and sheets that they had created to keep away the snakes in case of fall. Her idea, after Saia had told her that sea snakes didn''t like to climb at all. Saia laid down on the green blanket, head on a blue pillow. She was on the opposite side of the tent from Aili, facing her. ¡°Which group will you join?¡± Aili asked. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go with the scholars.¡± Saia smiled. ¡°That was obvious. Which subject?¡± ¡°History and magic. Only history if they won''t allow me to study magic too, but I think it''s really,¡± she yawned, ¡°interesting. And you?¡± Saia thought about it. Her heart was yearning for the sentinels: it felt like they were the ones that spent the most time outside. More importantly, she could have a chance to see her family, even if from afar. Then she thought about the days stretching forward without them being aware of her presence, while she yearned to talk to them again. It felt like torture. So she thought about going with Aili. Studying magic could be interesting, and she could make sure that she didn''t reveal anything they talked about to the monks. But the idea of staying inside, studying, devoting most if not all of her time to books and close rooms without ever seeing the outside felt suffocating. Which left only one option, if the monks would allow it. She was about to answer Aili¡¯s question, but she had already closed her eyes. She did the same, keeping the answer to herself. At least she was good at that. 1.16 - The announcement They were awakened by muffled voices just outside their tent. For a moment, Saia thought she was laying on the temple¡¯s floor and those people were the assembly gathered around her. It took her a while to realize where she was. Aili was getting up in front of her, looking just as confused. Judging by the noise, there seemed to be more people outside than the six monks they''d met the previous night. Daira¡¯s voice called their names. ¡°We''re here!¡± Aili answered, then looked at Saia and lowered her voice. ¡°I¡¯ll go greet them, you take the snakes.¡± She nodded and slowly made her way out of the green blanket. The snakes were still hanging from the pole, peaceful to the point she forgot they were awake. When she touched the tail of the first one, it started swinging wildly to escape her hand. "Yeah, we slept fine," she heard Aili say. ¡°The animals left us alone.¡± Saia only caught the words ''sentinel'' and ''food'' while she put the now asleep snakes in the bag. They were still bound with pieces of fabric, she didn''t have time to unknot them. She left the tent and almost bumped into Aili. ¡°Saia, good morning,¡± Daira greeted her. ¡°Rough night?¡± She shrugged, thinking about all the times she had slept on the cave¡¯s floor. ¡°I¡¯m used to it.¡± She looked at the monks in grey tunics behind the prior: she only recognized Coram and Ebus among them. Haina, Cailes and Maris were probably busy with their jobs. Daira looked back at the group. There were about thirty people in total, all adults of various ages. ¡°You five,¡± she said, pointing at the monks she was talking to. ¡°Take down the tent and hide it in the forest, then follow us." A smaller group detached from the rest. Saia and Aili stepped aside not to stand in their way. Daira turned toward them. ¡°We''ll guide you until we reach the village, then you''ll go forward alone. Tell the inhabitants that Koidan has requested our help and that they''ll recognize us because we''ll be wearing gray tunics. I suggest you take off yours, for now.¡± They both obeyed. The air was colder than what Saia was used to, but she could endure the descent if it didn''t take too much time. ¡°Let''s go, then,¡± Daira said, with an ample gesture of the arm in the direction they had to take. They followed the same path of black dots they had used to get to the tent. They moved together, without any visible hierarchy deciding who could walk on the front and who had to stay behind. Daira walked beside Aili and Saia, behind three monks who were talking to each other. ¡°If you have any questions, I''ll be happy to answer them,¡± she said. ¡°We have time.¡± Saia thought about her decision in regards to the three groups of the monks. ¡°I have something to ask you.¡± Daira nodded, inviting her to speak. ¡°Do you monks need a fisher?¡± Daira looked at her with a hint of amusement in her eyes. ¡°You know, Maris had told me about your occupation as a snake fisher. You''re the only one who specializes in that kind of prey.¡± ¡°Actually, it''s not that weird,¡± Aili chimed in. ¡°Lausune has a lot of dishes based on sea snake¡¯s meat. We also have a family of sea snake people.¡± ¡°I know, but Saia is the only one who only catches sea snakes. Right?¡± she asked with a glance in Saia''s direction. She shrugged. ¡°As far as I know, it''s true.¡± ¡°Well, to answer your question, we have a fisher, but she''s an old woman who only manages to walk around with the force of her stubbornness.¡± ¡°She fishes at sea?¡± ¡°No. We don''t leave the mountain unless it''s strictly necessary. But there''s a lake higher up, on Erimur¡¯s side.¡± Saia had the feeling that fishing on the mountain would be a completely different experience than fishing on the sea, with a boat and nets, or in the cave, in silence, with her hands. But it seemed one of the few ways to spend time outside. After all, if the monks'' houses weren''t visible from the villages, it meant that they lived somewhere inside the mountain. ¡°But you won''t become a fisher right away,¡± Daira added. ¡°There''s a period of training where you''ll be asked to help everywhere there''s a need for it. I suspect you''ll be spending a lot of time in the kitchens.¡± ¡°Is it the same for the scholars?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Do we have to study something else before starting on the subject we''re most interested in?¡± ¡°Yes. You''ll need to know the general principles of pretty much all of them before you can choose on which one to specialize.¡± Aili nodded. They spent the rest of the trip mostly in silence. The other monks were talking to each other. Saia caught some pieces of conversation here and there, but every time she managed to understand some sentences, they were about someone she didn''t know. The line of white stones caught her by surprise. She stopped with the rest of the group, some steps before it. Straining her eyes to see beyond the moving vegetation, she caught a glimpse of the sea. ¡°We''ll wait here until noon while you give the announcement. Come here if there are any issues, but otherwise pretend you have no idea of who we are and only know what Koidan has told you.¡± Saia glanced at Coram, wondering how she could pretend to know nothing about people in grey tunics when everyone had seen her following one the day before. ¡°And after that, what''s your plan?¡± she asked. ¡°We''ll start by exploring your village to have a better idea of what needs to be done. But don''t worry about us, we¡¯ve had time to prepare.¡± Saia knew that her words were hiding a search for Zeles¡¯s sphere. She had to find a better place for him. If they found him in the cave, they''d have connected everything to her without hesitation. She followed Aili out of the trees. They walked along the path that ran parallel to the beach, the same one where she''d crouched to spy on Coram. ¡°What are we going to say, exactly?¡± Aili asked. ¡°We should choose the right words.¡± ¡°Why? The more prepared we seem, the less convincing we''ll be.¡± ¡°I know, it''s just... A lot of people are bitter that Koidan isn''t dedicating his time to help them, when he used his powers to make the ship go away. I don''t think they''ll want to cooperate with the monks.¡± ¡°They were ready to do this even without us. They must have a way to make people listen.¡± She glanced at Aili as she said that, and found that she was doing the same. ¡°Magic,¡± she murmured, and Saia nodded. ¡°That might be why¡­¡± Aili started, then paused and squinted as if she was trying to read something in the dust of the road. ¡°That might be why we don''t remember much about floods and other events, why they were passed on as stories and not anecdotes. Do you know of any tricks that could do that?¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Saia shook her head. ¡°Only the sleep one.¡± People started to approach them as soon as they entered the village, talking over each other to voice their requests. The further they went, the crowded the streets became. The post office¡¯s square was already occupied by a long line of people who¡¯d been waiting in front of the doors since dawn. Walking past them seemed impossible, so they detoured toward the docks. ¡°Listen, please,¡± Aili said, standing on a stool that someone had passed her. ¡°Koidan summoned us to reveal what will happen today.¡± Saia sat on the border of a coil of rope, glad that she wasn¡¯t the one handling the public speaking. ¡°He said he has heard your prayers, and that in light of recent events,¡± she seemed to look for someone in the crowd, ¡°he decided to send someone to help us in his stead.¡± ¡°Another god?¡± someone yelled. ¡°No. Or at least, I don''t think so. He only said that they will arrive at noon and that we''ll recognize them by their gray tunics.¡± ¡°Who are they?¡± ¡°Again, I don''t know. If you have any inquiries, please wait until after noon. We''ll be at the post office to welcome them.¡± There were more shouted questions, but Aili ignored them. She turned toward Saia. ¡°Let''s go. We can wait inside, staying here is pointless.¡± Saia stood, let her step first into the crowd, then stopped. ¡°I just remembered,¡± she said, doing her best to pretend she was actually remembering just at that moment. ¡°I¡¯ve left some of my equipment in the cave. Be right back!¡± And she ran away, taking advantage of the fact that Aili was stuck between two walls of people. She only slowed down at the beach, walking as fast as she could, aware that both the monks on the mountain and the ones waiting in the forest could see her. She could find an excuse later, the only thing that mattered at that moment was to get Zeles away from there. And her snakes. She needed all the snakes she could get. She only relaxed once inside the cave. She looked around first, half expecting a monk to be waiting for her inside, but it was calm and beautiful as usual. She knelt next to the pool that Zeles had created for her. She caught the two snakes swimming in it and made them fall asleep, then lowered herself inside the pool to take out the bundle, straining her arms not to put her head under the water. She finally reached it and jumped out again. She put Zeles inside the bag, careful to only touch him with her gloves, then left the blanket under the sand. She walked out with a snake in each hand to make the monks think that she had entered the cave only to fish one last time before leaving the village. She walked fast on the beach, straining to look at the clock tower to make sure there was still some time left before noon. The village seemed empty, probably everybody had gathered at the square. That meant she could go home undisturbed, but also that the sentinels'' attention was all on her. She entered her house, leaving the door half-open, then thought better of it and closed it. She put the two snakes inside the bag and fished the remaining ones. She had to rearrange the contents a couple of times to make sure she could carry them all, even if the tails were dangling from the borders and Zeles was on top of a pile of sea snakes, in easy reach. She left the house and headed to the opposite side of the village. Dan and Mor¨¬c''s house was just at the edge, like hers, even if completely inside the border and not on top of it. Saia approached it slowly, hoping to catch some movement inside. She knew Dan was probably at the city square; he was always asking around for extra jobs, so he was one of the first to know when something unusual happened. But she didn''t know much about his brother¡¯s habits. She knocked. No sound came from the inside, so when the door opened she jumped a bit. Mor¨¬c looked out, messy hair and a hand in his pocket. He looked at her without saying anything, only a small nod as a way of greeting. ¡°Hi, Mor¨¬c. Is Dan inside?¡± ¡°No, he left a couple of hours ago.¡± ¡°And I guess you haven''t heard?¡± ¡°Heard what?¡± Saia sighed. ¡°Can I come in? I have to leave something here, but I''d prefer if nobody saw it.¡± Mor¨¬c nodded and stepped back inside the house. Saia entered, closing the door behind her. The house was slightly bigger than hers, divided into three rooms. The central and biggest one was a mix between a sitting room and a fabrics shop. There were carpets and rugs of various sizes, colors, shapes and stages of completion laying on all kinds of surfaces, together with balls of yarn and books. They were little more than pages kept together by sturdy strings. Most of them were open, allowing her to see that the words weren''t printed, but written by hand in a calligraphy often interrupted by spots of ink. Saia approached the only area that was free enough of the woven madness: the loom on the left corner of the room. It was occupied by a green and white carpet, and judging by the thread slowly dangling from the shuttle, Mor¨¬c had been working on it until not so long ago. She also saw a sheet on a wooden bench covered by two big red pillows. It had to be the spot where Mor¨¬c slept, since Saia knew that he rarely spent the night in the room that he shared with Dan. While she was observing the carpets, Mor¨¬c had disappeared in the room on the left, a kitchen, and by the sound of it he was trying to maneuver a chair across some obstacles. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Saia said, loud enough to be heard over the screeching. ¡°I¡¯ll be quick. There isn''t much to say.¡± She told him of the announcement. When she mentioned the people in gray tunics, Mor¨¬c reappeared on the kitchen''s door, without chair, eyes wide. ¡°Has he told you where they come from?¡± Saia was surprised by that unexpected burst of energy. ¡°Not exactly, but he hinted at the fact that they probably come from the villages.¡± He nodded. Saia couldn''t tell whether it was the answer he was looking for. ¡°You said you had to leave something here?¡± ¡°Yes, but it''s for Dan. And I have to explain to him what to do with it.¡± ¡°I can tell him, if it''s not too complicated.¡± ¡°It''s about snake fishing. I prefer to be sure he knows everything, before he goes around being careless as usual.¡± Mor¨¬c nodded. ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried about that. He said he was bitten.¡± ¡°Yeah, but Koidan healed him almost immediately.¡± ¡°I hope he''ll do that again in case it happens a second time, but I''d prefer if it didn''t happen anymore.¡± He looked at Saia, as if asking her for a promise. She was about to tell him she was leaving the village, when the door opened. ¡°We have to go,¡± Dan yelled. He started to cross the room before seeing Saia. ¡°Hi. There''s a huge super important meeting and we''re going to miss it.¡± He said the last words while glaring at his brother. ¡°I have to finish the carpet. You''ll tell me the details when you come home, but I already got the main idea.¡± He nodded in Saia''s direction. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Dan asked her. ¡°Aili seemed pretty done with everyone, she closed herself in the post office and said she will only come out once the monks show up. What is a monk?¡± Saia felt a shiver and grabbed her bag. Dan''s eyes followed the movement. ¡°Are those snake tails?¡± ¡°Yes, they are. Look, I need to give you a thing, and I''d very much like if you didn''t show it to anyone.¡± She glanced at Mor¨¬c. He shrugged. ¡°I was about to cook lunch anyway.¡± And he returned inside the kitchen, leaving the door almost close. Saia sat on the edge of the bench, bag on her knees. She picked out her house keys and gave them to Dan. ¡°I¡¯m leaving for a bit. I was wondering if you could make sure nothing happens to my house while I¡¯m away.¡± She also took out ten vissins, almost everything she had on her. She had a feeling she wouldn''t have needed money, up on the mountain. Dan held his breath when he saw the coins. ¡°Take them, keep them for yourself. Consider it a payment for staying out of the cave while I''m away.¡± ¡°It''s a lot,¡± Dan said as he took them and slipped them inside his pocket. Then he took the key and held it with both hands for a moment. ¡°Are you actually leaving?¡± Saia wasn''t prepared for the trembling in his voice. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to keep her family at bay, in the corner of her mind where she had tucked them. ¡°Yes,¡± was the only answer she could give. ¡°Will you be back? Sorry, I''m not crying, it''s just... I don''t like when people go away. Even if I know they''ll be back, it always feels like it''s forever.¡± ¡°And I don''t like to leave. I don''t know if I''ll be back, but I really want to, and I''ll try to.¡± ¡°Where are you going?¡± Saia thought of a place, but she didn''t want to lie to Dan, and saying ''at my village'' would have made her cry too. ¡°On the mountain. These people in gray tunics live there. But I can''t tell you anything else, and you have to keep this a secret.¡± Dan quickly passed a sleeve on his face and nodded. ¡°One last thing.¡± Saia took out the sphere from the bag, flinching at the sensation of cold glass on her skin. Zeles would have hated for her to hold him like that, after the way she shut him down. The blue light reflected in Dan''s brown irises. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°I can''t tell you, but it''s extremely precious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a jewel?¡± ¡°No, not precious in that sense. It''s important. And I can''t take it with me where I''m going.¡± ¡°So I have to keep it for you?¡± ¡°Yes. You''d make me an enormous favor. Don''t show it to anyone, not even your brother.¡± ¡°Not even to Koidan?¡± Saia almost smiled. ¡°No.¡± ¡°And to the people with the gray tunics?¡± ¡°Not even to them," she answered, trying to convey how crucial that part was without being too forceful. ¡°They''ll probably want to examine all the houses for some reason they''ll make up on the spot. So carry the sphere with you, or hide it in a place you''re absolutely sure they won¡¯t find. And if you bring it outside, keep it hidden.¡± ¡°Aili said that the people in gray tunics are here to help us.¡± ¡°They are. Mostly.¡± ¡°But you don''t seem to trust them all that much.¡± ¡°No, I don''t. Especially not when it comes to this.¡± She held out the sphere. Dan took it carefully. ¡°If you¡¯re on the mountain, I can come to visit you.¡± Saia sighed. She was so bad at this. ¡°Don''t go around looking for me. There are demon-sheeps in the forest and the monks don¡¯t appreciate uninvited guests. You¡¯d get both of us in trouble.¡± He passed a finger repeatedly on a spot on the sphere''s surface. Probably the scar left by the monks when they took the glass shard. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± he said. ¡°I won''t. I don''t have time.¡± ¡°But now you could rest a bit, right?¡± She said, pointing at the pocket where he had put the money. ¡°I can''t risk losing clients. If people don¡¯t find me when they need help, they''ll call someone else.¡± Saia wanted to insist, but his tired eyes made her give up. ¡°You know what to do.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He headed to his room and returned with a bag. He filled it with pieces of cloth, put the sphere in the middle, and covered it with a pile of others. ¡°This is the best I can do, right now. I''ll find a better place later.¡± Saia nodded. Dan opened the kitchen''s door. ¡°Are you coming?¡± A deep sigh. ¡°Sure.¡± They left together, Mor¨¬c closing the door behind them. Saia tried to slow down, enjoying the sight of her adoptive village for the last time. Then the clock tower began to toll and they broke into a run. 2.1 - The abbot The monks had insisted on returning before sunset. Saia went with them, Aili following slightly behind in the stubborn silence she''d been keeping since they¡¯d reunited at the post office. Saia wanted to ask her what was wrong, but Dan¡¯s goodbye was still fresh in her mind and she didn¡¯t feel like arguing. The group of monks walking in front of them was less than half of what it had been that morning. Daira and the rest had remained at the village, trying to organize themselves and the inhabitants against any possible disaster that could happen during Zeles¡¯s absence. She had told people that Koidan saw them struggling with the system they had in place, so he''d sent some help their way. She also added that they were from Erimur, the village on the other side of the mountain and the second one by size. Nobody in Lausune knew enough about that place to prove them wrong, and the monks had observed the villages long enough to know how to defend themselves against any questioning. ¡°You shouldn''t have run away,¡± Aili said. It took some instants for Saia to emerge from her thoughts. ¡°I know, but I needed to say goodbye to Dan.¡± ¡°You could have waited for me. We decided to trust each other.¡± ¡°There were some things I needed to tell him in private.¡± Aili was about to reply, but Coram slowed down until he was at their side. ¡°I couldn''t help but notice,¡± he said, pointing at Saia''s bag. She looked down: the tails were still dangling out of it. ¡°Oh, yeah. My snakes.¡± ¡°Why are you bringing them with you?¡± Saia smiled. ¡°Daira said I could. I want to ask the abbot to set up a tank in which to raise them. They don''t need much upkeep, besides a lot of space and saltwater.¡± ¡°Why would he agree to that?¡± ¡°Sea snake meat,¡± Aili said. Coram looked a bit disgusted. ¡°It''s good,¡± Aili protested. ¡°She''s right,¡± Ebus said. He''d detached from the main group as soon as Aili had pronounced the word ''meat''. ¡°Of course, we talk about food and you''re already here,¡± Coram said. ¡°How do you know that, exactly? We''ve never had sea snakes on the mountain.¡± ¡°Cailes brought me some the last time he went to Namuri.¡± ¡°Why did he go there?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Did something happen?¡± Coram glared at Ebus. He looked apologetic for a second, then continued. ¡°There are a couple of recipes in some old books I''d really like to try, but we missed the prime ingredient. Until today. Can I have one?¡± He extended a hand. Saia¡¯s heart jumped. She glanced at Aili, looking for help, but she had her eyes on the ground, without a doubt trying to guess what had happened in Namuri. ¡°I¡­¡± she began, then cleared her throat. ¡°I gave them a substance to make them sleep, but they could wake up at any moment. I don''t think it''s safe to touch them.¡± Ebus lowered his hand. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for you to bring me a dead one, then.¡± ¡°What kind of substance?¡± Coram asked. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of anything like that.¡± ¡°Yeah, me neither,¡± Ebus added. Saia''s heart accelerated again. ¡°It''s a special mixture. From our herbalist.¡± Aili looked up at her, as if realizing only at that moment what was happening. ¡°Argeline,¡± she said, then looked at the monks. ¡°It''s called Argeline, and it''s pretty difficult to make. He always asks me to bring him some ingredients from around the villages. They¡¯re so weird I don¡¯t even remember the names.¡± ¡°Me neither,¡± Saia added. ¡°Interesting,¡± Coram said. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it.¡± He didn''t look suspicious, just a bit curious. Saia feared more questions, so she looked at Ebus. ¡°What recipes were you talking about?¡± His eyes shined at that. He started to list every dish he remembered as they approached the opening in the trees where the tent had been. The group stopped while three monks walked toward a patch of forest covered with bushes. They returned with the poles and cloth that had made up the tent and distributed the burden among the group. Ebus and Saia took two poles, Aili and Coram some rolled-up rugs. They walked ahead. Saia hoped for a stop along the way to eat something, but apparently the village wasn''t as close as she thought. They had to cross a couple of small streams with only large stones in the middle of the current as a bridge. They were placed at such precise distances that it was clear somebody had put them there, but they didn''t disrupt the natural look of the forest. In some places the trail of dots ascended so abruptly that Saia and Aili had to stop several times to breathe. ¡°It''s normal,¡± Coram said, stepping aside to let the rest of the monks walk past. ¡°The air here is quite different from the one you''re used to. Thinner.¡± ¡°It''s rarefied,¡± one of the monks said as he passed them by. Coram sighed. ¡°Yes, Olus. Very useful.¡± Ebus shook his head. ¡°Scholars, eh? Imagine how it is to live with one.¡± ¡°I don''t envy you.¡± They kept going even after the sun had set. The sky seemed bigger from the mountain, in all its red and orange glory, while the sea below was hauntingly dark in the areas the light didn''t reach. At that point, Saia''s lungs were burning from fatigue and cold air, and from Aili''s heavy breathing she knew she wasn''t feeling much better. They had put on the gray tunics again, but even with the hood up the cold wind was biting at their faces. ¡°We''re almost there,¡± Coram said. ¡°Just behind that tree.¡± Saia looked ahead, expecting to see another slope. She saw a wall of rock covered in vines instead, a clearing of grass in front of it, and more trees. Lights shone through the holes in their trunks, each one coiled around its own wooden house. The foliage covered them almost completely, except for the windows and the doors. They were facing the stone wall, so the lights couldn''t be seen from the villages down below. ¡°Do you live here?¡± Aili asked, trying to catch her breath. ¡°Some of us,¡± Ebus said. ¡°Young families, some scholar specialized in astronomy. It''s a consequence of being so many that there''s not enough space inside.¡± ¡°Inside?¡± Coram pointed at the stone wall. Saia stared at it for a long time before noticing that there was a spot behind the vines where the rocks looked darker. Or better, they weren''t there, replaced by the entrance of a cave. Three monks emerged from the dark. ¡°You¡¯ll have to pass a quick check before we allow you to enter the village,¡± Coram said. The other monks of the group walked past the three who had just emerged and entered the cave beyond. Only Coram and Ebus remained, some steps to the side. The man and woman at the sides of the trio wore a double leather belt around their midsection. The woman at the center didn¡¯t wear anything different than the other monks, but her expression was calm to the point of being unreadable. Her sleek black hair was striped with gray, despite the pale skin around her black eyes being almost devoid of wrinkles. ¡°Welcome,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m Riena, a scholar of the consciousness. I¡¯m here to make sure that you¡¯re not involved with Koidan in any capacity.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. The woman extended a hand toward Saia. She went still, heart thumping in her throat. Aili grabbed it instead. Riena¡¯s eyes shifted toward her, giving Saia time to think. ¡°Are you involved in any way in the disappearance of Koidan?¡± ¡°No,¡± Aili said. Saia focused on their hands: she needed touch to control her snakes, so undoubtedly there was something going on there. A chilling thought suggested that maybe Riena was reading Aili¡¯s mind. ¡°Has he told you anything about his actual form?¡± Aili raised her eyebrows. ¡°No,¡± she said, her tone a question that implored to know more. But Riena just nodded, let her hand go and turned toward Saia. She knew she couldn¡¯t avoid thinking about Zeles. Unless she focused on something else to the point there couldn¡¯t be space for anything else. There was only one thing strong enough to achieve that. She gripped Riena¡¯s hand, thinking about Vizena. ¡°I¡¯m not involved in any way in the disappearance of Koidan,¡± she said, anticipating the scholar. ¡°And he hasn¡¯t told me anything regarding his actual form.¡± A fleeting image of his sphere crossed her mind. She doubled down with a memory about the last day she¡¯d spent with her family. Riena¡¯s unexpressive face tensed. ¡°Are you alright? I sense a lot of anger and suffering.¡± Her words made Saia realize her eyes were about to fill with tears. She made a weak attempt to get her hand out of Riena¡¯s hold. Surprisingly, she let her go. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It¡¯s just... Leaving my village wasn¡¯t easy.¡± Riena nodded, her eyebrows arching with worry. ¡°If you ever need to speak, there are some consciousness scholars that can talk to you through your feelings. Don¡¯t feel like you have to go through this alone.¡± Saia nodded, even if she didn¡¯t have a clear idea of what she meant. Over time, she¡¯d learnt that when people weren¡¯t feeling well emotionally, they spoke to the gods. Not that she had ever tried, with Vizena and all. Riena stepped back, and the two people who had accompanied her pointed at Saia and Aili¡¯s bags. ¡°We need to examine them.¡± ¡°I have some sleeping snakes and a knife,¡± Saia said, handing them the bag. The woman who examined it nodded, but still retracted a bit when she saw the reptiles. She took the knife out. ¡°We have to take this. We¡¯ll probably use it in the kitchen.¡± Saia nodded. The woman gave another uncertain look at the snakes. ¡°I¡¯ve asked for permission to a prior before bringing them here. She said I could, as long as the abbot agreed.¡± ¡°In that case, it¡¯s out of my hands.¡± She closed the bag and gave it back to Saia. ¡°Follow me,¡± Coram said, stepping forward. ¡°They''re waiting for us.¡± ¡°For you two,¡± Ebus specified. ¡°And we won''t eat until you''ve met the abbot, so you can imagine how important it is that we hurry up.¡± Saia exchanged a glance with Aili. She looked down at her own clothes, the shoes covered with mud. ¡°Can we rest, first?¡± she asked, voice pleading. ¡°And put down the snakes somewhere safe,¡± Saia added. She wasn''t at ease with the idea of the abbot seeing them before she was ready to ask him for permission to keep them. She hadn''t even considered the fact that he could refuse, but it seemed a very likely option, now. ¡°No,¡± Coram said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but it''s the tradition. The abbot has to know everyone who lives in the village. He¡¯s like a god, in this aspect, even if we don''t actually have deities here.¡± He guided them inside. After a small atrium with walls of rock, they entered a long hallway, with torches on the walls and doors set inside niches. More corridors opened on the right wall. Ebus took one of them. ¡°I¡¯d love to go with you,¡± he said, walking away. ¡°But they need me in the kitchens. Good luck!¡± And he disappeared after the first turn of the corridor. They walked on. There were other monks now: the families behind them, arrived from the houses outside, some people who were exiting from the doors along the corridor, an orderly line of children in colored clothes, holding each other''s hand. The teacher at the front of the was Haina. She waved at them and hurried on, the kids trailing behind her. Aili sighed. ¡°We won''t be alone, right?¡± Coram didn''t need to answer; the corridor opened gradually, until they entered a huge cave. It was two times larger than Lausune¡¯s central square and a towerlength long. There were a lot of people inside, more than the average crowd at Koidan¡¯s ceremonies, but they didn¡¯t make the cave look any smaller. The walls were decorated with bas-reliefs that started at knee height and continued in rows all along the round walls. There was some scaffolding in the corner where the last line of bas-reliefs ended. She wanted to get closer to see what they represented, but everybody was looking at her and Aili as if expecting something. "Go," Coram whispered before joining the assembly. Saia took a deep breath and marched forward, determined to get to the other side of the crowd. They were all standing, but she could see long benches near the walls, largely unoccupied, except for one full of elders and another of children. It was just like being inside a particularly large temple, or so she kept repeating inside her mind. She could feel Aili following her, until she caught up, half scared and half curious, looking at the bas-reliefs on the walls. The crowd moved aside as they advanced, clearing up a path toward the end of the room. Saia had expected to find a statue, but there were only two people, standing beside a structure similar to a well. The base was slightly larger than the top, and it was closed by a shield similar to the ones sailors put on the flanks of their ships to signal from which village they came from. Except it wasn''t made of painted wood, but a reddish metal. The well was positioned on a low circular platform that was divided from the crowd by three wide steps. Saia and Aili stopped in front of them and looked up at the two monks standing on the platform. One of them was fairly young, standing some steps behind the other, probably the abbot. His hair fell in waves on his shoulders, completely gray. Two blue eyes were smiling at the newcomers from his light brown face. The smile extended to his mouth, and the low chattering of the monks gradually died. "Welcome to our village. I''m abbot Laius. What are your names?" It took an instant for them to realize they had to answer. When they did, their voices were barely audible. ¡°Saia and Ailima,¡± he repeated at a higher volume. ¡°We''re all glad to have you here. You are proof that upholding our traditions, even if it seems pointless, is worth it in the end. Traditions keep our village alive, we can adapt without leaving them behind. But let''s talk about you.¡± Saia glanced at Aili. She nodded, as if to tell her that she was ready. ¡°I was the letter carrier of Lausune.¡± The abbot turned an index in the air in a circular motion. Aili spun to face the crowd. She paused for an instant, taking in the vision of the cave full of people. ¡°I love to travel and meet new people. This is the only village I''ve never visited before.¡± The crowd cheered, then gradually returned quiet. Saia could see their eyes shifting to her at the light of the candles. ¡°I¡¯m a fisher. I specialize in sea snakes, and I hope to continue my job here, in some form.¡± She glanced at the abbot, but he didn''t seem to have a particular reaction to that. ¡°I actually come from Suimer.¡± She stopped, mentally cursing. Saying that only encouraged further questioning. The cheer of the crowd startled her a bit. She clutched the strap of her bag, then realized the gesture could draw attention to the dangling snake tails and lowered the hand at her side. ¡°This is not the official ceremony,¡± the abbot said as they turned to face him. ¡°We''ll properly welcome you in our community as monks in about a week, with the young adults. You''ll have time to prepare and ask questions, even if you''ll find that a lot of them will only be answered after the ceremony.¡± Saia and Aili exchanged a glance, mouthing ¡®ceremony?¡¯ to each other. "If you have any questions or doubts about the life that you''re about to start with us, this is the time to make them.¡± The silence returned again. Saia looked at Aili, certain to find the same confused expression, but she was still staring at Laius. ¡°Yes, I have a question,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m worried about Lausune. I know that you will take care of everything, and that Koidan will be restored, even if I don''t know what it means and I''m sure you won''t explain it now. But whatever it is, why you can''t do it immediately? Why do we have to wait three months? Anything could happen in three months.¡± ¡°We''re prepared to solve any problem that may present.¡± ¡°But you''re just humans, not gods. You can¡¯t stop a flood, for example.¡± The abbot slightly inclined his head. ¡°Why a flood, specifically? It''s a weird fear to have.¡± Aili opened her mouth, but the answer didn''t come. ¡°I have a question too,¡± Saia said, then continued without waiting for an answer: ¡°It''s a bit more practical, I realize this might not be the place.¡± The abbot kept staring at Aili for a second, then slowly moved his eyes to look at Saia. ¡°Ask. Don''t worry.¡± ¡°I want to raise sea snakes, if possible.¡± Some murmurs sprang here and there in the crowd at her back, but she couldn''t understand whether they were hostile or just confused. She kept her eyes on the abbot. ¡°It''s a strange request. Do you have a reason for this, besides finding a way to continue your previous job?¡± ¡°If I understood correctly, you have a problem with food and resources. Sea snake meat can be eaten, and I know for sure that at least one of you knows how to cook it. They''re easy to feed and don''t require much. The only thing they need is a big tank of saltwater with a bit of earth they can climb onto when they want to rest. And sunlight." She took out a snake from the bag, holding it firmly from the head. The abbot eyed it. ¡°And you¡¯ll be the one to take care of them? I don''t want to charge our helpers with more work.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been taking care of sea snakes for two years. They won''t take much of my time.¡± She omitted the fact she¡¯d never managed to breed them, despite her attempts. The abbot still looked indecisive. ¡°I''ve already asked Daira,¡± Saia said. ¡°She thought it was a good idea. That''s why I''m asking.¡± ¡°Well, in that case you can proceed. I trust her judgement.¡± The abbot looked at the assembly. Saia turned her head. ¡°Do you know of a way we could get a tank and seawater?¡± A hand raised above the heads. ¡°I can build one after I''ve finished with the glasses and bottles. I''ll need about three days.¡± Saia swallowed. Three nights with perfectly awake sea snakes and no god to help her. She needed to ask for more cloth to bind them. ¡°And you''ll have enough time to work on the other thing, after?¡± the abbot asked. ¡°More than enough.¡± ¡°Good. But I fear that seawater will be almost impossible to get.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± said a voice from the middle of the crowd, ¡°there¡¯s something I''d like to try.¡± The man stepped forward, not enough to leave the crowd, but the movement allowed Saia to see who he was. She vaguely recognized the one that had specified that thin air was called ''rarefied''. But the monk standing next to him was an identical twin, so she couldn''t know for sure. ¡°I¡¯ve studied the composition of seawater. There are organisms and other substances that can''t be easily found on the mountain, but I think I have a formula that can simulate it well enough to be habitable by fish. Maybe it''s good for snakes too.¡± ¡°Olus, one of our chemists,¡± the abbot said. ¡°Could you prepare enough to fill a tank, in about three days?¡± ¡°Yeah, it should be doable.¡± Saia looked from him to the abbot and back. ¡°I don''t have the money to pay for any of this.¡± The abbot smiled. ¡°There''s no need. We share everything. We help each other when we can. We make sacrifices for our village and the future of the mountain.¡± Saia thought of how Ebus had asked for one of her snakes as if he hadn''t doubted for a second she''d have accepted. ¡°In that case, thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re absolutely welcome.¡± He started clapping, and the whole assembly followed his lead. The sound reverberated in the room as if there was another crowd hanging from the ceiling and clapping with them. They all gradually stopped after the abbot did. ¡°Rades,¡± he called, turning his head a bit toward the young man standing beside him. ¡°Show them their room.¡± He nodded. ¡°That''s all for today,¡± Laius said. ¡°You can return to your tasks. Thank you for attending and see you next debate.¡± The crowd started filing out. Rades descended the steps and approached Saia and Aili with a smile. He was taller than average, with red hair and an extremely pale face. ¡°I¡¯m Rades, a prior of the helpers. Please, follow me.¡± And he headed toward the entrance. Aili whispered a ''thank you'' to Saia before following him, and she did the same after a second of surprise. 2.2 - Supper Saia tried in vain to remember the sequence of corridors and small caves that led from the temple to her and Aili¡¯s room. ¡°Usually novices sleep with at least one or two other people,¡± Rades explained. ¡°Roommates are chosen before the ceremony, but they start living together some months in advance, to make sure that they won''t end up hating each other. Since there was no time for you to get to know everybody, we decided to put you two together. You seemed to be on good terms with each other.¡± And he looked from Saia to Aili, as if asking for confirmation. ¡°Will it be forever?¡± Aili asked. ¡°I mean, I think you made a good choice, I¡¯m just curious.¡± ¡°No, certainly not. People change rooms all the time. You just have to make sure that everybody is fine with it and notify a prior. And if you have or adopt a child, you have the right to a house, either inside the mountain or outside.¡± He sighed. ¡°Those are a bit of an experiment, for now. You have to get used to the cold.¡± They followed him inside. The room wasn''t large, but the furniture arranged along the walls of levigated stone made it a bit less suffocating. The beds were each against a wall, parallel to each other. There was a bench with pillows and sheets stacked on top of it, a wardrobe containing simple clothes and two extra tunics, and a wooden divider, bleached by the sun on one side, that was folded against the wall. Saia stood at the center of the room, looking at the small window on the wall opposite the door. The rectangle of dim light it projected on the floor wasn''t particularly wide, but there was enough space for a tank. ¡°How is it so warm in here?¡± Aili asked. ¡°It''s freezing outside.¡± Rades looked embarrassed for a second. ¡°Thermal... Movements inside the mountain, I guess? They teach it at school, but I can''t remember the exact explanation.¡± Aili nodded, extending a hand to touch the wall. Rades cleared his throat. ¡°The bathroom is two rooms to the right,¡± he said, pointing in the same direction. ¡°It''s almost dinner time, so I''d suggest leaving your things here,¡± he glanced at the snake tails, ¡°and eat something. I''m sorry for not leaving you enough time to rest, but I''m sure you''ll feel better after a good meal.¡± Saia left her bag next to the bed on the opposite side of the room. She pushed it under the bed with a foot as soon as Rades looked away. They left the room and followed the corridor for a bit, then turned left, into another one. Just like before, they met a lot of people along the way, all more or less going in the same direction. ¡°How can you tell that it''s almost dinner time?¡± ¡°We always eat at the same hours, so you get used to the rhythm after a while. And there are bells.¡± They heard them as he spoke. Chime bells, somewhere far away. After a left turn, Saia saw an open double door at the end of the corridor. The crowd around her was entering the room beyond, but Rades stopped in front of another one on the right side. ¡°This is the kitchen. You''ll work here for the next week, until the ceremony, then we''ll find something more suitable to your skills and aspirations." The room was only illuminated by a rough wooden chandelier on the ceiling, which made sense considering the dozens of people inside, frantically moving in every direction. A single misplaced torch, a sudden movement, and she could imagine the chaos that would follow. Or maybe everyone would have continued working relentlessly through the fire without noticing it, judging by their focused faces. Three big pots on three tables on opposites sides of the room were the center of the action. Each one was being watched and stirred by two monks, while the rest was putting away ingredients and cleaning the tools. Ebus was sweeping a corner of the floor with a mop, his back to the entrance. Saia thought about calling him, but she didn''t feel like distracting everybody from their task. ¡°Do you remember how to get here from your room?¡± Rades asked them. ¡°Yes,¡± Aili said before Saia could shake her head. ¡°Good. You can eat, then.¡± He guided them back to the mess hall. There were ten long tables in two parallel lines, half of them completely occupied. Rades marched straight to the only half-full table and occupied the closest empty chair. More people sat down in front and beside him. He pointed at the free chairs further to his right. ¡°We fill the spots in order,¡± he said. ¡°This way we use the whole room and nobody sits alone.¡± Aili sat on that side, while Saia circled around the empty end of the table to settle in front of her. The woman she sat next to smiled at her, and she was so surprised it took her a second to smile back. She wasn''t used to being so close to a stranger, nor to receive positive attention without even exchanging a word first. There were more strange things, now that she was sitting and looking around freely. The quiet, to begin with: people were talking to each other, but the tones were low and calm, making the background chatter almost pleasant to listen to. Then, she noticed a couple of people with a crimson sash around the waist, over the tunic. ¡°Who are they?¡± she asked Rades, nodding in the direction of the closest one, a monk with strong arms. ¡°He''s one of the zoology scholars,¡± he said, narrowing his eyes as if trying to remember his name. ¡°No, I mean, why is he wearing a red sash?¡± Rades looked embarrassed again. ¡°I can''t really tell you now, sorry.¡± Saia nodded and retracted in her seat. More people entered the room and walked straight to their table. Saia recognized Haina, the chemist and his twin. They sat down, Haina and the twin next to Saia, Olus on Aili''s side. ¡°I ran here,¡± Haina said. ¡°I really wanted to sit next to you two. So, how did it go? I didn''t follow everything, I always have to focus on the kids when we''re in the temple. They''re too little to understand why they have to keep quiet.¡± ¡°We asked some questions,¡± Aili said. ¡°I feel like we shouldn¡¯t have.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Saia agreed. ¡°It wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go.¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± Olus said. ¡°I mean, sure, nobody expected the discussion to veer toward floods and sea snakes. But something like this hasn''t happened in about thirty years, so nobody really knew how it was supposed to go. Apart from the abbot, maybe, and the other elders.¡± ¡°The last time someone from the villages decided to join you was thirty years ago?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Yes,¡± a man''s voice said behind her. Coram sat down next to the chemist. ¡°It was me, actually. Worst decision of my life.¡± But he was smiling as he said that. ¡°Where do you come from?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Erimur. I wouldn''t mind a change of topic.¡± Two monks entered with a wooden cart occupied by a pot and a pile of bowls. They stopped at the end of the first table and started filling them one by one before passing them to the sitting monks. Now the stream of people from the door was bigger and regular, enough to fill the remaining tables, with only a handful of chairs left empty at one extremity. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Do you mind if I ask more questions?¡± Aili asked, looking at the monks around her. ¡°Not about you personally, unless you feel like sharing something, but about the place and your rules. Just to get a feel for how you live here.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± the other twin said, while the rest nodded. ¡°Why did you insist so much on returning before dawn? Daira was especially worried about that before we got to the tent.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Haina began, looking at the others as if to check whether they wanted to answer in her place. ¡°We have to remain out of the gods'' influence if we want to keep doing our job.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Helping people in times like these, when a god is fading. Restoring the god in question, and make sure that they don''t abuse their power.¡± ¡°You''re not very good at that,¡± Saia mumbled. When Haina gave her a confused look, she shook her head and gestured with a hand for her to continue. ¡°Well,¡± she started, slowly bringing her eyes back to Aili. ¡°Deities are very powerful, obviously. They could control us easily, or take our place. So there are some rules that we have to follow to make sure it won''t happen. The most important one is to be out of a god''s range before sunset, preferably inside the village.¡± ¡°It''s because the sentinels can''t see in the dark,¡± the chemist explained. ¡°So they can''t be sure that the god didn¡¯t take the place of that monk during the night. It¡¯s another reason why the torches outside the temples are always burning.¡± ¡°That makes sense. Have they tried that before?¡± ¡°Yes. We have records of it,¡± Coram said. ¡°Some of them are pretty recent. What it was, a hundred years ago that a god killed a monk and built a statue that looked exactly like him?¡± He looked around, as if asking for confirmation, and Haina nodded. ¡°The village was almost inside his range when the sentinels realized that something wasn''t going as expected,¡± she said. ¡°They stopped him in time.¡± ¡°How do you stop a god?¡± ¡°I fear you''ll have to wait until after the ceremony.¡± ¡°And how did they realize it wasn¡¯t the actual monk?¡± ¡°The sentinels communicate with the monks inside the villages by reflecting light with mirrors. The code changes often, so no one can memorize it once and trick us every time.¡± ¡°But we left some monks down there¡­¡± Aili started. ¡°What if the monk enters a building?¡± Saia cut her off, following a sudden thought. ¡°The sentinels can¡¯t see them there.¡± Coram glared at her. ¡°Have you seen me enter the temple, by chance?¡± She retracted a bit at that. ¡°Some people saw you. And they also saw you enter a tavern.¡± ¡°That isn''t surprising,¡± Haina said, a bitter tone in her voice. ¡°Have you drunk anything, Coram?¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry. To answer your question, Koidan was already unable to do anything.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Haina insisted. ¡°He couldn¡¯t use his powers and you didn¡¯t boil the wine, I guess. You risked a lot.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Coram said, staring back at Haina. She held his gaze for a bit, then lowered her eyes. ¡°Nothing,¡± she repeated. ¡°For now.¡± ¡°As I was saying,¡± Coram said. ¡°We knew for sure that Koidan isn¡¯t able to use his powers right now. And Daira and the others are ready to stay down there forever in case the sentinels have any suspicion that they''re being controlled by a god.¡± Saia raised her eyebrows. ¡°You must trust your sentinels¡¯ judgement a lot.¡± ¡°The ones that went away know the dangers and are ready to live through the consequences. That''s the nature of sacrifice.¡± ¡°Which god tried to climb the mountain?¡± Aili asked. Coram sighed. ¡°I¡¯m starting to regret sitting near you two.¡± ¡°You can''t tell us?¡± He looked at Haina. ¡°There are no explicit rules about this, right?¡± She shook her head. ¡°None that I can remember. They''re going to find out as soon as they enter the library anyway.¡± Aili''s eyes widened. ¡°There''s a library?¡± At that moment, the first bowls of soup were passed along toward the end of the table. It took a while before everybody had one and the pot could move on to the next table. Haina told Aili where to find the library and added that only monks were allowed there, so she had to wait until after the ceremony. Saia ate fast, not paying attention to the monks talking all around her. She couldn''t stop thinking about Haina''s words: the monks had to make sure that the gods didn''t abuse their power. It wasn''t true. She knew it. And she wanted to know why. ¡°What do you think of Vizena?¡± she asked quietly, eyes on the soup. ¡°She''s the goddess of Suimer,¡± the chemist said. Saia glared at him. ¡°I know. I was born there.¡± ¡°She''s alright,¡± Haina said. ¡°I¡¯ve never met her, obviously, but in ninety-seven years there has never been a problem that required our intervention.¡± ¡°How do you know that? Have you ever asked someone from there or you just guessed?¡± The monks looked at each other. ¡°The sentinels never saw anything worrisome,¡± Coram said. ¡°We don''t send people down there without a reason.¡± Saia let the spoon fall inside the soup and passed a hand on her forehead. ¡°So you were looking the whole time and never thought of doing anything to stop her?¡± She saw their confused expressions and felt the urge to cry and smash the bowl on the floor at the same time. She did neither, only picked up her spoon and resumed eating, hands trembling. Up to that moment she''d pictured the monks as enemies, or at least Vizena¡¯s accomplices, despite finding them to be fairly normal people. But they didn¡¯t know about her, and that was worse than anything. ¡°Let''s eat,¡± Coram said. ¡°We''ll talk more about this once we''ve finished.¡± Saia nodded, not raising her eyes from the table. She didn''t want to see Aili''s expression, the implicit questions on everyone''s face. She''d lost her calm, but she needed to be more careful later. Say only the minimum necessary, and get more information than what she was giving away. Once everyone had finished their soup, Coram stood and gestured for Saia, Aili, Haina and the twins to follow him. They put the empty bowls on a cart next to the door, left the room and followed the corridor for a bit, up to an empty room filled with desks and chairs. ¡°Don''t move anything,¡± Haina said, closing the door behind her. ¡°It must stay clean for the kids tomorrow morning.¡± Coram lit some candles around the room. ¡°Could you explain, Saia? Do you think that Vizena hasn''t done her job or has hurt your people in some way?¡± ¡°She''s manipulative. She has a precise idea of how everybody is supposed to behave, of how everyone¡¯s life is supposed to be, and she does all she can to force people to follow that path. And she''s always, always listening. She interrupts conversations when she doesn¡¯t like where they¡¯re going, uses what we say against us, reveals private information to strangers to force a connection that was never there. It feels like she''s always breathing down your neck, and you can''t do anything about it. Except giving in to all her requests and be miserable.¡± ¡°Has she ever killed someone? Or hurt them when they didn''t obey her?¡± Saia thought about it. As much as she wanted to say ¡®yes¡¯, she realized it wasn''t true. ¡°Her punishments weren''t physical. She would just control you even more.¡± ¡°Control you how? Take control of your body? Forcing you to do things you wouldn''t normally do using her powers?¡± Saia thought about the temple. But in order to talk about that, she¡¯d have to explain too many things that had to remain a secret. ¡°Yes and no. She never used her powers directly, but she would always be there. Talking in your ear even more than usual, commenting on every action, complaining about everything you do. She became a constant presence in your life that you couldn''t ignore, because she was a goddess, and you couldn''t escape in any way. I know of two people who tried to commit suicide, but she wouldn''t let them.¡± ¡°Which isn¡¯t a bad thing,¡± Haina specified. ¡°No, but she didn¡¯t do it because she cared. She just wasn¡¯t done with them.¡± Coram nodded, eyes pointed at the floor. ¡°You can stop her, right?¡± Saia asked, suddenly hopeful. Maybe that was all it took, to bring everything Vizena had done to the attention of the monks and let them use their powers on her. But the glances the four monks were exchanging told her that it wasn''t that easy. Only Aili was looking at her, with wide eyes. ¡°I had no idea,¡± she whispered. ¡°She was always so nice to me.¡± ¡°She treats travelers well. Especially merchants.¡± She thought about Orver and his employees, before she even knew his name, arriving and leaving whenever they wanted, while the inhabitants of Suimer were trapped there. And it could remain that way for at least a hundred years more, if the monks didn''t do anything to stop Vizena. ¡°We can do something,¡± Coram said. ¡°But it''s complicated.¡± Saia crossed her arms, but he looked like he hadn''t finished speaking, so she refrained from asking why. ¡°Don''t take it the wrong way, but the situation you describe is quite borderline. It would be different if Vizena was actually hurting people or controlling them with her powers. In that case we''d send someone to investigate without even thinking twice about it.¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°But she isn''t. So if you were to bring this situation up during a debate, the abbot will ask you for proofs and concrete examples.¡± ¡°I can only talk about what I''ve seen and experienced.¡± ¡°It might be enough, it might not. And even if it was enough and Laius decided to send someone to investigate, it''s unlikely Vizena will actually be stopped. Punished, maybe, certainly admonished, but she''d be more or less free to do whatever she wants anyway. Provided she doesn''t actually hurt or control people.¡± ¡°She is hurting people.¡± ¡°I believe you. But again, it''s a difficult situation to navigate. She''s technically taking care of everything a god is supposed to: food, shelter, security, a good enough economy based on a list of parameters that''s too long to repeat, healing, and obviously officiating the rites and keeping the religion alive. Even looking from above, your village seems perfectly normal and thriving.¡± ¡°Couldn''t you check anyways? Just because you trust me?¡± ¡°If she''s as manipulative as you say she is, do you think it would make a difference?¡± Saia thought about it. She could imagine her treating the monks like she treated all the other travelers, even without recognizing them. Her only hope would have been for someone in the village to testify how things were, but she knew that nobody had that kind of courage. Too much at risk, and they didn''t know who the monks were or what they were capable of. ¡°No, probably not. But they don''t deserve it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not telling you to give up. I suggest you get as ready as you can, gather proofs, think about what you saw and what she did. Every week on fourthday we hold a debate to take the most important decisions about pretty much everything. Once you''re ready, I''d suggest you go there and speak up.¡± ¡°Maybe attend to some debates, first,¡± Haina said. ¡°To make sure you understand the rules.¡± Saia nodded. A thin hope, but it was the best possibility she had to hurt Vizena, at least for the moment. They heard a distant sound of chime bells. ¡°Time to sleep,¡± Coram said, stepping away from the teacher''s desk. ¡°I suggest you don''t stay up much, or you won''t have enough energy to work tomorrow.¡± Saia thought about the snakes she had to bind and looked at Aili. Her confused expression soon turned into a sigh. ¡°We''ll do our best.¡± 2.3 - Binoculars For the following week, Saia worked alongside Aili in the kitchen. They mostly cleaned, served the food, and brought it to the elder monks who couldn''t leave their beds. It wasn''t too tiring, and they had a lot of free time to roam the village together, trying to memorize the disposition of the corridors and rooms. She admired how Aili was the one to always know where they were and how to get to any other place. But when it came to telling the time, it was Saia to always guess right, even before checking a window or hearing the bells chime. There were also lessons, taught in part by Haina, in part by two of her colleagues. Every other day they sat in one of the three classrooms of the village, trying to memorize the names of past abbots and the main rules of the monks. She''d hoped for some information about the gods, but it was all boring like any other history lesson at any other school inside the villages. And by the expressions of the other students, they''d heard all of it at least once, more likely twice, with intense studying sessions and exams in between. They were all about twenty years old, which made them younger than her and Aili of eight and six years respectively. As a consequence, they didn''t get to know them further than the pleasantries exchanged at the beginning and end of every lesson. Not enough they could relate to, on both sides. At least Aili was excited by all the information she was gathering about the monks'' history. ¡°Their creation story is very different than ours,¡± she said one day after they went to sleep, when Saia had almost managed to lose consciousness. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Our sacred texts start with the conversation that created the world. You do remember it, right?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Saia mumbled, eyes closed. ¡°Well, theirs start with the monks finding the mountain. There¡¯s no mention of how the world was created.¡± Saia remembered being interested in the conversation, but sleep claimed her before she could ask more. The chemist had delivered the seawater as promised, so their room had been partially occupied by two full carboys until the glassmaker finally completed the tank. Saia dug up the dirt herself, from a spot between the external gardens and the forest. Ebus helped her bring it to her room in two old jute sacks, and she gave him two dead snakes as a thank you. There had also been a debate, but only monks could participate. On firstday, she woke up one hour earlier than usual to get ready for the ceremony. It was less complicated than she''d expected, even if the assembly was bigger than when they¡¯d been introduced to the abbot. Everybody who could leave their bed and wasn¡¯t on sentinel duty was there, pressed together from the entrance to the three steps that led to the well. Almost everyone was wearing some sort of makeup around the eyes, black lines next to brightly colored ones, mostly pink, yellow or blue. The novices entered in a line to the sound of percussions and wind instruments. The two walls of crowd at Saia¡¯s sides didn¡¯t let her see where the music came from. She was the last in line after Aili, since all the twenty years old had taken the spots at the front. They were dressed in normal clothes, because apparently putting on the gray tunic was the last thing they''d had to do to become true monks. Saia couldn''t wait for it to happen, not out of a particular desire to tie herself to that place forever, but because she was freezing and those tunics were the only piece of clothing in the whole village that could actually do something against the cold. She wasn''t sure how they worked, the fabric they were made of seemed just regular wool, but the rules prohibited washing them autonomously. Instead, they had to be left out of the rooms, where a group of helpers gathered them each morning and left clean ones behind. The same helpers would then wash them in the internal pool of the village, a large and deep body of water where the monks usually bathed and relaxed. Saia had lived in the village for long enough to know that if there was a group of helpers dedicated to just one task it wasn''t as easy as it looked. The abbot was already in place in his spot next to the well, Rades as usual some steps behind him. They¡¯d learnt during one of Haina''s lessons that he was one of the two priors Laius was preparing to take his place after his death. The other one was Daira, and from what Saia had gauged from the conversations at lunch, the fact she''d been sent away as head of the group that was taking care of Lausune meant that she was the favorite. Also, Rades was apparently not that interested in the responsibilities of that role, content in being only a backup plan in case of tragedy. Saia was distracted from her thoughts by Aili turning her head to look at her. ¡°I hope I won''t stumble. Aren''t you anxious?¡± ¡°Not really,¡± Saia said. The whole thing felt quite pointless, considering the entire community knew who they were by that point. And they''d already worn the tunics. She was way more nervous about her first debate, two days later. Even if she had decided to just listen and try to learn how it worked, as Haina had suggested, she was scared she''d find out that it required speaking skills she didn''t have. She''d heard there were questions, and the speaker had a short amount of time to say everything they wanted, and no one could speak for more than a certain amount of times, except for the abbot and priors. In comparison, the ceremony was a calm walk from the cave to her house at dawn, with the hot summer wind blowing through her hair and a bucket full of snakes in her hand. Gods, how she missed the sea. When it was Aili''s turn, she did everything so perfectly that Saia started to feel she would have been the one to mess it up and close the ceremony with a disappointment. But that feeling dissipated as soon as the abbot addressed her. ¡°What is your name, novice?¡± ¡°Saia.¡± ¡°And why are you here today?¡± She remembered the words Haina had taught them. ¡°To become a monk. To keep alive the sacrifices of this community.¡± To get revenge, or justice, or both, she thought. And to save a friend. ¡°We welcome you. As a help for our bodies, a preserver of our knowledge, and a defender of our community. What path do you choose?¡± ¡°Helper,¡± she said. She couldn''t wait to have both feet submerged in freezing water, nobody around except for the prey moving in front of her, unaware of her presence until the moment she caught it. She''d been a fool to think she''d been content doing anything else, in that place so far away from home. The abbot nodded. ¡°It''s decided, then.¡± Saia stepped aside and Rades handed her a neatly folded tunic. She put it on, then descended the three steps to join the other novices for the last part of the ceremony. Fortunately, it was nothing more than words read aloud by the abbot, and some others repeated by the assembly. Then everybody started to leave, except for Rades, who walked up to her and Aili with two sheets of paper in his hand. ¡°Your schedules for the time being.¡± He said, handing one to each of them. The paper was rough and spotted with pieces of darker colors. ¡°You''ll find the tasks, with the name of the monk who will tutor you, and obviously the time and place. Work well and you''ll be rewarded with activities more in line with your attitudes.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°When?¡± Aili asked. He looked a bit taken aback. ¡°I don''t know. It depends on what your tutors say.¡± ¡°Library duty on fifthday? I already love it. Thank you, Rades.¡± He blushed a bit at that, then nodded and walked away. Aili stood on her toes to read Saia''s schedule. ¡°What did you get?¡± Saia didn''t answer, counting the hours that had assigned the word ''fishing''. It was every other day, in the mornings and evenings. She''d hoped for something more, but she had also feared getting way less than that. She turned the sheet, but the other side was covered by crossed-out handwriting. ¡°They don''t have much paper here,¡± Aili explained. ¡°They create new sheets from old ones that were already used.¡± Saia nodded and put it away in a tunic¡¯s pocket. She''d left her bag in their room for the ceremony and she couldn¡¯t wait to wear it again. It wasn''t uncommon: helpers and scholars alike often had a bag, or a thick belt with small bags hanging from it, or, in the chemist''s case, vials. ¡°I could use some venom,¡± he''d mentioned when he''d brought her the carboys. She''d been about to tell him the price before realizing there was no need to. She returned to her room while Aili left for the library. She took care of the snakes, giving them pieces of dried meat. The tank was a little bigger than the one she had at home, and that gave her hope that the snakes would lay eggs, at some point. Once she''d finished, she stood in the center of the room, bag in hand, unsure about what to do for the two hours before lunch. She read the schedule again and was surprised to find that the meeting spot for the first fishing session was named ''lake Naurbi''. She had no idea where that was, if outside the village or into one of the endless rooms and caves that composed it. She shrugged, putting the schedule back into her pocket. Looking for the lake was a way like another to pass the time. She headed out, then looked back toward the tank, considering whether to take a snake with her. But the sentinels checked the bags at every entrance and she didn''t want to use the same excuse too many times, lest somebody researched what Argeline was and found nothing. It was pure luck she still remembered what it was called. She left, her bag empty if not for the spare clothes, a bottle of water and her gloves. She followed the large curve of the most external corridor, toward the second entrance. She stopped in front of the two sentinels next to the old doors. ¡°How can I get to lake Naurbi from here?¡± They told her. It wasn''t far, but she''d have to climb up for a bit, and the trail wasn''t exactly free from stones, holes and detours. Saia thanked them and left the cave. She''d seen Lakam, the main fisher and her tutor, in the dining hall. Haina had pointed her out, an old woman curved on her food, with a filigree of wrinkles on her brown face. If she could get to the lake each morning and come back alive every evening, so could Saia. The trees on the other side of both the village and the mountain looked tighter and darker than the ones on the opposite slope, and there were no wooden houses. Saia blinked for some instants, trying to get used to sunlight again after spending a week mostly inside. She was looking around for the beginning of the trail, when a glint of light caught her attention. She stepped away from the trees, following the wall of rock, and stopped behind a protrusion covered in vines. She didn''t see anything weird, so she just stood there, gazing into the trees, in case the glint appeared again. It had been sharp, like the golden light of a god, or... Or the sun reflected on a mirror, she realized as two human shapes moved, partially hidden by the trees. Sentinels. Not the guards inside the village, but the quiet observers Zeles was so scared of. After an instant of anxiety, she realized she had nothing to fear and stepped out of her hiding place. They stood on a small clearing behind the trees that allowed for a clear view of the three villages on that side. There were eight monks there, six of them sitting on the edge of a rock protruding onto the void, two standing behind them. One was holding a big mirror, the other looked around with a bored expression. When Zeles had talked about the sentinels, she had imagined they used magic to spy on the people below. As Saia approached them, she was surprised to find each of the sitting monks squinting inside two metal tubes connected by a bridge of the same material. ¡°What is she saying?¡± the monk with the mirror asked. One of the sitting monks squinted, holding his tool in front of his chest and not his eyes like the others. ¡°Hold on, she''s still signaling. She said it was just a misunderstanding. She''ll be back today.¡± The standing monk without a mirror saw Saia and shushed his colleagues. ¡°Do you need something?¡± he asked. Saia got closer. The other monks gave her a glance before putting their eyes against the tubes again. ¡°Yes. I''m new here, how do¡­¡± she gestured at the strange instruments. ¡°What are these? How do they work?¡± ¡°Binoculars?¡± The monk looked surprised. ¡°Are you one of the novices from Lausune?¡± Saia nodded. ¡°It''s better if I just show you. Hey, Gaila, can I borrow yours for a second?¡± She lowered the tool and handed it over with a shrug. The monk showed Saia the glass on both sides. ¡°Don''t ask me the details, but you can see far away things as if they were close. Like the entrance to us now.¡± Saia looked back at the wall of stone. She thought about her family standing there, and suddenly her palms started sweating. ¡°Can I try it?¡± The monk looked unsure. It was Gaila to break the silence. ¡°Let her, don''t worry about it. Nothing interesting is happening anyway.¡± ¡°We''re not here to be entertained,¡± the monk answered, but still handed the binoculars to Saia. She took them with trembling hands. The surface was crossed by parallel grooves that formed spirals and waves all along the tubes, over the bridge and back. They vaguely reminded her of the purple line on the inside of her tunic. She got closer to the rock on which the other monks were sitting. Gaila scooted over, freeing enough space for Saia to sit next to her, so close that the woman''s black curls brushed her shoulder every time the wind changed direction. ¡°Don''t look at the sun, you''ll risk getting blind,¡± she warned. ¡°Not in this direction either,¡± one of the monks on the opposite side of the rock said. ¡°They¡¯re still signaling something.¡± Saia carefully put the binoculars right in front of her eyes and brought them closer until all the light was blocked out, except for the one that came through the lenses. She saw the leaves of trees at the feet of the mountain as if she had them right in front of her. She slowly moved the binoculars around, looking for her village. She found the square, then the streak of multicolored tents of market street, followed it toward the sea, and found her house. She let out a breath, eyes peeled on the part of the building that was visible behind roofs and trees. She could see the kitchen''s window and a piece of the door, while her room was on the opposite side. Provided it was still her room, after two years of exile. ¡°You¡¯re not¡­¡± Gaila¡¯s voice said at her side. ¡°Nevermind, let me.¡± Saia felt her fingers touch the binoculars and moved her own aside to make space. The view suddenly enlarged, as if she was falling toward the scene. She gripped the binoculars tighter and held her breath. She was looking at the house from above. The slate roof was close enough she could reach it after a short fall. She could distinguish the flowers and the herbs of their garden, as usual well cured. She had to breathe slowly for a bit to calm down, focusing on the rock she was sitting on and her fingers against the binoculars¡¯ metal. She moved them slowly, and the view moved with her, until the front of the house was partially visible. The rooms beyond were completely dark, though. Not even the light of the day could enter. ¡°They left?¡± she asked, her voice creaking. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but you can¡¯t see rooms that are covered by a roof, or anything that is too dark. Also, I suggest you hurry up because this kind of view takes a lot of viss to maintain.¡± Saia nodded and waited, unwilling to let the binoculars go until she got a sign that her family was still there. She spotted a figure approaching the front door. She could see part of their face, and immediately recognized her brother Heilam. Judging by the full leather bag at his side, he was coming back from the market. He always dressed nice when leaving the house, even if he always swore it wasn¡¯t because of the cute girl who worked at the herbs stall. Considering what Vizena was capable of, not talking about potential loves was a smart idea. Heilam stopped in front of the door, fumbled a bit with the keys, and finally managed to open it. Saia pressed the cold and wet steel of the binoculars around her eyes, trying to memorize every second of him disappearing inside the house. The view became dark for an instant, then the village was far again. ¡°Sorry,¡± Gaila said. ¡°It was all I had for today. Are you okay?¡± Saia took some seconds before answering. ¡°Yes. Thank you.¡± She kept watching for a while longer, hoping someone else would approach the house, that a movement of any kind would cross the kitchen''s window. But nothing happened, so she lowered the binoculars and wiped them with the tunic''s sleeves before handing them back to Gaila. ¡°Thank you,¡± she repeated, unsure of what else to say to her worried face. ¡°Sure.¡± She stared at the tool for a bit before continuing. ¡°If you ever need to take a look again, you can find me here every firstday, same hour.¡± Saia nodded, repressing the instinct to thank her for the third time. She stood, careful not to slip and fall for the gods knew how many seconds before hitting the rocks below. She waved at the two standing monks and left the clearing. She didn''t feel like adventuring outside in search of a lake anymore, that could wait until fourthday. What she had to do, as soon as possible, was gathering as much of that rough and spotted paper and write down everything she remembered about Vizena, everything she had done and said. Everything, except for one thing. 2.4 - The debate On fourthday, Saia woke up earlier than usual, when the first bell chimes signaled the end of a turn of surveillance and the beginning of another. It was a sound she¡¯d learnt to ignore during the week spent at the village, but that day it made her sprung out of bed. She put on her boots and draped the bag''s strap across her shoulder. Aili slept for the whole time, tired after reading for half the night. She left and headed toward the kitchen. She was surprised to see Ebus there, alone with three other cooks. They were all preparing something different, in silence, each occupying a corner of the kitchen with their own army of tools and ingredients. His wooden counter was to the right of the door, so he immediately saw Saia when she entered. ¡°Hi,¡± he greeted her, laying a thin slice of ham on top of a layer of vegetables. ¡°I didn''t know your turn started so early.¡± ¡°And I didn''t know we had meat for breakfast, otherwise I''d have asked for a change of schedule.¡± Ebus laughed. ¡°You wished it was for breakfast. No, we''re just practicing. Experienced cooks are allowed to prepare whatever they want twice a month, provided we don''t use ingredients that are in short supply.¡± ¡°Really? And who eats them?¡± ¡°We can choose. If it''s not meat, I usually bring it to Cailes. Otherwise, to my grandma. She gives the best criticism and even better compliments.¡± He poured a brown sauce with reddish hues on top of the dish, then washed his hands inside a bowl of clean water and wiped them on his apron. ¡°Do you need anything?¡± ¡°Yeah. Something to eat while I get to the lake, and lunch.¡± He nodded and left for an adjacent storage room. He returned with a small woven basket full of fruit and a piece of bread that looked freshly baked. He started to cut it in half. ¡°What''s your fishing schedule?¡± he asked. ¡°We can prepare you something before you go. We do the same for everybody who can''t go back to the village for lunch.¡± Saia wrote it down on a spare piece of paper while he finished filling the bread with slices of ham. He then wrapped it in a clean square of rough cloth, then handed it to Saia. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, putting it in the bag and taking the basket of fruits under one arm. ¡°Bring me some good fish if you find it.¡± Saia nodded and left. She reached the end of the corridor, walked in front of the two sentinels near the entrance and headed down the path for the lake. It descended for a good while, surrounded by thick vegetation, then climbed up again. The foliage all around her was moving in the wind. She thought about the boar and realized she was an easy target. She looked at her hands, wondering whether she¡¯d be capable of putting to sleep a beast like that before it could hurt her. She raised her head and saw a glint at her right, then another some steps above it. She saw two more down the slope at her left, positioned at two different altitudes. It was light reflecting on the metallic binoculars of the sentinels. The mountain was covered with observation spots, even if it was difficult to see all of them at a first glance. She wasn''t alone. She ate all the fruits during the breaks between a slope and the next. After a climb so steep it didn''t let her see what was behind, she finally found the lake. The terrain formed a small valley with the water right at the bottom. The half of the lake to the left, facing away from the mountain, was hidden by a dense line of trees, while the other bordered with a field of tall grass and canes. She focused on the water, breathing in the cold air: it was blue-green at the borders and a deeper blue toward the center. Nothing to do with the blue-gray of the sea, and it was twice as big as the pond where she went as a kid to talk with the elders. Her eyes caught a movement on the shore near the end of the trees, on the opposite side from where she stood. Two people sitting next to each other, three fishing rods planted between them. Lakam¡¯s chair was so low its bottom touched the ground, with the back curved in a way that resembled a hammock. The woman kept her feet next to the rods, firmly planted in the mud. The only part of her to move was her eyes, pointing now at Saia, now at the lake, now at the man next to her. He had a brown beard, long and wavy hair tied back on his head and a look of surprise on his face. Saia greeted them by waving a hand in the air, aware that talking too loud would have scared the fish. Lakam only blinked, unclear whether it was because of the sun or to greet her back. The man hesitantly raised a hand, hunched over on his chair. Saia got closer and stood there, uncertain about what to do. Lakam was tending to the three rods in front of her and it didn¡¯t look like any of them was for her. She hoped Rades hadn¡¯t forgotten to tell her to bring one from the village. Then Lakam pointed at the trees, and Saia saw a large piece of cloth covering something. She carefully approached it and raised a corner. There were folded chairs piled up beneath it, besides two long wrapped objects. Saia unfolded one to make sure it was a fishing rod and took it back to Lakam, a chair under the other arm. The man stared at her the whole time, eyes wide in shock, or maybe even fear. ¡°I¡¯m Saia,¡± she said to break that uncomfortable silence. ¡°Adus,¡± he said. ¡°I know who you are,¡± Lakam said, her voice thin and trembling. ¡°I just don''t know why you''re here this soon.¡± ¡°They gave me a schedule.¡± She mumbled something Saia didn''t understand. She put down the chair between the two of them. She pointedly stared at Lakam until she sighed and started explaining to her how to knot the string to the bait. She talked quickly and mumbled a lot, and Saia strained to catch all her words. In the end, she was sitting in silence too, with the fishing rod planted on the ground in front of her. Saia relaxed against the wooden back of the chair. It was a different way of fishing than sitting beside the pools, hands ready to strike at the tiniest movement. Not as boring as she''d thought it would be, with the mountain so bright all around her. ¡°So you''re one of the new ones?¡± the man asked. His voice sounded quieter and younger than she''d expected just by looking at him. ¡°Yes. And you?¡± ¡°Stop talking,¡± Lakam said. ¡°You¡¯re scaring the fish.¡± And that was it. Nobody spoke even when one of Lakam¡¯s fishing lines got taut. She battled with it for a while before pulling out a brown fish with golden hues Saia had never seen before. She looked at the rod more intensely from that moment, hoping the same would happen to her. But the wait became excruciatingly slow, since she couldn¡¯t speak if not to ask some quick question. At noon they all ate their lunches, then Adus and Lakam stood to put away rods and chairs. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Are we finished?¡± Saia asked, half asleep. ¡°My schedule says I have fishing until four.¡± ¡°There¡¯s the debate today,¡± Lakam said. Saia jumped up at that. ¡°So early?¡± ¡°Same time as all the other ones.¡± Saia folded her chair and piled it under the cloth with the others. She headed down the path after Lakam. It was a mistake, since the woman was predictably very slow. She endured the infinite descents and the final slope that led to the village. The sentinels gave a bored glance inside her bag before letting her pass. She waved at the fisher and left at a light run along the corridor. She was almost at the kitchens when she realized she didn''t know where the debate would take place. She was looking for someone to ask, when the bells chimed and people started to leave their rooms. She followed the crowd and found it was converging toward the temple. Once inside, Saia looked around in search of Aili, half-expecting her to be still inside the library. The monks sat in circles set one inside the other on the floor, starting with a small one at the center of the room and ending with one big enough to include its perimeter, with some steps of distance between one and the next. Saia found Aili sitting against the left wall. She had kept a spot by placing a thick book beside her. Saia walked between the external circle of monks and the next and fell next to her. ¡°So? Fishing on a mountain is different from fishing in the sea or is it sort of the same thing?¡± ¡°Not the same at all. It was... Kinda boring, kinda not. I can''t imagine doing that for the whole day, though. Or while it rains.¡± She mentally shuddered at the thought. ¡°And your tutor?¡± ¡°She''s... Fast. I''m not sure I caught everything she wanted to say. And there was another man.¡± ¡°A fisher?¡± ¡°I don''t know, he wasn''t fishing.¡± ¡°Some old people go around with a younger one as support, maybe he was there for that reason?¡± Saia shrugged. ¡°She didn''t look like she needed it, but it might be.¡± Aili nodded. Her eyes shifted to the side. Saia followed her gaze and saw a monk walking between their circle and the one in front of them, holding a bag with two hands. People stood while she stepped in front of them, then took something out and sat back down. ¡°What''s that?¡± Saia asked, but Aili shook her head. ¡°I don''t know. I was in the gardens with the botany scholars today, I didn¡¯t have time to research the debate.¡± ¡°I thought you were burrowed somewhere inside the library.¡± ¡°I emerge to breathe every once in a while.¡° They stood too when the people to their right did. Saia saw that each of them took out of the bag some small red stones. When it came their turn, they just stared at the bag and the woman, uncertain about what to do. ¡°You''re the new ones, right?¡± she asked. ¡°Do you know how a debate works?¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°Well, each of you has four turns for the whole month. If you want to speak, you get up and I''ll come to you once the previous speaker has finished. You discard one of your red stones,¡± she picked one out of the bag and let if fall back inside, ¡°and you have the right to five minutes uninterrupted. If the topic was announced by the abbot or a prior, you have to talk about it until it''s declared solved.¡± ¡°What if I wanted to introduce a new topic?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Do I have to tell the priors first?¡± ¡°Provided it¡¯s something that involves the whole community, I suggest bringing it up during the second part of the debate, when the topic is decided by the speakers.¡± Aili gave Saia a worried look. ¡°Only five minutes? It¡¯s not much.¡± ¡°Well, anybody can ask you questions after that, and then you have five more minutes to answer them without needing a red stone. Usually there''s always at least one question, and if nobody makes one, the abbot will.¡± She propped the bag on one knee. ¡°By the way, he can speak when he wants and for how much time he wants. And the priors don''t use the red stones either, but they still have only five minutes at disposal. Unless a council is proclaimed, but you don¡¯t need to know about that now.¡± Saia had no idea how she could condense all she had to say in just five minutes. ¡°Last thing,¡± the woman said while Aili picked up four red stones. ¡°Questions are made by raising your hand. It''s the speaker to decide who to hear first, but it''s polite to start from the one who raised their hand first. If you can''t speak for any reason, you can also let one of us organizers read for you something you have written, or use sign language. One of us organizers will be translating everything anyway.¡± She nodded in the well''s direction, where a monk was standing some steps away from the abbot¡¯s chair. Saia took four stones, cold and smooth in her palm. ¡°Other questions?¡± the girl asked. Aili nodded. ¡°How do we know when the five minutes are over?¡± ¡°One of the organizers will be holding an hourglass.¡± ¡°A what?¡± "A tool to tell how much time has passed. You''ll see it during the debate.¡± She looked to her right, where people were starting to stand and stare. ¡°If you don''t have any more questions, I have to finish my round.¡± Aili shook her head and the woman resumed following the line of monks. Saia was so nervous she felt the need to pace, but sat down instead. ¡°Fascinating,¡± Aili said, following her. ¡°Telling time using glass... I wonder how that works.¡± The abbot entered at that moment, followed by Maris. He sat down on the chair near the well, while the prior joined a group of sentinels near the wall. The other priors were similarly scattered among the crowd, even if fairly close to the front. There were fewer people entering now, alone or in small groups. They took the red stones from a bag held by an organizer and sat down in silence. Saia spotted another monk with a red sash around their midsection. ¡°Have you found out what that is?¡± Aili looked. ¡°No, I forgot. There¡¯s so much interesting stuff to learn.¡± ¡°Like?¡± The abbot started talking before she could answer. ¡°Welcome, friends. There''s a lot to discuss, this week.¡± He stood slowly. ¡°As we know Koidan, the god of Lausune, is fading, and we have three months left to prepare for the trials. We¡¯ll continue the selection of the candidates, one for each week. The discussion will go on until we¡¯ll have chosen another one, so be aware that there might not be time for other topics. As usual, you can only nominate someone else, and you have five minutes to explain why they would be a good candidate.¡± Saia exchanged a glance with Aili. ¡°What are the trials?¡± ¡°Haven''t read about it yet,¡± she answered distractedly. Saia knew she was thinking hard. Maybe she could find the answer by herself, with no need to search in the books. One of the monks stood. The woman with the bag of stones and another organizer holding a roundish glass tool crossed the room to approach him. He tossed a stone inside the bag and the organizer turned the hourglass. Something started to move inside, but Saia was too far away to see what it was. ¡°I nominate Ireia,¡± the monk said. ¡°She was the first sentinel to realize that the people with buckets at Lausune were trying to stop a fire. She''s always early for her turns and takes the ones that nobody wants. She always helps around in the kitchens during her free time. She has an instinct for troubles and knows where to find them. I swear if there''s a person always ready to sacrifice themselves and take care of the community, that''s her.¡± The man looked at the hourglass and kept talking for a bit. Saia didn''t follow the rest of his speech, eyes still focused on the glass and the thing moving inside. It reminded her of Zeles'' sphere. She remembered what the abbot had asked the glassmaker, before assigning him the task of building the snake tank: ''will you have time to work on the other thing?'' ¡°Thank you,¡± the abbot said once the five minutes ended. ¡°I agree that Ireia has shown her spirit of sacrifice on numerous occasions. Do you think she would better serve the ten villages as a sentinel or as a goddess?¡± Saia stopped trying to connect the information inside her head, yet again unable to process what was being said in front of her. She didn''t need confirmation anymore. She turned to tell Aili about her thoughts but saw she was already standing, the book held tight against her chest. ¡°I need to¡­¡± She didn''t finish the sentence as she headed toward the door. Saia was about to follow her, but she didn¡¯t want to lose the rest of the debate. Against her best intentions, she soon lost track of the conversation. She leaned her head back on the wall and raised her eyes to the ceiling, trying to wrangle her thoughts. There was a harmony to the bumps of the bas-reliefs seen from below, despite the events depicted being so different from each other. She hunched over and turned her head around to look at them well for the first time since she¡¯d arrived at the monks¡¯ village. Sure as the mountain under her feet, there were depictions of monks holding spheres, of monks building spheres. The image just above her head was stylized and difficult to interpret, but she could easily fill in the details that had been canceled by the passage of time: it showed a monk becoming a sphere. 2.5 - The portrait The debate continued for a while after dinner time, when some of the monks went to eat in small groups. Saia thought about doing the same, but she was too overwhelmed. She kept staring at the bas-reliefs, this time the ones on the opposite wall, and saw several scenes about monks and spheres that were only slightly different from each other. Every monk had an object near their feet that probably represented what job they had before becoming a god. The background was also different: sometimes there were trees, sometimes tall buildings, sometimes the sea, and other details she was too far away to see clearly. She came to the conclusion they were a way to represent the village they were becoming the gods of. She looked for one that could represent Lausune, but the bas-reliefs with the sea could be connected to any of the villages. She wondered which one of the images was dedicated to Zeles, and which one to Vizena. She tried one more time to follow what was being said, but it was just an endless list of names and good qualities. After that came an even longer debate about which one of the nominated monks was the best candidate. She stayed seated until they gave a red sash to a woman with a long braid of hair who worked as a scholar. Then the abbot announced that the next topic was about the traditions that they deemed useless and Saia decided to leave. Nobody had stopped Aili, after all, and she was pretty sure a lot of monks had never even entered the temple that day. She wanted to go straight to her room, but felt her stomach grumble and headed toward the dining hall instead. She hoped to find Coram, or Haina, or even the chemist, someone she could ask explanations to. She was pretty sure they were all still inside the temple, and she didn''t feel like bothering someone she didn''t know with questions everyone knew the answer to. She took a bowl from the cart next to the entrance, filled it with soup from the pot, sat down next to a stranger and ate as fast as she could. She left, thinking about having a walk outside, but a glance out of a window told her it was already getting dark. It would have been difficult to justify her departure to the sentinels, and there wasn¡¯t anyone out there to protect her from boars. So she headed to her room. The best thing about debates was that her schedule was empty from lunch to the next day. And probably everybody else''s, if the number of people inside the temple was of any indication. The room was empty. Not that she''d really expected to find Aili there; she was probably in the library, as usual, researching the gods and their origins. Saia fed the snakes and made a mental note to ask for more food for them. Her hands wrapped in the gloves, she moved the earth on top of the mound to look for eggs, but didn''t find any. She sat on the bed. She had at least one hour before bedtime, and there was nothing she could do to escape thinking about her future speech about Vizena and what she¡¯d done to her village. There was too much to say in five minutes, or even an hour. She needed to organize her memories in some way, cut out what wasn''t necessary even if everything seemed important. She stood and crossed the room. She stared down at Aili''s bed, at the piles of books on the floor and nightstand. The titles changed from day to day, but now that she looked at them closely she saw they were mostly about botany and medicine, with some history books and a very old one about the basics of magic. She picked it up and opened it on the first page, careful not to let the leaf Aili used as a bookmark slip. She¡¯d expected them to be written by hand, since the monks didn¡¯t have gods to copy texts into books, but they looked identical to the ones that could be found in the villages. She guessed the monks brought the originals to the gods to be copied, or had some magical technique to do that themselves. She tried to read the first words, but the language was very technical and she had too many things to think about at that moment. She put the book down and moved the whole pile, looking under and around the bed. Finally, she found what she was looking for: her notes about Vizena, a stack of paper and a cylinder of graphite sharpened on one end. She put the rest back where she found it and sat on the floor, shoulders against her bed. She reread what she¡¯d written, scrapped two things that didn¡¯t seem important enough to be included in the final speech, and thought about what to add next. She started from a small thing: the goddess trying to prevent her mother from bringing her to the lake. But then she''d have to explain why she was going there, so she scratched the sentence she''d begun to write and thought some more. After writing down the first episode, everything came in, wave after wave: Vizena commenting when she didn''t dress in a way she liked, keeping up his brother Lassem all night to ask him over and over why he was late at the function that day, pressuring her aunt to have a second child. And in the midst of it all, the thought that Vizena wasn''t a goddess at all, but a person that someone had chosen and made into a deity. The bedroom door opened unexpectedly, not giving her time to recompose herself. Aili looked down to see her crying face and her expression went from determination to concern. ¡°They could have chosen someone else,¡± Saia sobbed, wiping her face with the rough sleeve of her tunic. Aili closed the door softly, left the three books she was carrying on her bed and sat down next to her. She put a hand on Saia''s shoulder. ¡°I know. We''ll organize your speech to the second. I''ll do the first question to give you more minutes and I''m sure I can convince Coram and the others to do the same. If there''s any value at all in what they believe, they''ll listen.¡± Saia took a series of deep breaths to calm down. Aili glanced at the notes balanced on her knees, but didn''t say anything. ¡°Did you find out something?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Yes, and I have a lot of questions. But we can talk about it tomorrow, if you prefer.¡± ¡°No, I want to know. And I''ll reveal what I can.¡± Aili nodded and went to sit on the bed. Saia did the same on her own, facing her. ¡°All the gods are monks,¡± Aili said. ¡°Or better, they were. Technically they aren''t considered monks anymore after they change.¡± ¡°How it happens? How are gods created, exactly?¡± ¡°There''s a whole book about that, but it''s unavailable for now. Some of the scholars who specialize in magic have to prepare for the rite that will transform the chosen monk into Koidan. I''ll try to get my hands on it as soon as possible, but I think they''ll need it for the next months.¡± ¡°And nobody knows what''s written there?¡± ¡°It''s advanced magic, not many people can understand it. But I can ask one of the scholars'' priors, they probably were present when the last transformation happened.¡± Saia nodded. It didn''t even matter that much, for what she wanted to accomplish. She was just curious about how a change like that could even be possible in the first place. She wanted to know what Zeles had experienced before becoming a sphere. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°They only last about two hundred years, by the way,¡± Aili continued. ¡°It changes from village to village, and a bit from monk to monk even if they impersonate the same god, but nothing relevant.¡± ¡°So you were right.¡± She smiled a bit. ¡°I mean, it''s pretty noticeable once you get all the data. But I haven''t told you the best part: they have a physical form after becoming gods, and it isn¡¯t a statue.¡± Saia thought about the spheres and tried to look surprised. ¡°Oh, really?¡± ¡°They''re spheres of glass filled with viss. You know, the energy we can manipulate through magic.¡± Saia didn''t know what to say. Aili''s eyes were fixed on her. ¡°Spheres?¡± she repeated, her voice rising in pitch. Aili snorted from her nose, like the beginning of a laugh, but she returned immediately serious. ¡°I know that you already knew that, you don¡¯t need to pretend.¡± ¡°No. What? It''s impossible¡± Saia desperately searched for the right words to use, but she felt her voice and expression becoming less and less convincing the longer she waited. Aili''s eyes were unwavering, not a single sign that her attempts to conceal the truth were having any kind of effect. She sighed. ¡°How did you find out?¡± Aili folded her legs against her chest and hugged her knees. ¡°I started to piece it together when we were in the tent. You said that you couldn''t tell me who taught you to use magic, so at first I thought it must have been an exiled monk. But I couldn''t think of anyone, there aren¡¯t many foreigners in Lausune. The monks had talked about killing whoever revealed something, so I didn''t believe Koidan would have let that pass without stopping them. Not necessarily by killing them, but making them shut up in some way before they revealed too much. But you seemed to know what you were doing, you must have practiced for a long time, there was no way he wouldn''t have noticed.¡± Saia shrugged. ¡°Maybe Koidan just didn''t agree with everything the monks wanted.¡± ¡°Then I thought,¡± Aili continued, apparently ignoring her comment, ¡°that the only way somebody could have broken so many rules without being stopped by a god was by... Well, being a god. And you certainly didn¡¯t practice with the statue in the temple, since the monks could see you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a spot in every temple that the monks can¡¯t see. Not entirely, at least.¡± ¡°Oh. Well, still. A smaller form would have been practical, and when I learnt of the spheres it all clicked together.¡± She hunched forward to get the book about basic magic from the stack near the bed. ¡°Here, one of the manipulations described toward the middle is the one you use to make your snakes fall asleep.¡± She turned the book toward her. Saia saw the graphite drawing of a monk touching the side of a kicking horse, dust of dotted energy flowing from him to the animal. Aili pointed at a paragraph. ¡°Here it briefly mentions that gods are similar to tanhata, so it¡¯s easy to make them fall asleep if you have a piece of their bodies.¡± Saia looked up from the book. ¡°Similar to what?¡± ¡°Tanhata. Do you know what they are?¡± She thought about how Zeles had called the people on the ship. ¡°No, but I¡¯ve heard it somewhere. What are they, exactly?¡± ¡°I have no idea, the book takes for granted that the reader already knows. I''ve asked around, but nobody seems to have ever heard of them. And if the scholars don''t know anything, I don''t know who else to ask.¡± ¡°The sentinels?¡± Aili stopped, mouth half-open. ¡°Good point. I''ll ask Coram.¡± ¡°No, you won''t. He''ll wonder why we know of something that obscure, and I don''t think I can handle any questions from him. Or Maris.¡± ¡°Who can I ask, then?¡± ¡°Nobody. It doesn''t matter right now, we''d just get unwanted attention.¡± Aili didn''t look satisfied with her answer. They stared at each other for a bit, then she sighed. ¡°You''re not going to tell me why he taught you all that stuff, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°It has something to do with Zeles fading. The timing is too precise for it to be a coincidence.¡± Saia stared at her. ¡°How did you call him?¡± ¡°Zeles. It was Zeles, right? Or am I confusing it with someone else?¡± She opened another book from the small stack she had brought from the library. ¡°Yeah, Zeles was the last monk to impersonate Koidan. He didn''t tell you his name?¡± But her eyes were smiling. ¡°Stop playing with me,¡± Saia said. ¡°What''s that book?¡± ¡°It''s a list of all the monks who have become gods in the last six hundred years. It''s just a copy, or I don''t think they''d have let me take it away.¡± ¡°Let me see.¡± Aili smiled openly and handed her the small book. ¡°You do admit you know him.¡± ¡°Yeah, whatever.¡± She started turning the pages furiously, glancing at the names at the top. ¡°They''re organized by village,¡± Aili said. ¡°Zeles is just after the middle.¡± Saia turned the pages faster. She almost skipped him, her mind processing his name some instants after she read it. She went back, almost holding her breath. There was a drawing. The description reported the name of the monk who had made the original drawing in charcoal. It was the portrait of a man in his thirties, smiling with full lips, a gentle gaze directed somewhere at Saia''s right. The contours of his face weren''t clearly traced, but the dark gray hues of his skin faded until they meshed with the gray-yellow of the recycled paper. She stared at his face, trying to imagine him speaking with Zeles¡¯s voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know if my opinion is worth something,¡± Aili said. ¡°But he looks quite handsome.¡± Saia had to agree: even if the statue was similar enough to resemble him, in the drawing he looked real, as if she could have met him while turning a corner. She carefully passed the index on the lower edge of the drawing, expecting it to smudge, but she only felt paper. When she raised her finger, it was clean. ¡°They use magic to copy drawings,¡± Aili explained. ¡°It''s actually quite fascinating, but¡­¡± ¡°But it''s not the time, now,¡± Saia concluded. ¡°Yeah. Just something to keep in mind.¡± Saia started to read the text below the drawing. It talked about Zeles¡¯s life. She''d expected him to be a scholar, since he was so good at understanding people. Maybe someone who specialized in conscience study, like the monk who had examined her before they entered the village the first time. But no, he was a helper like her. He sew tunics and other clothes when needed, but his main occupation was cleaning tunics and delivering them. ¡°It says¡­¡± Saia brought the book closer to her face to read the words at the scarce light of the candles. ¡°¡®He was one of the only ones who could repair the pattern when it frayed.¡¯ What does it mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s referring to the purple string on the inside of the tunics. It¡¯s fascinating, but I¡¯ll tell you more later.¡± She gestured for her to continue and Saia did, this time reading the words out loud, in case Aili had more observations to make. ¡°Zeles had been noticed by the community years before becoming a god because of his habit of putting small gifts inside the tunics he delivered. He kept it a secret for as long as he could, but was discovered after only two months by one of his priors. After that, putting the gifts in the tunics became an occasional event, every time he knew that someone in the village was facing some hardships. He teamed with his fellow helpers to produce the gifts, like carefully wrapped food, flowers, levigated rocks, small wooden statues, and so on. He was nominated as a potential substitute for the god Koidan because of his attention to the needs of the people around him and his dedication to the wellbeing of the community. He was later described by his friends and family as a melancholic but friendly man, with a warm personality and never-ending fascination for human nature.¡± The text continued, but Saia had to stop. It sounded too much like an epitaph. ¡°He''s good,¡± she said. ¡°And I¡¯m not saying it just because of what''s written here. He doesn''t deserve to disappear.¡± ¡°So you are keeping him hidden from the monks?¡± ¡°They would kill him!¡± Saia realized that someone could be listening at the door and lowered her voice. ¡°He''s my friend, I can¡¯t allow that to happen. So please don¡¯t tell the monks anything.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, I won''t. But I''m really curious, how did you become friends with a god? I would never be able to treat them like a normal person. Even now that I know they were monks at some point, I wouldn''t feel at ease. Not after worshipping them for all my life.¡± ¡°To me it was the opposite. I''ve always seen them as a sort of enemy. More of an obstacle than a help.¡± ¡°It''s understandable.¡± "I know. But you can imagine how good of a god Zeles is, if he managed to make me change my mind about him.¡± Aili hugged her legs closer and rested her chin on her knees. ¡°It''s obviously fine if you don''t want to talk about it, but it sounds like it would be a pretty cool story to hear.¡± Saia passed a hand on Zeles¡¯s portrait. She really wanted someone else on his side. ¡°Only if you promise you''ll help me find a way to save his life.¡± ¡°I will need a lot more details about the situation to do that.¡± ¡°Come on, you¡¯ll find them out on your own quicker than I can explain them. So?¡± Aili raised her head a bit to nod. ¡°Sure. I''ll do my best.¡± ¡°And no questions. There are things that I don''t want to talk about. You can guess whatever you want, even be a hundred percent right about everything, but I won''t discuss it.¡± ¡°I think I know what you are referring to. I won''t ask.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Saia closed the book and put it aside. ¡°I guess I need to give you a little bit of context, first. Some weeks before I met him, I was exiled from Suimer¡­¡± 2.6 - Exiled Saia looked at the line of white stones a few steps in front of her. There was a stretch of green grass before the beginning of the next border. ¡°Go,¡± Vizena said inside her head. ¡°Or have you changed your mind?¡± Saia gripped the strap of her bag. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then do it already. Stop wasting my time.¡± She stepped forward, putting one foot on the other side of the line. She intentionally dragged the other one on the ground, hitting a white stone and making it roll a bit forward. Enough to put it just out of the goddess¡¯s reach. She kept going for a bit, half-expecting to be stopped or to hear again Vizena¡¯s voice. When it was clear it wouldn¡¯t happen, she stopped in front of the border of the neighboring village and looked back. There wasn''t anyone, obviously. Vizena hadn''t let her inform her family of her exile. She could only hope she wouldn¡¯t tell them that she had died in some horrible way, or worse, that she''d taken her own life. That thought alone was enough to make her consider going back and face whatever consequences Vizena would have inflicted her. But maybe it was better than having them forever wondering where she was. At least they could get the closure she''d been denied. She turned again to look at Tilau, the village she was supposed to enter. The sensible choice would have been finding shelter there, see how things worked, and gradually start her new life. But there would be new rules to learn, new people to meet. A new god to obey. She turned right, where the clearing of grass continued up to the forest. She entered it, paying attention not to step beyond the wavering lines of white stones on either side, and sat with her back against a big rock. The foliage sheltered her head from the morning sun. She stayed there, eyes closed, trying to clear her mind of all worries. She had a lot of them, even if they didn''t hurt anymore. She felt numb. She fell asleep at least three times before evening, gradually lowering herself until her back was on the ground and her head resting on her bag. She only had her fishing gear, some tools for cooking, a handful of vissins and a change of clothes. She survived alone for three days straight. She slept on the soft grass until dawn, then went toward the beach, always careful not to cross any border, and stood with her boots in the water, looking for sea snakes near the surface. She only found one the first night and managed to make it last three days, even though it never filled her stomach completely. Water was an entirely different problem. Her canteen only lasted one a day and a half. She tried to build a tool for purifying water the way her dad had taught her to do, in case her boat got stranded at sea. She took a bowl of seawater and put it on scorching hot stones to make it boil, while one of her shirts tied to two twigs gathered the vapor. She only managed to squeeze out a thin line of water and some drops from the cloth, never enough to last the day. In the end, she was forced to put her things back into the bag and stagger toward the line of stones that enclosed Tilau. She took a deep breath before crossing it. She made two steps forward before hearing a masculine voice inside her head. ¡°Welcome to Tilau. I¡¯m Dore. Can I ask your name and why are you entering my territory?¡± ¡°Saia. Need to stay here for a while.¡± Her voice was creaky because of the thirst and the silence she¡¯d kept for three days. ¡°Are you from Suimer?¡± She nodded. ¡°Incredible. I rarely see visitors from there and they¡¯re always the same faces. How is it going down there?¡± Saia shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She only wanted to find something to drink, maybe eat, and know whether she could sleep on a bed or find a good spot on the ground somewhere. ¡°Fine,¡± she lied. For all she knew, he could be on Vizena¡¯s side. The god waited a bit before answering, probably expecting Saia to elaborate. But she just kept staring at the field of grass in front of her and the houses on the other side. ¡°Do you need something here or are you just passing by?¡± ¡°I need water, food and somewhere to sleep. I can pay,¡± she added, mentally counting the money she had on her. Enough for a few days, if rooms weren''t too expensive. ¡°If this is all you need, there won''t be any need to pay. We have a shelter for people like you. There are some rules you''ll have to respect, though.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°You''ll have to work, first of all. You''ll get a salary, even if it won''t be much. You''ll be inserted in the turns to prepare the food and clean, but they won''t be considered part of your job. You''ll share a room with six other women, and the space assigned to you includes¡­¡± He went on for a bit. Saia felt the fatigue grow on her shoulders. ¡°Fine. Where do I have to go?¡± She wondered whether she''d been too disrespectful, despite trying to keep her tone neutral. Vizena would have ranted in her ears for an hour just for a smidge of disrespect, actual or perceived. ¡°I didn¡¯t finish, but it¡¯s alright, I can tell you more tomorrow. Go straight ahead until you see the square, then take the third street to the right and knock at the house with the blue door.¡± Saia followed his directions. The houses were built closer than the ones in Suimer, and most of them had at least three floors, sometimes more. The shelter was pressed on one side by the clock tower and the warehouse of a cloth merchant on the other. She knocked at the blue door and an old woman welcomed her inside, saying that Dore had already told everyone of her arrival. She showed her the room she''d had to share. She lasted one week in that village. The work was mostly related to cleaning or transporting things around with a cart. She couldn''t stand to have so many people always around her, with all she had lost. There was no time to grieve. If she stopped for a second, someone asked her what was wrong. With six other people in her room, her only moment alone was at night in bed, provided she didn¡¯t make a sound. And the next day she had to get up early to work, carrying materials or helping people, with no choice on how many breaks she had or for how long, lest she didn¡¯t want to hear Dore talking to her. She took it as a sign he was always observing them to some extent. She started to explore the borders of the village, at first in hope of seeing someone from Suimer on the other side of the white line, then to look for a way to escape that constant observation. But most of Tilau bordered with the external forest, a place where no human had been before. It continued toward the horizon on an endless strip of earth that narrowed down near the mountain to the point Tilau was the only village it bordered with. And even then, it didn¡¯t occupy the whole border: there were two harbors, one on either side of the forest, where ships constantly arrived from the other villages and turned around to go back, as there was no channel crossing the forest to connect them. She often had to help charge Tilaus¡¯s ships, the only ones who could voyage all around the mountain and end up in their village, even if in a different harbor. She had briefly considered risking her luck into the forest, but Dore stopped anyone that got too close to that side of the border. To the west of the southern harbor, there was a small stretch of beach with more forest behind it. She knew that the merchants only crossed it after hiring guides. Not a place she wanted to visit alone. Beyond the beach, there was a tall rock formation that looked like an old piece of mountain. It didn''t allow her to see what was beyond, but she found herself drawn to it more and more, until she took into consideration the idea of climbing it. It was dangerous, of course: if she fell, there wouldn''t be a god to save her. There wouldn''t be anyone at all, if by some stroke of bad luck she fell into the sea. But the top was flat and empty, except for some trees. A good place to rest, away from both gods and animals. From there, she could see where to go next. She used all of her money, both her savings and the meager pay from the shelter, to buy water and food, a torch, a knife, and warm clothes. There wasn''t enough for a rope, but she didn''t actually know how to use it in a way that would have saved her from a fall without getting in the way. She left on fifthday, at dawn. Dore asked her repeatedly where she was going, but he didn''t use his powers to stop her, so she ignored him and kept going. The cracks in the stone she had seen from afar became shelves of rock on which she could lean without fear of slipping. It was a long climb, an even more tiresome one, but she found herself at the top before sunset. And when she looked down on the other side, there was the longest beach she''d ever seen. She stared at it for the rest of the morning. Unfortunately, it was cut in half by the line of stones of another village. It was late afternoon when she sighed and started the descent. The cave wasn''t visible from above, so she was surprised to find that the wall of rock didn''t continue until the bottom. She was forced to climb back up for a bit and find another path of shelves before touching the sand with her bare feet. The cave was bright and beautiful, and her first thought was that a god had created it. But nobody invaded her mind when she peeked inside, so she gathered her courage and entered. When she looked into the pools and saw a sea snake dart from a cluster of algae to the next, she knew she''d found her new home. This time, she managed to resist for two weeks. She rationed the water in her three canteens and kept the most durable food aside, fishing the snakes instead. She found a place to sleep on the sand outside, sheltered from the wind by a smaller rock resting on the side of the bigger one that contained the cave. There was no protection against the snakes that could slither outside the water, but most of the time she felt too exhausted to care. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. So exhausted, in fact, that when a sea snake she hadn''t seen approach bit her ankle, it took her a long instant to register what had happened. The fear that sliced her chest was more painful than the bite itself. She left her bag at the cave and ran away, screaming for help in the middle of the night, the flaming torch swinging left and right in her hand while she stumbled on the sand. She sighted movement in the distance, but kept her eyes peeled on the ground, looking for the line of stones. The bite started to pulse, and the sensation traveled along her left leg until she could barely bend it. The run began a staggering march, and she realized she wouldn''t have made it in time. Maybe it was better to die that way than having her life saved by a god. She fell on her knees on something hard and sharper than the sand below. Somebody pulled her inside the border, and she felt her leg slowly gaining sensitivity again. She laid there, the right side of her face resting on the sand, waiting for the inevitable sound of a booming voice in her mind. ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked a high pitched voice somewhere above her. Saia rolled on her side and propped herself up on one elbow: she saw a boy, barely more than a teen, or so it seemed at the light of the torch that was now burning on the sand. She turned to examine her leg: there was no trace of the bite anymore. She could bend the knee and rotate the ankle without pain. ¡°What''s your name? I''m Dan, by the way.¡± Saia looked at the buildings, then at the mountain behind them, searching for the temple. She had no idea why the god wasn''t talking to her. He had to be aware of her presence, or he wouldn''t have healed her. ¡°Saia,¡± she answered, realizing only at that moment that the boy had asked her something. ¡°Hello,¡± said a solemn voice inside her head. There he was. ¡°I¡¯m Koidan, the god of Lausune. Do you feel pain anywhere?¡± Saia moved her leg a bit more and shook her head. ¡°Good. Dan, could you tell them not to worry? I fear that if I did it, they would be even more scared.¡± Saia blinked, looking up at the temple. Vizena and Dore only spoke to the person they wanted to address, without letting anybody nearby listen. Koidan talked as if he was physically there, his voice echoing in the head of everyone who was close enough. Dan nodded, then smiled at her and turned to leave. Saia looked behind him to see who Koidan was talking about, and saw two groups of people in front of the houses that were closest to the beach, doors open and lights flickering inside. ¡°Do you need a place to stay?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± Saia answered immediately, recoiling a bit. ¡°I already have one.¡± ¡°The cave? It''s dangerous, you could get bitten again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡± ¡°I won''t force you to stay if you don''t want to, but at least take these with you.¡± Saia looked around and saw a bundle of cloth glide in her direction, brought by a strong wind that made her hair fly away from her face. She caught it into her arms. ¡°If you ever change your mind, you can come back. I can find a place for you.¡± ¡°Thank you for the cloth,¡± Saia said, and crossed the line of stones again. She lived in the cave for another week, hiding every time she saw someone on the beach. They were mostly families or groups of teens relaxing and swimming in the sea. The boy, Dan, came closer a couple of times, always stopping right before the line of stones, and called her. Saia always stayed hidden inside the cave, gritting her teeth against the discomfort of hearing someone scream her name without answering. She made her wonder how things would have been if she entered that village. But there was a god there, and she was done with them spying on her and talking inside her mind. Then the water ended, and she remembered she had used all of her vissins. Not a problem, since the wells were free for everyone to use, but she also wanted a pillow and some straw on which to sleep, and she might as well sell her snakes and buy everything she needed in one visit to the village. She stood, begrudgingly walking all the way toward the border. The people scattered on the beach, three families and a group of young adults, stared at her and talked in voices that became quieter and quieter the more she came closer. She looked at her clothes, but she had washed them too when she''d gone bathing in the sea during the night; she didn''t look any different than them, so they must have known about her from someone else. The boy. She stopped and took a deep breath before crossing the line. She expected Koidan to address her immediately, always ready to intrude like all the gods. But the silence continued all the way into the village. She was sure he was looking at her, perceiving and examining every step. It made his silence even creepier. ¡°I''m just going to the market to sell sea snakes,¡± she said out loud. ¡°I don''t want anything from you. I won''t cause problems, so please leave me alone.¡± The answer came after several steps. ¡°Sorry, were you talking to me?¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Don''t worry, I see that you can survive on your own. It''s impressive, actually. Usually people start to give signs of anxiety when they think that I''m not paying attention to them.¡± Saia thought about her native village. ¡°They do?¡± ¡°Yeah, they''re always worried that something bad will happen and I won''t be there to save them. As if I had ever abandoned someone.¡± His words turned slightly bitter toward the end. ¡°You don''t have to worry about that with me.¡± ¡°It''s not a worry, but I''ll leave you be if that''s what you want. Call me if you need me.¡± She gave him a nod of acknowledgment and kept walking toward the center of the village. The market was so small it could be entirely contained by the square. She looked for the fish stands, pleased to see that they didn¡¯t have sea snakes. She haggled with the young man behind the stand, trying to pose as a traveling merchant and not a woman who lived in a cave and was becoming increasingly desperate for a gulp of water. She managed to sell them for a good price, even if lower than the one she''d have obtained at home. They were probably a more common food there than she''d initially thought. She found the pillow and a sack of straw, then filled the three canteens she¡¯d bought with clean water. She was heading back, when she saw the boy walking from stand to stand. She started to retreat, but he saw her before she could disappear behind a house. ¡°How''s it going at the cave? I''ve never been there.¡± Saia slowed down, allowing him to approach her. ¡°It''s a nice place, even if a bit more dangerous than living in a village.¡± ¡°Why don''t you come to live here?¡± Saia gave him a short laugh. ¡°No, sorry, I''ve already tried a shelter but I can''t stand it.¡± ¡°A shelter? No, I''m talking about a house.¡± Saia looked at him: evidently he didn''t know how those things worked. ¡°I don''t have enough money to buy a house.¡± Dan shrugged. ¡°We didn''t either, but Koidan built one for us.¡± Saia stopped. ¡°He... Built one?¡± ¡°Yep. He built all of them.¡± ¡°You don''t have builders? Carpenters?¡± ¡°We do, but they''re usually for fixing stuff or expanding it, for people who can pay them. We can''t.¡± Saia thought about owning her own house. In Suimer, one had to pay for both the terrain and the builders, and there was a good chance Vizena wouldn''t have given her permission, because she didn''t want a particular spot to be disrupted by a new house. As a consequence, families tended to live together in the same house for generations, expanding them only when it was absolutely necessary. She''d been happy to the point of tears when her sister moved to her boyfriend''s house, leaving the small room they shared all for her. A whole house, even if small... She steeled herself, controlling her expression. The god was surely listening in, and she didn''t want him to see the surprise on her face. Maybe he was the one to send Dan to talk to her, and it was all some sort of complicated trap. She did her best to look a bit bored. ¡°Well, good for you, but I already have a place to live.¡± Dan shrugged, then produced a little smile. ¡°If you need something, ask about me. I know how to do a lot of stuff, or the people who could do it better than me. Usually I ask for money, but I can help you for free, for now.¡± He looked a bit uncertain, as if caught between the desire of genuinely offering help and the need to earn vissins. ¡°I''ll keep that in mind,¡± Saia said. ¡°Now excuse me, but I have to go.¡± It was an absolute lie, knowing she was about to spend the rest of the day mostly sleeping and dreaming about an impossible revenge. ¡°Okay. See you around.¡± Dan walked away, leaving her free to return to her cave. She dragged the sack of straws for a bit, then put it on her shoulders, while the pillow hung halfway out of her bag. She knew it was a ridiculous scene and that she was probably leaving a trail of straw behind her, but Koidan didn''t comment, so she left the village without ever looking back. Her improvised bed wasn''t as comfortable as she''d hoped, the straw not enough to protect her by the hard rock surface immediately under the sand. She found herself thinking about the house more and more, both her family¡¯s and the one Dan''s words had evoked in her mind. They started to fuse into one entity in her sleepy thoughts. But when she thought about actually talking to the god about it, about asking him for that, she saw herself begging at the feet of Vizena¡¯s statue and heard her cruel laugh. She was done relying on gods, or even people if she could help it. There was just the cave for her, from that moment on. Or at least, there was for three days, then the water finished again. She headed toward the village, thinking about trying one more time that trick about purifying water. She just needed to buy the right materials, and she could have kissed goodbye to Lausune forever. She looked at the line of houses in the distance while she crossed the beach, trying to avoid people''s eyes. She had the feeling that something was missing. Maybe they had cut a tree near the stretch of forest to the right, where the border made a wide curve. She had to get closer, deviating from the road she had to follow to get to the village square, to realize that there was a new house, small, with the lower portion of the walls in stone and the rest made of wood. It hadn''t been built inside the village''s border, but right on top of it. ¡°Do you like it?¡± She jumped a bit. She looked from the temple to the house, not wanting to admit that she was admiring it, but incapable to lie. ¡°You can come live here, if you want,¡± Koidan continued. ¡°Don''t worry if you don''t, I''m sure someone else will use it eventually.¡± Saia touched the door. It wasn¡¯t closed, but she didn''t open it. ¡°Did you listen to my conversation with Dan?¡± ¡°When? On the beach?¡± ¡°At the market. He told me about the house you built for him.¡± ¡°Have you any idea of how many conversations are going on in the market? If I listened to them all, I''d be gone insane a long time ago.¡± Saia thought about Vizena, how she always seemed to be everywhere, listening and talking to everyone at once. Even Dore was on the nosy side. That meant that either Koidan was a good liar, or he was a very different kind of god. Still, she shook her head and retracted her hand from the door. ¡°Thank you, but I can''t. I don''t want to live inside a god''s territory.¡± ¡°Maybe there''s a solution to that. Come inside.¡± She opened the door and made a step forward. There was a bed in the corner, some tools on the opposite one, a table and a chair against the wall at her right. She looked down, at the stone floor: a white line cut the room in half across the length. The bed was on the other side of it, while chair and table stood on top. ¡°This is the border. I have no power whatsoever over what happens on the other side of the house. It also means that I won''t be able to fix it in case something breaks, or to¡­¡± Saia crossed the room. His voice abruptly stopped as soon as her head was on the other side of the line. She looked at the bed in silence for a moment, then stepped back. ¡°As I was saying¡­¡± Koidan started. ¡°Thank you. I will¡­ I''ll live here for now.¡± ¡°Oh. Good. I hoped to convince you.¡± ¡°Why do you care so much?¡± ¡°It''s my job, so to speak. And you have no idea how close you got that night.¡± ¡°But keep out of my head, please? And don''t spy on me.¡± ¡°I don''t spy people. I just check out from time to time that they''re not in danger.¡± ¡°Well, don''t do that with me. I''ll scream if I need help.¡± ¡°Is this how you talk to gods, usually?¡± His tone wasn¡¯t of accusation, as she would expect from Vizena or Dore. He sounded genuinely curious. ¡°I''m not a very religious person. Things at my village are a lot different.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°I don''t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Well, I won''t bother you further, so come to the temple if you need to talk.¡± ¡°Sure, I''ll come visit you sometimes,¡± she said, more out of curiosity to see a new temple than anything else. He didn''t answer, and Saia took it for a sign he wasn''t paying attention to her anymore. She crossed the line to make sure of that. She knew her pillow and improvised mattress were still in the cave, but the bed was too inviting after weeks of sleeping on the ground. She let herself fall face down on the sheet and breathed in the smell of clean cloth until she was asleep. 2.7 - Basics of magic The chime bells had already resounded in the corridors for the last time that day when Saia finished her story. ¡°I didn''t want to admit it, but I felt extremely grateful for the house, so I started going to the temple every once in a while. Then I realized I enjoyed talking to him while doing menial tasks around the house. He seemed to enjoy it too, so we became friends.¡± Aili had her head tilted to the side, chin buried in the spot where her knees met. ¡°I''m glad things turned out well for you.¡± ¡°I still have a lot to do. I want to go home, eventually. But yes, compared to how I felt when I had to leave Suimer, I think I was lucky enough.¡± Aili nodded and looked at the book that was open on Saia''s legs. ¡°Now that I think about it, if Vizena has still about seventy years left, we should find her there too.¡± Saia lowered her eyes on the page. She was already looking for her before her mind could decide whether it was a good idea or not. If the book followed the order of the villages, Vizena was before Koidan and Dore. ¡°I don¡¯t know how she¡¯s called,¡± she realized as the names passed by. ¡°She must be the last one of Suimer,¡± Aili said, scooting forward to see better. Saia stopped when she saw the face of a woman. She read the description holding her breath, but the text mentioned Tilau. ¡°I thought Dore was male,¡± she said, looking further back. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, apparently.¡± Saia only looked at the descriptions from that moment on. Her hands trembled when she finally read ¡®Suimer¡¯. She raised her eyes to face the portrait. She was younger than Saia had expected. Like the other monks, she was looking to the side. Her face was long, but otherwise unremarkable. She looked bored at first, then Saia realized it was her natural gaze. The only trace of graphite on her skin was on the cheeks and the top of her nose. Her wavy hair were the only thing defining the contours of her face. Saia looked at the name on the top: Merea. ¡°What does it say?¡± Aili asked. Saia closed the book. ¡°Probably some bullshit about how she was good and perfect and absolutely deserving to become a goddess. I don¡¯t want to read it.¡± ¡°It could be useful for the speech.¡± Saia handed her the book. ¡°Read it yourself, then. I¡¯ve had enough.¡± Aili put it back on top of the pile. ¡°Do you want to sleep?¡± she asked. ¡°Because I feel pretty awake, right now. I wanted to read a bit, but we can blow out the candles if you''re tired.¡± ¡°What do you want to read?¡± ¡°Something about magic. I want to learn it, but I have a hard time with manipulations. Actually, I wanted to ask for your help.¡± Saia raised her eyebrows. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Yeah, you already know how to perform one kind of manipulation, so the others should come easier. What do you think about teaching me how to make your snakes fall asleep?¡± Saia turned to look at the tank. ¡°I understand if you''re too busy,¡± Aili added. ¡°Obviously preparing your speech should take priority, and I will help you no matter what. But I would be extremely grateful, and if there''s something I could teach you in exchange, I would happily do it.¡± Saia looked at her again. ¡°The snakes are too dangerous. I''ve been bitten and I''ve seen people getting bitten: the venom acts fast. And there are no gods here.¡± ¡°We could volunteer for some turns together to take care of the sheep. Or find a way to capture some mice. There''s a lot of them here, the helpers in the kitchens are always on the lookout.¡± ¡°A sheep might be too big, I''m not even sure I can put one to sleep.¡± ¡°We''ll find out. I''ll think of something in case it doesn''t work.¡± ¡°Alright, then. But I want you to tell me how magic works. I''ve tried reading that book,¡± she pointed at the one about the basics of magic, ¡°but it¡¯s boring.¡± ¡°It''s really not.¡± ¡°Whatever, I just don''t have the energy to study after work. But magic could be useful, in the future.¡± In case the monks wouldn¡¯t listen, and she''d had to attack the goddess herself. But she knew that Aili would have tried to talk her out of it, so she didn''t say it out loud. ¡°I think I can do it.¡± Aili took the book out of the stack and stared at it for a bit. ¡°You know what, we could start right now. What do you think?¡± Saia shrugged. ¡°Sure. If it''s not too complicated.¡± ¡°Tomorrow I''ll think of a schedule that will allow us to practice without interfering with our jobs.¡± She opened the book to the first page. Saia observed her as she silently read, wondering whether she needed to take notes. ¡°Let''s start with the definition of magic. It means manipulating the viss of living beings by using your own. Now, the question is...¡± ¡°What is ¡®viss¡¯, in practice?¡± ¡°Exactly. It''s difficult to define, every scholar gives it a different definition. This book refrains to touch on any of them, but I''ve put some pieces together from the others I''ve read. Basically, you could consider it... Excess life? An invisible something that every creature produces just by the fact that they''re alive.¡± She sighed. ¡°Please tell me that you got at least the general idea, I don''t know how to define it better than this.¡± Saia thought of the waves and the buzzing feeling she felt inside herself every time she put the snakes to sleep or awakened them. ¡°I think I do.¡± ¡°Good. Humans are intelligent enough to control their own energy to some extent. It''s theorized that some other animals could be capable of doing that too, but nobody has actually witnessed it.¡± She turned the page. ¡°The viss has four properties, but we can only manipulate three of them. The first one is the imprint, also called ¡®emotion¡¯. It¡¯s a trace of the state of being of the creature that produced the viss. It manifests through subtle changes of color, even if human eyes aren¡¯t able to detect them.¡± Saia thought about the light rotating inside Zeles¡¯s sphere. ¡°It¡¯s not subtle at all. Gods are golden when they¡¯re awake and blue when they¡¯re asleep.¡± ¡°Hold on, that''s interesting,¡± Aili said, patting around on the bed. ¡°Where''s my graphite?¡± She found it and wrote something on a piece of paper. ¡°I¡¯ll look into that, but you have to keep in mind that gods are created by the monks, so a lot of rules don¡¯t apply to them.¡± She put the graphite away. ¡°Manipulations can alter this state of being. The concept is similar to what you do with your snakes: you evoke an emotion in your mind and push it onto them through contact with their bodies. Or a piece of them.¡± ¡°Sleep isn¡¯t an emotion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m using the term in a loose way, ¡®state of being¡¯ is more correct. The more complex a creature is, the more difficult manipulations become. That¡¯s why it¡¯s relatively easy to make a snake fall asleep, but you¡¯d have to use a lot of viss to achieve the same result with a human, or even a cow. It helps to be already in the state of being we want to impose on the other creature. Think of it as faking a yawn to make someone else yawn.¡± Saia looked at the tank. ¡°Why does it work with scales, though?¡± ¡°This brings us to the second property of viss: the channel. Every piece of the viss that a creature produces is still connected to that creature, even when it detaches and is left somewhere else. The viss on your snakes¡¯ scales is still connected to them even when they¡¯re not attached to their bodies anymore.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°So I can manipulate them through that channel?¡± ¡°Yes, even if it requires more energy than touching them directly. You have to cover the distance that separates them from the scales, so to speak. Since it¡¯s a piece of their bodies, the viss inside it is more durable, so it doesn¡¯t get influenced by your manipulation. Potentially it could last until their death if you don¡¯t purposefully neutralize it.¡± ¡°Why do they stay asleep, though? And why do they have to wake up if I lose consciousness?¡± ¡°Because when you push your viss onto them it still retains a channel through you. Part of the manipulation is also feeding it subconsciously, keeping alive the imprint you gave it. You have to choose to wake them and give them a different emotion, if you want that imprint to disappear. The same thing happens when you fall asleep: the channel is still there, but it¡¯s not being fed fresh viss anymore and eventually all the viss you left on the snakes gets replaced by the one they naturally produce. Zeles hasn¡¯t explained that?¡± ¡°No, he just showed me what I was supposed to feel and I tried until I got it right. He didn¡¯t wake up when I fell asleep, though.¡± She saw Aili¡¯s expression and sighed. ¡°Gods are different, got it.¡± ¡°Nobody knows how to manipulate the channel,¡± Aili continued. ¡°You can¡¯t take a piece of viss connected to a sheep and tie it to a boar, or even to a different sheep. You can only neutralize it by removing that piece of viss, for example by inglobating it with your own until it¡¯s completely diluted. There are other techniques, but they¡¯re not talked about in this book.¡± Aili moved her finger to another point of the page. ¡°The next property is intensity, also called ¡®data¡¯. It¡¯s not discussed much, but apparently the viss of a creature contains information about the creature itself. It¡¯s possible to store any kind of information into a piece of viss by changing its intensity based on a code you decide in advance, but it¡¯s a complicated technique for humans. And it¡¯s not explained here.¡± ¡°What kind of information about the creature?¡± Aili shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not specified. It also says that the decoding of this data had just started at the time this book was written, so it¡¯s a pretty recent discovery.¡± Saia nodded and gestured for her to continue with the explanation. ¡°The last property is movement. The viss inside a creature moves in a pattern specific to that creature and its species. It only stops when it¡¯s left on objects, as creatures leave a small quantity of viss on everything they touch. But the key point is this.¡± She tapped on a specific line with her index. ¡°If you force enough viss to follow a specific pattern, you can obtain various effects that are only limited by the quantity of viss you use. In other words, you can do pretty much anything if you have enough viss and know the patterns to achieve what you want.¡± Saia leaned forward. ¡°Wait, I''m not sure I understand. What do you mean by ¡®anything¡¯?¡± ¡°Literally anything, as long as you have the pattern. The scholars of magic are still studying them, so I don''t know how many patterns exist.¡± Saia thought about Vizena disappearing forever in a circle of viss, statue and temple and all. ¡°How can I move the viss? How do I apply these patterns?¡± Aili sighed, turning the page once again. ¡°Human beings don''t have this kind of power, unfortunately. Gods do, on the things that are part of their territory. The best we can do is applying patterns by building them into an object.¡± She got up and took a tunic out of the wardrobe. She turned it inside out, showing the waves and spirals of the purple string. ¡°That¡­?¡± ¡°Is a pattern, yes.¡± Aili brought the tunic with her onto the bed. ¡°Tools with patterns need to be activated by a person through their viss. How the pattern is created is specific to the kind of object it¡¯s being applied to, but there¡¯s always a point of contact from which the energy can enter. For tunics it¡¯s near the collar.¡± She pointed at a clump of purple string. Saia looked down at her own tunic. ¡°Why there?¡± ¡°Because there are some points in the body where the viss moves closer to the surface and sometimes flows out of the skin. They are neck, hands, wrists, feet and ankles. So in this case, the pattern is always a bit active because of the energy that comes out of our necks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pattern for what?¡± But the answer came to her before she had finished the sentence. ¡°Heat. They''re warmer than they should be.¡± Aili nodded. ¡°And that''s without pushing viss into the pattern consciously.¡± Saia pressed the palm of her hand against the purple dot and pushed her viss forward like she did when awakening a snake. Her chest, arms and belly became immediately hotter, and the effect started to spread on the rest of her body. She lowered her hand. ¡°Impressive.¡± A sudden thought made her raise her eyebrows. ¡°I think the binoculars of the sentinels have a pattern.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Saia told her of the grooves and how the view had changed when Gaila had touched them. Aili took notes on everything. ¡°This is so cool. I''ll look into it.¡± ¡°There¡¯s just one thing I don¡¯t understand. If a person manages to manipulate my emotions, could they control me until they fall asleep?¡± ¡°No. People are conscious of the discrepancy between their thoughts and their emotions. You need to use a lot more viss to keep the manipulation running.¡± ¡°So if somebody tried to manipulate me through magic, would I notice?¡± Aili made a big yawn before answering. ¡°Sorry. Well, I''m not sure, but I think it depends on how expert they are, or how different is the change they want to force on you from your normal state of mind. You should look out for thoughts that don''t seem to belong to you, or sensations that make no sense, like feeling extremely active out of nowhere in the middle of the night. And obviously, don''t leave around anything that comes from your body.¡± ¡°Are permanent changes possible?¡± Aili had looked half asleep up to that point, but her eyes went immediately wide. ¡°Oh, I really need to tell you this.¡± She rubbed her cheeks with both hands in an attempt to wake up. ¡°With manipulations, it''s impossible. No imprint lasts forever, no matter how much energy you put into it. They could last for a very long time, though, depending on how much energy gets used, and whoever does it should never lose consciousness for the whole duration.¡± ¡°That''s not very reassuring.¡± ¡°But if you eat a big enough quantity of viss, or better, something that contains it, it could become part of your body. And this... You won''t believe it, I feel so stupid that I didn''t get it before. This is how animal people were born.¡± Saia blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Why do you think they eat parts of the animal they take their traits from?¡± Saia thought about Lihana and her family, wondering how they were surviving without her. But even if she was the best sea snake fisher, she wasn''t the only one. She decided they were fine and tried not to dwell on it. ¡°I thought they were just born like that and it was a sort of family tradition.¡± ¡°They''re not the only ones. The teacher and his family have to drink goat milk every day, and sometimes eat goat meat too.¡± ¡°I didn''t know that.¡± ¡°I only found out about it because they invited me to dinner a couple of times. I''ve always been the teacher''s favorite.¡± Saia glanced at the stack of books. ¡°I wonder why.¡± ¡°There are a lot of families of animal people around the villages. I think I''ve seen pretty much everything, from sheep people and cow people to heron people and crab people.¡± ¡°That sounds cool. We didn''t have them in Suimer. They probably didn¡¯t fit Vizena¡¯s aesthetic for the village.¡± ¡°Write that down, it''ll be useful for the speech. Anyways, I''ve always thought it was a matter of health. I''ve talked with the heron people I was telling you about, and they said that they always felt dizzy when they went for a long time without eating heron eggs, and they knew of family members who had even worse symptoms. But they didn''t know of other reasons.¡± ¡°So the answer is... Magic?¡± ¡°Almost. When you eat a living creature, or something that belongs to it, you also ingest the viss it contains. If you do it often enough, with the same animal species, their energy slowly becomes part of you. That''s why they develop animal traits over time.¡± ¡°So they eat those animals because they want to become more like them?¡± ¡°It''s more complicated than this. According to the Treatise on Hereditary Traits of the monk Ludunus, animal people were born in ancient times, when humans found out that eating the same kind of animal repeatedly could give them traits that were helpful when looking for food, for example, or defending themselves from predators. But the longer they did it, the more these traits became an integral part of them. And I''m not just talking about the outside: their organs, their hearts and veins, became partially animal, all because of the influence of the energy they were eating. But their bodies weren''t able to produce that kind of viss on their own, so they had to keep eating these animals, or their organs would start to malfunction.¡± Saia glanced at the tank. The light of the candles made the water reflect on the wall at her left. ¡°It has something to do with the data that viss contained,¡± Aili continued. ¡°It had the necessary information for those modified organs to function properly. The problem was that their descendants had the same animal traits. Watered down in some cases, if the other parent didn''t have them, but they still had to eat animal viss to survive.¡± ¡°And they can''t change? Isn¡¯t there a way for them to stop, if they want to?¡± ¡°Well, for most of them it isn''t a big problem. They''re proud of what they can do. The teacher''s older kid has a wonderful sense of balance, they can climb any surface and jump higher than most adults. But I know of some people who decided to stop eating their animal''s meat. They had to do it gradually and endure a lot of pain. Some of them couldn''t even if they wanted, or they''d straight up die.¡± ¡°And what happens if a goat person and a snake person have a child? Would they have traits from both?¡± ¡°No, as far as I know animal people who eat different animals can''t have kids with each other if their traits are very pronounced. If the traits are weak, their kids have the potential to settle for either one of their parents¡¯ animals, depending on what they eat most, but after a certain age they can¡¯t change anymore. I''ve met a girl from the crab people whose dad was a cow person, and she didn''t have any cow traits whatsoever.¡± ¡°I can only imagine what lunch must be like in their house.¡± Aili smiled. ¡°They''re pretty accommodating of each other''s differences. Even if a lot of the time humans without animal traits who marry an animal person end up becoming an animal person too, since it''s easier to just eat the same food.¡± Saia remembered her time at the cave, when she had to eat snake meat every day. ¡°You know, I think I''ve experienced something similar when I was living outside of Lausune. I could feel what time of day it was even without looking at the sun, or even opening my eyes. I don''t know why, but different parts of the day had a different feeling, a different... Smell?¡± She shook her head. ¡°I don''t know how to describe it. I''ve always thought it was more a series of coincidences than anything.¡± ¡°It''s a very useful skill to have, especially in this village.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I''ve pretty much lost it. And I have no intention of going back to eating snake meat every day. I think I''ve had enough for the rest of my life.¡± Aili put a hand on her chest. ¡°As a Lausunian true and born, your words pain me immensely.¡± She returned serious. ¡°But maybe it has helped you in more than one way. Maybe your body is used to sea snakes'' energy, and this is why it''s easy for you to manipulate them.¡± Saia shrugged. ¡°Maybe. But I think it''s mostly because I''ve practiced a lot. I was so scared you would¡¯ve found out about Zeles that I could only think about becoming a bit more powerful to help him better.¡± Aili made an incredulous smile. ¡°You were scared of me?¡± ¡°No. I mean,¡± Saia rolled her eyes, ¡°I didn''t want anybody to know about him losing his powers, and you were so close to discovering the truth with your crazy theories that I was scared you would''ve found out about everything.¡± ¡°And then what? What could I have possibly done with that information?¡± ¡°Tell it to someone.¡± ¡°If you had explained the situation, I would have helped you both. I don''t want to see Zeles die either.¡± ¡°I didn''t know that. You do realize it would have been a pretty big risk, right?¡± Aili nodded. ¡°I understand. If it''s of any consolation, I wasn''t that close either. Before we met the monks I was genuinely starting to entertain the idea that you were a goddess.¡± Saia snorted, and Aili let out a short laugh. ¡°I know, but that''s where my theories bring me sometimes.¡± She stopped, making a yawn so big her head touched the wall with a soft thud. ¡°We should sleep,¡± Saia said. ¡°I''m tired too.¡± Aili nodded, sliding under the sheet. ¡°It was an interesting conversation.¡± ¡°Thank you for telling me all this stuff.¡± ¡°And thank you for opening up about your past. You''ll destroy that debate, I promise.¡± Saia gave her a bitter smile. ¡°I hope so.¡± ¡°Goodnight,¡± Aili said, then blew on the candles until all it was left was darkness, a faint trace of smoke in the air, and the splashing of the snakes inside the tank. 2.8 - Saias speech Saia sat next to Aili on the floor of the temple, in one of the innermost circles of the crowd. It seemed to her that there were a lot more people than the previous two weeks, even if she knew that thought didn''t make sense. ¡°I don''t know if I can do this. We still have two months, right? Maybe I should prepare better and see more debates.¡± ¡°No,¡± Aili said. ¡°Don''t do this to yourself. It''s not easy now, it won''t be easy later, when we''ll have to think of the new Koidan.¡± Saia frowned. ¡°Why would that be a problem?¡± But she immediately realized why: Dan could keep Zeles hidden from the monks, but not from another god. She grabbed Aili''s arm. ¡°We have to find a solution.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about it.¡± ¡°We don''t have time!¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking about it,¡± Aili repeated, more forcefully. ¡°I shouldn''t have told you that. Focus on the speech. Do you remember every point?¡± Saia nodded. She was about to list them, when she spotted Daira among the monks who were entering at that moment. She crossed the room, smiling and waving at the people sitting in circles, headed toward the abbot''s chair. He stood, signaling to the priors to get closer, and he started talking to her in a low voice. ¡°Why is she here?¡± Saia asked, turning toward Aili. ¡°What do we do if they found Zeles?¡± ¡°Don''t worry, it''s not that. I talked to her when she returned this morning: she¡¯s just here to report how things are going in Lausune and to discuss the next steps. If they had found him, everybody would know it by now.¡± But she was biting her lips, looking tense. Saia thought she either wasn''t that sure of what she was saying and there was a possibility that Zeles had been found, or that she was very invested in her speech. She decided to let it go, for the moment, and repeated in her mind the main points she had to make. After their brief discussion had concluded, the priors sat down among the crowd. Daira and Redus didn¡¯t follow them, standing instead behind and to the sides of the abbot¡¯s chair. He sat down. ¡°Friends, you all know why we''re here today: we have to find our fifth candidate for the trails.¡± Saia felt her heart pound inside her chest. Aili leaned toward her and whispered: ¡°Go!¡± She stood. Maybe the movement was too sudden, maybe it was the sea of monks staring at her, but she felt dizzy, as if looking down from a huge height. She had wanted to sit next to the wall, to have the comfort of something to lean on or shelter her from all of those people, but Aili had insisted to stay close to the center. ¡°Everybody can see you from there,¡± she had said. ¡°They won''t be able to ignore you even if they wanted. And it makes you look confident and in control of the situation.¡± Saia clung to those words, closing her fists. She really hoped Aili was right and she wasn''t making a fool of herself. Not that she cared about the monks'' opinion of her, but she wanted them to listen to her words without thinking she was insane. The abbot slowed down for an instant, giving her a puzzled look, but continued his speech. ¡°As usual, you can only nominate someone else, then we''ll discuss why the candidate would be suitable for the role of god, and vote once we have examined all of the candidates. You can nominate people who were rejected in the past debates, but not in the last one. But I see we already have a nomination. Who do you suggest?¡± And he pointed in Saia''s direction. She saw the woman with the bag of stones and the man with the hourglass cross the room in her direction. She could gain some precious seconds if she started talking before they reached her. ¡°I want to talk about Vizena and her mistreatment of Suimer¡¯s people.¡± The heads around her looked at each other, then at the abbot. She kept her eyes on him, even if Coram had advised her to look at the priors too, and sometimes at the audience. She knew she was breaking a rule, changing the topic from the one the abbot himself had established. Another one of Aili''s ideas: if she had waited until after a candidate was chosen, there wouldn¡¯t be as many people in the temple, and the remaining ones would be too tired to give her words the proper consideration. The most important topic was the one discussed first, after all. ¡°Have you ever asked yourself why people never leave Suimer?¡± she said while the man with the hourglass sprinted toward her, only to stop abruptly once he was close enough and turn the instrument. ¡°It''s because we''re not allowed to. Only a handful of people she has chosen can leave, and always for short amounts of time. Everyone else is under the threat of their things being destroyed and their families tormented until they come back, or even longer than that. Vizena knows that if she ever allowed someone to escape, any of us would tell the exact same things I''m about to say now. She sees and judges every second of our lives, every move we make, no matter how small or unimportant we think it is. She comments and criticizes everything she doesn''t like.¡± The girl caught up with them and extended the bag toward Saia. She took a red stone from her pocket and tossed it inside. ¡°And I know it doesn''t sound too bad. That''s what gods are for, after all: looking out for their people and prevent them from committing crimes or mistakes that could hurt them. But Vizena took it too far, to the point that we knew we could hear her voice in our heads at any moment. In the middle of a conversation, while eating, sleeping, or even having sex. She pressures us with her requests, no matter how unreasonable. And when we refuse, she''ll punish us with her constant presence inside our heads. Imagine having someone that you hate and fear deeply always behind you, looking at what you do, listening to what you say, forcing you to do things you don''t want to do in exchange for a minute of peace. Except this person is a god, and they have the power to kill you and destroy everything and everyone you know, if you make them angry enough.¡± She glanced at the hourglass and saw that the thing moving inside was sand, or something very similar, falling fast toward the bottom chamber. ¡°Now I know that you monks would stop her and that she would never do that to risk angering you. But when I lived there, I thought she was the highest authority in my life. That she could decide everything about me, and the fact that I could still move freely was something I should have been grateful for, because I thought she could take that away too. But I didn''t feel grateful: I was always tired, always alert, measuring every word and action, aware that even if I were the most careful person in the entire village, she''d have found some excuse to ruin my life just like she had repeatedly ruined everybody else''s, and there was nothing I could do about it.¡± She browsed the crowd with her eyes while she spoke, looking for a specific face. She felt emptiness in her chest for an instant when she realized the sand in the hourglass was all reaching the bottom and no hand was being raised above the crowd. Then, she turned around and saw it. ¡°Yes?¡± she asked, pointing at Haina. ¡°Could you give us some specific examples of what Vizena has said and done?¡± Saia nodded. She glanced at the man at her side to make sure he was turning the hourglass. ¡°There are too many things to list, but I''ll briefly talk about some of them. My aunt, for example. She had one kid, but Vizena wanted her to have another one because she liked the first. So she started to insist that she tried for another, even if she''d told her many times that she had no intention to and she was happy that way. But Vizena started to become more and more aggressive, to insist all day, and in the end my aunt gave in.¡± She glanced at the hourglass, found that she''d used up a third of her time, and started talking faster, trying to list as many episodes as possible in that short amount of time. She looked at the people around her, searching for comprehension, for the same rage she felt even just by thinking about Vizena and what she''d done to her people, but all those eyes and faces seemed melted together. She felt her breath stumble on the words, so she focused on Haina again, pretending she was alone with her, Aili, Ebus, Cailes and Coram, practicing the speech in an empty classroom as she''d done for the past two weeks. When Cailes¡¯s hand shot up in the air, she understood the time at her disposal had ended once more. ¡°Next question,¡± she said, pointing at him. ¡°I get that this is bad and Vizena should stop.¡± She could tell he was trying very hard to sound natural, but something in his tone betrayed the fact that he had rehearsed his line dozens of times. ¡°But your economy is thriving, and nobody is homeless or without a job or occupation of some kind. We''ve never seen traces of natural disasters, illnesses or other problems. By all accounts, Vizena is doing her job. So why should we intervene? Has she ever hurt you physically?¡± ¡°What you''re seeing from here is very different from what we experience down there. Yes, everyone has a job, but often people don''t choose what to do. If they chose something she didn''t like, Vizena would start pressuring them to change, and very few can resist that kind of pressure. Remember that we didn''t know, people still don''t know, that she can''t kill or hurt us openly. So every single threat we receive from her feels like the last one you''ll hear before she punishes you. And she knows it. She has this image of a perfect village, and wants all of us to do exactly what she wants to make it come to life, no matter what we desire. It makes life terrible. And I know that it doesn''t have to be that way, because I''ve been in two other villages, and the gods there¡­¡± ¡°I think this is enough.¡± Saia turned to find the abbot standing. ¡°What you''re talking about is clearly very important, and deserves the attention of the whole village. But it has to wait until after a new candidate is chosen. The rule is that we have to focus on the topic announced until it''s been solved. Hasn¡¯t somebody told you how the debates work?¡± Saia saw the woman with the stones nod out of the corner of her eye. ¡°I know the rules for the debate, like I know the rules gods have to follow to take care of their people. There''s nothing about the kind of abuse Vizena is perpetrating. The only thing gods can''t do is insulting people, but the rules give them the right to spy and intrude all they want. So your law is wrong and incomplete, it has to change, and Vizena should be punished for what she''s doing. That''s all I ask.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only been living with us for three weeks. You don¡¯t have the knowledge to judge our rules.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Saia stared at him. She felt a tug at her tunic. ¡°Ask for a vote,¡± Aili whispered. ¡°Before he orders you to wait.¡± Saia frowned. Voting usually closed a topic, and she''d only ever seen the abbot announce it. But Aili seemed sure of her words, and she didn''t want to wait until evening to discuss Vizena¡¯s punishment. ¡°Let''s vote,¡± she said aloud. ¡°Raise your hand if you think that we should keep discussing this now. That a goddess torturing her village is the most important issue for the people who are supposed to prevent it.¡± And she raised her hand. Aili did the same immediately, and from where she stood, she could see the raised hands of Ebus, Cailes and Coram, knowing that Haina was doing the same thing somewhere behind her. ¡°This is not how it works,¡± the abbot said. But some hands were tentatively raising. Saia met Daira''s eyes. The prior looked at the people who had already raised their hand, nodded imperceptibly, and did the same. Hands started to raise all around the temple. Saia lowered her eyes on Aili and saw her smile. She wanted to ask her whether she''d been the one to tell Daira to vote in her favor or the prior had been convinced by the speech, but everybody could hear her, so she focused on the abbot again. He was looking at Daira too, with a disapproving expression on his face. But in the end, he still grabbed the armrests of his chair and sat down. ¡°Do we have to count?¡± the man with the hourglass asked. ¡°Go ahead,¡± Laius said, crossing his hands in his lap. The two organizers left the hourglass and the bag of stones on the floor, right where they stood, and headed toward two opposite corners of the temple. They were joined by two of their colleagues, and each couple started counting who had a raised hand and who hadn''t, pronouncing each number aloud, first one couple, then the other. Apart from them, Saia was the only one standing. She felt weird, as if she was a sacred statue everybody was looking at, but she resisted the urge to sit down. She followed the count, echoing it in her mind, focusing on the slow, steady rhythm of the numbers that were repeated twice, once from a couple, once from the other. Some monks started to talk to each other in low voices, giving the counting a background of chatter. After an eternity, the four organizers converged to the center, counted Saia and Aili''s hands, the ones in the circle where they sat, made the sums and announced: ¡°Two hundred and seventy-seven in favor, two hundred and sixty-eight against.¡± The abbot let out a visible sigh, his shoulders rising and falling. ¡°I know the ultimate decision belongs to me, since this was a very irregular votation. And I should tell you to wait, because this is what the rules say, and choosing a new god is an important matter. But it''s your decision, and I''m going to respect it.¡± He stood again. ¡°Narmus.¡± A monk emerged from the crowd. Saia recognized him as one of the scholars priors. ¡°What''s the amount of Vizena¡¯s residue?¡± the abbot asked him. The prior breathed in deeply and raised his eyes to the ceiling. Saia could see his lips move, but couldn''t decipher what he was saying. She turned toward the woman with the stones, who had returned on her side, leaving the bag on the floor. ¡°What is he doing?¡± ¡°Counting. He''s calculating how much energy Vizena has left.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Aili chimed in. ¡°How does that work?¡± The girl shrugged. ¡°I have no idea. I know there are a lot of things to consider, like how much time she''s been a goddess, the major disasters that happened in Suimer, how many years her predecessors lasted on average. I''ve studied this a long time ago, but I don''t remember much. Sorry.¡± ¡°And they can''t just go down there and find out how much it is with magic?¡± ¡°I don''t know much about magic, so I could be wrong, but it''s not really possible to know how much energy a sphere has unless you¡¯re another god. Even by looking at it, the ones who are about to disappear and the ones who were just created look the same, up until their energy ends. That''s why we need someone to keep track of these factors and know how to make the calculation.¡± ¡°Makes sense. Thank you.¡± They waited in silence until the prior''s lips stopped moving and he lowered his eyes on the assembly. ¡°Approximately two hundred and twenty units.¡± ¡°Units?¡± Saia repeated under her breath. The organizer opened her mouth as if to begin another explanation, but the abbot started talking and she focused on him again. ¡°My dear priors, you don''t need me to tell you that it''s an enormous amount of viss. I''ll let you discuss how we should proceed, but keep in mind this number during any decision you''ll make.¡± And he raised his hands to the sides, moving them a bit upward in an invite for the priors to stand. Daira and Rades stepped forward while the rest walked up the three steps and approached the well. The woman with the bag of stones sat down, while the man with the hourglass sprinted toward the exit, followed by three other organizers. Saia felt Aili tug at her tunic again. ¡°You can sit, now. They''ve started a council.¡± Saia gave an uncertain glance to the group of priors, who were now forming a semicircle. She slowly sat down. ¡°A council?¡± she asked Aili. ¡°The debate wasn''t enough?¡± ¡°The debate is for sharing opinions about the community, people don''t need to know anything to contribute as long as they live here. But important decisions like this one pertain to the abbot and priors alone.¡± ¡°We should verify her claims,¡± the last one of the scholars priors said, a man that looked only a decade younger than the abbot. ¡°Maybe we can send someone to investigate.¡± ¡°We already did, some months ago,¡± a sentinels prior said. ¡°Routine controls, to gauge the state of the economy and the general satisfaction of the people. The sentinel who went there didn''t report anything strange.¡± ¡°Who were they?¡± the abbot asked, looking at the crowd. ¡°Can you share with us what you saw?¡± After an instant, a woman stood, two circles of people away from Saia''s spot. ¡°As I said, I didn''t find anything suspicious. I noticed that the people seemed gloomy and don''t tend to talk much to foreigners, but it didn''t seem connected to anything specific.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± the abbot said, and the sentinel sat down. ¡°Even the previous controls didn''t suggest any misbehaviors on Vizena¡¯s part.¡± ¡°What?¡± Saia whispered, but Aili shook her head. ¡°Let them talk, it''s too soon to worry.¡± ¡°The problem is,¡± Daira started, ¡°that she could have easily stopped tormenting people and hidden everything during the controls.¡± ¡°She didn''t know we sent someone there,¡± the sentinels prior protested, cutting her off. ¡°We''re careful to enter the villages dressed like the inhabitants and from merchant routes. There was no way to suspect our sentinel wasn''t just a foreigner on a trip.¡± ¡°Of course, but what I meant to say is that she could act that way around all the foreigners and we wouldn''t know. The nature of the abuse makes it quite easy to hide.¡± ¡°We could send a consciousness scholar,¡± Rades said. Daira hesitated, but it was the older scholars prior to answer. ¡°We only have two consciousness scholars right now, the rest is still in training. Sending one there for a thorough investigation would mean depriving our village of a fundamental service for an indefinite amount of time.¡± ¡°A sacrifice,¡± the abbot said. ¡°Would it be better if we put a limit to it? Two weeks, for example, and then the scholar will have to be back no matter what they did or didn¡¯t discover.¡± There were various nods along the semicircle of priors. ¡°Okay, so... If she''s innocent, nothing changes,¡± Rades said. ¡°But if she''s guilty, what kind of punishment should we inflict?¡± ¡°We should break her,¡± Maris said without hesitation. Saia felt something roar inside her. The priors exchanged glances. ¡°And lose all that viss?¡± one of the helpers asked. ¡°Two hundred and twenty units of it?¡± added the scholar who had done the calculation. ¡°Yes. We don''t know when she started this abuse, so potentially all the people who lived in Suimer in the last hundred or so years had to endure it. Any punishment other than that wouldn''t be enough.¡± ¡°The viss was gathered with suffering and sacrifice by our predecessors. Once she¡¯s cracked, it will dissolve.¡± Daira said. ¡°It''s an enormous quantity. We should focus on studying magic well enough to be able to transfer it somewhere else before doing that. Only then we can start talking about cracking her. The temporary solution would be finding a way to ensure that she keeps using it for the village, without hurting anyone in the process. Certainly without doing what she''s done up to this point, if Saia''s words are true.¡± ¡°And how do you propose we do that?¡± Maris asked. ¡°Can your magic force her to obey? Or should we wait until you finally find a way to?¡± ¡°Lower your tone, Maris,¡± the abbot warned. The prior looked like they wanted to add something, but then relaxed against the chair. ¡°All I''m saying,¡± Daira continued, ¡°is that losing that energy would be an enormous setback and we need to do everything we can to ensure we can use it in some way. We should start by sending her a warning. Maybe that¡¯s all she needs.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t solve anything,¡± Maris said. ¡°But it''s a good first step,¡± Rades interjected. ¡°And we could assess the situation more often, sending a consciousness scholar down there at least once every two months. And if nothing changes¡­¡± He didn''t finish the sentence, looking around for suggestions. Maris crossed their arms without answering, but there was no need for them to. ¡°We could anticipate the end of her service,¡± a helpers prior said. ¡°We know how long it should last, right?¡± ¡°Seventy years more,¡± the scholar said. ¡°Then, instead of waiting for her to disappear on her own, we could shorten it by three years at every failed reassessment.¡± ¡°They can do that?¡± Aili whispered. Saia shrugged. ¡°I like this idea,¡± the abbot said. ¡°But I''d prefer two years, if you all agree. Only after the initial warning, and only if our consciousness scholar confirms that she''s guilty.¡± The prior agreed. Maris untangled their arms and nodded one time, sharply. ¡°If no one has anything to add, let''s vote,¡± the abbot said. ¡°Who''s in favor of the decisions we have taken?¡± All of the priors raised a hand. Saia closed her fists and got up. She felt Aili tug firmly at her tunic, but she ignored her. ¡°What does it mean?¡± she asked aloud. The abbot and priors looked at her. ¡°I asked you to stop her from hurting people. I understand if you want to be sure that I''m not lying and that the situation is actually as bad as I described, but you should do something more than evaluate and give her warnings.¡± ¡°Her viss is precious,¡± Daira said. ¡°We should try everything in our power to preserve it before coming to drastic decisions.¡± ¡°You''re underestimating her.¡± Saia heard the chatter rise all around the temple and saw the monks look at her with disapproving faces. Aili tugged at her tunic again. ¡°She''ll find a way to keep hurting them without you knowing, and I won''t realize it either, because I don''t live there anymore. She''ll understand immediately that you''re trying to evaluate her, and find a way to deceive you. And people will keep suffering in the meantime.¡± ¡°Enough, now,¡± the abbot said, rising from his chair. ¡°And what if she actually stops hurting people, and you stop sending your scholars there because you think she''s changed? She''ll do that all over again, maybe hurt them even more because one of them has talked about her to the monks.¡± She realized at that moment that Vizena would have guessed immediately that she was the only one capable of revealing the truth. She''d have targeted her family even more, and it would have been her fault. ¡°Say another word and I''ll make you leave,¡± the abbot said, shooting a glance in the organizers'' direction. Saia didn''t answer, but she straightened her back and kept staring at him. ¡°I¡¯m grateful that you have brought this issue to our attention,¡± the abbot continued, voice getting a bit calmer at every word. ¡°I know that you feel responsible for your people''s fate, but this problem is out of your hands, now. You are a newcomer, you don''t know enough about our rules and methods to decide whether our decision was adequate or not. We''ll change our plan if we realize that the situation is more complex than we anticipated, but what we''ll choose to do doesn''t concern you anymore. Trust us and stop complaining. You won''t obtain anything, except losing the right to participate in debates.¡± Saia kept looking at him without answering. The abbot sat down and the priors stood, allowing the organizers to take the chairs away. ¡°We will focus on selecting the new candidate, now. As usual, stand if you want to nominate someone and explain why we should choose them.¡± The priors returned to their spots near the walls, mingled with the other monks, except for Daira and Rades, standing at the abbot''s sides. Saia looked at them, still standing, but now there were more people getting up around the temple. The abbot''s gaze never stopped on her. Daira stepped forward and turned toward the abbot. He nodded in her direction, but pointed at the first person who had stood, and she started talking. Saia knew that she could have kept standing all she wanted, but they''d ignored her for the rest of the debate. Still, she was ready to continue her silent protest that way, for hours if necessary. But Aili tugged at her tunic again. ¡°What?¡± Saia asked. ¡°This isn''t the moment to insist. You just risk alienating Coram, Haina and the others and not having anyone on your side next time.¡± Saia glared at the abbot one last time, but sat down. ¡°You know I''m right, though. They''re not solving anything.¡± ¡°They''re taking a very careful approach. We should see how the situation develops and raise the topic again in a couple of months if nothing changes.¡± ¡°How do we know if something changes? We should go to Suimer and talk to someone to know that.¡± ¡°We''ll find a way. But even if you think they''re not being fair, you should at least acknowledge that it was a success. They''ve discussed it, they''ve realized it¡¯s an issue, and Vizena will be punished. It''s not bad, compared to how it was before.¡± ¡°It''s not enough either.¡± ¡°We''ll see. Maybe it is enough to stop her.¡± ¡°It''s not.¡± Aili sighed and looked at the person who was talking. Saia wanted to insist, but her words about not having anybody on her side made her drop the discussion. The abbot listened to two more people before acknowledging Daira. ¡°Who do you nominate to take the role of Koidan?¡± Saia found herself paying attention, even if reluctantly. Whoever the candidate would be, being nominated by the person everybody considered the next abbot was a huge advantage over everyone else. Daira looked at the crowd as she waited for the man with the hourglass to reach her. ¡°I nominate Ailima from Lausune.¡± 2.9 - Distrust Saia looked at Aili. ¡°What?¡± she whispered sharply. ¡°I have three reasons to say this,¡± Daira said. ¡°First, she has been incredibly helpful both during and before Lausune¡¯s crisis. The inhabitants talked about her desire to be of help and the dedication to deliver any letter, sometimes even when people weren''t able to pay for the service.¡± She glanced at the hourglass. ¡°Second, her tutors told me about her dedication to studying history and her ability with magic. She''s hard-working and has shown seriousness in learning the rules of our society. And third, most importantly, she''s our chance to test something that has never happened before in the history of the villages.¡± She pointed at the bas-reliefs on the wall in front of her. ¡°Most of the gods came from our village. We know of only three cases in our whole history where a deity was born in one of the villages below, but they were never assigned to the village they were born in. It doesn''t make sense. Who can know the place and the people better than someone who lived there? And she has seen how the previous god has taken care of Lausune: she knows what his mistakes were and what can be improved. I truly think that, for these reasons, she could be the best choice for the new Koidan.¡± ¡°Did you know that?¡± Saia asked Aili, but she shushed her. Daira''s eyes had stopped on a spot in the middle of the crowd where somebody had raised a hand. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Wouldn''t she be tempted to advantage the people and families that she''s friend with and treat others less favorably?¡± Daira nodded while the organizer next to her turned the hourglass. ¡°Every god has different attitudes toward the people of their village, usually formed during the first years of their work there. If Aili is chosen for this role, it will be easier for us to evaluate the relationships with the inhabitants and their opinions of her, instead of having to guess it based on observation only. And this will help us to spot any possible injustice before it happens.¡± Even if the hourglass was still half full, she stopped talking and observed the crowd. ¡°I have a question,¡± the abbot said. ¡°She''s a newcomer. They have proven that they don''t know all of our rules. Wouldn''t it be risky to choose a god that hasn''t had the time to properly integrate into our community?¡± The hourglass was turned again. ¡°As I said, she has a propensity for learning, and the librarian told me that she spends a lot of her free time in the library, reading books about everything, rules and laws of our village included. I think that she could fill the gap in the two months that separate us from the trials. If she''s chosen today, I''ll personally make sure that she''ll be up to the task. She''ll learn everything with my help, obviously when I''m not bound by my duties of prior.¡± Saia glanced at Aili. She was serious, but there was a glint in her eyes that reminded her of how proud she had looked when Zeles had chosen her to be the administrator. ¡°There''s no trace of surprise on your face,¡± she said, trying to mock the tone Aili had used many times while telling her those same words. ¡°You knew.¡± Aili glanced at her, but didn''t begin to answer until it was clear that Daira had finished speaking and nobody else had any questions for her. ¡°She''s told me about it.¡± She was looking at the next person to speak, clearly trying to avoid Saia''s gaze. ¡°It''s the polite thing to do when you have to nominate someone as a candidate to become a god. Even if technically you could nominate someone even if they didn''t want to participate in the trials.¡± ¡°So you accepted. You want to become a god.¡± ¡°No, actually...¡± She lowered her voice even more, this time looking Saia straight in the eyes. ¡°I''m just curious about the trials. The book that describes them only talks about a written test, but it hints at something more. I¡¯ve asked the candidates who didn¡¯t pass the trials, but they don¡¯t remember anything. The only way to know how they work is to be one of the candidates, or be one of the manipulators who organize them. And I''m not capable enough with magic to do that.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t remember either, unless you win and became a goddess.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been studying how to change the intensity of the viss on an object to take notes. If I¡¯m careful, I should be able to retain at least the gist of it.¡± ¡°What if you become a goddess and they ask you to find Zeles? Or the person who helped him escape?¡± ¡°I won''t become a goddess. I''ll lose.¡± ¡°What if you win, though? You''d be on their side, forever. When we came here, you said that you didn''t trust them, and now you want to become a goddess.¡± ¡°You''re talking about them as if they''re evil. I know that your experience with the gods has been terrible, but in my village and the others I''ve seen they make life easier than what could have been. Having this system in place is a good thing, even if you don''t agree with everything they do. I don''t either, by the way. I just want to know.¡± The monks around them started to glare in their direction. Saia crossed her arms and stared at the floor while another candidate was being described as hardworking and altruistic, just like the ones presented in the two weeks before. It became monotonous after a while; Aili would have been voted for sure, if the fact that the right hand of the abbot had vouched for her wasn''t already enough. ¡°You said that Daira is only here to report about what¡¯s going on in Lausune,¡± she said, trying to keep her voice low and controlled. ¡°So she''ll return there, at some point. Did she lie about teaching you?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ve talked about that too. But there''s no use in thinking about this now, I''ve not been voted yet.¡± ¡°Oh, I just wanted to know.¡± Aili sighed. ¡°I''m going back with her until the trials.¡± Saia breathed in and clenched her fists tighter. ¡°So what you said before about evaluating the efforts of the monks and helping me protest if they won''t stop Vizena was all a lie?¡± ¡°No, because I won''t become a goddess. I''ll come back in two months and we''ll think about what to do.¡± ¡°My family is going to suffer in these two months. And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Wait for you? Worry for them? Feel guilty for this...¡± she gestured in the abbot''s direction, ¡°Disaster?¡± ¡°I don''t know, but I''m sure the others will be more than happy to...¡± Saia didn''t stay to hear the rest. She stood and crossed the room, walking fast through the lines of people. She passed through the empty corridors, her mind so focused on her discussion with Aili that she realized only after some minutes she was going in the wrong direction. She retraced her steps and finally found her room. Her room only, since Aili would have left. She hoped the monks wouldn¡¯t assign her another roommate, because the idea of having a stranger in her room made her skin crawl with fury. She slammed the door behind her and was greeted by the splashing of the snakes in the tank as they left the mound of earth for the cold security of the water. She fed them, tossing the dried meat in without bothering to make sure that each of the animals had a bite. She sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, watching them fight for food. She thought about the abbot''s words, wondering for a moment whether Aili was right and the punishment that the priors had chosen for Vizena could be enough, at least at the beginning. But she knew how living at Suimer was like: even in the few weeks when she¡¯d been blessed enough not to hear the goddess¡¯s voice for entire days, she''d always feared that she could hit her with an unreasonable request or a threat at any moment. It was a feeling that would linger as long as Vizena was alive. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The punishment wasn''t enough. The only thing that came close to being enough was having Vizena away from her family, away from any person at all. The monks deserved to waste their precious viss, if their predecessors were stupid enough to give it to a monster. She breathed deeply, trying to calm her heart and mind. She needed something to do, anything, but the village was paralyzed by the debate and her schedule empty. She wouldn''t have spent the time waiting for Aili. Not that day, not later. She stood and put the bag on her shoulders. She was a bit hungry, but didn''t want to stop in the dining hall, where everyone knew that she was the one who had protested against the abbot, unlike the other newcomer, so nice and diligent and perfect. She left her room, headed outside. The two sentinels at the exit were surprised to see her, but didn''t say anything as she walked past them. She headed down the path that led to the lake. After two weeks and a total of six fishing sessions, the trail didn''t feel as difficult as the first time. She could focus on the physical activity and the nature around her, and it was almost enough to ignore her thoughts. When the lake came in sight, a movement under the trees around the west shore made her hesitate. She lowered on the grass to be less visible, but then she recognized the chair, the long hair and beard, and the scraping sound of knife against wood. She frowned, momentarily wondering why he wasn¡¯t at the debate with everyone else. But she¡¯d never seen him around the village anyway, so maybe he was just a recluse who loved the lake a lot. She got up and started her descent. Now he saw him clearly, carving something with a knife on a big piece of wood. He was so focused he didn''t notice her. She didn''t want to startle him, so she made her steps heavier and let out a quiet ¡°Hi¡±. Adus jumped to his feet, wooden statuette in one hand and knife in the other, pointed at her. He was breathing fast, eyes wide and a grimace of terror on his face. Saia stepped back, ready to run. But he relaxed with a long sigh, putting the knife away in the brown sash he wore around the hips. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said, and let himself fall back on the chair. ¡°Why are you here?¡± It took some instants for Saia to shake off the fear. ¡°The debate was useless and I felt like fishing.¡± He nodded and kept looking at her while she set down the bag on the grass and approached the big cloth that hid chairs and fishing rods. When she came back, he had already resumed carving. She set up the rod some steps away from him, out of the shadow of the trees. But the moment she was seated, with the floater in the water and her back relaxed against the chair, she realized what a mistake it had all been. Waiting for the fish to bite wasn¡¯t different than sitting in her room until Aili came back, it allowed her thoughts to roam free all the same. Thoughts of unlikely revenge, mixed with vivid memories of the abbot getting angry at her. She realized she was hunched over, arms crossed and fists clenched. She wouldn''t have lasted an hour, and an hour usually wasn''t enough to catch a fish in that place. Not for her, at least. She got up and started to pace in front of the fishing rod. She wished there were sea snakes there, so that she could crouch in the water and snatch them with her hands. She''d have already freed them there, if she hadn¡¯t been sure that the clean water would hurt them. She was looking around, wishing for a way to make that kind of fishing more enjoyable, when she saw a long stick under a tree. She took it, turned it in her hands to make sure it was intact, and approached Adus. ¡°Can I ask you a favor?¡± He chipped away one more piece of wood before looking up at her. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Could you make the tip sharper?¡± she asked, pointing at one end of the stick. He put it sideways on his legs and started cutting large chunks of wood with sweeping motions of the knife. It didn''t take long for him to obtain a decent point. He prodded it with the tip of his index, nodded, then gave the stick back to Saia. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, wishing the monks had a way to pay people. Doing each other favors left things too open-ended, giving the right to the other person to make questions. But Adus returned to his statue without a word. Saia tried to guess what it depicted, but there was still too much wood and not enough carving for her to understand. She headed toward the lake, this time putting both feet inside the water. The cold seeped in through the leather of her boots. She raised the stick over her shoulder, the pointy end angled toward the water, and waited for a glimmer of movement. The position felt a bit awkward, it probably needed some adjusting on her part. But for the moment, her focus on the water and the fatigue in her arm were stronger than the thought of Vizena tormenting her family, and it was all that mattered. Something quick and shiny moved close to her feet. Saia tensed, waited for it to come back, and lowered the spear as fast as she could. It sank in the soft mud on the bottom as the fish disappeared. Saia cursed under her breath, unstuck the spear and raised it again. She repeated the movement three more times without success, then realized that she wasn''t hearing the steady scraping of the knife on wood anymore. She turned: Adus was taking a wrap of cloth from the bag beside his chair. He opened it to reveal a piece of bread filled with what looked like cheese and cooked meat. He glanced up, saw that she was watching, and raised the sandwich in the air with an interrogative look in his eyes. Saia was about to refuse, but she felt hungry and she had no intention of going back to the village to eat with people she couldn''t stand. So she nodded and came closer while Adus broke the bread in half. ¡°You''ll scare all the fish to the other side of the lake, if you continue like that,¡± he said. ¡°Then I''ll go there once I''m finished here,¡± she answered, taking the piece of bread he was handing her. ¡°Thank you, by the way. If you ever need snake venom, let me know.¡± He produced a small smile and started eating. Saia took her chair under the shade of the trees and sat some steps away from him. ¡°You looked pretty scared when you saw me,¡± she said, hoping to prompt an explanation. ¡°And you were angry at someone,¡± he answered, without raising his eyes from the food. ¡°You''ll tell me why, I''ll tell you why?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Being this close to the woods can be dangerous.¡± ¡°But the sentinels would protect you if a boar came here.¡± He kept chewing for a bit before answering. ¡°They can''t. This spot is hidden.¡± Saia looked up at the mountain, as if she could disprove his words just by catching the glint of the binoculars, but she didn''t see anything. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I was a sentinel, before.¡± ¡°Did you decide to change job, or did they force you to?¡± ¡°I had to.¡± And he looked at her in silence. Saia understood that it was her turn. ¡°I tried to solve a huge problem, at the debate. I believed that the abbot or the priors would do something about it, but they decided to essentially wait. Even if they have a plan, I fear they won''t solve things quickly enough and people will suffer because of it.¡± ¡°What problem?¡± Saia was about to point out that he didn''t give her many details either, but then realized that the whole village knew about her and what happened at the debate. If she didn''t tell him the whole story, he would have heard a version where she was disrespectful and unreasonable. She wouldn¡¯t have cared if she didn''t desperately need someone on her side, especially now that Aili wasn''t anymore. So she told him everything: about Vizena and her village, the debate and the priors¡¯ decision. She was getting worked up again, so she started pacing next to the chairs. ¡°I hate them,¡± she said. ¡°I hate this place and its stupid rules.¡± Letting it out made her feel better, even as she realized that saying those words to a monk wasn''t the smartest thing to do. But Adus kept eating his last piece of bread, nodding every once in a while. He didn''t seem particularly shocked or offended. ¡°Then why are you staying?¡± he asked. ¡°Because now that the priors won''t do anything, I''ll have to solve this problem by myself, and all the resources I could need are here.¡± She stopped and turned to look at him. ¡°Don''t tell it to the other monks, though. I don''t think they would take well the fact that I hate them and I want to act behind their backs.¡± He brushed the crumbs away from his tunic. ¡°I hate them too.¡± Saia stared at him, hoping he would elaborate. ¡°Why?¡± she asked when he didn¡¯t add more. He shook his head. ¡°I won''t tell them anything,¡± he said, instead. ¡°But you have to promise that you won''t talk about me with anyone. And I don''t mean just the fact that you''ve seen me here. Don''t mention me at all.¡± It was the longest sentence she''d ever heard him utter. ¡°They don''t know you''re a fisher?¡± ¡°No. And I don''t want them to find out.¡± He set aside the cloth that had wrapped the food, then took his wooden statue and the knife and resumed carving. Saia realized that she still had a piece of bread in her hand, forgotten during her rant about the debate. She ate it, then returned to the shore. She kept fishing until sunset, when finally her spear passed through a big fish with silver scales. She took it as a sign that it was time to return to the village. She tied its tail to the side of her bag and approached Adus again. ¡°Do you want to come back with me?¡± He shook his head. ¡°I''ll stay here a bit.¡± ¡°You sure? Weren''t you scared of boars?¡± ¡°I''m scared of people. But I also know how to defend myself, if it comes to it.¡± Saia shrugged. Before leaving, she hid the spear near the cloth that covered the chairs and the rest of the fishing gear. She walked fast along the path, the fish dangling at every step. The woods on either side were already too dark for her liking, but she knew that the sentinels would have kept their watch until the last ray of sun had disappeared behind the sea. The guards at the entrance were different from the ones she had seen when leaving. They looked visibly surprised by the fact that someone was outside so late on debate day, but they let her in as soon as they saw the fish. She immediately left it in the kitchens, where a cook started to cover it with salt. She looked around for Ebus, but he wasn''t there, and she wasn''t even sure she wanted to talk to him. She didn''t want to find out whether he, Haina, Cailes and the others thought that the abbot was right. She reluctantly returned to her room. She''d expected Aili to be in the library, so she was a bit startled when she saw her sitting on the bed with an open book in front of her. ¡°Saia!¡± she said, jumping to her feet. ¡°I couldn¡¯t find you, where have you been?¡± Saia stared at the red sash around Aili''s waist. She went to bed without a single word. 2.10 - Dangerous water Saia woke up with sore legs from the walk in the woods. She felt a rustling at her side and turned to see Aili putting up her hair in a ponytail, already wearing the gray tunic and the red sash around her waist. She considered pretending to be still asleep until she left, but Aili had already seen her. ¡°Slept well?¡± she asked. Saia sat up with a groan. She found the clean tunic neatly folded at the end of her bed. She put it on without answering. ¡°I''m going to Lausune tomorrow. We''ll probably not see each other for two months. I wish we could talk again before then. You are a good friend and I¡¯d hate to leave things like this.¡± Saia put her bag on her knees and pretended to check the content until Aili left. Then, she spent the short minutes before her first turn feeding the snakes and thinking. She had no idea of what to do next. Preparing for the debate felt as useless as not doing anything. She knew what she wanted: taking revenge on Vizena. But she had to leave the mountain first, keeping herself hidden from the sentinels. Leaving without permission would have meant being exiled, in who knew which one of the nine villages, without a chance to leave for the rest of her life. She also wanted to save Zeles. She remembered the shard he had talked about, how the monks had managed to put him to sleep from the mountain. Maybe destroying it would have been enough. Sure, the monks would continue their search for him, but if she managed to wake him up before he was found he¡¯d be free. She heard the bells chime, so she put the bag on and left the room, heading toward the kitchen. She served food without looking up at the people sitting at the tables, avoiding Aili and anyone she knew. Every once in a while she glanced around, looking for Adus, but didn''t find him anywhere. He probably was already at the lake. She took the first batch of dirty plates to the kitchen and sat on a stool in front of a bucket of clean water. She started to scrub the tableware with an old sponge. ¡°Hi, Saia.¡± She glanced up to see Ebus standing next to her, behind one of the counters. He was slowly chopping a green vegetable that she couldn''t identify from her position. ¡°Hi,¡± she grunted. She was sure he wasn''t there when she had sat down. She had chosen the corner of the room that was mostly hidden from the rest specifically to not be bothered by anyone. ¡°Is everything okay? I had to leave during the council so I didn¡¯t see everything.¡± ¡°It was horrible. I made a fool of myself and didn''t obtain anything.¡± She expected him to point out that it wasn''t true, the priors had listened to her after all, just like Aili had done. But he didn''t comment. ¡°You¡¯ve been brave. Speaking in a debate for the first time is scary.¡± She nodded, hoping to close the conversation there. ¡°I heard that Aili is leaving, with Daira nonetheless. Is she excited? Worried?¡± Saia lowered the bowl she was scrubbing, letting it bang against the bucket. ¡°I really don''t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Sorry to intrude. I got the gist of what happened from Cailes and I was worried that you would still be angry with her.¡± ¡°I need all the help I can get, and she''s leaving. How am I supposed to feel about that?¡± ¡°I know it''s difficult, but there''s a small chance you''ll never see her again. You should try to reconcile while she''s still here, even if it''s hard right now.¡± Saia was about to say that she didn''t care, but a small part of her knew it wasn''t true. ¡°Why wouldn''t she come back? There''s everything she''s ever wished for, here.¡± ¡°We still don''t know where Koidan is. It''s very unlikely, but he could find a way to control the monks down there. He won¡¯t be able to do anything without someone to wake him up and energy that he probably doesn''t have, but we don''t know enough to exclude this possibility. If the sentinels suspect that he¡¯s using his powers, they won''t let the monks come back.¡± Saia put the clean bowl aside with a sigh. ¡°If it ever comes to that, I''ll find a way to visit her. You and your husband can stop worrying.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ebus put the chopped vegetables on a plate and cleaned the counter with a rag. ¡°If only it was that simple. You''re a helper, which means that your possibilities to go down there are limited. I learned it the hard way.¡± Saia stopped scrubbing the next bowl and looked at him. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It''s usually a sentinels-only job. Sometimes for the scholars, if they need to examine something related to their area of expertise. Apparently, helpers are only useful down there when you have to keep a village in order because a god is dying.¡± Saia nodded and rinsed the bowl. A monk came in with another cart of dirty tableware and gave a meaningful glance to the pile next to her. She scrubbed faster. ¡°I have a brother,¡± Ebus continued, chopping a carrot. ¡°Technically a half-brother, but we grew up together and I''ve never thought of him as such.¡± He put the chopped carrot in a small bowl and took a celery stalk. ¡°Two years ago, he committed a trust crime and was exiled. I was so angry at him that I never visited during the short time he spent in our prison, despite how much my mom, dads and grandma begged me to. I only gave him a short farewell when he departed. About a month ago, the sentinels told me that he had disappeared.¡± Saia stopped again. ¡°I''m sorry.¡± Ebus nodded. ¡°I''m only telling you because I thought that I could find a way to talk to him again, once the anger had left. Truth is, I''m still angry at him, but I also miss him a lot.¡± ¡°If he was exiled in one of the villages, how is it possible that he disappeared? Shouldn''t the god there keep an eye on him or something?¡± ¡°The sentinels are trying to find out what happened. I bet it was his fault. I just hope they''ll find him alive. Either way, it''s unlikely I''ll ever see him again.¡± ¡°What¡¯s he called?¡± ¡°Rabam.¡± Saia nodded, then breathed deeply. ¡°I... Again, I''m sorry for what happened to your brother, but I don''t think Aili¡¯s situation is that dire.¡± ¡°I just want you to treat Aili going down there as the important thing it is. Consider the fact that you might not see her again.¡± Saia hesitated, then shook her head. ¡°Thank you, but I think she''ll be fine.¡± Ebus didn''t answer while he took a big wooden bowl and poured a bit of water into it. ¡°What about the snakes?¡± Saia blinked. ¡°That is a change of topic. What about them?¡± ¡°Have you found a way to breed them?¡± ¡°No. I''ve tried pretty much everything I know. Either they''re eating the eggs,¡± she stopped to consider the possibility, ¡°Or they never existed in the first place.¡± ¡°Maybe they need the sea to breed.¡± ¡°No, they leave it for shallow waters and bury the eggs under the sand.¡± Ebus smiled. ¡°Maybe they need more sand.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Saia conceded. ¡°I don¡¯t know where to find it, but I¡¯ll look into that.¡± She focused on the tableware while Ebus stirred some unknown ingredients inside the bowl. At that moment, a group of monks entered the kitchens, each holding either a huge pot of water or a handful of glass bottles identical to the ones Saia always took from the kitchen in the morning, before going to the lake. Everybody else interrupted their tasks to move the carts out of the way until there was enough space on the floor to line up bottles and pots. Someone else arrived with a handful of wooden funnels. They started to fill the bottles with the water from the pots. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just fill them at the spring?¡± Saia asked. Ebus glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You haven''t drunk from there, right?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve always used the bottles. Why?¡± ¡°We don''t have a god to purify the water, so we need to boil it before it''s safe.¡± Saia stopped scrubbing. ¡°Safe from what?¡± He tossed more vegetables in the bowl, then took out some meat from a bundle of paper. ¡°It hasn''t happened in a while because we''ve been careful for centuries, but in ancient times cloud people used to poison our water.¡± Saia flinched. ¡°It wasn¡¯t poisonous in the sense it killed directly,¡± Ebus continued. ¡°But people started hearing voices and seeing things that weren''t there. Some reacted to those visions, obeyed them, carried out what they told them to do. There were incidents and murders. And the visions became more specific over time.¡± Saia was staring at him with wide eyes. He made a quick smile to reassure her before focusing on the dish again. ¡°Yeah, creepy. The visions started to call people by name and mention private details about their lives. So our predecessors made a rule not to drink unboiled water and told the gods to purify it in the villages.¡± ¡°You should really tell newcomers this kind of stuff.¡± ¡°It''s things we''ve always known and take for granted, I guess.¡± He opened a jar containing an amber liquid, then poured it on the vegetables. He added some slivers of cheese, finely cut herbs, and salt. ¡°Done!¡± Saia put down the bowl she was cleaning to look at the plate. ¡°I envy Cailes.¡± ¡°It''s not for him, this time.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you, then," Saia said with a smirk. "I might just forgive Aili for this.¡± He laughed. ¡°Good try. No, it¡¯s not for you either.¡± He covered the plate with an empty one and handed it to her. ¡°Could you bring this to my grandma?¡± She glanced back at the pile of tableware: two other helpers had sat in front of it and were now cleaning the dishes. Another one approached, pointing at Saia''s empty stool with raised eyebrows. She nodded, then took the plates from Ebus¡¯s hands. ¡°Where does she live?¡± ¡°In the elders quarters, room twenty-three. She should still be there, but in case you don''t find her, give it to a neighbor.¡± Saia nodded. Ebus wrapped a fork and a spoon in a clean towel and balanced it on top of the plates that Saia was holding. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°Now. Must decide what to do for lunch.¡± He walked away, wiping his hands in his apron. Saia left. She''d been in the elders quarters during the first weeks, to help feed whoever couldn''t leave their bed. The area was constantly full of helpers, either visiting, taking care of the residents, or looking out for an emergency. Most of the scholars who specialized in medicine had their study rooms in the area. She easily found room twenty-three and knocked. She couldn''t hear any movements inside. She wondered whether Ebus¡¯s grandma could walk or even hear her knock. She looked around for a helper that could tell her what to do, when the door opened a bit. ¡°What do you want?¡± a familiar voice whispered. Saia recognized the woman who was spying through the crack. Her only visible eye widened. ¡°Ebus¡­¡± Saia said, holding out the plates and tableware. The fisher let the door go for the instant she needed to grab them, then she retreated into her room, closing the door with a foot. Saia stared at the wood, thinking about Ebus¡¯s story about his brother. She turned fast, headed straight to her room. 2.11 - Paths Saia marched on the path that led to the lake. It was still morning; she should have returned to the kitchen to help with lunch, but she was pretty sure there were enough people there that they wouldn''t have noticed her absence. She didn''t know how monks who skipped their turns were punished, if at all. At that moment, she didn''t care. All that mattered was that nobody had stopped her. She almost didn''t perceive the trees around her as she walked toward the lake, thinking fast, a single snake asleep in her bag for protection. She only slowed down when she saw glimmers of light pierce through the leaves, thinking that the sentinels and their binoculars had arrived before her. But it was just the sun reflecting on the surface of the lake. There wasn''t a single cloud in the sky, which was good, because there weren''t gods that could protect her if the cloud people decided to start shooting harpoons. She hid behind a tree, looking for Adus. There were no movements near the lake, no chairs on the grass of the bank. Which meant that he either had left, or... ¡°Oh, it''s you.¡± ... or he¡¯d seen someone coming and hid away. Saia turned to find him half-hidden behind a tree. He casually folded his carving knife and put it away. ¡°Are you here to fish like yesterday?¡± he asked, glancing at the lake. ¡°Maybe,¡± she said, shrugging. ¡°What about you, Rabam?¡± He visibly steeled himself hearing that, in a vain attempt to hide his surprise. ¡°I want to hear the truth and ask you some questions,¡± she said. He stepped back. She could see his hand go to the pocket with the knife. ¡°Are you a sentinel?¡± ¡°No, still a helper. Ebus mentioned an exiled half-brother who recently disappeared and I found out that his grandmother is the fisher. You asked me not to talk about you with anyone, and I didn''t, but it wasn''t difficult to put the pieces together.¡± He hesitated, then let his hand rest against his leg, further from the pocket. He took two more steps back and glanced up toward the village. ¡°I¡¯m on your side,¡± Saia added, since he was still silent. ¡°I want to take revenge on Vizena, and it will hurt the monks too. That''s why I need to know how you came here without the sentinels seeing you. Consider it a request for help.¡± ¡°What if I refuse to tell you?¡± Saia stared at him, then shrugged. ¡°I guess I''ll find another way to do this. I won''t tell anyone about you, if this is what worries you.¡± ¡°I don''t want to share that kind of knowledge. If too many people know about it, the sentinels will find out. If I tell you and you use one of the paths without being careful enough, they will find out all the same.¡± ¡°Is there something I can do to convince you to trust me?¡± He seemed to think for a bit, glancing at the trees around them, probably to check that they were still alone. ¡°Walk toward the lake as you normally would. They''ve seen you come here, it would be suspicious if you never came out of the forest.¡± He turned and started walking on an invisible path in the midst of the trees, avoiding any patch of light, stopping every couple of steps to glance back toward the village before continuing in a slightly different direction. Saia left the shadow of the forest for the grass slope that descended toward the lake. She resisted the urge to look at the village. It was like being back at Suimer, with Vizena constantly observing her. After two years with Zeles as her god and three weeks spent in a godless village, that feeling was like a punch to the gut that stayed in place after the hit instead of retreating. Rabam emerged from the trees near the shore and stopped under their shadow. He handed her a fishing rod and a folded chair. ¡°Set it up there, they''ll think you''re here to fish.¡± He was pointing at an area near the lake, visible from above. Saia followed his instructions, planting the rod in the ground next to the unfolded chair, then retreated into the hidden area until she was standing some steps in front of him. ¡°So?¡± she asked. ¡°Tell me about your plan. Where do you need to go? What are you going to do?¡± ¡°I don''t know yet, but I need to go to Suimer.¡± Rabam shook his head. ¡°Too vague.¡± Saia sighed and raised her eyes to the ceiling of leaves. She needed to get back to Suimer, obviously, if she wanted to face Vizena. But she couldn''t do that alone, and the only entity powerful enough to fight against a goddess was another god. Zeles. She flinched. After what she¡¯d done, she had no right to ask him anything. Convincing him to help her would have been almost impossible. Still, she had to try. She looked at Rabam. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I need to visit Lausune too.¡± ¡°In which order?¡± ¡°Lausune, then Suimer.¡± ¡°When? What time of the day?¡± ¡°I don''t know.¡± ¡°The sentinels don''t stay in the same places. They move around, sometimes change the position of their posts entirely. I need to know this stuff.¡± ¡°When I say that I don''t know, I mean for now. I''ll obviously tell you before I go there.¡± ¡°And how do you plan to keep hidden once you''re there?¡± ¡°Again, I don''t know. Yet.¡± Rabam lowered his eyes and shook his head. ¡°It''s too little.¡± ¡°What about your plan, then?¡± He stared at her, chin lowered, expression suddenly hostile. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You were exiled, but you came back here. You¡¯re living outside the village and only your grandmother knows where you are. And me, but that was an accident, right?¡± He kept staring. ¡°Most importantly,¡± Saia continued, ¡°You hate the monks. Which means that you''re probably here to get revenge on them because they exiled you.¡± He shook his head again before she could finish the sentence. ¡°It''s more complicated than that.¡± ¡°Yes, but whatever you want to do, it¡¯ll hurt the monks, right? Not physically, I mean, but it¡¯ll put them out of balance?¡± ¡°Yes. That¡¯s part of what I want to accomplish.¡± ¡°Then I want the same thing. Let me help you. You¡¯ll give me the information I need once you know that you can trust me.¡± He propped his back against a tree trunk. He seemed lost in thought, so Saia went back to the fishing rod and pretended to check that everything was in order. ¡°What has Ebus told you about me, exactly?¡± Rabam asked. She returned under the trees before answering, in case the sentinels could see her talk. ¡°That you committed a trust crime, whatever that is, you were exiled, and now you have disappeared and the sentinels are looking for you.¡± ¡°¡¯Whatever that is?¡¯¡± he repeated. "You don''t know what a trust crime is?¡± "No. But the village has some cells for people who committed murders or other bad stuff. They didn''t put you there, and I''m pretty sure they wouldn''t have sent you in one of the other villages if you were actually dangerous.¡± He produced a bitter smile. ¡°Most monks wouldn¡¯t reason like that.¡± He sat down on the grass beneath the tree. ¡°A trust crime is when you act in a way that might hurt the monks as a community, reveal the position of our village, or share important information with the people down there.¡± He nodded toward the base of the mountain. ¡°I¡¯m a traitor, essentially. And they exiled me because the only way to ensure I won¡¯t betray them again is to have a god control everything I do.¡± Saia felt weird, standing up while he was talking. She sat too, legs crossed. She looked at him, expecting him to continue. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me about the details of what I did,¡± he said. ¡°I won¡¯t. I was exiled from my village too, you know. For...¡± She frowned, following a sudden thought. ¡°For very similar reasons, actually. And I don¡¯t like to talk about it either.¡± He nodded, tearing a blade of grass in half. He looked for another one, fingers gliding on the ground. Saia sighed. ¡°You can carve, if you want. I won¡¯t get offended.¡± He stopped, then the corners of his mouth twitched. ¡°Am I that obvious?¡± Saia shrugged. ¡°I live with a restless person who can only calm down in front of a book. I know the signs.¡± His smile became larger, then gradually disappeared as he took out a half-finished statue from a pocket and the carving knife from the other. He angled himself so that a ray of light escaping the canopy of leaves could illuminate the statue. ¡°There is a thing I need for my plan to succeed.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a tunnel that connects the lake to the pool. That¡¯s where the water comes from.¡± ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t know that.¡± ¡°I plan to enter from there, when the time comes. But the monks know about the tunnel, and there are always two sentinels in the room, even at night.¡± He stopped carving for an instant and looked at her. ¡°I need you to become a sentinel. Convince them to assign you at least one turn at night in the pool and tell me what day and time it will be. You¡¯ll have to distract or neutralize the other sentinel once I¡¯ll act.¡± Saia blinked. ¡°That''s... A lot more complicated than I thought it would be.¡± He resumed carving. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I was expecting something like ''bring me this'' or ''find out that''. Becoming a sentinel is way more difficult. I don''t even know if I can.¡± ¡°You''ll have to talk to one of the sentinels priors.¡± He stopped for an instant. ¡°Or to the abbot. But you said he wasn''t happy with you after the debate.¡± Saia nodded. She raised her crossed legs and hugged her knees, hands clutched at the front. For the moment being, her speech at the debate was hurting her more than it was affecting Vizena. ¡°But if you find out something that might be useful, tell me,¡± Rabam said. ¡°Especially about the sentinels'' movements. My grandma is spying for me, but an extra set of eyes would be especially useful. She''s also been trying to find out where the gods'' shards are, but a lot of rooms are only accessible by more expert sentinels.¡± ¡°And you''ll give me a path in exchange for this information?¡± He hesitated, then nodded. ¡°Sure. I''ll tell you something.¡± ¡°You know I''m trusting you a lot, right? I have no guarantee that your paths are actually hidden.¡± He sat straighter. ¡°They are.¡± ¡°What if the sentinels changed their posts and your grandmother didn''t tell you? At least some of your paths should be visible by now.¡± He passed an index on the statue''s surface. It was starting to look like a bird with folded wings, but she couldn''t tell the species. ¡°The paths aren''t fixed. I calculate them based on the position of the sentinels.¡± ¡°How?¡± He turned the statue in his hands, clearly uneasy at the idea of revealing something more. Saia waited in silence. ¡°One of my dads is a cartographer. He had to stop his research for a while after they had me, but he always had books at home and the sentinels asked him for help anyways.¡± ¡°Help for what?¡± ¡°Deciding the position of the next posts. They change it once a month, and they always have to stay hidden from the other villages. He knew how to calculate them in a way that leaves as little blind spots as possible.¡± ¡°But not zero.¡± ¡°No, that''s impossible. I studied that part of his work. I''m not as good as he is, but I know how to make these calculations. That''s why I need information on where the sentinels are, where you plan to go and when.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Understood. And in the eventuality they find out...¡± ¡°You''ll be captured and exiled.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°The priors will choose. Each of the villages is associated with a set of crimes. There are some laws about how to decide where to send someone.¡± He shrugged. ¡°I don''t remember them.¡± Saia felt a twinge of fear at the thought of being sent back home. Or to Dore''s village. Or to any other village that wasn''t under Zeles¡¯s protection. ¡°I''ll become a sentinel. But do everything you can to make sure that those paths are safe and the monks won''t find out about me.¡± He stopped carving to look at her. ¡°I promise. If you really manage to do what I asked, you''ll be an enormous help.¡± Saia nodded and stood. She sat on the chair and pretended to fish for a while, the scraping of knife on wood continuing quietly at her back. She looked at the lake, unbearably bright in the morning sun, thinking about the debate, Aili, and the first steps of a plan to bring Vizena down as she deserved. The carving stopped, and the silence that followed was interrupted by a rustling of leaves. She turned to find that Rabam was gone. She stood with a sigh and put chair and fishing rod away under the cloth. She was about to go back to the village when she saw the bird statue, an owlet, propped against the base of the tree. She took it and observed it for a bit, appreciating the details. She couldn''t find Rabam anywhere nearby, so she slipped the owlet inside her bag and returned to the village. 2.12 - Departure Saia opened the door of her room. She had expected Aili to be either in the library or already in the dining hall, or maybe even with Daira. But she was sitting on her bed, back against the wall and an open book on her lap. Her eyes were fixed on the wall, but as soon as Saia stepped inside she lowered them on the page. She was quiet while Saia extracted the sleeping snake from the bag, awakened it and let it fall inside the tank. When she turned, Aili was still staring at the book, but her eyes weren¡¯t following the words. ¡°Can we talk?¡± Saia asked. Aili put the book aside. ¡°I thought you decided to ignore me.¡± ¡°No. I''m still angry at you, but I don''t think that ignoring you will make the situation better.¡± Aili hugged her legs. ¡°Let''s talk, then. Why are you angry at me, exactly?¡± Saia sat on her own bed, right in front of her. ¡°I feel like you''re abandoning me in a moment where I need you the most. Yesterday was a complete failure, but you don''t see it that way.¡± Aili opened her mouth to protest, but Saia raised her hand to signal that she wasn''t done talking. ¡°It feels like you''re becoming one of them,¡± she raised her chin to point at the door, ¡°And that they will eventually convince you that everything they do is good and necessary. And I fear that if I trust you too much, you will eventually betray me for them.¡± She let the silence linger for a bit, then leaned back against the wall. ¡°My turn?¡± Aili asked. Saia nodded. ¡°I didn''t plan for this to happen. Daira told me about the possibility of becoming a candidate yesterday morning, and I admit I wasn''t thinking straight during her speech. You know how curious I am about the mountain''s history, magic and the trials, so I couldn''t let this chance to experience them in first person slip away. But,¡± she added before Saia could protest, ¡°But I realize how selfish I¡¯ve been. And as much as I like the system they have in place, I think the monks are hypocrites.¡± That sentence was so unexpected coming from Aili''s mouth that Saia forgot what she wanted to say and looked at her bewildered. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Their most important principle is that a small amount of people has to make the most sacrifices for the good of everyone. The texts make it clear that the sacrifice has to be voluntary and the person must be conscious of the nature of the choice they''re about to make.¡± Aili distended her legs until they were hanging from the bed. ¡°But yesterday, at the debate, they acted directly against this teaching twice. The first time, when they refused to sacrifice the energy left in Vizena to stop her. I¡¯m not sure if I agree that she should be cracked if she''s proven guilty, but only removing two years worth of energy at a time if she relapses is too little. She''s been in place for about a hundred and thirty years, it''s time she steps down.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°And the second?¡± ¡°They''re willing to let the people of your village suffer for these hypothetical relapses that she might have, until she finally stops being abusive, which might never happen. This is a huge sacrifice to ask of people who don''t know anything about how gods work. You could argue that they know the exact nature of their sacrifice better than anyone else, but nobody asked if they agreed to it.¡± ¡°Nobody would ever agree to be treated like that. Ever.¡± ¡°I know. I could have realized these things sooner and said them at the debate, if I hadn''t been so focused on the trials. I''m sorry.¡± She lowered her eyes and took a deep breath. ¡°The only thing I can offer you is to keep an eye on Daira and the other monks and make sure they won''t find Zeles. And I''ll think about a better speech once I come back.¡± Saia felt something tighten at the base of her throat. Her anger had mostly dissolved, replaced by the realization that the only person she could fully count on in the whole mountain was leaving for the next two months. She took advantage of the fact that Aili was still looking away to breathe deeply and blink a few times. ¡°There''s another thing I need you to help me with.¡± Aili straightened her back and leaned forward a bit. ¡°Is it about you disappearing after bringing the meal to Ebus¡¯s grandmother?¡± Saia winced. ¡°No, and I don''t want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Just so you know, if you don''t do your job for too long, one of the helpers priors will have a talk with you. They could either give you extra work, prevent you to go fishing for a while, since it''s your main activity, or ask you to consult a consciousness expert.¡± ¡°I didn''t think they would have noticed.¡± ¡°Ebus did, but he won''t tell anything to the priors this time.¡± Saia sighed. ¡°I''ll have to give him a snake.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Nothing says ''I''m sorry and thank you'' like a dead snake.¡± Saia smiled, then remembered what she was about to ask and returned serious. ¡°I want to become a sentinel.¡± Aili raised her eyebrows. ¡°Why?¡± Saia thought about her conversation with Rabam. She had promised to keep his existence a secret, and besides that, she knew Aili wouldn''t have approved of her helping him without knowing his plans. ¡°I don''t like fishing at the lake,¡± she said, and realized that it was true. ¡°It''s too different from what I''m used to. You have to stay quiet a lot, but you also can''t sleep or get distracted by something else because you might miss the fish. Lakam isn''t very talkative, she mostly keeps to herself.¡± ¡°So it''s boring?¡± Aili asked. ¡°Yes, but it also feels pointless. I want to make more of an impact on this community.¡± ¡°Why not become a scholar of viss?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like reading that much. And staying indoors for so much time is a bit depressing. I think the sentinels are the best option for me, right now.¡± Aili nodded. ¡°Have you thought about which prior to ask?¡± ¡°Maris,¡± Saia said without hesitation. ¡°But... They''re traditional and mostly on the abbot''s side. They won''t take it well that you want to change your job so soon after being confirmed as a helper.¡± ¡°I know, but the other priors know me from the debate as someone who breaks the rules. Maris has met me before, they know how I am and hopefully have a different impression of me. And they were the first to suggest that Vizena should be cracked. I think they''re the most likely to understand my reasons.¡± Aili leaned forward to take some rough sheets and a piece of graphite from the floor. She wrote something on the clean side of the first page. ¡°We have to think about what you''re going to tell them. Pretend I''m Maris.¡± She cleared her throat. ¡°Hello, Saia. I''m very busy and in the worst mood imaginable, what do you want?¡± Saia held back a smile. ¡°I''ve thought about it and decided that I want to become a sentinel.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Fishing here is very different from what I''m used to, and as a sentinel I''ll be able to check on my village and help you identify the signs of distress of the inhabitants.¡± Aili shook her head. ¡°No. You''re showing distrust in their actions. You''re basically saying that you don''t trust the priors and sentinels to do their job and protect your people.¡± ¡°I don''t.¡± ¡°I know, but we don''t want Maris to think that. Try again.¡± Saia did. And then she tried some more, again and again, until Aili was satisfied with her answer. The next day, they woke up at dawn. ¡°We have to be quick,¡± Aili whispered while changing into one of the two clean tunics that they had taken from the laundry room the previous evening. ¡°The sentinels are about to have their morning meeting and I''ll leave with Daira at the next bell chime.¡± Saia nodded, getting ready as fast as she could. They ran along the empty corridor, shushing each other when they heard someone''s steps further ahead. They slowed down when they met the group of helpers who were leaving the clean tunics in front of every door. ¡°Skip room seventy-four, please,¡± Aili told them, marching forward. They entered a room Saia hadn''t seen before, with a tall and round ceiling. At the center, there was a square platform covered by rows of holes small as an olive. At least half of them were occupied by round stones, each one painted in a different color and with a different letter written on top. There were more numbers and letters engraved on the top and left sides of the square. The sentinels were standing in the left half of the room, listening to the speech of a prior. The other two priors, Maris and a woman that Saia didn''t know, were looking at the square in the center of the room, whispering to each other. Every few words, one of them bent down to take a painted stone from the bag at their feet and put it in one of the holes. If they hadn''t been so serious, Saia would have thought that they were playing some kind of game. ¡°... and in addition to Daira''s group, we have a scholar going down to Suimer,¡± the other prior was saying. ¡°Whoever will be on the north-east side, pay attention to them.¡± Saia exchanged a glance with Aili: it looked like the monks were sending someone to Suimer, after all. The prior was starting to talk about what they had to look out for in the northern part of the mountain, when he noticed Saia and Aili standing at the entrance of the room. ¡°Can we help you?¡± he asked, glancing to the other priors. They stopped what they were doing, dropping the stones they were holding into the bag. ¡°Yes,¡± Aili said. ¡°We need to talk to Maris about something important.¡± Some of the sentinels held their breath at that, looking at Maris as if they expected them to explode. But the prior only excused themselves and walked toward the two of them, looking more annoyed than outright angry. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± they asked Aili. She looked at Saia. ¡°No, but I have a request,¡± she said. ¡°I want to become a sentinel.¡± Maris frowned. ¡°After yesterday¡¯s debate, I can''t help but find the timing suspicious.¡± Saia''s instinct was to ask ''why?'' and keep up the pretence that it wasn''t an observation both her and Aili had expected. She decided against it: Maris seemed to hate that kind of verbal games, and Saia felt exactly the same. ¡°It was prompted by the debate, actually. I realized that you don''t really know how to recognize the signs of the sort of abuse Vizena is perpetuating. Other gods might be doing the same, and you wouldn''t have any idea.¡± Aili flinched a bit at her wording. Maris kept staring at her without relaxing their expression. ¡°So I thought that by joining the sentinels I could help you make sure that nobody will suffer the same sort of thing. Look out for signs you''re not trained to spot.¡± Maris nodded once, sharply. ¡°This is a valid point. But you could give us the information we need without necessarily leaving your job as a fisher. It seems like it''s your area of expertise more than anything else.¡± ¡°Actually, fishing here is very different from what I''m used to. It requires to be more relaxed and less active.¡± ¡°That''s why you used a spear?¡± Saia stopped, realizing that they were observing her while she was at the lake. She had forgotten to tell Aili that detail, and now she was staring at her with a surprised expression. ¡°Yes,¡± she admitted. ¡°I wasn''t in a good mental state, so I tried something different. But I''m not capable of catching fish that way. I could learn, but...¡± She sighed. ¡°Aili is leaving today, and I need company and structure in my life. Lakam, the fisher, made it clear that she isn''t interested in having interactions while she works, and the silence makes me mull over things I don''t really want to think about, right now.¡± She felt a light touch at the back of her arm. She gave Aili a glance of acknowledgement before focusing on Maris again. They were looking back at the group of sentinels, who were still listening to the other prior''s words. ¡°I''ll talk to my colleagues. And to the abbot,¡± they added, their eyes returning on Saia. ¡°I imagine that your instinct would be to avoid him as long as possible, but I advise you against it. Working with people who disagree with him is part of his job, and you might obtain more by being closer to him than by staying away.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Return tomorrow morning at dawn, I''ll let you know the answer.¡± They walked back toward the square at the center of the room. Saia kept looking at them, reflecting on their words, when Aili put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Sorry, but I really need to go.¡± Saia followed her back toward their room. She returned the stack of books to the library while Aili gathered her notes and cleaned her side of the room. They met in the corridor and walked toward the main entrance of the village. Daira and the two monks that had followed her back from Lausune were already there, talking to each other next to the entrance. Aili stopped before they could notice them and hugged Saia. ¡°I''ll miss you so much.¡± She didn''t know what to answer, so she just hugged her tight. Aili approached the prior, clutching the strap of her letter-carrier bag. She waved her hand one last time, then disappeared into the world outside. 2.13 - Ailis training Aili opened the door of her house. ¡°Come in,¡± she said to Daira and the two other monks who had descended from the mountain with them. She had insisted to invite them to sleep there, since she had her dad¡¯s bed and two sleeping sacks. The rest of the monks working in Lausune lived either inside of the post office or in tents on the outskirts of the village. ¡°I don¡¯t want to use a bed just because I''m a prior,¡± Daira said while stepping inside. ¡°With your permission, I''d like to organize a system of turns to sleep here. Obviously you can keep your bed, it''s your house after all.¡± Aili wondered whether that would have changed once the new Koidan was created. She''d have spent the rest of her life with the monks, so having an empty house in the middle of the village was just a waste of space. She tried to imagine other people living there, but she could only picture a younger version of her family: a man with a glint of perennial amusement in his eyes, a little girl that asked too many questions about everything, a woman without a face, but dressed with the floral patterns of the northern villages. She went through each room, opening all the windows and hiding the worst of the mess under the furniture. It mostly consisted of bags full of maps of the villages, some of them recent, some old, some just pieces she had drawn based on the remains of ancient stones at the corner of the streets that could suggest the presence of long-gone houses. ¡°You have an impressive collection,¡± Daira observed, pointing at a bag on the table in the middle of the living room. Aili opened the last window. ¡°Thank you, but the ones back at the village are more detailed.¡± She had studied them as much as possible, during the last week. They went further back than any of the ones she had managed to find, and in hindsight it was probably the monks'' fault. But they didn''t go further enough to talk about the foundation of the villages. She had inquired about it and looked for books on the topic, but everyone and everything was evasive, spewing back at her the foundation myth. It talked about how the monks¡¯ village was born before the others from people who came from the sea. They found sediments of viss inside the mountain and gathered it all in one place over the course of numerous decades, in a special chamber from which they could draw every time they created a god. But before all of that, nobody seemed to know who they were, or why there was so much viss around to begin with. If the story was even true. She found the two sleeping sacks inside an old wardrobe. She helped the two monks free enough space in the living room to open them, then showed Daira her father''s old room. She had left it closed for months after the funeral, then took some weeks off from work to properly clean and examine every single item that had belonged to him, in hope of facing the grief all at once. It hadn''t stopped there, obviously, but at least the room was clean and ready to be used. ¡°Let me know if anything''s missing,¡± she told Daira, then left her to settle down. As soon as everyone had put away their things and rested their feet, they left for the post office. Aili saw the line in front of it from afar and almost groaned with exasperation. She remembered the chaos that had followed Koidan''s announcement about the labour division and hoped that the monks were more prepared to deal with it than she and Saia had been. She noticed someone approach. She smiled when she saw Dan, even if his expression was serious and bordering on angry. Mor¨¬c was walking some steps behind him, as if he didn''t want to engage in the conversation about to happen unless it was absolutely necessary. ¡°Hi,¡± Aili greeted them. ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you two.¡± Dan recoiled a bit at that, as if he had expected her to match his mood. ¡°Yeah, me too. Where''s Saia?¡± ¡°She''s fine.¡± ¡°Good. Where?¡± Aili stopped. Daira and the other monks slowed down, looking back at her. ¡°I¡¯ll join you in a second,¡± she said. ¡°It''s important.¡± Daira nodded. The group proceeded toward the post office. ¡°She''s fine, Dan,¡± Aili said, lowering her voice. ¡°I can''t tell you anything more.¡± ¡°You''re one of them, now?¡± he asked, giving a meaningful glance to her gray tunic. ¡°Why?¡± she asked. ¡°Did they do something wrong?¡± ¡°They entered the houses, all of them. They said they wanted to get to know everyone, but they were looking for something. They even checked the closets!¡± ¡°They seemed interested,¡± Mor¨¬c said with a shrug. Dan pointed at him. ¡°And this. I don''t know why, but everyone seems to like them. The teacher didn¡¯t want to let them in, but they convinced him immediately.¡± Aili reflected that the monks were probably looking for Zeles, and convincing people seemed to be the effect of some kind of manipulation. It had to be simple, if even monks who weren''t scholars could do it easily without having a chance to touch the other person for a long period of time. Her guess was that they were communicating their good intentions through their viss, and since they actually thought they were helping the village, those feelings were sincere enough to convince everyone. Obviously the effect wouldn''t have lasted if they also weren''t doing their best to solve everyone''s problems. ¡°I stayed away from them,¡± Dan continued. ¡°They kept Koidan¡¯s groups, but they''re the ones in charge, and every group has at least one of them. They''re everywhere. I''ve tried asking Koidan why he sent them, since we were managing on our own, but he doesn''t answer anymore. His statue doesn''t even move during the ceremonies.¡± He took a deep breath, looking as if he was about to cry. Aili had to remind herself that he was still very young. ¡°What do you think is going on?¡± she asked. ¡°I don''t know. But if Koidan has disappeared, maybe... Maybe the evil god has won. And maybe these people are his people, and they''re here to replace us. Or to force us to join them,¡± he added, glancing at Aili¡¯s tunic again. He stepped back. ¡°You''re one of them now, right? And Saia... Saia is too smart to listen to them. What did you do to her?¡± Aili recoiled. ¡°We didn''t do anything.¡± Mor¨¬c put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Calm down, it''s Aili.¡± Dan shrugged to get free of his gentle grip and stepped aside. He stood there, glaring at his brother. ¡°I promise you it''s not what is happening,¡± Aili said. ¡°You thought that we were managing, but I ensure you that we needed help. Milvia was killed, remember? Even if Koidan was still talking to us, to some degree.¡± Dan looked at her. ¡°Saia is fine,¡± Aili continued. ¡°Do you really think I would help these people if they had hurt her?¡± He lowered his eyes. ¡°Then why did you come back and she didn¡¯t?¡± Aili wanted to hug him, but she didn''t want to scare him or make him think that he was being manipulated. ¡°She''s busy. She¡­¡± Aili hesitated. She didn''t know how much they knew about Saia''s past. Nothing, most likely. ¡°Her village is going through some problems, so she''s there to help.¡± ¡°What problems? Did their god disappear too?¡± Aili almost smiled at that. ¡°No. It''s just that their goddess isn''t a good deity and she''s looking for a way to change that.¡± Dan and Mor¨¬c exchanged a glance. ¡°How?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I don''t know.¡± ¡°She promised she''d have tried to come back.¡± Aili hesitated, then shrugged. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that.¡± Dan nodded, lowering his head. Aili glanced toward the post office: the monks had disappeared inside. Some of the people in line were starting to recognize her. ¡°I really need to go, now. Let me know if you have any problems.¡± She hurried toward the entrance, hoping to slip through before someone could stop her. But the doorway was obstructed by two men discussing their turns as wardens, so she was forced to greet everyone and give one-sentence explanations to a constant stream of questions. Lihana and the herbalist insisted to know where Saia was, but she managed to squeeze her way inside before they could stop her. She sprinted toward the stairs, up to the first floor. She slowed down when she saw Daira sitting at the table in the center of the room, the other monks scattered around her. They were listing the problems they had to face in the last two days, and some long-term ones that had begun since they started their work at Lausune. Aili sat down quietly on the floor against the wall, in a spot that let her see both the bottom of the stairs and some of the people who were talking to the monks behind the counter. ¡°So you haven''t found him?¡± Daira asked, her voice low enough that no one could listen from the bottom floor. ¡°No,¡± a young monk answered in the same tone. ¡°We''ve checked every house, multiple times when possible.¡± ¡°And every step of the territory outside the buildings,¡± an older woman added. ¡°Including the ones around the village: forest, beach and cave.¡± Daira nodded, looking at the sheets scattered on the table. ¡°The other gods didn''t signal anything?¡± The woman shook her head. ¡°They could be accomplices, though.¡± Daira sighed and scratched her head. ¡°We should search their villages too. Discreetly, if possible.¡± ¡°We already stopped everyone from leaving,¡± someone else said. Aili couldn''t see them from the point where she was sitting. ¡°The merchants are a bit worried that this is going to ruin their trade if it continues for too long.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Daira nodded. ¡°We need to find Zeles quickly, then. We''ll start by searching the inhabitants more thoroughly, then we¡¯ll examine their houses from top to bottom. The first investigation wasn¡¯t enough to cover everything.¡± The monks looked silently at each other. ¡°I know,¡± Daira said. ¡°I don''t like it either. But we have to start somewhere, and we don''t have much time. It would be ideal to find him before we have a substitute.¡± She looked at Aili as she said that. She fought to keep impassible against all the glances that followed. ¡°It''s impossible to search everyone without them suspecting anything,¡± a monk said, pacing up and down the room behind Daira. ¡°They were talking about an evil god,¡± the young monk said. ¡°Maybe if we tell them that he put an illness in the food and we have the cure, they''ll come here without us having to go house to house.¡± ¡°But whoever has Zeles will have time to hide him,¡± Daira observed, then shook her head. ¡°There isn''t a clean way to do this. Our only hope is to be fast enough that the effect of such a thing won''t get out of control.¡± Aili realized her heart was pounding. She had to think fast about who could have Zeles¡¯s sphere, or where it was hidden. ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask for the abbot''s permission, first,¡± Daira added, standing up. ¡°If I know him and the other priors, they''ll have to discuss a lot before they approve of something like this. If we send the message today, we¡¯ll have the answer in about a week, and preparations will probably require another one. Anything else?¡± Most monks shook their heads. The rest didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Then I think we¡¯re finished here. Thank you for your insights and good job to everyone.¡± The monks started to leave. Daira nodded in Aili''s direction, and she followed her downstairs. Now there were four monks behind the counter and the line seemed noticeably shorter than before. Daira left first. Aili was about to follow her, when she saw Liraira arguing with a monk. ¡°What does it mean, you don''t know who''s delivering the letters?¡± Aili stopped. It wasn''t like the monks overlooking something like that. Probably they didn''t want anyone and anything to leave before they could check it properly, and checking everything meant eliciting suspicion. Liraira saw that she was looking. She gave one last glance to the monk, then strode toward Aili. She felt her heart accelerate. ¡°You don''t work here anymore,¡± Liraira said, glancing at her tunic. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Koidan wanted us to¡­¡± ¡°Well, nobody can leave or enter and I need to know if the letter was delivered. Do you have it?¡± Aili blinked. ¡°What letter?¡± But she realized as soon as she had finished talking that she meant the letter for Anbem, Milvia¡¯s boyfriend. ¡°I asked the monks to deliver it,¡± she said. ¡°But they can''t tell me anything about it!¡± She looked so frustrated Aili expected her to start crying. ¡°I can ask around, I know some of these people. What do you need to know?¡± Liraira sighed. ¡°The letter I gave you was... Very angry. I used words I''m not proud of.¡± Aili remembered them. ¡°I¡¯m sure they know you didn''t mean it.¡± ¡°Oh, I meant every single thing. It was for one of my father''s employees, but it''s too long to explain. Dad hasn''t heard from him in a while, and I still hate him, but I would have never thought¡­¡± She shook her head. ¡°Hold on,¡± Aili said. ¡°The gods would have stopped him, if he had tried to hurt himself or something like that. Most likely, it''s only a momentary problem. I''m sure you''ll find him once we''re allowed to leave the village again.¡± ¡°And when is that supposed to happen?¡± Aili didn''t know. She hesitated too long, looking for the best wording, but Liraira started to walk away. ¡°Let me know if you find something.¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Aili said. Liraira turned. As she looked into her eyes, Aili realized it was the worst possible moment to ask her out. She didn''t even know if she liked women, and she''d have to leave for the mountain in two months, regardless. Besides, the words in her letter had soured her feelings a bit. ¡°Nothing,¡± she said. She watched her leave and waited a bit before following her. Daira was waiting outside. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Aili started, but the prior stopped her by raising a hand. ¡°They didn¡¯t expect to have you back dressed like one of us. I accounted for the fact that you¡¯d have a lot of explanations to give.¡± Aili walked beside her. ¡°We have time to start your training,¡± Daira continued. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to cover.¡± Aili realized that Daira not only expected her to become a goddess, but she also was almost sure it would happen, if the glance she gave her earlier was an indication to go by. ¡°I know it goes against my interests, but wouldn¡¯t it be an unfair advantage, compared to the other candidates?¡± ¡°No. First of all, I won¡¯t tell you what the trials are about, and trust me when I say that nothing can prepare you for that. Second, my goal is to give you the knowledge that the other candidates had the time to absorb by virtue of living in the village. You won¡¯t be advantaged, you¡¯ll only be at their level.¡± ¡°You seem very invested in my victory. What if I fail?¡± Daira shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll try again with another candidate if the chance presents itself. I think you''d still be useful to the community as a scholar. And just so you know, even if you win the trials you can step back until the moment they transform you into a sphere. In that case, we''ll just ask the next candidate, and so on.¡± ¡°It''s reassuring to know.¡± They were almost at the beginning of her street. ¡°Spheres are a good place to start,¡± Daira said. ¡°I suppose you saw the carvings in our temple?¡± ¡°Yes. I''ve read that gods are spheres of glass full of viss, but I couldn¡¯t find anything on how they are created.¡± ¡°Well, the exact details are extremely complicated, and obviously not the kind of information we want everyone to know. But I can give you the general idea. Mind if we keep going?¡± She asked, pointing at the end of the street. ¡°I want to see the beach.¡± Aili nodded. They kept following the main road. ¡°The concept is simple: we create a sphere of glass, free from impurities, then we fill it with part of the viss that is stored inside the mountain. The candidate is transformed into viss that contains all of the information about them.¡± ¡°What kind of information?¡± ¡°Their consciousness, essentially. Them, without loss of data.¡± ¡°Except for the body.¡± Daira shook her head. ¡°Every single information about their body is preserved, even if the physical form won''t exist anymore.¡± Aili looked down at her hands. ¡°And it doesn''t get mixed up with the energy of the mountain?¡± ¡°The viss gets purified by any residue of data and imprint right before being used to create a god.¡± They were descending along the docks, now. Daira turned her head toward the sea as they walked past the boats. Aili took that time to think about her words. ¡°What if a god left the mountain? It would be a waste of viss.¡± ¡°We are constantly observing them to prevent that. It could destroy the mountain.¡± Aili listened with growing surprise as Daira explained how the gods had to keep the mountain from crumbling, how unstable it was, to the point that a portion of the gods'' power was always aimed at it to keep it whole. ¡°There are other measures and restrictions put in place at the moment of their creation,¡± Daira concluded. ¡°No god has ever escaped, and the few ones who tried eventually came back. In the worst case, we¡¯ll immediately create a new sphere before the damage becomes too big.¡± ¡°If the mountain is so unstable, how did the first monks manage to build anything up there?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t always that unstable. They made a mistake while building the system to extract the viss from the mountain to create the gods. We don''t know exactly what went wrong, but the first deities had to consciously prevent it from collapsing. Later, this behavior was imprinted during the creation of the sphere.¡± ¡°Hypothetically, would it be possible to imprint other commands? Like protecting the villages, or healing the sick?¡± ¡°It would be extremely complicated to the point of being impossible. For example, if I wanted a god to automatically protect the village from cloud people, I''d have to take into account every possible combination of weapon and direction of attack. If the attackers changed strategy, all that work would be useless. If you consider everything that could happen to the village, every possible illness¡­¡± ¡°Right,¡± Aili said. ¡°So gods have to be human, in order to understand what''s wrong and how to fix it.¡± Daira nodded. ¡°But how could you prevent a god from leaving?¡± ¡°Every shrine is always illuminated and kept under observation, even at night, so we can immediately deactivate them as soon as they leave with the shards we took from them. Provided a human doesn''t help them,¡± she added with a sigh. ¡°It''s what happened with Koidan, right?¡± ¡°Most likely.¡± ¡°And it has never happened before? All of the gods have always accepted that it was time for them to die?¡± Daira gave her a bitter smile. ¡°Of course not. That''s another reason why we have to keep track of how much energy they have left, so that we can deactivate them before they realize that their time is ending. But we underestimated how much energy Zeles was actually using.¡± Aili thought about Saia''s house. Zeles healed any kind of hurt and illness even before people asked him to. He was always answering, always paying attention, loosely enough to know when something was wrong without spying on the inhabitants. Given what Saia had told her about Vizena micro-managing everything to the point that everyone was extremely careful not to capture her attention in any way, and Dore leaving the most difficult jobs to homeless people, it wasn''t difficult to believe that he had been using a lot more viss in comparison. The feeling of sand under her shoes was so sudden it took her by surprise. Daira stopped, eyes going from the beach to the sea and vice versa. Aili looked at the horizon: the view down there was different than the one they had on the mountain. ¡°Before we came to the village,¡± she said, hesitant to break the silence, ¡°We saw a ship.¡± Daira looked at her. ¡°We know. It was what convinced us to deactivate Zeles and investigate. But the question you wanted to make is different, right?¡± Aili nodded. She couldn¡¯t read Daira¡¯s expression. ¡°The world beyond the mountain,¡± the prior said with a sigh, bringing her eyes back to the sea. ¡°What do you know about it?¡± ¡°Only what¡¯s written in the sacred texts: that the nine gods created humanity, but the other great forces of the world didn¡¯t like that, so they tried to destroy it. So the nine gods created the mountain as a place where their followers could live in peace. Then I read the myths about the monks discovering the mountain and I don''t know what to think anymore.¡± Daira resumed walking. Aili followed her after an instant. ¡°We don''t know for sure what is happening in the rest of the world. We know that the sea and the external forest are big enough to isolate us. We know that there are humans like us, living in places just like the villages, but as big as the mountain itself.¡± Aili tried and failed to imagine it. ¡°We know that they have to deal with all the dangers the gods are shielding us from, and more. Do you remember the murder?¡± Aili winced and nodded. ¡°Sorry, I didn''t know you were familiar with the victim. Where those people live, similar things happen every day. They''re violent and disorganized. Nobody knows what they could do to this place, were they to find it.¡± ¡°They''re trying to get here, right? And the gods are protecting us from them.¡± ¡°Correct, but in this case the gods are a last resort, in case the ships get too close. There is a guardian that lives in the sea and is dangerous enough to deter them.¡± ¡°Another god?¡± ¡°A creature, or so our texts say. We don''t know what it is exactly, only that our predecessors had to face it in order to come here.¡± ¡°Maybe it left? Or it died?¡± Daira frowned. ¡°That would be a problem we really don''t need.¡± They walked in silence beyond the line of white stones. Daira stopped midway through the beach. ¡°What do you feel about it?¡± Aili frowned. ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Becoming a sphere. Not having an actual body anymore. I mean, we''ll obviously give you a statue, but that''s not the same thing. And remember that you won''t be allowed to leave the shrine.¡± Aili thought about it. She had no intention of winning the trials, and even in the remote chance she did, she could always step back and let somebody else take her place. Still, the idea of her body vanishing forever made her heart pound. She liked her body. She tried to imagine a statue with her face, but with the imposing presence of the gods'' statues. It looked amazing, but also so far away from her that she couldn''t fathom getting used to it. ¡°This is what I mean when I say that you won''t be advantaged,¡± Daira said. ¡°The other candidates had years to think about what it means to be a god. They knew the implications a long time before being voted.¡± She sat down on the dry sand, some steps away from the calm sea waves. ¡°I want you to think about this as much as you can. By the time the two months are over, I want you to know exactly how you feel about this. Remember that you can step back at any moment.¡± Aili nodded. She sat down two steps to Daira¡¯s left and filled her hands with soft sand. ¡°There''s another thing: we¡¯ll create a new statue for you, but your predecessor was a man, and the people of the village are used to refer to Koidan as such. Obviously we''ll change this, but for the first month or so you''ll have to use Zeles¡¯s statue.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Daira started tracing a spiral in the sand with a finger. ¡°We have to write the speech for the population and be prepared to deal with all the evidence that could be left after that.¡± ¡°Evidence? So, like... Documents?¡± ¡°Documents, art, anything that could hint at the fact that Koidan has changed in any way.¡± Aili thought about her research around the villages. Before finding out about the monks, she hadn''t even imagined that the same god could actually be a long line of different people. ¡°Why is this so important that it requires all this preparation?¡± ¡°It''s not about the change itself, it''s more about the timing. The inhabitants of the villages should think that their gods are omnipotent and have existed since the beginning of time. And above all, they shouldn''t notice a pattern where they change in any significant way every two hundred years or so.¡± Aili thought about the patterns she had found by questioning the elders about ancient myths. She nodded. ¡°It''s another thing you''ll have to think about,¡± Daira added. ¡°Compared to not having my body anymore, being treated like a man doesn''t feel like a big change.¡± ¡°I agree, but it could be another cause of stress during an already delicate time. Maybe it''s not your case, but you could also find that it does make a difference on your ability to function as a goddess.¡± Daira rubbed her hands together to clean them from the sand. ¡°I¡¯m telling you this because I know how it feels like to be treated like a man even if you¡¯re not. I only went to Erimur at twenty-five.¡± Aili remembered the place clearly, even if it was one of the villages she had visited less. The local god was an expert in matters of medicine and anatomy, and his temple was a popular destination for people who needed to undergo big changes to their bodies. ¡°I¡¯ve learned a lot of techniques to quiet most of the distress that came from being mistaken for a man,¡± Daira continued. ¡°They¡¯re mostly based on viss manipulation. I can teach you how to use them, if you think they could be useful.¡± Aili looked at her, eyes wide. ¡°Please. That would be amazing.¡± Daira produced a small smile, then got up. ¡°Time to go back. We have a lot of things to organize.¡± Aili followed her toward the village. She focused on the feeling of sand under her shoes, the wind moving strands of hair around her face, the sight of pink clouds while the sun sunk under the water. She tried to imagine how gods could experience the world, but couldn¡¯t find an answer. 2.14 - Alliance Saia walked on the path the led to the lake. It was late afternoon, an hour left before dinner. She¡¯d spent the day sleeping to recover from the previous night¡¯s turn. She¡¯d been lucky to have one, since it allowed her to have a free morning instead of having to train with the other sentinels. They used swords and spears, even if they were never allowed to carry them outside of the training room and the armory. The racks full of blades were impressive, but they didn''t terrify her as much as the huge ballistae in the back of the room. Ancient technology the monks never used, that could only be brought outside through a rusty gate and a barely fitting tunnel. She wondered what kind of enemy could justify having those monsters always oiled and on the ready. Gods, maybe. She took a deep breath and smiled at the distant sea: the giant weapons hadn¡¯t been the only surprise of that week. After days of trying to breed her snakes, she¡¯d realized that the problem was lack of space. With Ebus¡¯s support, she''d asked for an additional tank, filled it in equal parts with soil and water, and put a couple of snakes inside it, a male and a female. Two days later she¡¯d been awakened by their furious hissing and splashing in the water. She¡¯d checked the mound of earth, placed right in the middle of a patch of sunlight, and gently moved the soil on the surface: there was a shallow hole underneath, filled with small round eggs. Based on what her dad had told her, they would take about ten days to hatch. She¡¯d freed the two snakes in the main tank with the rest of the adults, confiding in nature and sunlight to take care of the eggs. She approached the lake with caution, checking her surroundings. She looked for a movement, a sign that Rabam had noticed her and was now approaching. She was so focused on the trees that she didn¡¯t think to raise her eyes. ¡°Hi,¡± she heard, and jumped. He was sitting on a low branch, half-hidden by the foliage. ¡°How did you see me arrive?¡± He climbed down. ¡°It¡¯s been two weeks. I thought you changed your mind.¡± Saia smiled, pointing both indexes at the belt around her hips: two leather strips that were the symbol of the sentinels. "Yeah, I noticed." He was smiling, but his eyes were darting between the trees behind Saia, as if he was expecting other sentinels to appear behind her. She sighed. ¡°I''ve waited two weeks because I didn''t want to give the priors the impression that I was nostalgic about the lake. And my turns are all over the place.¡± ¡°They do that with beginners,¡± Rabam said, looking more relaxed. ¡°It''s a mix of wanting to test your resilience and not knowing where and when you''d give your best.¡± He headed toward the lake. Saia did the same, following a more visible path. That morning, the daily rituals of the sentinels had been short. Half of them, Saia included, wouldn¡¯t have worked that afternoon, since there would be a debate. Still, they were all required to be in the common room and listen to the list of what to look out for that day. Maris was never the one making the speech, adjusting the turns instead by moving the painted stones inside the holes of the grid in the center of the room. Each combination of color and letter represented a sentinel, each hole a location and a timespan of four hours. Saia had observed the holes for a long time, without touching the stones for fear of leaving her viss on them. There were some patterns: first of all, the sentinels couldn¡¯t have more than two turns in twenty-four hours, and when they only had one, it was probably at night or on fourthday. Second, the sentinels at night were kept at a minimum of two per location, and they never went far from the village. They were only there to spot anyone approaching, an easy task since it was impossible to climb the mountain silently in the dark without at least one light. Third and most important, everyone had at least two turns in the pool room during the week, one in the day and one at night. It was the most hated turn, since it required standing in an empty room for four hours despite the risk of someone entering from the tunnel being extremely low. Or so they thought. ¡°Have they changed the observation spots?¡± Rabam asked, stepping around a tree. Saia tried to remember: even if the sentinels who worked in one post changed almost every day, the posts themselves didn¡¯t; all of the holes that had been empty the week before were left empty the next week too. ¡°Not yet,¡± she said. ¡°Good. Let me know if anything changes. Especially in the first two lines and the third column, they¡¯re the trickiest one for me to calculate.¡± ¡°And which ones are the most dangerous for me?¡± Saia asked. They were on the grass next to the lake, now. Rabam was about to sit under a tree, but he stopped and turned to look at her. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We had a pact, remember? I became a sentinel, so you have to tell me how to go back to Lausune without being discovered. I don¡¯t have decided on a date yet, but you can tell me something, right? What to be on the lookout for, what the ideal day to go would be...¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She trailed off, staring at his thoughtful expression. ¡°Sure,¡± he finally said. He sat down. ¡°Based on the current turns, probably on fifthday evening. But I¡¯d rather you wait.¡± ¡°Why?¡± she asked. ¡°Because I feel like there will be the conditions for me to act soon, and I need someone on the other side of the tunnel that won¡¯t immediately give the alarm.¡± Saia sat down some steps in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the washing room on sixthday, first turn of the night. My partner will be Gaila, I know her a bit. I¡¯m sure I can distract her long enough for you to enter.¡± He lowered his eyes. ¡°I need to wait.¡± ¡°Wait for what?¡± ¡°For the monks to come back from Lausune. And I don¡¯t mean just for the trials, but permanently.¡± Saia thought about the monks that had left with Daira and Aili, trying to remember the ones that had settled in Lausune the day the two of them were brought up the mountain to meet the abbot. ¡°Why? You¡¯re not going to kill anyone, are you?¡± Rabam shook his head. ¡°No, but I can¡¯t tell you anything more.¡± ¡°So what am I supposed to do? Wait months for you to maybe decide that it¡¯s time to act?¡± Rabam was avoiding her gaze, looking now at the grass, now at the lake behind her. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You don¡¯t seem ready either, so I don¡¯t understand why I should hurry.¡± Saia started to lean back, then remembered that there wasn¡¯t a tree behind her and straightened instead. ¡°The consciousness scholar they sent to Suimer is coming back soon. Maybe even today. I don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll say, but I¡¯m pretty sure I won¡¯t be happy about it. If the monks won¡¯t do anything meaningful to address the problem, I¡¯ll need to get ready and act.¡± Rabam nodded. ¡°So I¡¯m waiting for the monks and you¡¯re waiting for the expert. If your thing happens first, I¡¯ll help you, if mine...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you,¡± Saia said, cutting him off. ¡°I like this. Only... Don¡¯t kill anyone or do something so bad I might regret helping you.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± She looked at him, but couldn¡¯t guess whether he was lying. She extended a hand, palm upwards. Rabam frowned. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I need to know you¡¯re not lying.¡± He slowly reached out, stopping his hand before he could touch Saia¡¯s. ¡°Isn¡¯t this really dangerous? I could manipulate you, if I was better than you at influencing energies. You could manipulate me, in the unlikely case I had forgotten most of my training on how to use magic¡­¡± ¡°I need to trust that you won¡¯t do anything to destroy my plan or abandon me in case yours succeeds first. And believe me, having the same amount of trust toward me would help you a lot.¡± He hesitated, then put his hand down, touching his palm with Saia¡¯s. She closed her eyes, focusing on her own energies. She''d spent time with Aili and her books, perceiving the floating feeling of the viss inside her body, and, through the contact of their hands, Aili''s. Calm, sadness and anger were the easiest to distinguish, and she could detect small variations of imprint, even if she couldn''t always understand what feeling they corresponded to. She slowly shifted her focus on her arms, then her hands, then followed the flux of her energies toward Rabam''s hand. She only meant to give his viss the magical equivalent of a glance, a general survey to judge his state of mind. But she perceived a trail of sorrow, and followed it to a pool of sadness enveloping Rabam¡¯s chest. She had a similar one, buried in the center of her being, a cut-out trunk that still fed on its surroundings with deep roots. Rabam¡¯s was a seed instead, still sprouting, still hurting. An old instinct alerted her that she wasn¡¯t breathing. She opened her eyes with a long sigh. The flow of viss was still there, in the back of her conscience. Rabam opened his eyes too, the fresh trail of two tears connecting eyes and chin. He was looking at her with surprise, and she realized he had seen her pain too. ¡°I promise I will help you fulfill your plan,¡± she said. ¡°Regardless of how mine will go.¡± Rabam closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded. ¡°I promise the same thing: I will help you find the best paths to reach the villages and come back safely. And I promise that I won''t physically hurt or kill anyone.¡± It was Saia''s turn to close her eyes and focus again on the viss that arrived from Rabam''s hand. She found determination, lingering traces of surprise, but nothing that pointed to a lie. She nodded. ¡°I have a question,¡± Rabam continued. ¡°Will you crack Vizena?¡± Saia felt herself retracting a bit, but didn''t interrupt the contact. She looked at the leaves above them. She was sure Rabam could feel the anger that hearing her name had stirred. ¡°I don''t know,¡± she finally said. ¡°I feel like that''s the only way she''ll actually stop hurting my village. But I shouldn''t be the one to make this decision. I didn¡¯t put her in the position she is now.¡± Rabam nodded. He retreated his hand, breaking the buzzing sensation between their palms. ¡°Why this question?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve considered cracking a god,¡± Rabam said, relaxing against the tree behind him. ¡°But there are worse things one could do to them.¡± Saia leaned forward. ¡°Like what?¡± He opened his mouth to answer, but a glance behind Saia stopped him. She turned: the sun was a lot lower than when she¡¯d arrived. She looked back at Rabam, hesitant. ¡°You need to go,¡± he said. She nodded and stood. ¡°I¡¯ll be back as soon as I can.¡± She headed toward the path that led to the village, but Rabam called her before she could step outside the shadow of the trees. ¡°Walk around the lake, first,¡± he said. ¡°Pretend to look for something or enjoy the view, otherwise they¡¯ll wonder why you came here.¡± Saia nodded and changed direction. She followed the lakeshore, trying to walk fast, but not so fast that it would seem suspicious. She dared to glance in Rabam''s direction only once she was on the other side of the lake: he''d disappeared, as usual. She followed the path up to the top of the slope. She theatrically put a hand against her forehead and squinted at the sun, faked a surprised expression, then started a light run along the path, clutching the strap of her bag with two hands. The colleague at the entrance barely looked inside before letting her pass. There weren''t many people around the corridors, which meant that almost everybody was already inside the temple. She entered with caution, expecting the debate to have already begun, and sighed of relief when she saw that the stones were still being distributed. She was looking for Gaila and the other sentinels, hoping they had kept a spot for her, when she saw Maris marching straight toward her. Their expression was so serious that Saia thought they had seen her talking to Rabam. ¡°The scholar is back,¡± they said, instead. She tensed even more at that. She glanced toward the area next to the well, where the abbot was talking with a woman. She recognized the one who had examined her and Aili before they were allowed to enter the village for the first time. ¡°I won''t tolerate any rule infringement,¡± Maris said. ¡°No matter what Riena¡¯s going to say, you won''t speak out of order or you''ll immediately leave the sentinels. Understood?¡± Saia nodded. She had a plan, this time, and wouldn¡¯t have let anything disrupt it. 2.15 - Proofs Saia was about to break her resolution to be quiet when the scholar sat down with the assembly instead of starting to talk. The abbot announced that the first topic was choosing a new candidate for Koidan''s role. ¡°I know that some of you will accuse me of not taking this situation seriously enough,¡± Laius said, eyes following the circles of the assembly. Saia knew he was looking for her. ¡°But Vizena¡¯s punishment, if necessary, is a decision the priors alone have to take. Discussing it in front of the assembly is not something we would usually do. Since this problem was raised here, we will end it here, but first we''ll give space to topics that request the participation of the whole community. ¡°Weak,¡± Saia whispered. They hoped to have less public, since people tended to leave around dinner, some of them not coming back. She didn¡¯t pay attention, observing the consciousness scholar instead, even if she was far enough she couldn¡¯t see her expression. She felt lucky that Gaila was comfortable with silence, since she didn¡¯t feel like discussing that particular debate with anyone who wasn¡¯t Aili. Two hours later, after a new candidate had been chosen and small groups had started to leave for dinner, the silence returned in the temple. The organizers brought some chairs and set them down in a circle for the priors. The abbot gestured for the scholar to approach. ¡°I examined the current situation of Suimer,¡± she started, standing from her spot in the crowd while the priors sat down. ¡°I would tell you the result immediately, but I believe that the methods I had to apply to reach that conclusion are extremely relevant, and I fear that if I don''t start from the beginning, you''ll only consider the result and disregard the rest.¡± ¡°I promise you we won''t,¡± the abbot said. ¡°Another thing I''m worried about, Laius,¡± she said, ¡°Is that you will consider some of my methods irregular and try to deviate the conversation on what I should or shouldn''t have done. I suggest you avoid that, or this will become a screaming match. All your fussing about tradition and protocol can go to the crater and jump, for all I''m concerned.¡± She nodded in the direction of the well as she said that. ¡°Can I have a chair?¡± she asked then, looking at the organizers. The man with the hourglass carefully set the tool down and jogged across the room. ¡°I descended the mountain from Tilau¡¯s side,¡± the scholar reprised, ¡°Then entered Suimer dressed as a merchant, with a bag of clothes to sell. Vizena has welcomed me, inspected my wares and asked me some questions, just as expected. I didn''t perceive any of the telltale signs that she''d guessed I was a monk.¡± The helper returned with the chair. She took it and stepped onto the platform around the well, then planted it down outside of the semi-circle, forcing half of the priors to turn around completely in order to look at her. ¡°I only started asking questions after three days in a local inn. The observations up to that point hadn''t shown anything anomalous. People were going about their business, for the most part. I¡¯ve noticed that most of them tensed and adopted a more formal demeanor when Vizena addressed them, but I¡¯ve seen it happen with other gods.¡± Saia thought back at her life at Suimer: she remembered being tense all the time, and it got worse as she grew up and her life became bigger, with more things for Vizena to control. Knowing all of that was invisible to a scholar specialized in reading feelings was jarring, even if she knew that every inhabitant¡¯s effort, all the time, was focused on hiding their true feelings, for fear that the goddess would find out what they actually thought. ¡°The second phase was interacting with people. I expected it to be particularly difficult, if Vizena was so focused on not letting any outsider know about what she was doing. On the contrary, people were extremely friendly with me. It was easy to talk to them and they answered my questions without hesitation. They also had a positive opinion of Vizena, and from what I could see it was genuine.¡± Saia felt the need to get up and explain how the goddess managed to keep up appearances with foreigners, how good she was at it, but she remembered Maris¡¯s threat and the promise she''d made to Rabam. She could only clamp her hands together and hope that Riena was good enough at her job to understand everything by herself. ¡°I decided to stay a bit longer and see if it was a ruse or their opinions were genuine. When I communicated to the goddess my intention to stay, she was fairly welcoming. I roamed around the village, observing the houses and inhabitants. It was then that I realized the people I had talked to were mostly unconnected to the rest of the population.¡± ¡°Elaborate, please,¡± Maris said. ¡°I saw them around, talking to each other. They tried to start a conversation with me too, every time they met me, but never with other people. The interactions with the rest of the inhabitants were brief and limited to buying products and asking for simple information.¡± ¡°So they were a separate group?¡± a helper prior asked. ¡°Exactly. The general population avoided them, and they only interacted with me and other foreigners. And each other.¡± ¡°And the goddess,¡± the abbot said. Riena nodded. ¡°It was more difficult to witness, because they were more relaxed than the rest when communicating with her. But they did, there''s no doubt about it. More regularly than the other inhabitants.¡± Saia relaxed her shoulders. She had understood. ¡°So they''re guards? Spies?¡± ¡°That''s what I thought, at first. But they didn''t behave as guards, they genuinely thought there was nothing wrong with the village and they didn''t do anything unusual, except talking to foreigners.¡± ¡°So who are they?¡± Maris asked, arms crossed. ¡°People she has instructed to make her look good?¡± ¡°Something like that, but you''re forgetting the part where their feelings are genuine. No, I think she has simply treated them differently from the rest. Better, in some ways. And since they are loyal to her, they''re more likely to listen without causing problems when she asks them to talk to some foreigner.¡± Saia nodded. There were some details missing, but Riena had understood the big picture. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. ¡°This fact alone proved to me that Vizena was hiding something,¡± she continued. ¡°And since she was trying so hard to prevent me from speaking to the rest of the inhabitants, I tried to do exactly that. I approached a couple of them, but both times they ended the conversation immediately, pretending to be busy. The third time I was successful.¡± She paused, looking at the abbot. He sighed. ¡°This is the part I won''t like, right?¡± Riena nodded. ¡°I found two women talking to each other, neither of them part of the cover-up group. They were so focused on the conversation that they didn''t see me approach, or I''m sure they would have left before I could get too close. I pretended to fall and grabbed the hand of one of them. I influenced her energies the minimum amount necessary to convince her to trust me.¡± ¡°You should have asked for permission,¡± Maris said. ¡°There wasn''t time, and frankly, I would have done it even if you had refused.¡± ¡°You''re not above the rules, Riena.¡± ¡°I am until you find someone that can do my job half as good as I can.¡± The abbot raised his hands, palms open. ¡°We''ll discuss it later. Go on, Riena, please.¡± ¡°Thanks to this trick, I managed to talk to her for a bit longer. I pretended to be sorry and asked her about the village in general. She became less and less spontaneous the more we talked. Her speech slowed down and she paused a lot, as if someone was suggesting to her what to say.¡± ¡°What kind of questions were you asking?¡± a prior of the helpers asked. ¡°Simple information about the village. What were the best stalls at the market, the best dishes... Nothing about the goddess, in any case. But it was clear it was her suggesting the answers.¡± Saia wished to know the name of that woman, to grasp that faint connection to a person she probably knew, at least from afar. But she couldn''t ask, and the conversation was already moving on. ¡°In the end, I let her go. I didn''t need the answers anymore, because I already had the final proof that Vizena mentally abused the people of Suimer.¡± She tilted her head to look at the abbot. ¡°You won''t like this either.¡± He made a resigned gesture with his hand, inviting her to go on. ¡°I had the chance to lightly touch her arm again during the conversation. This time, I focused on reading her viss more than influencing it.¡± Maris leaned forward as if to say something, but a glance from the abbot stopped them. ¡°It''s difficult to explain what I found to someone who doesn¡¯t specialize in reading viss to a high enough level, but emotions can linger in the body for a long time after being triggered, even if the person doesn''t feel them anymore. They get replaced over time by other imprints, until there are no traces left. Well, this woman... She had fresh fear on the surface, which made sense, considering she''d just talked to her goddess. So I went deeper, and I found layers and layers of old fears that influenced all the other emotions. There wasn''t a single speck of viss that didn''t also contain some fear, even if minimal.¡± Saia closed her eyes. She had feared that Riena wouldn''t have found anything to the point that she hadn''t anticipated what a decisive proof could look like. She tried to focus on the conversation and not on the question that was knocking on the inside of her head: how much of that fear had been her fault? ¡°One person doesn''t prove anything,¡± said the prior who had calculated how much energy was left inside Vizena¡¯s sphere. ¡°No, I know. I went to the market after that conversation in order to have access to a bigger number of people without occasional touches being too suspect. Everyone I came in contact with had a similar amount of accumulated fear, regardless of age. Except for the people in the cover-up group, who had normal levels of residual fear, and obviously foreigners.¡± Riena stopped talking, hands one over the other on her crossed legs. Saia tensed, paying close attention to the glances the abbot was exchanging with the priors. ¡°We have to punish her. Harshly,¡± Maris said. ¡°We have already decided on a course of action," another prior of the sentinels said. Maris didn''t answer, lowering their eyes instead. ¡°We''ll send a warning,¡± the abbot said. ¡°Wait two weeks, send Riena again, then re-evaluate. If the situation won''t have improved by then, we''ll remove two years of her life and continue until she obeys.¡± Saia was standing before he had finished the sentence. Maris¡¯s eyes darted on her, followed by the abbot''s. She raised a hand, showing the red stone in her palm. ¡°Five minutes,¡± Laius warned, then nodded in her direction. She thought about what to say while the helpers with the bag and the hourglass crossed the room toward her. She could insist that it wasn''t enough, that the only way to save her village was to remove Vizena entirely. But they hadn''t even listened to Maris when they had outright stated it, and they were a prior. If she wanted to convince them, she had to find a better argument. She almost sighed out loud, despite all of the eyes pointed at her. She needed Aili, even if all she said was to wait. Her thoughts went to the day she left, and there she found the answer she needed. ¡°What you''re asking is a sacrifice,¡± she began, trying not to glance at the hourglass too often. ¡°You¡¯re asking the people of my village to suffer longer because you don''t want to waste the power of a goddess that should not be a deity anymore. You''ll let them suffer because your rules don''t cover this kind of situation, because despite all of your sentinels and controls you never thought to check that they were actually happy, or at least not miserable.¡± She glanced at the monks sitting around her, looking for a friendly face. They were all listening to her intently. She remembered the parts of her speech that she hadn¡¯t had time to use and mixed them with the feelings that were swelling up in her chest. ¡°The people down there don''t know that you exist, that things will get better in the next months, provided Vizena won''t find a way to deceive you again. You''re asking this sacrifice knowing that they would never agree, because you wouldn''t either. This village was built here specifically because you feared that a bad god could take control, and yet you don''t see how important it is to remove an actually abusive goddess from her position. You don''t want to waste the energy inside that sphere, but it was already wasted the second you allowed that ratbrain to become a goddess.¡± She stopped to take a deep breath and glanced at the hourglass: her time was almost over. ¡°This whole situation was your mistake. I can maybe excuse the fact that you didn''t know, even if you had everything you needed to do a better job and failed anyway. But letting her stay after you have proof of what she''s done isn''t a mistake anymore. It means that you want her to stay there and keep doing what she''s done.¡± The abbot lightly shook his head. ¡°It''s not what you want?¡± Saia interpreted. ¡°Then show it. Show that you actually believe in the mission you have chosen for yourselves.¡± Her time was over. She wanted to say more, but Maris was already glaring at her and she didn''t want to lose her spot among the sentinels. She was about to sit down, when the abbot spoke. ¡°What do you suggest we do? Five minutes.¡± The helper with the hourglass promptly turned it. ¡°It''s not my job to make this decision,¡± Saia said, glaring at Laius. ¡°But whatever you do, remove her. You can handle her village like you''re doing with Lausune, and choose a better substitute at the trials. Whoever comes second or something, just make sure they''re not like her.¡± There was still time, but she had already answered the question and didn''t want to anger Maris by going off-topic, so she sat down next to Gaila. ¡°What do you think of this proposal?¡± the abbot said looking at the priors, his tone vaguely exasperated. ¡°We must remove her,¡± Maris said, without the force of their previous declaration, as if they didn''t expect anyone to listen to them. ¡°With so much viss at stake, it should be our last resort,¡± said the prior who had made the calculations. ¡°I suggest we go on with our decision.¡± ¡°Taking away two years isn''t enough,¡± the other prior of the scholars said. ¡°We should go back to three, at the very least.¡± ¡°Let''s also keep in mind that Daira isn''t here,¡± a prior of the helpers said. ¡°We shouldn''t change our decision so drastically with a prior missing.¡± ¡°We''re also ignoring the fact that removing her without cracking her is close to impossible,¡± Rades said. ¡°It would put us in danger if she gets awakened at some point. If we were to remove her, it would still require time and a lot of planning.¡± He looked in Saia''s direction, as if he was explaining that to her specifically. She wanted to scream that they could find a solution in two days if they put effort into it, if they considered saving Suimer a priority at all. But she kept silent. ¡°So it''s decided,¡± the abbot said. ¡°We''ll take away three years immediately, and then after each reassessment, until the situation drastically improves.¡± The votes were all in favor. Saia thought about the plan. She needed to breed more snakes, in case someone tried to stop her. 2.16 - Buffet Aili lingered in Daira''s proximity, watching all the four entrances to the square in front of the post office. The people of Lausune were mingling and eating the food from the tables. None of them seemed to notice that the monks either weren''t eating or held the servings between their fingers for a long time before taking the first bite. ¡°I think we waited long enough,¡± she heard Daira say to another monk. ¡°Bring me the list of inhabitants, let''s check who''s missing.¡± Dan, Aili''s mind screamed. He had to be the one hiding Zeles¡¯s sphere. First, he had kept away from the monks even when his brother had started to trust them. Second, he asked about Saia every single time he talked to Aili. Third, he was the only one who didn''t show up at the free buffet organized by the monks. She breathed deeply, remembering the centering techniques Daira had taught her. She stepped forward to take a piece of cream cake from a trail, paying attention not to brush against the monks. She could pass a brief inspection, but an expert viss reader or a longer examination would have revealed her anxiety. She stepped back, closer to Daira now, holding the cake between two fingers. The cream was filled with the viss of the monk who had baked it. She started to send her own energy forward, in order to erase its influence. It was a bit awkward, standing there with an intact piece of cake in her hand, the honey topping slowly leaking down toward her fingers, but she had to make sure that any external influence had disappeared before eating. If she didn¡¯t, she would have felt the urge to lay down and fall asleep as soon as the buffet was over, as it would have happened to every inhabitant of the village who had participated. Forcing everyone to fall asleep and searching their houses and bags thoroughly was the second part of the monks'' plan, in case the first didn''t work: checking whether someone hadn''t accepted the offering of free food. Thanks to the influence the monks already had on Lausune¡¯s inhabitants, there were slim chances of someone refusing, unless they had something to hide. The monk returned and gave Daira three sheets of recycled paper. ¡°Aili,¡± she called. ¡°I need your help.¡± She ate the piece of cake whole to quiet the pang of anxiety and approached the two monks. ¡°I''ll read the names, you''ll tell me whether you see them here.¡± Aili nodded. She frantically searched for Dan''s name on the list, but it wasn''t on the first page. ¡°First one is¡­¡± She squinted to read the calligraphy. ¡°There,¡± Aili pointed, anticipating her. Daira nodded, crossing out the name. They kept going, walking along the square''s perimeter when Aili couldn''t immediately find the person. ¡°Dan Lauhas?¡± Aili pretended to look for him in the crowd, ignoring the heart pounding faster and faster in her chest. ¡°I don''t see him, let''s circle around.¡± She moved slowly, eyes tracing a confused line across the crowd. She didn''t know what to do, whether he was there or not. ¡°You don''t see him?¡± Daira asked. ¡°I thought I saw him before...¡± ¡°Have you seen him eat?¡± Aili shook her head. Daira propped the sheets against the closed door of the building behind them and circled Dan''s name with a piece of graphite. ¡°There''s another person with his family name. Mor¨¬c?¡± ¡°His brother. There.¡± Aili pointed at him: he was well dressed, with dark makeup around his eyes, laughing and drinking grapefruit juice with a young woman roughly his age, seemingly unfazed by his brother''s absence. ¡°Are there other family members?¡± ¡°No, they live alone.¡± ¡°We should send someone to control their house now. If he''s hiding Zeles, he probably has already taken precautions.¡± She gestured to a group of monks near the buffet. They abandoned the food and approached them. Aili could feel herself thinking less and less clearly the more her heart accelerated. ¡°Dan is just a kid,¡± she said. ¡°He and his brother are not very well-off. Maybe he has found the sphere and just thought it was something of value, that''s why he fears you might take it away from him.¡± ¡°Maybe, but if he''s that young, it''s even more important that we act quickly. If he awakens Zeles by mistake, it could be a disaster.¡± ¡°Let me talk to him, first. He knows me, maybe I can convince him to give up the sphere without scaring him too much.¡± Daira nodded. The monks, three in total, were waiting for her order. ¡°There''s a chance we have found who has Zeles. Follow Aili, she''ll try to convince him to give us the sphere. If she fails, be ready to step in.¡± Their attention switched to Aili. She turned and started walking, her head in a haze. She felt the urge to laugh: it was a nice spring evening, there wasn''t a single cloud in the sky, and they were marching across the village to face off a teen and the kindest god in the world as if it was a matter of life or death. She clasped a hand to her mouth and breathed deeply. Saia would have known what to do, even if it meant wielding venomous sea snakes in the face of her enemies. At least, she knew what Saia would have wanted: protect Dan and Zeles at any cost, even if it meant betraying Daira and giving up any chance to participate in the trials. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. They reached his house. There was no light inside, and almost no movement. She put as much distance as she could between her and the other monks, smiling at the window from which Dan was observing their approach, hidden by the curtains. She lightly knocked on the door. ¡°Dan,¡± she called. ¡°I need to talk to you.¡± There was no sound inside. ¡°It''s either me or one of the other monks.¡± She glanced back at them: they were a few steps away, but quickly approaching. ¡°I want to help Saia too,¡± she said, lowering her voice in the hope Dan was behind the door. ¡°He''s not answering?¡± a monk asked. ¡°Give him time.¡± ¡°If he wakes up the god, he could kill us,¡± he replied, urgency in his voice. ¡°And the ones of us who survive will be stuck here forever. They won''t take us back.¡± Aili nodded in acknowledgement and returned her attention to the door. She pressed hands and forehead against it, thinking. She had to give Dan a sign she was on Saia''s side, but without giving away her involvement. ¡°I know that you have the sphere. It''s important, even if not precious in the traditional sense of the word. It''s... It¡¯s like snake eggs.¡± It sounded so absurd she felt the need to laugh again. She pressed the forehead harder against the wood. ¡°Look, if you don''t talk to me now they''ll get the information in other ways, and someone might get implied. I have friends waiting for me, and I want to go back with good news for them.¡± She bit her lip and resisted the urge to glance back at the other monks to gauge how much they had understood. She heard a metallic sound at lock¡¯s height and stepped back. The door opened a smidge, a chain keeping it connected to the wall. A portion of Dan''s face was visible through the gap. He looked up at Aili. ¡°I don''t have a sphere.¡± Aili tried her best to smile reassuringly. ¡°Can I enter?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°We could just break the windows, if you prefer,¡± another monk said with his booming voice. He retracted a bit at that. Aili briefly considered reaching through the opening to touch his arm and manipulate him into trusting her, but immediately rejected the idea. Even if she had no intention of winning the trials, it felt like the first step to become exactly like Vizena. ¡°Dan, I''m not your enemy. I''m not her enemy either.¡± He stared at her, then unhooked the chain and grasped Aili''s hand. He pulled her inside, with not enough strength to actually oppose her in case she didn''t want to enter, but she followed him without struggling. He closed the door immediately and put the chain firmly in place. Aili blinked, looking around in the dark room. She could only distinguish weird shapes everywhere, as if the furniture was covered by a thick coat that connected chairs to tables to floor. All the windows were closed, except for the one from which Dan had been spying outside. There was no source of light the sentinels could use to see inside. ¡°I know Saia gave you a sphere before leaving,¡± Aili whispered. ¡°Speak louder,¡± one of the monks yelled. ¡°We can''t hear you.¡± Aili sighed. ¡°I''m asking him where is the sphere,¡± she said out loud. ¡°He''s not holding it, so there''s no danger for now.¡± ¡°Alright, but we''re entering in five minutes if he doesn''t tell you where it is.¡± Dan took something from his pocket, and Aili saw the glint of a kitchen knife. He held it by his side, point down. He didn''t seem ready to actually wield it. ¡°What do I do?¡± he asked Aili, eyes wide and defeated. ¡°I should have gone to the buffet, but I was scared.¡± ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Aili said, eyes scouring the room. She needed to keep the sphere safe, but there wasn''t a single place in Lausune where the monks wouldn''t have looked that night. The sentinels would have kept guard from above, in case the shining body of the god made its appearance, and the village''s territory wasn''t that big to begin with. She needed to divert their attention. ¡°I have a plan, but you might not like it.¡± ¡°What plan?¡± ¡°You''ll tell them that you sold the sphere to a merchant from...¡± She thought about the villages. Whatever one she would have chosen, its deity would have been implied in Zeles¡¯s disappearance. The monks would have probably shut them down and searched the village too, and it wouldn''t have required long for them to find out that Dan had been lying. If she wanted to keep them busy, she needed to make them freak out. ¡°Dore. I mean, Tilau, Dore''s village. It''s the only one that''s connected to the external forest, and Dore is the only thing preventing people to leave. This will make them consider the idea that someone might take the sphere away from the mountain at any moment with Dore''s complicity, and they''ll make it their priority to search for it there.¡± ¡°I... Don''t understand. They¡¯ll look for the sphere somewhere else?¡± ¡°Exactly. But they''ll also search the houses here, so you''ll have to give me the sphere.¡± She had expected him to be reluctant, but it still hurt when he stepped back, clutching the knife tighter. ¡°No. I know you live with them. You trust them.¡± He had raised his voice, and immediately from the door came two strong knocks. ¡°Aili?¡± ¡°Everything''s fine,¡± she yelled, then lowered her voice: ¡°They''d never think of looking for the sphere on a monk. And I can move freely inside the village, while you and the other inhabitants are being closely watched.¡± He lowered his eyes. ¡°They have a way of influencing people to gain their trust,¡± Aili added. ¡°I can protect you from that.¡± ¡°Saia told me to keep it safe.¡± ¡°I''ll tell her that you did your best, and succeeded.¡± Dan looked up at her, then nodded and ran into an adjacent room. He returned with something in his arms and kneeled to lower it onto the floor. ¡°My brother made three copies of this carpet,¡± he explained as he unwrapped it. ¡°When the monks came here to examine the house, they didn''t check inside this carpet because they thought they had already opened it, but the first one was just an empty copy.¡± ¡°That''s smart,¡± Aili commented, kneeling in front of him. The blue light started to light up the room even when the sphere was still mostly covered by the carpet. ¡°Wait, stop¡±, she whispered, opening her messenger bag. ¡°Put it here.¡± Dan raised the carpet and carefully let the sphere fall into the bag. Aili quickly covered it with a clean handkerchief and closed it. She turned it around to make sure that the blue light wasn''t visible from the outside. ¡°Are you still there?¡± the monk asked. ¡°We''re coming in.¡± ¡°Yes. Wait.¡± Aili touched Dan''s forehead with the palm of her hand. He jumped a bit at that, but didn''t retract. She felt the familiar buzz of energies in both of their bodies. She looked for his distrust and reluctance and amplified it. ¡°Remember the lie,¡± she said while she manipulated his emotions. ¡°You sold the sphere to a merchant from Tilau, long before the monks came here. If they touch you like I''m doing, pretend you start to trust them or they will undo the protection. It will disappear once I go to sleep, so keep away from them at night and come to greet me every morning at the post office.¡± He nodded. Aili mixed the traces of emotions together, fear and anger with a touch of calm happiness, making it more difficult to understand whether he was lying or not. She retracted her hand when a loud bang came from the window. She stood and opened the door. ¡°Bad news,¡± she said before the monks on the other side could ask her anything. The one who had tried to break the window stopped mid-kick and lowered her leg. Aili lightly pushed Dan forward. She noticed too late that he was still holding the knife with two hands, close to his chest, looking like he wanted to find comfort rather than attack someone. ¡°Where''s the sphere?¡± the monk with the booming voice asked. He put his giant palm on top of Dan''s hands, preventing him to move the knife while also gaining access to his emotions. Dan managed to repeat the lie in a convincing way. He added details while he talked, pretending to relax a bit the more he spoke, even if his voice was still trembling. In the meantime, the other two monks went inside. Judging by the clang of kitchenware and the noise of moving furniture they were inspecting every corner of the house. Aili witnessed Dan''s interrogation, clutching the strap of her bag, ready to interfere in case he said the wrong thing or hesitated too much. But it wasn''t necessary: at the end of the inspection, all three monks were alarmed and impatient to go back. Aili pretended to be just as scared and led them back to the buffet, in equal part proud and guilty of having saved her god. 2.17 - Descending the mountain ¡°Remember what I''ve told you: only enter the village when it''s dark, don''t use lights, cover your face once you''re down there.¡± ¡°Yeah, I remember.¡± Saia followed with her finger the black line traced across the map. ¡°I hope I won''t miss the signs when I come back. I don''t think I''ll be able to see the dots.¡± ¡°Then look out for neatly cut branches, circles of leaves,¡± Rabam listed, ¡°White stones, exposed roots with a red stripe. Just be extra careful in this point.¡± He leaned forward on the chair to point out a small area on the map that she was holding on her knees. ¡°And this one. A lot of paths cross in these two points, you''ll risk choosing the wrong one and getting spotted.¡± Saia circled the two areas with a piece of graphite. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Please come back safely. Do you already have a plan for when you''re here?¡± ¡°It''s my free day, but I have a turn at six here.¡± She pointed at one of the sentinel posts scribbled on the map. ¡°I''ll get there from this direction, so the other sentinels will think I came from the village.¡± ¡°Are you sure you''ll be there in time?¡± Saia sighed, leaning back on the chair. The striking blue-green of the lake did nothing to calm her nerves. ¡°I don''t know. I have to get to Lausune, convince a friend to come with me, go back along this trail,¡± she pointed at another line, ¡°Descend toward Suimer, deal with Vizena and come back in time. Almost impossible, but I''m trying not to think about it too much.¡± Rabam nodded, lowering his eyes. ¡°If it''s of any consolation,¡± Saia said. ¡°If I fail the monks will most likely come back. Ask my friend Aili to help you with your plan, she''s a genius.¡± Rabam nodded again. ¡°I hope you succeed and make it back.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Saia looked at him a bit longer before returning her eyes to the map. She hadn''t forgotten about what he¡¯d said on giving gods a worse punishment than death. She''d been on the point of asking multiple times that day, but she''d decided against it: as good as punishing Vizena would be, it was a responsibility she didn''t want. She''d have to do something, of course, in the remote chance her plan actually worked, but it was a decision she could take later, once her village was safe. She glanced at the sun and got up with a sigh. ¡°Time to go. If you don''t hear from me in two days or so, assume the worst.¡± He got up too. ¡°It''s weird,¡± Rabam said. ¡°The other day you said you weren''t ready, and now you''re in a hurry.¡± ¡°They''re sending a group of monks to Suimer, today. When they¡¯ll take three years from Vizena, she''ll know I have something to do with it and I fear she''ll target my family and friends.¡± ¡°What if the monks see you there?¡± ¡°I don''t know. I was planning to use their visit as a distraction, if I time it right.¡± ¡°That''s... smart,¡± he said, looking to the side. Saia had the impression he wanted to say something else, like ''dangerous'', ¡®reckless¡¯, ''insane''. She agreed with all of that, so she didn''t comment. She rolled up the map and slipped it inside the bag, one end jutting out, ready to be consulted, the other against the scales of a sleeping snake. She had brought all of the six adults, she¡¯d have brought the newborns too hadn''t they been so small and hard to catch. She approached the beginning of the path, Rabam steps soft behind her. The sequence of black dots started on a tree and snaked down the side of the mountain. ¡°See you soon, then,¡± Rabam said, holding out a hand. Saia hesitated, then briefly touched it. She felt a flux of calmness that momentarily relaxed her tense muscles. She smiled at him, then turned and started walking along the trail in the trees. According to Rabam, in the first part of the path the foliage was dense enough that she needed to do little else besides following the dots and paying attention not to slip on some lichen-covered rock. She thought ahead at what she had to do: go to Dan''s house and take Zeles, find a spot hidden enough to have a conversation with him, hopefully convince him to help her. She remembered with a pang of guilt the circumstances in which she had left him, how angry and disappointed he was, how defeated. There was still the risk he would go to the monks as soon as she awakened him, to be killed at the end of the trials. Even in the remote chance he accepted and they won, she had nothing to offer that would fix the situation: the monks would keep looking for him, he would lose more and more viss until he dissolved. She had tried to find a solution, mainly by looking for a way to take the energy from Vizena without her permission. She had visited the library for the first time after Aili had left, looking for information on the ritual the monks would have used to remove three years of her life. It required multiple people expert in energy manipulation, and apparently the viss that was extracted that way dissolved immediately. The book had explained the concept by making a comparison with the way some lichens attached to rocks: you could try to pry them away, but the sheer strength required would tear them apart, leaving you with a lot of smaller pieces that, in terms of energy, would dissolve before any attempt could be made to gather them. She''d also thought about convincing Vizena to give Zeles her energy, even using a manipulation if she got the chance, but dealing with her would have been difficult enough without having to think about that on top of everything else. She reached a point where the vegetation was more sparse. The path split up into four branches, two of which would force her to cross a stretch of grass without cover, while the other two went in completely opposite directions. She unrolled the map and checked the gray line before heading to the left. She followed the trail of dots until the trees gave way to a huge boulder. Saia crouched behind it, even if it was high enough to hide her while she was standing. She took note of its position and surveyed the area before moving on; she needed to remember the general shape of the areas she met, since the return trip would have been at the first lights of dawn. She reached the first area circled in pencil on the map. It just seemed a random spot in the woods, except for the dots on every other tree, each starting a different path. There were also other signs to distinguish trail from terrain, like a circle of green leaves pinned to the ground by small wooden sticks and a series of three white stones. Some of those signs had been laid down by the monks, some by Rabam each time he had to cross an uncharted part of the forest. She consulted the map once again, trying to distinguish which direction was the one she needed. She marked the way from which she came by carving an arrow at the base of a tree with a knife she had taken from the kitchen. She stepped around the area, careful to never stray too far, and watched her steps closely for fear of moving or ruining a sign. She was surprised to find that some of them were already ruined, like a white stone overturned and a branch broken in half. There were prints on the terrain. She remembered the boar and froze on the spot, looking around for a trace of movement. She couldn¡¯t find any, and besides she couldn''t tell whether the prints were fresh or not. She continued her survey of the area, glancing over her shoulder every once in a while. She found the trail she needed with the help of the tips and descriptions that were jotted down on the back of the map. She followed a steep trail, grabbing at the lowest branches of the trees to keep her balance. The second difficult point took her even more time to figure out, since about two hours had passed and there was almost no light left. Lausune was very close, so she wrapped a green shawl around her lower face. She found the beginning of the trail she planned to follow later that night to reach Suimer without having to cross Dore''s territory. She cut an arrow in the trunk of the closest tree and started her descent along the path that connected that spot to Zeles¡¯s village. She spotted the line of white stones arching amid the trees and stopped before crossing it. She turned to look up at the mountain, to make sure that she was entering the right village, then took a deep breath and crossed the border. Even if she knew it was impossible, part of her mind expected to hear Koidan speak at any moment. She walked through the last stretch of forest, following the only trail that got close enough to the back of the temple. She stopped before leaving the cover of the trees and sat down next to the biggest one she could find, watching the sunset and, as much as possible with the temple blocking part of her view, the movements of the people inside the village. There was a small crowd at the docks, like every evening, and another near the post office. Some groups were walking around in the right part of the village, where Mor¨¬c and Dan''s house was, but she couldn''t distinguish the inhabitants from the monks. She waited until the sun was barely touching the horizon before moving. She followed a wide curve around the temple to avoid the perpetually burning torches planted around the perimeter that prevented the spheres from leaving at night without anyone noticing. Aili had told her that the temple was also built in a way that made moving or destroying the stones at the base impossible without damaging the structure in a way that tipped the monks off on what was happening. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. She descended along the only path that led to the building. The sentinels couldn''t see her well enough to know who she was, unless for some reason she looked up at the mountain with a torch in front of her. She still had to avoid the monks, since some of them knew who she was. Covering her lower face could seem suspicious, but she couldn¡¯t risk being recognized by the inhabitants. She mingled with the passersby, following one of the main roads, then turned left, cutting through any spot of grass she could find in order to avoid people. She noticed three monks in the general area of Mor¨¬c and Dan''s house, so she traced a wide circle to approach from the rear. There were two windows on that side: the kitchen and Dan''s room. She knocked on the latter, then hid by pressing her back against the wall to the side, in case the person fumbling with the window''s handle wasn''t actually Dan. He opened the window a bit, keeping the two sides close enough to be slammed shut at the first sign of attack. ¡°Dan, it¡¯s me.¡± He jumped, of course, in seeing the dark shadow next to him and hearing that unexpected voice. ¡°Saia?¡± was his incredulous answer. ¡°Yep, that''s me.¡± She stepped closer. He looked at her in the dark, then went inside for a second, leaving the window open. He returned with a candle, shielding the flame as he slowly set it down on the windowsill. He smiled. ¡°Where have you been? Did they hurt you?¡± ¡°What?¡± Saia let out a short laugh. ¡°The monks? No, I''ve just been living with them for a while.¡± He frowned a bit, looking at her tunic. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you come back with Aili?¡± ¡°Their rules are very strict. Especially when it comes to who can come down here and who has to stay at...¡± She stopped herself in time. Dan perked up. ¡°Where?¡± Saia sighed. ¡°I can''t tell you. They could easily find out you have this information.¡± ¡°Aili is protecting me!¡± he said, voice suddenly higher. Saia shushed him. ¡°I shouldn''t be here and there are monks everywhere.¡± He nodded. ¡°Everybody here trusts them,¡± he continued. ¡°Even my brother. But I don''t, because Aili did something to me and now they can''t control my thoughts.¡± ¡°So you still have the sphere? Is it safe?¡± His shoulders curved a bit. ¡°I''m pretty sure it is, but I don''t have it.¡± Saia fought the surge of panic by telling herself that it made sense: the monks had likely checked inside the houses and Dan had to hide Zeles somewhere. ¡°Where can I find it?¡± ¡°I gave it to Aili.¡± ¡°What?¡± Dan explained how the monks had realized he was hiding the sphere, how Aili had saved him and told him to lie about the merchant and Dore''s involvement. ¡°And where is she now?¡± ¡°Most of the time, in Dore''s territory. She comes back every few days.¡± ¡°Is she here now?¡± ¡°I don''t know. She told me to stay away from the monks because she can''t protect me every morning as she did before.¡± Saia extended a hand. ¡°Can I?¡± Dan nodded and pressed his forehead against her palm, clearly familiar with the gesture. Saia found the traces of Aili''s work all over his energies and strengthened it as best as she could. ¡°Done.¡± She retracted her hand. ¡°It should last you at least until tomorrow morning, then I think I¡¯ll sleep.¡± He smiled. ¡°Thank you. How does it work?¡± ¡°I really wish I could give you an explanation, but I don''t have time right now.¡± She noticed a water bottle on the corner of the windowsill. It had the exact shape of the ones that the monks had on the mountain. ¡°They don¡¯t want us to use the wells,¡± Dan explained, following her gaze. ¡°They distribute the water instead. I don¡¯t know why.¡± Saia nodded. She propped an elbow against the windowsill and looked back at the dark silhouette of the mountain, thinking of what to do next. The post office and the area around it, including Aili''s house, was filled with monks. Even in the off-chance she got there safely, found Aili and managed to communicate with her, handling the sphere would have been too dangerous. She could only hope Aili knew what she was doing. ¡°How long ago did she leave?¡± she asked. ¡°About four days, I think.¡± Which meant that Dore had probably been deactivated, and the only reason nobody knew was because the priors would officially announce it on fourthday, in case the situation wasn¡¯t solved by then. Even if it was tempting to cross into Dore''s territory and from there into Vizena¡¯s, without wasting time with the deviation, she couldn''t hope to accomplish anything without Zeles. ¡°I have to go back,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°So soon?¡± ¡°I had some things to do, but I can''t without the sphere.¡± Dan leaned forward on the windowsill, just like Saia did when she was a kid. ¡°Why?¡± he asked. ¡°What is it?¡± She tapped an index on his forehead. ¡°The monks, remember? I can''t tell you anything.¡± He slumped visibly, his mouth shut as if he was trying really hard not to protest. Saia remembered how much she hated when her parents didn''t explain anything, like why she had to train as a secret-keeper, and her joy when she finally found out the answer. ¡°I have to save my village from a dangerous situation. I might need your and your brother''s help to cross Dore''s territory without being stopped by the monks. I''ll tell you everything when I come back.¡± Dan nodded vigorously. Saia ruffled his hair and covered her lower face again with the shawl. ¡°Time to go. Be careful.¡± ¡°You too.¡± She walked away slowly until she heard the window close, then accelerated. She reached the temple and turned around to gauge how late into the night it was. The sunset was almost ending: she had about two hours of moderate to low light. She could wait until morning and go back near dawn, but she couldn''t fall asleep or the snakes would have been free to hurt her, given the chance. If she started to climb immediately, she''d have to wait for the morning in a spot closer to the village, with fewer worries about being found out. And even if she was tired, going up after five or more hours would have been worse. She checked the map one last time, then started up the path from which she had arrived. Going up required more time, but she didn''t stop as often: she remembered most of the landmarks, and the arrow she''d made on the trunk allowed her to proceed fast after the first difficult point. Moving quickly was becoming more and more of a necessity as the light faded from the sky, but at least the sentinels couldn''t spot her easily. Almost two hours later, she finally passed the second difficult point. She had just spotted the dark shape of her first landmark, the boulder on the side of the path, when a sound to her left made her freeze. It was a mixture of heavy, raspy breathing and shaken foliage. She remembered it from her first trip up the mountain: the boar. It was close, even if she couldn''t see its shape yet. Only indistinct movement, some of it caused by the wind through the bushes. She didn''t move, uncertain about what to do. The boar was clearly approaching, even if not in a straight line. She didn''t know much about that kind of creature, but remembered Aili¡¯s descriptions: they could smell pretty well, even find people or things if properly motivated and given a trace to follow. Which meant hiding was pointless, and obviously fighting too. She could probably make it fall asleep, but that would require getting close enough to touch it, and she refused to even entertain the idea. She opened the bag with trembling fingers to look for something useful. She saw some scales glisten in the dark and remembered the snakes. She extracted two of them and turned their heads toward the sky to better look at the dots she had painted on them to remember which scales belonged to them. She put on the glove that allowed her to control them. The breathing stopped for an instant, then resumed, mixed to squeaking grumpfs. Now it was closer, on the path behind Saia. She bent low and let one snake fall, then ran ahead and put down the second. She turned and jumped at the sight of the figure that was moving toward her. It lowered its head and slowed down, its body tensing in the way that preceded a charge. Saia woke up the snakes and started to run toward the boulder. She heard thumping and a screech, but didn''t stop until she was halfway up the rock, feet on the grooves along its side. She looked back, hoping to see the boar gone or bitten, but it was still moving, circling around the slithering shapes of the snakes. Saia climbed higher and sat at the top of the rock. She felt exposed, but it was too dark for the sentinels to see her. She could wait there until the boar was gone or, even better, until dawn. She watched the animal move around the area, entering and leaving the trees. She could hear the snakes hiss in distress but couldn''t see them anymore. She could only sit back and hope that they wouldn''t wander too far, and that their presence would deter the boar from staying in the area. Her head was pulsing from fear and fatigue. She scooted back on the flat top of the rock, so that dozing off wouldn''t immediately mean falling down. She observed the movements of the boar until it disappeared behind the trees, still close enough for his rasping to be heard. She opened the map on her knees and examined it until the dark was so deep she couldn''t see it anymore. Her mouth was dry from the long walk in the forest, the conversation with Dan and the unexpected meeting with the boar, so she reached out to take the water bottle from her bag. Except it wasn''t there: she had left it in her room to make space for more snakes. She waited in the dark, severely disappointed with herself. She realized a part of her had really hoped Vizena would have fallen that night, that she''d been back with her family before morning. She hugged her legs and looked at the tops of the trees, then focused her gaze on the narrow line of sea she could see in the distance. A thunder startled her. Rain started to pour down onto the mountain. Saia tilted her head backward and sighed. She mindlessly drank some drops of water, then remembered what Ebus had told her and closed her mouth. Still, she couldn''t help but think at when she was still in Lausune, periodically deactivating Zeles to preserve his energy. The monks didn''t know she was doing that, there wasn''t anyone to purify the water or distribute bottles, and yet nobody had had any visions. And even if Ebus and Haina were serious about not drinking unpurified water, Coram had seemed unconcerned about it. Maybe cloud people''s attacks weren''t that frequent, or maybe they were relegated in the past. She opened her mouth a bit, letting the rain in, at the same time raising her cupped hands in hope of catching enough drops. She had a feeling someone was sneaking up on her, so she turned to look back. There were figures in the rain, lights far away in the forest. The water was so good she gulped down the one in her hands. The light expanded, showing buildings of wood pressed one against the other, carpets swinging in front of doorways. It was day now, and people walked on stone roads on a barren terrain. There were humans, and other people who resembled humans but weren¡¯t. They were all walking except for one, a person staring at her in the middle of it all. She tried to focus on their face, but it changed and moved like water. ¡°This is the last message,¡± a voice said somewhere behind Saia. ¡°Then we will move¡­¡± The words after that were as confused as if they''d been said underwater. ¡° ... waiting for you there,¡± the voice continued, suddenly clear again. Saia''s vision tipped forward as if she''d just bent her head to look down. She saw the temple, the bay, and a line that connected the sea to the clouds. ¡°Bring it with you,¡± the voice said, and the vision started to dissolve. Saia gasped when the pouring rain hit her face. The temple she¡¯d seen was Vizena¡¯s, the bay was Suimer¡¯s. She''d seen her village. She opened her hands, releasing the drops of water gathered there. The cloud people had sent her that vision. They knew about her village, they wanted something from her, and she hadn''t understood what it was. She hugged her knees, then forced herself to breathe slowly, trying to recall Ebus''s exact words about cloud people: they sent visions to drive people crazy, to tip them against each other. They couldn''t attack her village because Vizena was still protecting it, the only reason she could feel a bit glad she was still in her place. The only thing she needed to do was forget about it all. Despite her resolution, she thought about the vision until morning, wide awake while the rain soaked her tunic. At the first lights of day, she climbed down and looked for the snakes, then went back to the village and her post, where her unsuspecting colleagues were waiting for her. 2.18 - Start of the trials Aili hid the sphere behind a big rock in Saia¡¯s cave, under a pile of algae and sand. She stepped around the pools, making sure that Zeles¡¯s light wasn''t visible from any spot. She was certain the monks wouldn''t have checked the cave again for a long time, since their efforts were focused on Tilau and the rest of Dore''s territory, frantically looking for a way to wake up the god and interrogate him. She walked back to the village at a brisk pace. Whatever they decided to do, it wasn''t her problem anymore: she¡¯d given her house to a couple of acquaintances and said her goodbyes to the rest. Daira was waiting for her on the first floor of the post office. ¡°Are you ready to leave?¡± she asked, excusing herself from a group of monks. Aili nodded. Daira glanced out of the window, at the buildings covered in shadows of the late afternoon. ¡°We might as well get going. We don''t have time restrictions anymore in this area, but it would still be nice to be up there before nighttime.¡± She gave her last orders, then departed with Aili and two other monks. Aili looked at the village as long as she could while they ascended along the twisting paths of the mountain. She couldn''t imagine Lausune without Zeles¡¯s protection. People would have talked to his successor without knowing they weren''t their Koidan, but a different person. And even if she and Saia could find a way to bring Zeles out of danger, it would have been close to impossible to put him back inside the statue. He wouldn''t have survived for long anyways. She became more and more anxious the closer they got to the village. The trials would start the next day at dawn and keep going until a successor was chosen. She really hoped they''d receive sustenance in case they lasted more than one day; choosing the candidate who endured longer without eating didn''t leave much space for testing character and morals. Daira slowed down to walk side by side with her. ¡°As a prior of the scholars, I¡¯ve been chosen to chair the trials. From the moment we enter the village, I won''t be able to answer your questions, so if you have any you should ask them now.¡± ¡°The winner can refuse, right?¡± Daira nodded. ¡°So who will take their place?¡± ¡°The second best.¡± ¡°And so on? Until someone accepts?¡± ¡°Yes. Usually among the first five. We never went further than that.¡± Aili looked down at the path. She could easily imagine someone like Vizena arriving third or fourth with a mix of luck and deception, with everyone ahead of her giving up, or being sabotaged, or pressured into giving up. Whatever happened at the trials, she had to be on the lookout for that kind of situation. ¡°How do you feel about being transformed into a sphere?¡± Daira asked. Aili glanced at her, then looked down at her own open hands. She remembered their conversation of two months before. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it a lot. I don''t like the idea of giving up my body, even if I can model the statue to look more or less like it. But being a goddess is a new experience, with a lot of responsibility. I could protect my village.¡± She closed her hands and looked at Daira again. ¡°I guess I''ll know the answer after the trials. I''m probably worrying for nothing.¡± Daira smiled and looked ahead. Aili had expected her to be at least a bit disappointed, after all the time spent training her, but her expression was relaxed. ¡°You''re not angry with me, right?¡± she asked. ¡°No, not at all. I''m a scholar, and this whole situation is an experiment. Whatever the result will be, I''ll learn a lot from it. And I''m hopeful: you already took a huge leap of faith once, joining the monks.¡± Aili nodded reluctantly. ¡°Only worry about what you think and feel,¡± Daira added. ¡°I¡¯ll be happy with any decision you make.¡± She lightly squeezed Aili''s shoulder, then approached the entrance of the village. Aili''s heart skipped a beat when she realized how close they were. When one of the sentinels approached to inspect her bag, she panicked before remembering that Zeles was safe. Daira disappeared inside, immediately surrounded by priors and scholars. Aili greeted the ones who had trained her during the first weeks at the village, performed the barely sufficient amount of small talk necessary, then left to look for Saia. She found her room and realized she didn''t know whether there was still a bed for her, for that night. She still knocked. There was no answer, but she heard a splash of water, which meant that Saia had tossed a snake back into the tank before approaching the door. She stepped back when it opened and stood there, smiling, until Saia''s face emerged, her eyes wide with surprise. The rest of her followed to envelop Aili in a hug and a laugh. ¡°You''re back!¡± Aili hugged her tight, trying to memorize the feeling of holding another human. It wouldn''t have been the same with a body of basalt. Not that deities ever hugged anyone. Saia let her go and smiled. ¡°Come in. I have to show you the snakes.¡± Aili followed her inside and closed the door. She was surprised to find her own bed seemingly untouched. Then she noticed the second tank. ¡°How many¡­¡± Saia laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve learned how to breed them. Separate tanks for adults and juveniles. This is the new one.¡± She tapped the side of the tank filled with ten small snakes. ¡°It''s a bit smaller. It took some convincing, but I had Ebus on my side and the glassmaker had time to spare after finishing the sphere.¡± Two snakes chose that moment to erupt in a fight, tangling their tails together and hissing, teeth bare. Saia smiled. ¡°And this is why your bed is empty. They gave me two roommates, but both left after a few days because they couldn''t stand the sounds.¡± Aili laughed. She tapped the glass of the smaller tank and marveled at how small the juveniles were. ¡°How was the trip?¡± Saia asked. Aili straightened with a sigh and let the bag fall onto the floor next to the bed. ¡°It went well, the tiring part was the two months before that. Do you know about Dore?¡± Saia nodded. ¡°They''ve been discussing it a lot at the debate.¡± Aili glanced at the door, then sat on the mattress and gestured for Saia to sit on the other bed. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°It was my fault,¡± she said, voice low. ¡°I did it to protect¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± Saia cut her off. ¡°Dan told me.¡± Aili frowned, then remembered the sudden spike in mood she could detect in Dan''s energies. ¡°It was about five weeks ago, right?¡± Saia looked surprised for a second. ¡°I think so, yes. I went down the mountain because I had a plan on how to get rid of Vizena and I needed Zeles. But you had it, so I decided to wait. It''s not there, right?¡± She pointed at the bag. ¡°No, it''s in the cave.¡± She pondered Saia''s words. ¡°A plan? So they didn''t punish her.¡± Saia retracted a bit, putting her back against the wall behind her bed. ¡°They did, but it''s not enough. And I fear that she might take revenge on my family, since I''m the only one that could have told the monks about her.¡± Aili nodded. ¡°You don''t agree,¡± Saia guessed, her tone conciliatory. ¡°I don''t know anymore. This situation isn''t easy. Participating in more debates will be pointless if they think that they have solved the situation. Maybe you could try asking for Daira''s opinion, since she wasn''t there?¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°She didn''t want to waste Vizena¡¯s viss either. I want to do this. I''m ready.¡± She glanced at the juveniles'' tank. ¡°Well, almost.¡± Aili followed her gaze. ¡°You''re going to use sea snakes against a goddess?¡± ¡°Not exactly. I''m going to put them into the bag and¡­¡± Aili raised her palms. ¡°Wait, don''t tell me anything.¡± ¡°Why? I need to know what you think.¡± ¡°I suspect the trials will involve some sort of high-level manipulation. I don''t want the monks to find out about your plan by reading my viss.¡± ¡°They can do that?¡± ¡°I don''t know. We¡¯ll talk about it when I come back.¡± ¡°Are you coming back?¡± Aili stared at her, then looked down at her hands. ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°Two months ago, you said that you had no intention of becoming a goddess.¡± ¡°And I still don''t. I just don''t want to rule out the possibility.¡± She closed her fists and looked Saia in the eyes. ¡°But I won''t be on their side. I still want to save Zeles. I still want to find out how they started all of this and what they''re hiding. And if you''ll need my help to save your village, I''ll be there. In one form or another.¡± She felt her stomach grumble. Saia smiled. ¡°Dinner?¡± Aili nodded. ¡°You''ll have to tell me everything about your sentinel training, you know that, right? And everything else that happened in these two months.¡± ¡°Even the apparently random criteria with which they establish turns? No one knows how it works, but according to the older sentinels there''s some logic behind that.¡± She smirked. ¡°I bet you can¡¯t find what it is.¡± Aili thought about the grid of holes full of painted stones and smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll see. Let¡¯s start with that.¡± The scholars'' priors guided the candidates into one of the empty classrooms. More scholars were aligned along the walls, paper and stationery in hand. Aili sat at one of the central desks and waited until everyone had settled. Only then the scholars walked between the desks, distributing sheets of surprisingly smooth paper and pieces of graphite. The first trial was a written text, as all the books Daira had made her learn almost by heart had indicated. There were just two assignments: ¡®Describe what a deity must do¡¯ and ¡®Describe what a deity must never do¡¯. She inhaled sharply to suffocate the pang of anxiety and started to write. She could feel the gaze of the scholars scattered across the room to prevent cheating. Still, the words poured out of her as if she were just listing groceries. After two hours, she submitted the test and sat down again. The scholars gathered everyone''s answers and left the room, leaving the candidates inside. She forced herself to relax against the back of the chair and breathe slowly. Chatter broke out all around her like water hitting a rock. ¡°How did it go?¡± a low voice to her right asked. She turned to look at the man at the next desk, two arms away. He was tall and scrawny, long brown hair tied in a braid on his shoulder. She''d seen him before in the dining hall. ¡°Well, I think. I just hope I remembered all of the rules regarding ships and how close they can get to the village.¡± He jokingly scoffed, his mustache hiding a smile. ¡°They''re useless, thanks to our local sea monster. You''ll be fine. Have you already thought about what you would do if you won?¡± Aili opened her mouth to answer, then realized that maybe he wasn''t a candidate at all and the question was part of the trials. Since the monks didn''t love anything more than tradition and keeping things safe and stable, there was only one correct answer. ¡°I think I''d keep everything more or less the same. Maybe establish a way for people to easily ask for help and exchange favors and money. But I''ll have to see how it''s going to be received by the population.¡± She hoped it was generic enough not to preclude anything. Her stomach dropped when the man produced a small smile veiled of disappointment. ¡°Zeles wasted too much energy, though. He didn''t have a strategy, he just acted when he felt it was necessary. He would have lasted longer with one.¡± Aili tilted her head. ¡°What do you mean by ''a strategy¡¯?¡± ¡°Take the current Dore, for example: he allows anyone to move into his village, but if you can''t buy a house you have to work for the whole community until you earn one. This way, Dore doesn''t waste his energy for menial stuff or on people who have no intention of staying in Tilau long term.¡± She thought about Saia''s experience in Dore''s village, the lack of privacy and the impossibility to truly mesh with the rest of the community. ¡°But isn''t the point of the whole system having the gods sacrifice their viss to let people live in peace?¡± He leaned back on his chair. ¡°Yes, but you also have to think about the mountain as a whole. Deities dying faster means more energy wasted. At some point, there won''t be any more viss to keep the system going.¡± ¡°Isn''t it a bit too early to think about that?¡± ¡°No. We have to find the perfect strategy before then.¡± Aili didn''t know whether she was expected to disagree with him and argue about the importance of tradition, or to come up with a strategy of her own on the spot. ¡°And which one would you use?¡± she asked, to gain more time to think. He brightened at that. ¡°There are a lot of possibilities. Reves and Naida have theorized that limiting access to communication with the deity increases the personal responsibility of the inhabitants. So, for example, only listening to prayers made a certain day or hour forces people to be more careful the rest of the time.¡± ¡°It seems cruel. What if someone gets badly injured?¡± ¡°There are exceptions, of course. It''s not a perfect system, but it works well enough.¡± Aili nodded, pretending to agree, and disengaged herself from the conversation by admiring the books on a shelf in the corner of the room. She was sure that man was a candidate, now, but the thought wasn''t comforting at all. She listened to the conversations around her and was surprised to find that a lot of them were talking about these alternative strategies, each one connected to the name of one or more scholar monks who had theorized them. She was ready to bet that none of them had been born in the nine villages. The door opened again. Daira was the first to enter, followed by the other scholars. She had a small piece of paper tucked in her hand. Aili tried to catch her gaze, but she never looked in her direction. ¡°I¡¯ll call some of you, now. If you hear your name, it means you haven''t passed the first trial. Please leave the room and wait in the temple with the rest of the assembly.¡± Aili clutched the border of her desk as Daira started reading. She wanted to see the rest of the trials, but apart from that, she didn''t know what to hope for. She didn''t want the man next to her to become the next Koidan. She wasn''t ready to sacrifice her body to avoid that. ¡°And that''s it.¡± Daira smiled, handing the piece of paper to another scholar. Aili looked around the room. The man next to her was still there, a wide smile on his face. There were two other women and a person in the back of the classroom she''d never seen before. None of them seemed as scared as she felt. ¡°Follow us,¡± Daira said. ¡°You''ll need to lay down for the next part. We might say that the actual trials are starting now.¡± Aili stood hesitantly. She filed out behind the others, through the now empty corridors of the village, into a room with too many beds. Five scholars positioned themselves at the head of a different bed each, leaving two empty ones between them. There were some chairs on the right side of the room, positioned around a low table. The remaining scholars sat down there. Only Daira stood with the candidates. ¡°Before proceeding, I need you to know and agree with what is about to happen.¡± Daira approached the table. There was a bottle on it, surrounded by five glasses. The liquid inside was transparent, but Aili didn''t believe it was water. ¡°Each one of you will lay on a bed. We''ll give you a dose of cloud water and put you to sleep.¡± She pointed at the bottle. ¡°For those of you who aren''t familiar, cloud water can create images and sensations in your mind, depending on the viss stored inside it. We can manipulate it further using the energies inside your body, thanks to the fact that your mind is already dreaming. After the new Koidan is chosen, the ones of you who didn¡¯t pass the trials will have to drink another dose, which will allow us to make you forget about the experience. Do you agree with this?¡± The other candidates agreed immediately, taking Aili by surprise. She had too many questions, but bit them back and nodded. ¡°One last thing: if you want the trial to end, blow out the candles. Good luck.¡± She pointed at the beds with a wide gesture of her arm. Aili chose the second one and sat down on it. She glanced at the scholar behind her: he was looking at the ceiling, focused, hands behind his back. Another scholar approached to give Aili the glass with her dose. She drank it slowly at first, expecting it to have some sort of taste. It didn¡¯t, so she finished it with a gulp and laid down. ¡°Close your eyes,¡± the scholar behind her said with a soft voice. She did, trying to relax despite her heart beating at an insane pace. She felt the light touch of fingers on her hair and forehead. She read her own viss and felt it slow down considerably, her body relaxing. She stopped reading for fear of interfering with the trials and let her mind wander, until her thoughts dissolved into fragments of memories and half-formed questions. 2.19 - End of the trials She woke up in a temple. It wasn''t Koidan¡¯s, but she could see details that reminded her of all the temples she¡¯d seen during her trips: Lausune¡¯s columns of gray marble, Namuri¡¯s green carpet, the pulpit of wood painted in gold from Erimur. The whole temple was sprawled in front of her, she was seeing the entire room at once: ceiling, floor, all of the windows, two people sitting on the benches along the wall. And her own body, a giant statue that vaguely resembled her. Once the initial shock had passed, she tried to move it. She saw the head of the statue turn, but her view didn¡¯t change. The body felt only marginally connected to her, as if she was moving it with two fingers and not inhabiting it. She knew she was inside it, a sphere of rotating light. She focused on the energies floating inside the sphere and felt a violent buzzing, a lot more intense than the one in a human body. It moved in patterns too complicated for her to understand. She observed the temple again. Maybe the key of the trial was in one of the two people sitting there. She focused on each one, an old man and a young woman, waiting for them to speak. They looked familiar, but she was sure she''d never seen them before. They only stared at the statue with a peaceful expression. Aili wondered whether they were expecting her to talk to them. She was trying to figure out how to produce sounds, when she heard someone screaming outside. She willed to see, to move her vision, and felt a slight push inside her mind. The view expanded, taking in the area around the temple, even if she could still see the inside. There were people near the trees behind the temple, running away from a charging boar. She focused on the energies running inside the animal''s body: she could feel them clearly, as if she was touching its skin directly. She tried to push her own viss into the animal, with the proper imprint to calm it down. The beast gradually stopped and stood there, looking at the people freaking out all around it. She needed to send it away, but didn''t know how. She knew from Daira''s lessons that every god had their own domain, the area on which they could act: it was a circle with the god¡¯s sphere for epicenter that at its maximum expansion could contain little more than a village. Small quantities of a deity¡¯s viss were floating around their domain as if it was a part of their body, and each god could use them to manipulate anything that was inside their territory. Problem was, she still needed to know the right patterns to influence the world around her. She couldn''t just will her viss to shoo the boar away, she had to move it in the right pattern to obtain a specific effect that could scare the beast, and Daira hadn''t taught her anything in that regard. The constant buzz of her viss was interrupting her thoughts. She wondered whether figuring out the patterns was part of the trials. And yet, she had instinctively known how to move the statue, how to see the world around her and how to expand her view, so maybe there were other patterns she subconsciously knew. She tried to remember what she''d seen the gods do during her trips around the villages. They moved stuff around using wind quite often, so maybe she could start with that. She focused on the boar and thought about a gust of wind powerful enough to make it run away. She paid attention to her viss, both the one inside her sphere and the one floating in her domain, so this time she didn''t miss the way the specks suspended in the air started reconfiguring themselves to follow a different movement. The wind appeared from nowhere, stronger than she had meant to, and the boar ran away amidst the cheers of the small crowd that had gathered around it. She widened her view, taking in more and more houses until she could perceive the whole village. She tried to expand further, but found it was impossible, so she focused on the people and buildings, trying to guess which one of the villages they actually came from. Before she could find any connections, she heard another scream. She focused on the area it came from and found a woman on the floor of her kitchen, holding a broken leg. Aili was frantically looking for a way to heal her, when the sky became dark, clouds converging from every direction. She kept part of her attention on the woman, moving her viss to encourage her body to heal itself, while the rest of her mind focused on possible attacks from above. She caught a harpoon in mid-air, but she couldn''t see which cloud shot it because a fire started in the area of the docks. In the midst of making sure the woman was healing, keeping watch on the clouds and extinguishing the fire, she barely noticed it was already night. After another attack from above and catching two people who had got stranded on a boat, it was afternoon again. She still didn¡¯t get enough time to examine her surroundings, because the carpenter injured his hand with a saw and an old man slipped, hurting his back. She dealt with them as quickly as she could and immediately began to observe every single house, splitting her attention time and time again in an effort of preventing the next problem. She caught a child falling from a chair before they could hit their head, felt another boar approaching and scared it away. Dealing with the cloud people before they could attack again took a few precious minutes of thinking, and it was night again when she acted, sending a huge gust of wind to disperse the clouds, strong enough to last for a while even after leaving her territory. She realized at that moment she could pay attention to multiple places at the same time, but she couldn¡¯t explore why, because a wave higher than usual threatened to take away a lamb and the girl running behind it. Incidents and disasters kept piling up without giving her time to think. If the life of a deity was as chaotic as the trials suggested, she didn''t want anything to do with it. Now she could see the sense in having a strategy like the ones the other candidates were talking about. The only thing that pushed her to go forward was wanting to know what came next, if there was anything at all. She''d just repelled the fifth attack from the clouds, when the sun slowed down. She tensed, dividing her attention even more. She felt her viss buzz and vibrate, a sensation even more distressing than a leaping heart. She checked the sea, the piece of forest inside her domain, the streets and every single house. When she finished, it was still just dawn. Time seemed to have gone back to normal. People were mostly sleeping, no one was ill or in danger, nothing was coming from outside the borders. She thought about the earthquake and looked for the trail of energy that connected her to the mountain. It didn''t look like it was about to crumble. She wondered if it was possible to withdraw her viss from the link that connected her to the mountain, then remembered that the monks were probably observing everything. If there was one thing she didn¡¯t want to do during the trials to become a god was to make the mountain crumble on purpose. The calm afternoon became a suspiciously pleasant evening. People were going about their business in a fairly realistic way, even if when she focused on their words she could only hear a jumble of sounds that only barely resembled language. Even their prayers in the temple were unintelligible, and everyone only reacted with a smile when she tried to talk to them, no matter what she said. She hoped that everyone''s inability to speak wasn¡¯t the next catastrophe she had to fix, because she had no idea of what to do about it. She waited for the night with growing unease. She could perceive the village clearly even in the darkness, but the growing shadows made everything more menacing, as if something terrible was about to happen. She waited, attention jumping from the clouds to the houses as the night rolled over everything. At midnight, she started to think that maybe the trial had become something different than protecting people from dangers, since there hadn''t been a single one in several hours. Probably the next task wasn¡¯t that obvious and she needed some time to find it. Maybe it was something more sophisticated, like a danger only an expert god would consider as such. It was also possible that she had already failed, or that the trials were over and the monks were waiting for the effects of cloud water to disappear before waking up the candidates. Maybe her scholar had made a mistake, maybe creating the next trial inside her mind required more time compared to the previous one. In any case, she had to find a way to spend the night without letting her guard down. Keeping peripheral parts of her attention focused on the village, she chose a street on the leftmost side of her territory. She put all of her efforts into perceiving her surroundings, without letting her perception enter houses or go beyond obstacles like walls or trees. She consciously shut off the parts of her vision that allowed her to see from every side at the same time, until what remained in her field of view was very similar to what she could see as a human being. Her gaze traveled far, just like a human¡¯s, allowing her to look at trees and rocks that were beyond her domain, even if she couldn¡¯t expand it further to examine them better. She moved her vision around, advancing slowly, trying to imitate the pace of a stroll even while missing the feeling of wind in her hair and solid earth under the sandals. She examined her surroundings, taking in every single detail. Where people¡¯s behavior was credible only when she didn''t focus on it too much, looking closely at the bark of a tree revealed more and more details: a multitude of ants running along a surface striped with cracks and lichens; fragments of fallen leaves stuck in tiny woodpecker''s holes; patches of gray and light brown where the new bark was growing after the old one had fallen. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it A distant sound reminded her that she was supposed to keep guard on the village. She reemerged from her intense focus on the tree, the buzzing feeling of agitated viss once again replacing her beating heart. She expanded her view until it included the whole village again, sky, sea and forest included. She checked time and time again, but she didn''t see any problem or danger. She shrank her view again, until she could only see what was in front of her, then divided her attention once, setting the other part high up in the sky. That way she could perceive the whole village from above while she examined something else. She wondered whether the monks could perceive where her focus was, or they only saw the results of her actions. She decided not to risk it and proceed in her stroll with renewed care. She took every side street and looked at every house. When dawn came, she had seen most of the village. She completed her walk while people left their houses, then slowly returned to the temple. She wandered around the forest before descending back down again, curious to see the daily activities and the shops. She completed three more tours of the village before she started to get bored. It was only noon. She wondered whether time had slowed down to the point that the same amount had passed in reality. But the monks hadn''t seemed equipped for such a long wait, and she knew for sure that nobody apart from the minimum necessary amount of sentinels was working that day to watch the proclamation of the new Koidan. She stopped at the docks, staring out at the sea while sailors, fishers and dockworkers walked through her invisible presence. She wondered about the distant lands Daira had talked about. If she became a goddess, she''d never be able to move past her territory for fear of starting an earthquake. Not that she could go further as a human, but at least she could visit the other villages. She expanded her view again, joining all the pieces of her divided consciousness into one that encompassed the whole territory. She remembered Daira talking about the candles, even if Aili had immediately dismissed the idea of leaving the trials before their end. Now it seemed like the only possibility she was willing to accept: it was clear being a goddess wasn''t for her. Too stressful at times, too boring at others, and she still hadn''t understood what they wanted from her. But first, there was something she wanted to do: test the limits of cloud water''s ability to imitate reality. She started with the trees. She examined them one by one, comparing them to each other to find similarities. She quickly concluded that they were all unique, there wasn''t a specific pattern being repeated in the way the branches jutted out or the trunks bent. She chose the three biggest ones and examined them closely: everything, from the birds and insects nesting among the leaves to the roots burrowing under streets and monuments, looked real in a way that could make her weep. She looked even closer, drinking the details with her new perception. She saw creatures so small and different from an insect that she felt like they were an entirely new kind of being. The flow of viss, usually almost imperceptible in plants, was buzzing all around her, so strong and loud she couldn''t even distinguish her own energies from it. And when she''d thought that there couldn''t possibly be anything else, that looking even closer would mean losing herself in a sea of dark and nothingness, she saw that the whole tree was a colony of even smaller beings. They were all pressed together, connected on each side with their neighbors, sharing water and viss through patterns she couldn''t understand. She was conflicted on whether to stop there and observe them further, or go on and see what else she could find beyond. She was still taking in what the presence of those creatures meant, when patches of dark started to cover her vision. She expanded it until she was looking at the whole village, but they kept obscuring her sight. She felt a pull, someone tugging at her soul. ¡°No, wait!¡± she said, or tried to say, while the world whirled in confusion around her. She opened her eyes to the upside-down face of the monk who had been standing behind her. He bowed his head and walked away, disappearing from her field of view. ¡°Wait,¡± she said, but her throat was so raw she had to stop and cough. He didn''t even look back, and she eventually heard a door open and close. She closed her eyes, willing herself to go back to the dream, or vision, or whatever that was. Then remembered the trials, the fact that the priors were somewhere nearby, and made an effort to sit up. The first thing she saw was the woman sitting beside her bed: piercing black eyes looked at her as if to examine her every thought, while the rest of her expression was relaxed in quiet curiosity. A braid of black hair striped with gray was resting on her shoulder. Aili recognized her as the one who had examined her and Saia before meeting the abbot. She nodded to her, receiving a nod back. The rest of the room was empty: no candidates on the beds, no priors on the chairs. There were just Aili, the woman, and the empty glasses on the table. Aili pointed at them. ¡°Was it real?¡± she asked, then coughed again. The woman''s eyebrows drew together, but the rest of her face stayed calm and open. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Aili briefly thought that she might be in the next phase of the trials, but she didn''t care. She needed to know. ¡°The small creatures in the plants. They''re sort of rectangular and make up the whole tree¡­¡± She realized how crazy it all sounded and stopped talking. ¡°I think I know what you mean,¡± the woman said. ¡°My colleagues who study biology and geology use cloud water sometimes, even if not quite as often as they''d like. We don''t have a lot of bottles left.¡± ¡°So what I saw was all real?¡± The woman nodded slowly. ¡°Yes, as incredible as it seems.¡± ¡°So the people behaving erratically was part of the trial?¡± ¡°No. Cloud water retains information easily, but it has to contain the viss of the things that will appear in your mind, or viss that contains the same data. As a rule, we avoid storing information about real people in it, and anything less makes them behave in ways we find unrealistic.¡± Aili glanced at the door, wondering whether the wood still contained the creature she''d seen. The woman followed her gaze. ¡°Don''t worry about the others,¡± she said. ¡°Focus on our conversation. I''m Riena, a consciousness scholar, and I need to examine your viss. Can I?¡± She held out her open hands, one next to the other. Aili hesitated. She¡¯d put a small stone in a pocket of her tunic, planning to fill it with her viss. She could write most of what she''d seen as data using a simple code she had devised, but Riena was staring at her. She couldn''t just slip her hand into her pocket and tell her to wait. Besides, there were too many important things to write that she couldn¡¯t summarize in a few instants. She put her hands on Riena¡¯s. The scholar closed her eyes for an instant, then nodded. ¡°Your trial, we were saying. It measured both your resilience and your patience, by forcing you to deal with two of the most extreme situations in a deity''s life: a series of disasters happening all at the same time, and a long period of extreme calm.¡± ¡°Did I pass?¡± ¡°It''s not as clear-cut. Not like the written test, at least. Your chances are tied to this examination.¡± Aili nodded, feeling her heart accelerating. She knew Riena could sense her growing unrest, and that put her even less at ease. Riena closed her eyes again. ¡°I¡¯ll check for any tendencies that would make you a terrible deity: lack of empathy, self-centeredness, a willingness to leave the mountain even if people are going to die in the earthquake that follows. You, meanwhile, will talk a bit about yourself.¡± ¡°Can I ask a question, first?¡± Riena frowned, but she kept her eyes closed. ¡°Ask, but keep in mind I might not be allowed to answer.¡± ¡°You¡­ You have heard about Vizena, right?¡± Riena''s eyes opened. The piercing pupils stared at Aili for an instant before she answered. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°How is it possible that she became a goddess despite this trial? Is this examination new?¡± ¡°No, she went through it too. The study of consciousness is a recent discipline compared to a lot of the others. At the time when she was chosen, scholars only looked for already present characteristics in the individual that would make them a bad candidate. Now, we also look for signs of generalized instability that could bring a person to have those characteristics later in life. We''re also on the lookout for people with a limited life experience, or who are obsessed with control, and people who haven''t experienced enough suffering or grief. None of it by itself makes a candidate bad for the role, but when they''re combined they might be dangerous.¡± ¡°And what is her problem?¡± ¡°I would need to examine her viss directly to know for sure. And I wouldn''t tell the result to anyone who isn''t a prior.¡± She closed her eyes. ¡°Now, tell me about yourself. Whatever comes to mind, let it flow.¡± Aili started to tell her about her parents, the brief part of her childhood when they were still together. She felt weird looking at a person who wasn''t looking back, so she closed her eyes too. She talked for a bit, with almost no answers from Riena, except encouragements to go on when she stopped and some additional questions. She only mentioned Saia once by name, talking about ''a friend'' from that moment on, when she really couldn''t avoid mentioning her. ¡°You seem to care a lot about this Saia,¡± Riena said. Aili opened her eyes and kept them that way even when she saw that the scholar¡¯s were still closed. ¡°She''s a close friend.¡± ¡°And yet you said you''ve met her not even four months ago. You only mentioned her name once, but she seems to be everywhere.¡± Riena opened her eyes. ¡°There''s something you''re hiding about her. What is it?¡± Aili felt a pang of panic, immediately interrupted by a memory: her telling Saia that she knew she was hiding something, and her incredibly frustrated face when she realized it was true. She snorted, trying to stifle a laugh. Riena looked taken aback by that reaction. ¡°Sorry, I... She doesn''t agree with me trying to become a deity.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She''s the one who denounced Vizena. She doesn''t like deities.¡± A small, hopefully undetectable half-truth, to let her think that Saia hated Koidan too and would have never helped Zeles. Riena¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I think I know who she is now,¡± she only said, then let go of Aili¡¯s hands. ¡°We¡¯re done.¡± ¡°What happens now?¡± Aili asked. Riena ignored her and left. The door closed behind her, leaving Aili alone and uncertain about what to do. She laid down again, wondering whether the effect of cloud water had completely dissolved or there was still something she could use later. She heard the door open and sprang up again. It was Daira, this time. Her face was holding back the smile that shined through her eyes. ¡°You did it. You passed the last trial.¡± Aili looked at her in shock as she sat down on the bed next to hers. ¡°I would love to talk some more, but the assembly is waiting, so I have to ask: do you want to become the next Koidan?¡± Aili thought about the small creatures she could only see with the perception of a god. If she refused, she¡¯d have forgotten about them entirely. She couldn¡¯t let another monk ruin her village. She couldn¡¯t allow them to find Zeles. ¡°Yes. I accept.¡± 3.1 - Contingency plan Saia left her room shortly after the trials had started and entered the temple. It was almost empty, with some confused helpers looking at her while they prepared the room for the ceremony. Nobody told her to leave, so she sat down in the area dedicated to the audience, near the wall and just in front of the steps that led to the well¡¯s platform. She could comfortably see both the entrance and the chairs of the priors, positioned in a semi-circle around the well. A bag full of metal tools was abandoned half-open nearby. Saia sat with her back against the wall and reached for the stack of notes about magic and viss in her bag. She started reading, raising her head every time she heard someone enter through the double doors. Slowly, some monks started to take a sit around the room. Mostly friends and family of the candidates and some sentinel who wanted to watch the proclamation as an excuse to avoid their turn at the posts. The vast majority of people had make-up around their eyes in dark colors, exception made for some highlights made with golden tones. More and more people started to come in after the second hour. Saia recognized Haina with her class of six years old, Coram with two other sentinels, and Cailes. He approached her, a book under his arm. ¡°Mind if I join you?¡± Saia shook her head and scooted a bit to the right to make space. ¡°Ebus?¡± she asked. ¡°Still sleeping. He was up late preparing today''s meal with the other cooks, so he decided to rest until the winner is proclaimed.¡± ¡°The trials could last the whole day, how does he know when they¡¯re going to proclaim the winner?¡± Cailes carefully opened the book: a manual of botany, judging by the detailed drawings of plants on each page. ¡°He doesn''t, which is exactly why I¡¯m here this early. At least one of us will assist to the ceremony if it ends earlier than expected.¡± Saia nodded and resumed reading. Her own notes were nothing new, a list of the general principles of viss manipulation and some tips on how to better interpret the movement and qualities of the energies inside a human body. Aili had written them, and it was the closest she could get to her, whatever trial she might be facing at that moment. After another half-hour, a murmur emanated from the crowd. Saia raised her eyes to see a line of candidates with red sashes entering from the doors. She stood, like many in the public were doing, and surveyed each face as it entered. ¡°The first trial is tough,¡± Cailes said. ¡°It¡¯s a written text, and one mistake is enough to be discarded.¡± Saia relaxed a bit at that: Aili was born to pass that kind of trial. Still, she looked at the line of candidates, hoping to see her among them. She wasn¡¯t there. She sat down again, notes forgotten in her lap, trying to remember the faces of the other candidates who were still dealing with the trials. Two more hours passed. The temple was full now; nobody gave any sign of leaving despite being almost lunchtime. She understood why when the organizers entered with carts full of bread with eggs, meat and cheese, baskets of carrots and celery sticks, bottles of purified water. Cailes put the book aside and protected it with a piece of gray cloth before starting to eat. Saia folded her notes and imitated him shortly after. ¡°I¡¯m not used to this anymore,¡± Cailes commented after a bite. ¡°Only two flavors and I can barely distinguish them? Ebus lied. He didn''t cook any of this.¡± Saia laughed. The food finished quickly, and soon there was nothing left to do but read. Saia dozed off a couple of times, waking up the second one to find Cailes asleep with his head against the wall. She''d lost track of time, a feeling she wasn''t used to. She looked around the room to see if something had changed and noticed Ebus, sitting at Cailes¡¯s right. She greeted him silently. Another stream of candidates entered the temple. They were only four, their heads low in defeat. Aili wasn''t among them. Saia slumped against the wall. She could feel both Cailes and Ebus looking at her, but she didn''t acknowledge them. She watched in disbelief as the candidates sat down with the crowd and the priors entered the temple in a line, the abbot closing the procession. They all sat on the chairs around the well and waited. Daira looked insufferably happy. Once they were settled, Aili appeared at the entrance. The crowd produced one last wave of whispered surprise before quieting down. The abbot stood. ¡°Come forward, new Koidan.¡± Aili advanced in the middle of the parting crowd. Saia''s throat was tight while she watched her. She didn''t know how to feel, if sadness because she was about to change form forever or happy because it was her choice and she was still her friend. All in all, she just missed her. The part of her that had been hoping for Aili to come back and everything returning as it was before was coming to terms with reality. She bent her head and unwillingly listened to the religious sermon the abbot was loudly proclaiming. He went on and on about how becoming a god was the most important sacrifice anyone in their community could make. The assembly answered with a prayer and a chant. A hand gently touched her shoulder. Saia raised her eyes and saw Ebus staring at her with an expression full of understanding. She remembered what he¡¯d said about losing Aili forever. She nodded and briefly put her hand over his in acknowledgement. The chant stopped, replaced by a scraping sound. An organizer had approached the well and was now pushing away the round shield on the top. She lowered it until it was upwards on the floor, showing to the assembly the swirling bronze decorations on its surface. A prior stood, and Saia recognized Denes, the oldest of the scholars. He took a tool from the bag abandoned on the floor and used it to remove two stones from the side of the well, in a spot she couldn¡¯t see clearly. He put a hand inside the cavity just behind and looked at the abbot, as if waiting for an order. ¡°You can come forward,¡± Laius said. Aili walked up the three steps that divided the platform from the rest of the temple. Laius gestured at the well. She removed her shoes and stepped inside, the round wall covering her up to her hips. ¡°Once we start the process, there''s no coming back. So I have to ask you again, for the last time: do you want to become the next Koidan?¡± Saia felt the crowd stop in anticipation and thought that they didn''t know her at all, if they still considered it possible for her to refuse. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then sit inside the crater and have no fear.¡± Aili obeyed. Her whole body was hidden inside the well now. The monk who had removed the shield stepped forward and put it back in, sealing Aili inside. Saia tensed and started to rise to her feet, but the soft touch of Cailes on her arm stopped her. ¡°Interrupting now would mean exile. I''ll walk you through what''s going to happen, if you promise you won''t freak out. She''ll be fine.¡± Saia settled again, eyes fixed on the closed well. The abbot gave an order to Denes, who was still kneeling beside the well with his hand inside the wall. He started to move the arm in circles, as if to action a crank. Saia felt a slight rumbling in the distance. ¡°Denes is one of the few scholars who know how to activate that mechanism,¡± Cailes said. ¡°He''s letting in the energy of the mountain through the tunnel that connects the well to the crater.¡± The well started to emanate light. The structure, which looked completely sealed mere instants before, now was punctuated by ant-sized rays of blinding light. Denes stared at it for some instants, then quickly started to move his arm in the opposite direction. ¡°He knows what''s the right amount of viss to let through. Enough to create a god without destroying everything that surrounds it.¡± ¡°Is it painful?¡± ¡°No, we know for sure it''s not. I know it looks like it should burn, but the viss doesn''t feel like anything, no matter how much of it you focus on one point.¡± Saia remembered how Zeles¡¯s sphere had felt cold like the glass of a window in her palms. She nodded. Denes stopped moving and the distant rambling slowly subsided. He gestured for another monk who was holding a glass sphere to come closer. She carefully placed it in the center of the shield and rotated it until it was stuck in place. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°This is the most delicate part: the sphere has a weak point at the bottom. She just aligned it with a small opening in the center of the shield. Denes will action the mechanism that will break that weak point and then melt the glass after the viss has filtered through, sealing it inside. If the glass has been created properly, it will all work without breaking the sphere or creating leaks.¡± ¡°What if it doesn''t work?¡± ¡°There''s always a spare sphere. They''ll try to use it to contain the viss before it dissipates completely. Aili would lose some decades of power as a goddess, but she''ll be safe.¡± Saia looked at Cailes. ¡°What if that fails too?¡± He avoided her gaze by looking at the well. ¡°Then her energies will join the mountain.¡± He took a deep breath. ¡°But it''s only happened twice, when we still didn''t know much about how viss worked.¡± Saia clutched Aili''s notes with both hands. She stared at Denes while he actioned something, a lever judging by the movement. She heard a little crash, then the light blinded her and she had to divert her eyes. When she looked back, the sphere was intact, blue light rotating inside. It was the abbot to unscrew it from the well. There was a shrill sound that was too similar to the shattering of a glass. Cold snakes ran through Saia¡¯s veins as she strained to see what had provoked it. ¡°The shard detached properly,¡± Cailes commented, his voice calm and slow. ¡°The ceremony is complete.¡± The abbot took the shard, then raised the sphere above his head. The crowd cheered, starting a spontaneous chant. Two helpers took Aili''s sphere and wrapped it in multiple layers of gray cloth before handing it over to a group of three sentinels. ¡°They''ll bring her to the village,¡± Cailes said, ¡°Then awaken her. Don''t worry, the other sentinels will observe them during the entire trip to make sure everything goes smoothly.¡± Saia nodded distractedly. That wasn''t the thing that worried her, when there was an empty room full of memories waiting for her return. At least, now she had an idea on how to save Zeles after Vizena was dealt with, even if she didn''t like it one bit. She spent the week that followed smuggling sea snakes out of the village, two at a time. The sentinels at the entrance thought they were always the same two, and they seemed to think her weird enough to believe it when she said they were her lucky charms. Once at the lake, she bound them with cloth, tight enough they couldn''t get free when she slept at night, and hid them under a bush. She could feel Rabam¡¯s uncertain gaze on her as she worked, but he was too busy calculating the new paths she''d had to follow after the next change of posts to confront her about the snakes. She made sure to say her goodbyes to everyone she knew, even if none of them realized it was a goodbye. If everything went as planned, they would have seen each other again, as enemies. The thought bothered her more than she believed, especially at night, when the uncertainties piled up on her chest. Waking up at dawn the day of the departure was almost a relief. She had breakfast with the monks, taking a double serving of everything, then left for the lake with the last two snakes in her bag. Rabam was waiting for her. ¡°Why so soon? You''re supposed to leave in the afternoon.¡± ¡°I know. There''s stuff I have to do here.¡± She filled her bag with half of the snakes, making sure the tails weren¡¯t showing on the outside, and left the remaining ones on the grass. She had to be careful: the sentinels could watch her every move the second she left the protection of the trees. She approached the lake and walked into the water until she was surrounded by tall grass and canes. ¡°What are you doing, exactly?¡± Rabam asked, staying hidden among the trees. ¡°Setting up a contingency plan.¡± She squatted in the water. ¡°Do you think they can see me from the mountain?¡± ¡°They can¡¯t,¡± he immediately said, so sure of his words that he didn¡¯t need to glance back. Saia started working: first, she tied some canes together, creating a structure that could hold a bit more weight. Then tied the bound and asleep snakes to the top, letting the cane bend toward the water. She loosened the cloth around each snake''s head, keeping it tight enough they couldn''t slip, but not so tight that they couldn¡¯t free themselves with a bit of effort. She stepped back to admire her creation: a plant with a handful of stems, bearing a grape of snakes as fruit. She walked out of the water and took a glove from her bag. She didn''t even check which one it was, left or right: she''d sewn the same amount of scales on both, one from each snake she owned. ¡°Take it,¡± she said, holding it out for Rabam. ¡°In case the situation gets out of hand. If they awake while I''m down there,¡± she nodded in Suimer¡¯s general direction, ¡°Stop them. Otherwise, please wait a bit before doing anything. Unless you''re in danger, of course.¡± Rabam reluctantly took the glove. She also gave him her binoculars. ¡°I don¡¯t need them anymore. I figured they could be useful to you.¡± He hooked them to his belt with a familiar gesture. ¡°You do realize that you''re making a second attempt without helping me with my plan once, right?¡± Saia sat down next to the snakes that were still hidden by the bush. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Do you think it''s fair?¡± ¡°No, but you were waiting for something very specific to happen, and completely outside of our control. Unless you have an idea on how to convince the monks to leave the villages and come back here.¡± He lowered his head, turning the glove in his hands. ¡°I don''t. That''s the problem, I''ve waited for this for so long I don''t know what to do if it doesn''t happen. They''re going to find out about me before I can do anything against them.¡± Saia sighed, untying the first snake of the pile. ¡°Trust me, you''re not going to be their priority for a while after I''ve finished.¡± ¡°That doesn''t help.¡± ¡°Listen¡­¡± Saia began, but a rustling of leaves told her that he¡¯d left. She kept working on the sleeping snakes until the afternoon. Once they were all ready and packed inside her bag, she got up and approached the beginning of the path she''d used on her previous attempt. She was about to call out for Rabam, when she saw the new map stuck at eye-level between two branches. She took it and examined it briefly: the paths were only a bit different from the ones she''d followed the first time, and he¡¯d already circled the crossroads. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said out loud. ¡°I truly wish for you to succeed. I hope to see you again in better circumstances.¡± No answer. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder and set out toward the village. It was late evening when she spotted the line of white stones among the trees. Despite all of her intentions of being careful, she broke into a run and didn''t stop until she felt a voice inside her ears. ¡°Saia!¡± She was startled by how similar it was to Zeles''s. ¡°Sorry,¡± Aili said, returning to her usual pitch. ¡°Force of habit. They still believe I¡¯m him.¡± ¡°How is it going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still getting used to it. I had a taste of how it works at the trials, but there weren''t actual people involved. Everyone here knows me, I mean, both me ¡®Aili¡¯ and me ¡®Koidan¡¯, and it''s difficult not to drop the pretence of being a centenary god when your neighbor is asking you to heal his temperature. I¡¯m still me, but I''m not allowed to actually be me.¡± Saia produced a bitter smile and sat down under a tree. ¡°Don''t tell me you want out. I don''t have it in me to save two gods.¡± ¡°Oh, not at all, trust me. I''m discovering new things everywhere I look. I can see inside things, to a level you can''t imagine. And I understand the viss way better now. Remember that bit in the book about movement and how important patterns are?¡± Saia nodded. Aili''s enthusiasm reminded her of when she¡¯d discovered the monks¡¯ library. ¡°I can see them now. Clear as day. Even if I haven''t tried changing them, because I still don''t understand them well enough and whatever creature I''d choose will have to suffer the consequences.¡± ¡°This is how they convinced you, uh?¡± Saia said jokingly. ¡°Giving you new stuff to study.¡± She''d expected a laugh or a giggle, not an instant of silence. It protracted a bit too long for her comfort. ¡°Aili?¡± ¡°Why are you here?¡± ¡°Now I can tell you about my plan, if you have time.¡± ¡°I do, but you?¡± ¡°I have to wait for the night before I can move around.¡± ¡°Well, then¡­ Go on. I''m curious.¡± Saia laughed. ¡°Understatement of the century.¡± She told her about Rabam, and endured the scolding that followed for trusting him so easily. She told her about the hidden paths and her plans for freeing her village. ¡°Are you sure you want Zeles with you? He''s quite weak now.¡± ¡°It''ll make him difficult to detect. Even if, to be honest, that''s the part I''m most uncertain about.¡± ¡°You did a good job with the snakes, maybe I can adjust it a bit before you leave?¡± ¡°Yes, please. That would be great.¡± The night had descended at some point during her explanation. She got up with a sigh. ¡°Can you tell me where he is?¡± ¡°In the cave, third rock after the second pond on the left. Do you want me to wake up Dan and Mor¨¬c?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you. Mor¨¬c doesn''t know anything, so maybe give him a heads up?¡± ¡°Sure. Be safe.¡± Saia blew a kiss in the temple''s direction and started her descent toward the beach. Once inside the cave, she quickly found the sphere thanks to Aili¡¯s directions. She ran back to her own house and closed the curtains before feeling hidden enough to take Zeles out of her bag. She put him on the floor on the side of the house where Aili''s influence couldn''t reach him. Most importantly, the side of the house without windows through which he could escape. She sat on the opposite side of the white line and took a moment to collect her thoughts, eyes closed, listening to her own breathing. Then, she reached out and put a finger on the glass of the sphere. She woke him up slowly, bit by bit, like she''d learned to do with the snakes to avoid getting bitten. A drop of blue light became golden, then expanded into a strand, then a ring. Only once there was no blue left, Zeles sprang into the air and stopped near the ceiling. Saia looked up at him, willing herself to appear calm despite her racing heart. ¡°What¡­¡± His voice began, the light rotating furiously inside the sphere, then slowing down a bit. ¡°So much time¡­ What happened?¡± Saia was about to speak, but he cut her off. ¡°Are you a monk, now?¡± She glanced down at her tunic. ¡°Yes, but not for long. Before you freak out, I have a lot of stuff to tell you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not sure if I should trust you again.¡± ¡°Let me explain, first. Then I promise I''ll accept whatever answer you''ll give me and don¡¯t bother you anymore.¡± The sphere lowered a bit, seemed to hesitate, then slowly floated down until it was on the floor again. ¡°First off,¡± Saia began, ¡°The monks.¡± The room was silent for a long time after she''d finished speaking. ¡°So Aili is Koidan, now,¡± Zeles summarized. ¡°And the monks are looking for me.¡± ¡°Yes. You can stay hidden here and do little else for the rest of your life, or you can help me and maybe save yourself too.¡± ¡°I don''t see how. Even if your plan succeeds, and it''s unlikely, I''d still be on the verge of disappearing.¡± ¡°I know how to fix that, but you''ll need to trust me.¡± ¡°What?¡± Aili said in her ears. ¡°You didn''t tell me anything about that.¡± ¡°I can''t share any more details. Sorry.¡± Saia looked at the ceiling with an apologetic smile, then focused on Zeles again. ¡°Are you going to help me?¡± The slow rotation of his light didn''t look promising. ¡°I agree that something has to be done for your village, but I don''t see why we should act now. We should plan more, consider all of the variables.¡± Saia sighed. ¡°There is no time anymore. As soon as Vizena will have convinced the monks that she''s changed and will stop mistreating her people, she''ll become even more oppressive.¡± ¡°You don''t know that.¡± ¡°I do, because it''s happened again in the past. And it was... It wasn''t my fault, but I made a mistake I shouldn''t have done, and she took advantage of it.¡± She felt the silence hang in the air. They wanted to know, but knew not to ask. If it could help them understand the situation, or at least understand her, she might as well oblige them. 3.2 - The mistake It was early morning when Saia, her father and her brother Lassem returned to shore with their cargo of fish. ¡°Uh, there''s a sea snake in the net,¡± Nass said. Saia moved before her dad could. She walked over to the other side of the boat, where they had secured the net against the hull. The red, black and white shape of the snake was writhing wildly against the mesh. Saia kneeled and bent forward to look closer. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw her dad crouching next to her. ¡°I want to try,¡± she said. ¡°I know. Put this on, first.¡± He was holding out one of his old leather gloves. It was too big for her, which meant less precision, but also a lot of extra protection. She still needed it, despite it not being the first time she caught a sea snake: the danger of the bite didn''t lie in the venom, but in the neverending whining of the goddess that would have healed it. She raised her hand over the snake, out of the reach of its fangs. ¡°Let it tire out,¡± her dad said. Her brother stepped back, giving them a slightly disgusted look. Saia attacked. Her hand closed the jaws together just when they were opening to bite her. She extricated the snake with the other hand and extracted it from the net. She took the knife from her blue cloth belt and quickly killed the animal. ¡°Good job,¡± her dad said. ¡°The merchants from Lausune pay well for this kind of meat. It''s a local specialty.¡± Saia let the blood fall into the sea, then wrapped the snake in a rough piece of old cloth. ¡°I¡¯m never visiting Lausune,¡± Nass commented, rowing to get the boat closer to the dock. Saia exhaled a bitter laugh. ¡®Nobody is¡¯, she gestured, pretending to fix her clothes. She secured a rope around the rings on the stern of the boat, then jumped onto the dock and tied it around one of the poles. The three of them heaved the net out of the boat and brought it to the fishing house nearby. It was an old wooden warehouse where fishers left boats and tools and extricated their preys from the nets. There was just another family at the moment, on the other side of the ample room, mending their own net from holes and general usage. Saia and Lassem brought the boat inside while their dad started the long process of extracting the fish. Saia was about to sit down to help him, when Nass put a hand on her shoulder and led her to the side, where they were half-hidden between two boats hanging from the wall. ¡°You''re seeing Ceila later, right?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, we''re supposed to have lunch together. Why?¡± He took out a small wooden box from the leather satchel that was tied to his waist. ¡°Could you deliver this for me?¡± Saia looked at the box, raising her eyebrows. ¡°You should give it to her yourself.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why?¡± He pretended to cough, gesturing with his free hand. ¡®You know why.¡¯ ¡°Just do it,¡± he said. Saia rolled her eyes and took the box. It tingled gently while she slipped it inside a pocket. After the morning''s work was finished, she left the bay and began her ascent toward the temple. ¡°A necklace,¡± a voice said in her ears. ¡°How original.¡± Saia ignored the goddess. The people that were walking in the opposite direction still gave her a knowing look. She''d learned, like everyone else, that even if a person wasn''t outright speaking to the air there was a certain tension in their expression that only appeared when the goddess was communicating with them. ¡°I find such a gift from a close friend in poor taste. This might get in the way of Ceila and Tome''s budding feelings.¡± Saia wanted to rebuke that Ceila and her brother weren''t just close friends and there weren''t any budding feelings between Tome and her. But not only Vizena wouldn''t have listened to her, she would also have found a way to put even more distance between Ceila and Lassem than the one they were already keeping for fear of the goddess''s intervention. ¡°You should tell her the gift is from Tome. This way, your brother will be spared the awkwardness and Ceila will be encouraged to share her true feelings.¡± Saia gripped the railings of the first set of stairs as she''d have gladly gripped Vizena¡¯s neck, if she wasn''t made of stone. ¡°You''re asking me to lie?¡± ¡°I¡¯m telling you how to solve a very delicate situation in a way that spares everyone''s feelings and removes the need for less delicate interventions.¡± ¡°She''ll wonder why Tome didn''t give her the gift himself, since they dance together.¡± ¡°Let her wonder. Mystery enhances romantic feelings, my child. Not that you would know.¡± Saia didn''t see other ways for her to protest further, and the goddess''s tone signaled that the conversation was finished: only a fool would have willingly continued to engage with such an unnerving ratbrain. She walked up two more sets of stairs and stopped two houses short of the junction for the temple. The building on her left had been a house once, but the goddess had transformed it into an enormous training room for her crew of personal dancers, where they could practice and clean themselves afterwards. Nobody else could enter, even the goddess herself refrained to look inside most of the time. Based on what Ceila had told her, every week Vizena mentioned which kind of dance she expected for the next ceremony, then didn¡¯t glimpse at their training until it was time to perform. Which meant that she was often displeased and ordered the assembly to give them fewer tips. The dancers were leaving at that moment, with the sacks of leather hanging from their shoulders, hair still damp or wrapped in cloth. Ceila said a quick goodbye to everyone else. Saia observed her waving at Tome with a thin smile, lips pressed together, and wondered whether she regretted being such a close friend to him back when he joined the crew. She waived and Ceila walked over to her. ¡°I¡¯m so hungry I could consider praying for real for a steak,¡± she said, adjusting the strap of her bag. Saia was about to reply, but the goddess interrupted her. ¡°Give her the gift now, before Tome goes too far.¡± Saia glanced in the direction he had taken off. He abruptly stopped and said something to the air, tense and confused at the same time. She sighed and took out the box. ¡°This is for you,¡± she said. ¡°From Tome.¡± And she gestured while she handed it to Ceila, hand briefly touching her left shoulder and moving forward a bit before going back to rest at her side. ¡®My brother.¡¯ Ceila nodded, her face an indifferent mask. She opened the box, briefly admired the content, then closed it and slipped it into a pocket of her pants. ¡°Thank you. Now, my feet hurt so much I can hear them talk, and they''re asking for food.¡± Saia smiled, allowing herself to relax a bit. They went to the Turviavin House, one of the two taverns of the city, the one that mostly fed locals instead of merchants or visitors from other villages. It was full as usual, and they had to wait for almost half an hour before one of the tables freed up. None of the customers was there for the food, which consisted mostly of meat and vegetables with little to no elaboration. The main attraction was the plates. The food arrived quickly after Saia and Ceila had sat down. Fish and beans covered in oil for Saia, steak and salad for Ceila. They spent the first few minutes eating and moving the food aside, to reveal the figure painted at the bottom of each ceramic plate: a stylized person, clothed only with a pale yellow tunic, laying with arms and legs slightly apart. ¡°So¡­¡± Ceila began. ¡°How is it going? Met some nice fish in the last week?¡± Saia shrugged. ¡°Fine, the usual.¡± She put the tips of her two-pronged fork on the hip of the figure in her plate, then raised it and moved the tool horizontally in the air. The two gestures combined were the equivalent of brushing a hand on one''s right hip, which meant ''boredom''. She quickly spelled more words moving the fork around, stopping only to eat a piece of fish here and there. Her movements were small and controlled, distinguishable without being too noticeable. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡®I¡¯d love to see more of the sea, if that ratbrain would allow us to sail to the other villages.¡¯ Ceila waited a bit before nodding, as if to herself. ¡®I understand,¡¯ she gestured with the fork and the figure on her plate. ¡°How is the dancing going?¡± Saia asked. ¡®You¡¯re going to quit?¡¯ she gestured. ¡°Vizena has enjoyed the last two performances,¡± Ceila said. ¡®She''ll hate the next. And I''m not ready to quit yet.¡¯ ¡°Good for you,¡± Saia answered, inviting her to elaborate with a quick gesture of the fork. ¡®I¡¯m considering my possibilities.¡¯ Ceila cut the meat into smaller pieces, to have more to eat between every sentence. ¡®I¡¯ve tried to find work, but they all refused me. Vizena¡¯s pressure.¡¯ ¡°Have you read anything interesting, lately?¡± Ceila asked. Saia sensed she hadn''t finished answering her original question, but they''ve been silent for too long and the goddess could be paying attention to them. ¡°I¡¯ve bought an adventure story set in Elgen, but I haven''t started it yet.¡± Ceila nodded and started moving her fork again. ¡®I¡¯ve thought about becoming a merchant. She doesn''t pressure visitors from the outside nearly as much, they could become customers.¡¯ ¡®What are you going to sell?¡¯ ¡®I have some ideas, but they¡¯re not viable right now.¡¯ Saia stared at her own almost empty plate, deep in thought. She was lucky to have a father with an already affirmed activity, or the same thing could have happened to her, after refusing multiple times to become Vizena¡¯s official reader. ¡®You could work for us.¡¯ Ceila smiled for an instant, then shook her head. ¡°Something funny?¡± Saia asked. ¡®I¡¯m serious¡¯, she gestured. ¡°Nothing, I just remembered the main dancer¡¯s face today when we decided she''d be the one to make the crab''s jump.¡± She immediately flinched after saying that. ¡°Yes, goddess. I''m sorry, I didn''t know you were listening.¡± She paused, her jaw tense. ¡°Yes, I know you like surprises, but I swear I didn''t ruin it. You¡¯ll be satisfied at the next ceremony.¡± Saia waited patiently for the tension to disappear from Ceila''s face. She launched on some mindless gossip about the other fishers, the only way to make Vizena¡¯s attention drift away; she didn¡¯t listen to gossip because she¡¯d already seen every single event happening in front of her. ¡®I smiled because you''re amazing for asking me to work with you,¡¯ Ceila continued. ¡®But I can''t accept. I suspect that she would make it a point of pride to make your family''s life impossible as revenge.¡¯ Saia nodded, not entirely convinced. ¡®I could still come with you sometimes, if you really need the help. It would be worth it to spend some time with you and Nass.¡¯ ¡®Do you want to see him now?'' Ceila''s eyes widened a bit. ¡®Only if it isn¡¯t too much trouble.¡¯ They quickly finished the food left on their plates. ¡°I¡¯m going to the market, now,¡± Saia said. ¡°Do you want to come with?¡± Ceila nodded. They walked up to the counter and paid. Saia added a big tip for the owners, something a lot of customers did to thank them for never changing those ''ugly plates'', as Vizena called them every time she mentioned the tavern. The market sprawled across the central square and main street, as well as some side alleys full of shops. As usual, there were foreign merchants and visitors, which meant that the pious lurked at every corner: people like Ceila¡¯s mother and one of Saia¡¯s uncles, who always made a huge show of worshipping the goddess, constantly telling everyone to trust her will and follow her orders if they wanted to be happy like they were. Everyone else knew the truth, which like all the truths in Suimer could only be discussed in silence, possibly over a plate in the Turvianin House: they only followed Vizena¡¯s orders because they already wished to be what the goddess wanted them to become. Their mistake was thinking that their situation was a rule, that Vizena already knew everyone¡¯s deepest desires even before they realized what they were, and that resisting her meant being of a lesser moral stance. The goddess, of course, was smart enough to encourage those thoughts in every way she could. Saia¡¯s dad¡¯s stall was in the main square. Lassem was handing out fish to a customer, so he managed to keep a focused face even when he saw them approaching. ¡°Hi,¡± he said, eyes fixed on Ceila. His hands gestured some words that Saia decided not to observe. ¡°I¡¯m taking your place for a bit,¡± she said. ¡°Go have fun.¡± ¡®But not far,¡¯ she gestured. ''She won''t let you alone.¡¯ She exchanged place with her brother, maneuvering around the crowd of people that were observing the stalls. Somehow they managed to always be in the way despite barely moving. She stood behind the stall and immediately answered the inquiry of an old woman about the price of mackerel. ¡°I thought you hated handling customers," her dad said. ''Still together?'' he gestured, scratching his beard with the other hand. ¡°Yeah,¡± Saia answered, glancing toward the fountain at the center of the square, where Lassem and Ceila were sitting at a more than respectful distance. ¡°And you?¡± he asked with a smirk. ¡°No one,¡± she said. ¡®I couldn''t handle that,¡¯ she gestured. And she pretended to fix the back of her shirt, raising her elbow to point at the fountain. There had been people she''d liked as potential partners, but she''d taken care to limit the contact with them as much as possible, if not completely. Romantic love was something she forced herself not to feel. Her dad was gesturing something, but the approach of a customer interrupted him. ¡°How did you and mom meet each other?¡± Saia asked. She already knew the story, but hoped her dad would understand what she was actually trying to ask. ¡°At the Turviavin, during a card tournament. She was a champion and I was so ridiculously bad I left an impression." He gestured here and there while he spoke, pretending to move the fish around to cover the holes of what had already been bought. ¡®The elders know how to manipulate her. It''s complicated, it requires a long time to convince her that the couple is meant to be.'' He was moving his hands so fast Saia was sure the goddess would have noticed, if she hadn''t been undoubtedly focused on Ceila and her brother. ¡®But it''s a slow thing. You have to be certain and the other person has to feel the same.¡¯ ¡°Who made the first move?¡± Saia asked. He smiled. ¡°Technically me, since the first turn of that wretched match was mine. But I''ll concede that your mother was the one to offer me a beer afterwards.¡± ¡®They didn¡¯t help your brother immediately because they weren¡¯t sure Ceila wasn¡¯t a pious.¡¯ Saia nodded. She knew her friend hadn¡¯t been taught the gestures for her first years at the pond, in case she followed her mom¡¯s example and started worshipping Vizena. By the time she¡¯d proved herself through additional secret-keeping tasks, the course of her life was already charted in the goddess¡¯s mind. Her dad suddenly frowned, looking somewhere behind her. ¡°What''s going on?¡± Saia turned: Ceila and her brother weren''t visible anymore, surrounded by a crowd of people. ¡°I¡¯ll go check on them,¡± she said, leaving her place behind the stall. Her dad nodded, waving a hand to show his agreement. As soon as Saia reached the outskirts of the crowd, she heard Vizena¡¯s voice coming from above. ¡°The question is very simple, my dears. What were you trying to do?¡± Saia couldn''t see her brother, so she guessed he was in the area free of people near the fountain. She pushed people aside, Vizena¡¯s voice becoming clearer while she advanced. Lassem and Ceila were standing next to the low wall, one more step of distance than the one they¡¯d been keeping before. Saia pushed two more onlookers aside and entered the clearing around the fountain. ¡°What''s going on?¡± she asked out loud, looking up at the sky as if she could see Vizena¡¯s complacent face smiling down from the clouds. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re here, Saia. Maybe you''ll be able to put some sense into your brother''s head.¡± She looked at him: he moved his hand as if to gesture something, then let it fall back at his side and lowered his eyes. Ceila''s face was a mask of indifference, gaze lost in the distance. She didn''t gesture either, because her hands were closed in fists. Saia sighed. ¡°I don''t understand, goddess.¡± ¡°He tried to kiss her, my child. That''s not appropriate behavior for a friend.¡± ¡°He''s more than a friend,¡± Ceila hissed. ¡°Are you sure? Care to take out the box in your pocket?¡± She obeyed. ¡°Show us what''s inside, my child.¡± Ceila tore the lid off. A gust of wind blew through the crowd and the necklace flew out of the box, high enough to be seen by all of the spectators. Saia looked around and realized at that moment that everyone in the area could hear Vizena. She slowly returned her attention to the scene in front of her, wondering why that was happening, since the goddess always talked into people¡¯s ears in a way that made her words inaudible by everyone nearby. ¡°This was a gift, right dear?¡± Ceila reluctantly nodded. The crowd was staring at the jewel, a craftmanship of metal wires, painted shells and pearls. The merchants seemed especially interested, in their colorful clothes of the northern villages. ¡°A gift from whom?¡± Ceila looked at Saia. They both understood that she couldn''t tell the truth, or Vizena would have wondered why she knew that the necklace was from Lassem without hearing it from Saia''s lips. Lips Ceila trusted a lot, lips that had given her a different name. ¡°Tome,¡± Ceila said, and lowered her eyes. Lassem looked at Saia, eyebrows drawn together in disbelief. She risked the gesture ¡®forced to¡¯. He nodded rigidly, then looked up at the floating necklace. ¡°The matter is very clear, then,¡± Vizena continued. ¡°Either you two are only friends, and Lassem has to come to terms with that, or you, Ceila, have accepted a very precious gift without telling Tome your actual feelings. That would be a cold thing to do. I didn¡¯t think you were so greedy and untrustworthy.¡± Ceila''s gaze jumped around the crowd, frantic to gauge its reactions. Saia looked at the foreign merchants and realized they were her potential future customers. She couldn''t afford to ruin her reputation in front of them, and she couldn''t explain the truth because the gestures, to them, were little more than scratching or catching an insect in mid-air. She stepped forward. ¡°Let¡¯s ask Tome. Maybe he only meant that as a friendly gift.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need, dear, because Ceila and Lassem are just friends. Right?¡± They looked at each other. ¡°No,¡± Ceila said. ¡°We''re not just friends. We''re¡­¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Lassem cut her off. ¡°Yes, I''m sorry for this misunderstanding. We''re friends. Close, but nothing more.¡± Ceila looked at him, eyes a bit narrower. ¡°Is it what you really want?¡± ¡°It''s the truth,¡± he said, gesturing with slightly trembling hands: ¡®Your future. Your plans.¡¯ ''I don''t care,'' she answered, butchering the movement in half to take a deep breath and blink a few times. They both stood in silence after that, looking at the ground. ¡°What is it then, Ceila?¡± the goddess asked. ¡°Are you friends, yes or no?¡± "Yes," she said, gesturing ¡®no¡¯: a hand pressing down the index of the opposite one as if to make it pop. ¡°We''re all in agreement, then,¡± Vizena said, cheerfully. Saia felt the blood pounding in her ears. She hated to see Vizena win, but even worse, she hated to see her win with her help. She knew it wasn''t her fault, that she didn''t really have a say in the matter, but that made everything worse. It made her feel like a puppet. She counted her options, but there weren''t many. The crowd was already losing interest. Soon the merchants would have left, with Vizena¡¯s version of the story firmly in their heads. ¡°This is not true, and you know it,¡± she shouted. ¡°You told me to lie.¡± ¡°Quit the whining, Saia. This whole thing has nothing to do with you. You should respect your goddess, especially when she''s right. Ceila just admitted it.¡± ¡°She said ''no'', you stinking ratbrain. This,¡± she repeated Ceila''s gesture, ¡°means ¡®no¡¯.¡± The silence punched at her ears from every direction. She glanced at the crowd, where the interested expressions of the merchants were punctuated by the horrified faces of the locals. Even Lassem and Ceila were staring at her with wide eyes. ¡°Oh,¡± Vizena said. They all looked up in the silence that followed. ¡°Oh,¡± the goddess repeated, a dangerous awareness in her tone. 3.3 - Consequences Saia lay in her bed for a long time, thinking back at the silence after the necklace had fallen to the ground. The crowd had slowly dispersed, leaving her alone with the horrified expressions of Ceila, Lassem and a few locals. She felt like a traitor, and she hadn''t even accomplished anything meaningful. The next day, she glanced at her brother multiple times while they were on the boat. He was ignoring her, but she couldn''t sense whether he was angry at her or just too overwhelmed by what had happened. He''d told the family everything, of course, besides Saia''s intervention. She had shared their worry for him, keeping silent too on her side of the story. She didn''t use the gestures anymore, knowing that Vizena was paying attention to her. She thought about a possible explanation during her work, that ¡®no¡¯ was a gesture only Ceila and her understood, but she didn¡¯t want to bring it up with the goddess without being asked first. She was slowly starting to become comfortable again, when Vizena talked to her. ¡°I¡¯ll have some guests at the temple, tomorrow morning,¡± she said, startling Saia while she was carrying the boat back to the fishing house in the dark of the evening. ¡°I want to offer them some fish-based delicacies that will be prepared by my personal cook. Can you bring me the fish tonight?¡± She listed what she needed without waiting for an answer. Saia heard her brother call for her and realized she''d stopped walking, forcing both of them to stand with a boat over their heads. ¡°And come alone. I don''t want your brother here after his insolence.¡± Saia knew she''d been a lot more disrespectful than him, but she refrained from expressing it out loud. She prepared the fish and filled a sack, giving a quick explanation to her dad. She left, carrying the wares with two arms, hoping that Vizena wasn''t planning to have a conversation about what had happened. The temple''s doors were slightly ajar. Saia stood there, expecting the goddess to open them. When nothing happened, she gritted her teeth and put the sack of fish down, pushed one of the doors completely open and entered with her delivery. The inside was lit with candles as usual. They were placed mostly behind the statue, a woman of turquoise veined with gray and gold. The center of the temple was dark, an empty space that only the dancers could tread. The assembly was usually aligned along the circular wall and scolded if parts of it dared to stray too far. Saia stayed near the doors, even if running away from the goddess was as useless as covering her own body in sheets at night to discourage a monster from killing her. ¡°Here''s the fish, goddess.¡± The statue smiled. The wavy hair sculpted on her shoulders seemed to dance like tendrils at the light of the candles. ¡°Leave it there.¡± She pointed at one of the benches against the wall. Saia left the bag right next to it. She started her retreat towards the door, but the goddess''s voice stopped her. ¡°It''s been a while since the last time you prayed. After what you called me, it would be only polite to indulge me a bit, don''t you think?¡± Saia pried her eyes away from the door. If praying was the only punishment Vizena would inflict her before forgetting what happened, she could only welcome it. ¡°No, not that bench, it was polished this morning. That one.¡± She pointed to the left side of the room, opposite to where Saia stood and closer to the mountain. She obeyed, holding in a bitter smile. Of course Vizena couldn''t help being as petty as she could. She sat, hands folded in her lap, back against the wall. She stared back at the goddess and her half-smile. ¡°I ask forgiveness for my words,¡± she began, ¡°And for you to protect my family and the village. I''ll say the Promise to the Gods in your honor.¡± She began the prayer, moving her gaze between the statue and the windows. It was very dark outside, despite the constantly lit stick torches all around the perimeter of the temple. She finished the prayer, bowed her head and stood, or tried to. Her muscles strained against an invisible barrier, unable to lift her off the bench. ¡°What are you¡­¡± ¡°You can come out, Vara.¡± A human-sized figure stepped forward from behind the statue. Saia strained to see who it was, but she could only see a dark silhouette lit from behind by the candles. The name sounded extremely familiar: Ceila¡¯s mother was called like that, but she couldn¡¯t believe she was pious to the point of spending the night in the temple. ¡°You can leave now,¡± the goddess said. ¡°Do you remember my instructions?¡± Vara stepped in front of the statue. Saia couldn''t see her well because her whole body was covered by clothes: long sleeves, a colorful shawl around the head, leather boots. ¡°Of course, goddess.¡± The voice was Ceila¡¯s mother¡¯s. Saia tried to stand again, but the invisible barriers were still there. The woman stepped forward again, the light dancing on the patterns of the cloth. ¡°Those are my clothes,¡± Saia said, loud enough to reverberate in the room. ¡°No, they''re not,¡± Vizena said. ¡°But I''ve purchased them from the same merchants.¡± She lowered her eyes onto Vara. ¡°Care to repeat them, dear? I made you stay hidden for quite a long time, I wouldn¡¯t want for you to have forgotten something.¡± ¡°Yes, goddess. I''ll go to the Turviavin House and stay there a bit, then change back into my own clothes before leaving.¡± ¡°Excellent.¡± The statue¡¯s head turned to look at Saia. ¡°See, Vara didn''t like how you tried to ruin her daughter''s reputation, so she came to me for help. Now we''re going to have a conversation about that.¡± Vara nodded and turned to leave. Saia moved her gaze from her to Vizena. ¡°What''s all this for? Nobody would ever think she''s me.¡± The goddess smiled. ¡°Oh, she''s pretty convincing from afar. But you don''t need to think about it, now. Goodnight Vara, and please close the doors.¡± The woman bowed before leaving. The doors closed with a low rumble behind her, leaving Saia alone with the goddess. ¡°Now,¡± she started, ¡°You already told me what this gesture means.¡± She pressed her index down in the way that meant ''no''. ¡°It''s something me and Ceila invented,¡± Saia interrupted her. ¡°Oh, really? You weren''t that good at hiding it, then. The whole village is using it. Sure, they manage to make it look like they¡¯re just popping their fingers, but when done in combination with other little gestures it becomes a bit suspicious.¡± Saia shrugged, determined not to give her any more clues. ¡°Tell me more about these gestures. What does this mean?¡± She pretended to tuck her hair behind her left ear. ¡°Or if you prefer, you can tell me how to say ¡®goddess¡¯?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Saia said, looking at the ground. How ironic that the goddess had used the gesture for ''fool'' as an example. ¡°Oh, you''ll know soon enough. The next ceremony is eight days from now, and I have no reason to open the temple before it starts. Do you think you can resist until then with a pile of rotting fish?¡± The idea alone made Saia gag. She tried to stand again, straining against the wall of air that enveloped her body. ¡°Let me know when you finally decide to be useful,¡± the goddess said, then the statue became still again. The head was the only part of her body Saia could move. She leaned it back against the wall. She didn''t see a way out. The only thing she could do was try to sleep, and maybe that nightmare would be gone by morning. She opened her eyes, aware that it was much, much later by the rigidity of her muscles even before being aware of the dim light entering from the outside. Her stomach growled painfully. ¡°Hi, Saia,¡± the goddess said. ¡°Are you ready to tell me everything yet?¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Saia tried to answer, but her mouth was dry. ¡°Can I at least have some water?¡± she asked. ¡°Not unless you ask for it with the right gesture.¡± Saia relaxed against the wall. The gestures were too important. It was the last piece of freedom the village had left before being completely subjugated by Vizena. She knew her duty was to die protecting them. The light outside became brighter as more time passed, until it was fully morning. She heard voices outside. She couldn''t distinguish the words, but by the tone she knew they were looking for her. Someone banged multiple times against the doors. ¡°Let her out, goddess,¡± her mom''s voice shouted. ¡°Or let us in. Whatever it''s happening, whatever you think she did, we can solve it if we discuss it together.¡± ¡°Do you want to see them again, Saia?¡± the goddess asked. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± she shouted, but no sound came out of her mouth. A head peered through the window on the right, the opposite side from where Saia was sitting. ¡°It''s your brother Heilam,¡± the goddess commented. ¡°Let him know that you''re fine. Wave. Smile.¡± Saia did none of that. She stared at the silhouette of her brother''s head and hoped he would guess what the situation was. ¡°Wave,¡± the goddess said, and Saia felt the wind move her arm and hand as if to greet someone. ¡°Smile,¡± she said then, and the corners of Saia''s mouth were painfully pushed up until her teeth were showing. Saia felt tears pooling on her lower eyelids, but they didn¡¯t fall until the head had disappeared from the window. ¡°She''s perfectly fine, as you can see,¡± Vizena¡¯s voice boomed, covering the whole area. ¡°We were just clarifying some things about her behavior at the market. Please go home and don''t interrupt again.¡± Saia strained to listen, but nobody was calling her name anymore. ¡°I don''t know what you''re trying to obtain with your silence,¡± Vizena said. ¡°If it won¡¯t be you, I''ll ask your siblings, your parents, your friends, then every single person in this village until someone talks. Who do you think will be the first to crack?¡± Not me, Saia thought, and willed herself to believe it. It almost worked, for the next two hours. Then, the fish began to smell. She glanced at the bag, abandoned two benches away from her. She could see why Vizena had told her to leave it there: the light and heat of the sun pooled over and around it from two of the four windows of the temple. She closed her eyes, breathing through her mouth. It only made it feel drier. By noon, she was sure she wasn''t going to resist long. Her muscles were cramped, her stomach empty, the air painful to breathe. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you,¡± she whispered, then coughed. ¡°Just in time,¡± Vizena said, cheerfully. ¡°I was following some conversations and this gesture,¡± she brushed her left shoulder with the tips of the fingers, ¡°Keeps popping up. What does it mean?¡± Saia coughed again. ¡°It means ¡®goddess¡¯. Can I have some water?¡± Vizena obliged, making a full glass float through the barely opened doors. At the same time, the bag of fish was pushed out by invisible forces. ¡°It''s just outside the entrance,¡± Vizena warned her while she drank. ¡°Ready to come in at any moment. Now, what''s the word for ¡®temple¡¯?¡± She kept asking questions, either by saying the word or imitating the gesture. Saia answered truthfully to the first ones, then started coming up with random meanings. The goddess seemed to catch onto what she was doing, because after a while she started to ask the same words again. ¡°This is not what you said last time, dear,¡± she said. ¡°Do you need the fish for support?¡± Saia had to become more careful after that, and having to remember her lies meant that she couldn''t tell as many of them. More and more knowledge surrendered, more and more freedom lost, and it was her fault. ¡°I feel I can infer what people are saying, now,¡± Vizena said in the end. Her voice had quickly turned from cheerful to cold as the hours passed. ¡°There''s a lot of badness to be eradicated from this place. You can go.¡± Saia didn''t realize what the goddess had said until the doors creaked open. She tried to stand, carefully, without much hope. Her legs flared and popped all the way up. She staggered outside, in the low afternoon sun. She was surprised to see the village still standing. It felt wrong, as if it should have burned and crumbled a bit more with every gesture the goddess had stolen. Less surprising were the looks people sent her way, down at the village''s square. She scuttled on, head lowered. Vizena had been surprisingly subtle in the way she''d trapped her, but she was never subtle nor patient when interacting with her people: as soon as she saw or heard something she didn''t approve of, she made it known, often dragging her intervention for whole days of nagging and asking for uncompensated tasks as a sign of repentance. Surely a lot of people had already been victims of that treatment in the time she''d spent at the temple. Since she was the only one missing and her family had looked for her, they knew there was only one possible culprit. People got out of her way as soon as they spotted her and stopped talking when she walked past them. She risked a sporadic glance around every once in a while. She could see some conversations happening far away from her, between people who hadn''t seen her yet. No sign of a gesture. Once, she saw a woman move a hand casually, clearly not to make a gesture but to fix her dress, and flinch halfway through, her expression suddenly tense. She went home, because that was the only place she could go, but knew she couldn''t handle the disappointment of her family. She slowed down as soon as she spotted her house at the end of the street. She didn''t stop only because she knew they were already looking at her through the windows and she didn¡¯t want them to think her not strong enough to face the consequences of her actions. She approached the wooden fence that ran around the house and the small garden that surrounded it. The curtains of the two windows at the front were swaying a bit. She fumbled with the keys before she could open the door. She kept her gaze on the floor until the door was closed behind her, even if she sensed all of the eyes that were looking at her. When she turned, she barely had the time to register all of her family sitting in chairs around the kitchen area when Lassem hugged her. She was startled, not expecting him to be that close, but she hugged him immediately after that, tighter than she''d ever done. She still wasn''t ready to look past his shoulders at the rest of the family. Lassem let her go, revealing their mother immediately behind him. She gently put a hand on Saia''s shoulder. She wondered whether to hug her, but she realized from her stance that it wasn''t quite the time for that, even if her expression was gentle. ¡°I¡¯m glad beyond everything to have you back,¡± she said. ¡°And I''m proud of you for standing up against Vizena.¡± If the goddess had commented that last sentence, Lada didn''t show it. ¡°But this is the worst possible outcome for the village. I don''t know how we''ll ever recover from this.¡± Her words hit deep, even if they were more hopeful than what the truth suggested: that they wouldn''t have recovered, ever. ¡°What an understatement,¡± Heilam said somewhere behind Lada. ¡°Do you have clouds in your head, Saia?¡± Her mom turned sharply, allowing Saia to see her brother. He was the only one standing, arm leaning on one of the wooden counters. ¡°She caught me speaking with my friends and we mentioned her a couple of times. We''re forbidden to see each other again until we have shown enough repentance, whatever that means.¡± He flinched, the hand on the counter punching the wooden surface. He stormed off, out of the kitchen area and into the living room, then through the door that brought to the rooms. It slammed shut behind him. Everyone kept silent for a while, Lada still with her hand on Saia''s shoulder, Lassem standing nearby. ¡°What do we do, now?¡± he asked. ¡°I suggest you come fishing with us tonight, Saia,¡± her dad said, leaning back on his chair. ¡°We''ll calm our nerves, then we''ll think about how to face what expects us.¡± Saia remembered the stink. She didn''t like the idea at all. Her sister Misia must have thought the same, because she saw her straightening her back on her spot next to the window, as if to give herself the courage to speak her mind. ¡°Sorry dad, but I don''t think Saia should fish with you anymore, or people will stop buying from us.¡± She glanced at Saia, then lowered her eyes. ¡°Sorry,¡± she repeated. ¡°No, you''re right,¡± Saia said. ¡°You should all pretend to be angry at me, so that everyone will be sure that you didn''t have anything to do with all of this.¡± Lada tightened her grip a bit to catch her attention. ¡°If they have any brain at all, they¡¯ll know it was all Vizena¡¯s fault. It had to happen sooner or later, Saia. The only reason the secret was kept for so long was that it allowed people to discuss other secrets they deemed more interesting.¡± Saia shook her head, and Lada hugged her. That broke the tension she was holding in, freeing the tears. Lassem joined the hug. ¡°I¡¯ll cook something,¡± Silem said, and Misia quickly rose to help him out. Saia ate and slept and cried some more, never left alone for more than a second. Still, she felt the fracture between her and the rest of the village getting wider and unbearable. One week later, at dawn, she climbed the stairs of Vizena¡¯s temple. The goddess waited for her to knock before opening the doors. Saia walked forward until she was in the dark center of the room, gripping with both hands the strap of the heavy bag that hung from her shoulder. The statue lowered her head to look at her. ¡°What do you want, child?¡± Saia gritted her teeth and put one knee on the stone pavement. ¡°You told me that you appreciated my help. That''s why I''m here to make my request even if I knew that you usually wouldn''t take kindly to it.¡± ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°I beg you, allow me to leave Suimer.¡± She looked at the pedestal, not feeling strong enough to raise her eyes toward Vizena¡¯s face and risk meeting her horrible smile. ¡°Why this request?¡± ¡°People hate me. They avoid me when I leave the house, so I¡¯m staying in my room as much as I can. But I see the looks they give our house and I know that they''re doing this to my family too, even if they would never admit it to me. I don''t want them to suffer.¡± She didn''t want to suffer either, but she thought it irrelevant after all she''d done. And yet, she was aware at every word she spoke that going away was the easy solution, a way to avoid punishment. She almost wanted Vizena to tell her ¡®no¡¯. ¡°It seems reasonable. I don''t like the air of negativity around you either, it''s poisoning the atmosphere of the village.¡± Saia sighed, lowering her head further. ¡°But I have some conditions.¡± This time, Saia looked straight into the goddess''s eyes. ¡°You''ll leave right now, without telling anything to your family.¡± Saia nodded sharply. She had prepared for the eventuality of having to leave right away. She had spent as much time as possible with them in the last few days. ¡°And you won''t ever come back, in any shape or form. Don''t write letters either. If I see you here again, there will be consequences.¡± Saia nodded again. She could only bear the thought of never entering the village again by focusing on how much she hated Vizena. If there was a way to squash her, to beat and humiliate her until she couldn''t hurt anyone, she would have found it. That moment of strength dissolved when Vizena quickly dismissed her with a movement of the hand painfully similar to the gesture for ¡®cobweb¡¯. ¡°Go, now. Before too many people see you.¡± Saia stood and left quickly. She ran down the streets, toward the line or white stones, already savoring the sensation of not having the shadow of Vizena¡¯s presence constantly pressing down onto her mind. But first, Ceila¡¯s house. She woke her up with a pebble bouncing off the window. It opened slightly, then closed again. Some instants later, the door opened and Ceila ran out to hug her. ¡°Are you okay?¡± she asked, so loud that Saia had to shush her before answering. ¡°I¡¯m leaving. I can''t bear this place anymore. Vizena just gave me her permission.¡± ¡°Which can be retracted at any moment,¡± her voice said, ¡°If you don''t hurry.¡± Ceila looked at her, confused, clearly still piecing together what ¡®leaving¡¯ actually meant. ¡°Please take care of my brother,¡± Saia continued. ¡°I didn''t betray the whole village for you to give up on each other.¡± Ceila¡¯s eyes widened with understanding. She hugged Saia again. ¡°Please be safe. I''ll pray to see you again in better circumstances.¡± Saia snorted. ¡°Praying to whom?¡± she said, speaking over her friend''s shoulder. ¡°Vizena?¡± ¡°I don''t know,¡± Ceila said, stepping back. ¡°The sea? The mountain? The people you''ll meet?¡± Saia liked the idea. ¡°And I''ll pray to the sea that you''ll be successful.¡± Ceila nodded. ¡°I will. Have... Have a safe journey.¡± She smiled with her lips, clearly trying to hold in the tears. Saia did her best to smile back, then started walking along the street, still feeling her gaze on her back. Then the road turned and she was alone, the line of white stones already visible in the distance. 3.4 - The crossing Saia stopped talking; Aili already knew the rest of the story and Zeles had witnessed most of it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Aili murmured. ¡°Now I understand why you didn''t want to wait.¡± Saia hugged her knees, looking at Zeles. His light was rotating slowly and he had yet to say a word. ¡°This is why I was asking all of those questions, back when I arrived,¡± she said. ¡°But I couldn''t find a way forward. You gave me hope again when you asked me for help and answered my questions about the gods. After joining the monks I felt like I could actually do something. It''s my responsibility.¡± ¡°I see. Why didn¡¯t you tell me any of that?¡± ¡°I didn''t know what you thought of Vizena. And you were dying, I didn''t want to give you another burden.¡± ¡°I would have helped you.¡± ¡°And wasted too much energy. I probably would have got us caught by the monks, because I just wasn''t ready for something like what I''m about to do. But now I am. Are you going to help me?¡± ¡°Yes. At least I won''t die like a coward.¡± ¡°You won''t have to die. I told you I have a plan for that.¡± ¡°And what is it, exactly?¡± Aili asked. ¡°You''ll just have to trust me.¡± ¡°You said that you needed my opinion about your plan. Maybe if you tell us what you mean to do, I could warn you about potential mistakes.¡± Saia smiled. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you would consider the whole thing a mistake.¡± ¡°That isn''t reassuring.¡± ¡°There''s no need for this,¡± Zeles said. ¡°I don''t want to get my hopes up. Me being afraid to die is the cause of all of our problems. It''s time I accept with dignity that it will eventually happen.¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°You didn''t cause my problems. If anything, you gave me hope.¡± He kept rotating in silence. ¡°Dan and Mor¨¬c are up,¡± Aili said. ¡°They''re waiting for you.¡± Saia nodded. She reached out with both hands toward Zeles, stopping short of touching him. ¡°Can I put you in my bag?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You sure?¡± She carefully picked him up. ¡°It''s full of snakes in there.¡± He sighed. ¡°They''re asking whether they¡¯ll have to come here,¡± Aili said. Saia put Zeles in her bag and stood. ¡°No, I''m going there.¡± ¡°Are they going to be part of the plan?¡± Zeles asked. ¡°Yes. They''re going to help me get to Suimer.¡± She kept quiet about what they''d have to do later. She''d have told them that part of the plan on the way, when Aili and Zeles couldn¡¯t hear her. She glanced at the street outside before leaving the house. ¡°Don''t reveal too much,¡± Zeles said. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They''re not from here.¡± She locked the door and started walking down the street. ¡°I know, they''re from Izgos¡¯s orphanage.¡± ¡°That''s a cover-up story. They''re not from the villages. They were brought here from the outside.¡± Saia stopped in the middle of the empty road. ¡°So they''re¡­¡± ¡°They''re from outside the mountain. They were brought here from across the sea.¡± Saia heard a sound coming from one of the houses around her and resumed walking. ¡°And the monks didn''t notice?¡± ¡°No. It was during a violent storm. A man brought them here, asked me to take care of them and left. Mor¨¬c was about ten, Dan four.¡± Saia thought of how they never talked about their past, how she''d never asked because she didn''t ask about that sort of stuff. ¡°So that''s why you don''t trust them? Just because they''re from the outside it doesn''t mean they''ll betray us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about them, but I fear that one day whoever brought them here will come to take them back, and who knows what they could do with the information about the mountain.¡± Saia nodded, trying to picture the mysterious people that lived beyond the sea. ¡°So I shouldn''t tell them about you, right? And magic, monks and deities in general.¡± ¡°Exactly. Only the bare minimum for what they have to do. And don¡¯t put them in danger.¡± Saia mentally retraced the steps of her plan while she approached the house, the only one with light coming out of the windows. She felt uneasy asking for their help while keeping so many secrets to herself, but she¡¯d have kept quiet anyway. She knocked on the door, already smiling. ¡°Saia!¡± Dan greeted her, running past the open door to hug her. Mor¨¬c appeared behind him, leaning with a shoulder against the doorframe, and greeted her with a wave and a lazy smile. She couldn''t help but wonder how much he remembered of the world outside the mountain. Dan let her go and pointed at the house. ¡°Come inside, we want to know everything.¡± Saia followed him into the living room, or as she called it, the carpet room. Dan led her to a chair that had just been freed by the clutter, judging by the small pile of rolled carpets at its feet. She sat down, while Dan occupied the sofa and Mor¨¬c the bench in front of the loom. ¡°So,¡± Dan began, hunching forward until his elbows were on his thighs. ¡°What do you need help with?¡± Saia knew they didn¡¯t have enough time for a complete summary of the situation, so she repeated a more heartfelt version of the speech she¡¯d made when she¡¯d told the monks about Vizena. She mentioned what the goddess had done to the people she knew, how dangerous she was, and ended with her mistake and its consequences. The boys'' serious expressions told her they understood just how bad the situation was. ¡°¡­and tonight I''ll get rid of her. Any questions?¡± ¡°Yes," Dan said. ¡°How can we help?¡± She looked at his brother and waited for him to nod before answering. ¡°First of all, we''ll need a boat¡­¡± The water slid pleasantly around the hull as Saia rowed forward. Lausune¡¯s people had begun to trust Koidan again after Aili had told them that everything would have gone back to normal and the monks had left. It hadn¡¯t been difficult for her to convince a fisher to lend them his boat. She glanced back at the two boys behind her. Dan was sitting in the center, on a tall heap of coiled rope, while Mor¨¬c rowed behind him, following her lead. He wasn''t good at it, Dan wasn''t strong enough, and that was why they had brought the rope. But it wasn''t yet the moment to think about that. In place of the border, four white rocks were surfacing from the water, perfectly aligned with the line of white stones that was traced on the beach. As soon as they were past them, Saia started explaining the second part of her plan, whispering over the gentle splashing of the waves. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Short after she had finished, they approached Tilau¡¯s four rocks, which meant they were about to enter Dore''s territory. If for any reason the monks still investigating there had awakened him, he would have stopped them immediately. Saia slowed down the boat as much as she could, holding her breath, thinking that if she was the only one being captured, Dan and Mor¨¬c could at least escape. They crossed completely without hearing anyone''s voice. Saia let her breath go in a sigh and resumed rowing, faster now, to get the boat as far from the beach as she could before it gave way to the village. They saw the lanterns of the monks from afar, their silhouettes pacing back and forth on the streets. ¡°What happened?¡± Dan whispered. ¡°Tilau¡¯s situation is similar to ours a few weeks ago. Their god can¡¯t tend to them properly right now." She rowed closer to the southern docks and slowed down. The light of the lanterns was thick in that area, it was impossible to get closer without the monks that were holding them noticing the boat. ¡°Fallback plan,¡± she said, and started rowing forward and away from the docks. The village¡¯s southern shore was mostly straight, but it made a wide curve at the end, where the external forest started. The dark shapes of its trees were all Saia could see at the horizon. It kept going toward the open sea for nobody knew how many towerlengths and disappeared in the distance. She approached the dark shape of the forest, straining her eyes to see a place in which they could dock. She saw a thin strip of land weakly glinting in the moonlight, so she steered in its direction, hoping it was a beach. ¡°I¡¯m asking one last time: are you sure you''re okay with this? We''ll keep close to the border, but nobody knows what''s out there.¡± ¡°Heck yeah!¡± ¡°What he said,¡± Mor¨¬c added, clearly trying to hide the heavy breathing that came with all that rowing. Saia nodded and kept going until the water seemed shallow enough. She jumped down and gestured for Mor¨¬c to help her push the boat to shore. Their boots splashed in the water, protecting them from potential snakes. Saia expected the boat to slide smoothly onto the sand, but she heard the hull scrape against something instead. They stopped, eyes wide in the dark. Saia moved her feet and felt small pebbles underneath her boots. ¡°We need to carry it,¡± she whispered. Mor¨¬c nodded and nudged his brother. ¡°Take the rope and get down.¡± He obeyed, heaving the rope over his shoulder. They both looked at Saia. ¡°How do we get it up?¡± She showed them. It took them three tries, but in the end Saia and Mor¨¬c were holding it over their shoulders and Dan was stabilizing it with his hands. They stepped forward until they were surrounded by vegetation, then Saia took out the torch from her bag and let Dan light it. The trees became alive with shadows. ¡°We''ll go left until we see the border, then decide whether to enter the village from there or cross to the northern docks.¡± They both agreed. Saia started walking, slightly inclined to balance the boat on her shoulder. The hull bumped and scraped everywhere as they went. She held back the swearing. The trees were different from the ones of the internal forest that grew on the flanks of the mountain. They were taller, with larger leaves and branches that were sparse at the base and crowded at the top. She saw the scaffolding of flat mushrooms on the side of some of the trunks. She had expected the trees to be closer to each other, but there was a lot of space, mostly covered on the ground by bushes that kept making her stumble. But she maintained her gaze fixed toward Tilau, ready to hide the torch as soon as she saw the lights of the monks in the distance. She didn''t expect to see a whole line of them, glinting among the trees. She quickly passed the torch to Dan, who let go of the boat to extinguish it. ¡°What''s that?¡± someone said in a whispered shout. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Too late, it went away. You weren''t paying attention.¡± Saia stopped advancing: there was a whole line of monks just a step behind the white stones. Half of them were looking toward the forest, the others toward the village. There were four arms of space between one sentinel and the other, and the line kept going as far as Saia could see. It was impossible to slip past them unnoticed. ¡°They can''t wake up Dore soon enough,¡± another voice said. Now they were talking with a normal tone that seemed excessively loud in the middle of the night, probably to give each other courage and scare whatever creature might approach from the trees. Saia looked around, wondering whether the external forest had boars. ¡°What was that thing that you saw?¡± the second monk asked. ¡°A light? It was moving between the trees, so I''m not sure.¡± Saia started to walk back, gesturing for Mor¨¬c to do the same. They managed to retreat without bumping into anything. ¡°Yeah, I''m not going out there to check,¡± another one said. She slowly turned, paying attention to the stern of the boat, and resumed walking. She bumped against two trees on her way forward before finding a path between them, and both times she heard the monks'' voices, even if she couldn''t understand the words anymore. She guided the group some steps deeper into the forest, until the lights of the monks weren''t visible anymore, then asked Dan to light the torch again. ¡°What now?¡± he whispered as he handed it back. Saia raised the light over her head, careful not to get it too close to either the trees or the boat. She could hear some insects making a sound similar to the call of a frog and a cicada together. ¡°We¡¯ll cross the forest,¡± she said. ¡°Look for a beach on the other side and then row toward the northern docks.¡± She could tell by their silence that they didn''t like the idea. She didn''t want to force them to go forward: Mor¨¬c was barely an adult and Dan still a teen, and even if they had agreed to help her, she didn''t want to risk something happening to them. ¡°If you want to go back, I''ll find another¡­¡± A long wail in the forest at their right made her freeze. ¡°Let''s keep going,¡± Mor¨¬c said, a sudden urgency in his voice. Saia felt the boat push against her shoulder as he started walking, and she had to move not to lose her balance. She remembered Koidan''s warning about the two brothers. ¡°Do you know what that is?¡± she asked, trying to sound casual instead of scared to death. ¡°I¡¯ve read about it. Shouldn''t be a problem if it doesn''t find us.¡± ¡°Don''t be evasive. What is it, Mor¨¬c?¡± There was a bit of silence, then the beginning of a wail. ¡°A plant,¡± he said, a bit too loud. Saia frowned, navigating her way around another trunk. ¡°They eat cows and sheep,¡± Mor¨¬c added, panting a bit. ¡°And people, sometimes.¡± Saia nodded, looking up at the trees. ¡°What do they look like?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only read about them, never seen one. They can take a lot of different shapes, but they are similar to animals.¡± ¡°Which animals? Pigs, donkeys?¡± ¡°I don''t know.¡± Another, closer wail made them accelerate, the boat bumping and scraping against every trunk and branch. Saia feared that the light could make them easily detectable, but the fire could also be a good weapon against that particular enemy. The wail was terrifying, but she didn''t feel particularly scared of facing a fangless, slow-moving plant, as creepy as it might look like. That feeling changed when she felt a rustling at her right and raised the torch to see: a mass of leaves as big as a goat was slithering towards them, fast like a merchant ship with sails unfurled. There was a portion of the shapeless mass of leaves that protruded forward, away from the body. It opened, showing insides of pointy branches jutting out like broken bones, oozing amber liquid. She knew enough of snake venom to imagine that touching it might cause a painful death. The creature was moving faster than they could run with a boat on their shoulders. The shadows running on its surface revealed at least three legs made of multiple branches spiraling around each other. ¡°Put it down,¡± she shouted, not caring anymore whether the monks could hear her. They slammed down the boat on one side and knelt behind it, using it as a shield. Saia put the arm holding the torch on top of the curving flank of the hull and moved it from side to side, hoping to scare the creature before it got too close. "What do we do?" Dan yelled. There was a slam against the boat and a scraping sound. The creature wailed again, startling Saia. The scratching continued, approaching the stern where she was crouching. She opened the bag with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the torch. The only thing she saw were snakes, carefully tangled in an apparently casual way. She didn''t want to destroy Aili''s work, but she didn''t see another solution that would take less than two seconds. She chose one of the most external snakes and extracted it with her bare fingers. She awakened it, keeping its head closed, and waited for the scratching sound to approach the end of the hull. As soon as she saw the protruding head of the creature, she tossed the snake toward it. It bit into a wooden leg, hitting the leaves with the rest of its body. The creature was eerily still, devoid of any reaction a normal animal might have. It wailed again, and Saia instinctively stepped back, bumping into Dan. She glanced at the terrified boys behind her and raised the torch in front of herself. ¡°If it attacks, run.¡± But the creature''s head snapped down, and if it had eyes it would be looking at the snake. The mouth of pointy branches and amber resin opened and closed around its body. It tore it away from the wood and engulfed it, ignoring the furious bites against twigs and leaves until the head disappeared inside the creature¡¯s body. Saia retracted some more, realizing she was the next victim. But the three branches retreated under the leaves of the main body, the head lowered again and the whole creature stood motionless on the ground. Saia kept staring at it, knowing that if she adverted her eyes for a moment and looked at it again, it would have just seemed like a regular bush. She suddenly became aware of just how many trees were surrounding them. ¡°Is it dead?¡± Dan asked. ¡°No,¡± Saia said. ¡°Let''s go, before something else finds us.¡± They carefully heaved the boat over their shoulders, almost dropping it twice because everyone''s eyes were on the carnivore plant hidden in plain sight. The creature didn''t move for the whole time, so they left as quickly as they could, expecting a wail from behind them at every step. ¡°That didn¡¯t look like any animal I know,¡± Saia commented once they were close to the end of the forest, but Mor¨¬c didn¡¯t answer. They left the trees and stopped on top of a heap of big rocks. Dan explored the area, looking for a place that was close enough to the water. Meanwhile, Saia and Mor¨¬c tried to gauge how many guards were near the northern docks. Judging by the lights, only three. Probably because Vizena''s territory hadn''t been implied in Zeles''s disappearance, so they didn''t fear any trespassing from that side. Still, they were a problem if they wanted to dock the boat. ¡°Give me your tunic,¡± Mor¨¬c said. ¡°I¡¯ll distract them.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± He nodded. ¡°The torch, also.¡± Saia shrugged and took off the tunic, remaining in a shirt and loose knee-length pants. ¡°I¡¯ll need it later.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bring it back,¡± Mor¨¬c said, putting it on. Saia helped him with the laces, then watched him disappear beyond the rocky shore, wading through the water so that the monks along the border couldn''t see him enter the village, one hand keeping the tunic from being submerged. ¡°I found it,¡± Dan whispered, startling her. They pushed the boat down toward a short beach, making it slide on grass and rocks, uncaring of the sound as long as the whole operation went by quickly. They rowed toward the docks, looking at the three lights of the sentinels. A fourth one reached them. Saia held her breath until they left together toward the left side of the village. She rowed as fast as she could, only marginally helped by Dan''s efforts to keep up. They managed to stop the boat at one of the docks, next to another fishing boat. Saia tied one side of the rope to a pole, the other to the stern, making several loops around both. She assessed her work with some tugs, hoping the boys remembered how to untie the knots in case something didn''t go as expected. She took a deep breath and looked at Dan, sitting in the boat and hidden by the dark. ¡°I¡¯m leaving. Please take care of yourselves.¡± ¡°Go kick her ass,¡± Dan whispered. She smiled and started walking away. She climbed the stairs that connected the docks to the village. There was a folded gray tunic at the top. She looked around, but the street was desert. She put it on with a shrug, checked one last time that everything inside the bag was more or less in the right place, then walked toward the line of white stones. 3.5 - Confrontation The stone she''d displaced two years before was still in the wrong position, some steps away from the line that delimited Vizena''s territory. Saia picked it up and balanced it on her palm. The cold of the smooth surface gave her a moment of clarity in the vortex of fear she was battling with. She took some moments to breathe deeply, then slipped it inside a pocket of her tunic and stepped forward. ¡°So you''re a monk now,¡± Vizena immediately said in her ears. ¡°This explains a lot.¡± No greetings, no preamble. At least she didn¡¯t outright kill her, despite the monks not being able to watch the scene. ¡°Like what?¡± Saia asked. Her words came out breathy, not at all fierce as she had imagined. ¡°Like the fact that I''ve lost three years of my life because someone isn¡¯t happy with how I administer my village. Letting you leave was the biggest mistake of my life.¡± Saia knew she was looking inside her bag right as they spoke. Aili had layered the snakes over Zeles in a way that hid him completely from all sides. Since gods could also perceive any creature¡¯s viss if they focused on it, she had also redistributed their energies along their sleeping bodies, creating clusters here and there, hiding Zeles¡¯s core. The only way it could possibly work was because he was fading and asleep, and his viss was almost imperceptible. Provided Vizena didn¡¯t look too closely. ¡°Since you''re a monk, I guess I can''t kick you out immediately,¡± Vizena added. ¡°So why are you here?¡± Saia relaxed a bit. Either she hadn''t seen Zeles, or she had already notified the monks that the fugitive god was in her village. In any case, she could only keep going with the plan. ¡°I need to see your sphere.¡± ¡°It''s in the temple, where it¡¯s supposed to be.¡± ¡°I need to make sure of it.¡± ¡°Why are you here at night, then? Or have the rules changed so much that you don''t fear gods controlling you anymore?¡± The voice was derisive. Saia remembered Coram''s words: monks could only enter or stay in a village during the night if the village''s god had been put to sleep beforehand. Otherwise, the sentinels couldn''t be sure they weren''t being controlled or replaced by a god. She hadn''t thought about that possible oversight in her plan. Aili had. ¡°They''re looking at me from Tilau.¡± ¡°At night?¡± ¡°Yes. I have to send specific signals at specific times to let them know everything''s fine, and if I don''t they''ll know you did something.¡± ¡°I think you''re lying.¡± ¡°Are you willing to risk it?¡± Saia snapped. The goddess¡¯s silence told her that no, she wasn''t. She liked her power too much. Saia walked on. The wind was blowing in her ears, annoying but not strong enough to stop her. She took her time observing the dark shapes of the houses, trying to spot the differences from the vague memories of the day she''d left. She was tempted to visit her house, but that would have lengthened her stay in the village. She needed to get everything over with before morning, even if it meant not seeing her family at all. She walked up the stairs that led to the temple. She knew she had to go faster, but couldn''t bring herself to. Her heart was already racing. She got close enough to see the round shape of the building at the end of the road. The flames of the torches outside were flickering as usual. She was surprised to see that even the candles on the inside were lit. She held her breath when a shadow obscured them for an instant. She stopped, waiting for it to happen again. When it didn''t, she ran up the distance left from the temple and looked through a window, the same her brother Heilam had looked through two years before. The temple was empty, but she knew there were enough dark corners to hide in. She took out her only glove from the bag and slipped it on. Snakes couldn''t hurt Vizena, and she could easily stop them if she used them against her helpers, but they could be a decent distraction. The doors of the temple were closed. Saia grabbed a handle and pulled, an empty threat already on the tip of her tongue. But she didn''t need to say anything, because the door opened without a sound. She looked around, expecting an ambush from the pious, but the movements she''d seen from the outside belonged to someone else: Vizena''s entire dance crew. She saw Ceila dressed like all the others and stepped forward without thinking. The door closed behind her with a rumbling echo. ¡°Why are you here?¡± she asked. Ceila opened her mouth, too surprised to answer. She then shook her head, spreading her arms at her sides, and Saia noticed how the costume included two long pieces of blue cloth tied to each dancer''s forearms. ¡°I tried,¡± she said. Saia guessed from her voice there was more to the story. She also realized she hadn''t been surprised by her arrival, but by the question she''d asked. Which meant she knew she was coming there. She looked at the other dancers: the ones at the back, closest to the walls, were still getting dressed. They looked tired and uncertain on their feet, as if they had just woken up. She looked at Ceila again: there were many things she wanted to ask, but if Vizena had called her dancers to the temple as soon as she''d seen Saia, it meant she wanted to distract her. She focused on the statue of the goddess. ¡°Show your sphere,¡± she said. The woman of blue and gold smiled. ¡°In front of the inhabitants? Bold, for a monk.¡± ¡°I won''t repeat myself.¡± The statue returned serious, the shadows changing on its face. ¡°Quit the act. Nobody is waiting for you, you came here because you thought that being a monk was enough to come back without consequences. But they didn''t give you their permission, right? So you came here at night. A very dangerous decision.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Saia stepped back toward the door and pulled. As expected, it didn''t budge. ¡°Show me the sphere,¡± she shouted to give herself courage. She started to cross the room, walking fast. She wasn''t even halfway through, when a sudden wind blew strong enough to contrast her every movement. She tried again to walk, but she had to use all of her energies to stand in place without stepping back. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Ceila shouted, stepping forward. Her clothes flew back against the front of her body as the goddess stopped her too. ¡°The monks will see you,¡± Saia said, glancing at the closest window and the torches beyond. ¡°Permission or not, if you hurt someone in the temple they will punish you.¡± She could sense Ceila¡¯s confusion from the way her head tilted, but she kept her eyes on the statue. Vizena nodded in the dancers'' direction. ¡°Why do you think they''re here? Dance, my children.¡± Soft music started resonating in the temple, as if coming from far away. The dancers started moving along the walls. Ceila didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Do you want me to hurt her?¡± Vizena asked, and Saia felt herself getting raised in the air, just enough for her feet not to touch the floor. Ceila hesitated, tried to step forward again, then shook her head and joined the other dancers. They all started to move in a circle, making complicated somersaults to cover the windows with the huge wings of blue cloth tied to their arms. Saia realized the monks couldn''t see Vizena kill her. She put her ungloved hand inside the bag, wiggling her fingers among the snakes to find Zeles''s glass. Her arm was blocked before she could touch the sphere, along with the rest of her body. The wind raised her some more, until she was at eye level with Vizena. She hoped the goddess would have got her closer, but she kept her there instead, suspended in the middle of the room. Then, she started to feel pressure. On the top of her head, the sides of her face, her chest, belly and even legs, were being slowly crushed by what felt like walls of air. Vizena was showing her blue teeth striped with gold. ¡°It feels so good, you have no idea,¡± she said, and the pressure intensified. ¡°Being constantly disrespected and not being able to do anything about it. Oh, I''m going to enjoy this. I just wish I could show it to everyone.¡± Saia gritted her teeth. She felt the blood pulsing in her ears, each breath more difficult than the previous one. She looked around the room, searching for a way out, trying to wiggle her unmoving fingers. She saw Ceila. She had taken a chandelier in her hands and was advancing toward the statue. ¡°I suggest you don''t do it,¡± Vizena said. ¡°You won''t accomplish anything and you''ll die too. I appreciate your talent, but I remember every single time you disrespected me.¡± Ceila hesitated. She looked at Saia and hinted at a gesture with her hand. ¡®What¡­¡¯ ¡° ... should I do?¡± she completed with her voice. ¡°Gossip,¡± Saia managed to say before the pressure forced her jaw shut. She hoped Ceila had understood. ¡°Keep dancing. This is my last warning,¡± Vizena said. Ceila looked at Saia with a confused face as she slowly walked back toward the dancers. Then, her expression became harder. Saia could only hope she remembered all the times they went to the Turviavin to eat, and the only way to distract Vizena once her attention had been captured was... ¡°Did you know that your cousin Kaia got married?¡± Ceila said with a twirl that sent her veils flying to cover the window next to her. Saia redoubled her efforts to move her fingers, even if they were tingling because of the increasing pressure. ¡°And that the florist¡¯s daughter became your mom''s apprentice at the observatory?¡± Ceila continued, balancing the chandelier over her head. ¡°You''re disturbing the performance,¡± Vizena said. ¡°Shut up and dance.¡± ¡°One last thing, my goddess, then I won''t say anything else,¡± Ceila said, stepping forward. ¡°Do you know what happened to the Turviavin¡¯s plates?¡± She caught the chandelier in her hand, throwing her body in a backward somersault, and smashed it against the window behind her. The goddess screamed when the glass shattered. The shards stopped mid-fall and started recomposing as Vizena used all of her focus to fix the window before the sentinels could realize that something was wrong. Saia felt the pressure vanish and her body fall. She shoved her hand all the way inside the bag and touched Zeles¡¯s sphere. Vizena screamed again, her chest bursting open. Her sphere fell out of the cavity and onto the ground as the powers of the two gods clashed. It rolled forward a bit and then stopped, apparently still intact. Saia¡¯s fall became a gentle floating. She touched the ground and started running, eyes fixed on the sphere, but the floor in front of her split open with a sound of thunder. The stones were slashed in half, a crack forming where the air swirled and crackled. Lamps of golden light appeared for an instant where the viss of the two gods collided. Saia tried to run past the crack, but found a wall of wind her body couldn''t trespass. She pressed her hands flat against it and started to push. ¡°One last effort,¡± she whispered, ¡°I have to reach her.¡± ¡°My forces are equal to hers,¡± Zeles answered. ¡°But she can last longer. You need to distract her.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Saia said, looking around. Most of the dancing crew had run away, but some, Ceila amongst them, were pushing against the wall of air. Saia doubted it could make a difference. She thought about smashing more windows, but the goddess must have been expecting it. Then, she heard voices coming from the doors. She turned just as the first person entered: Vara, a torch in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other, still wearing a nightgown. More pious filed in behind her, each holding an improvised weapon. ¡°Kill them!¡± Vizena screamed. ¡°Kill them and break the sphere. It''s in the traitor''s bag.¡± She didn''t need to specify who the traitor was, because everyone''s eyes turned to Saia. ¡°Don''t you dare protect me,¡± she told Zeles. ¡°There''s thirty of them.¡± ¡°Focus on Vizena. If we lose against her, we lose everything.¡± The crowd was spreading in a half-circle along the walls. They advanced, closing in from the sides. The dancers realized what was happening and stepped back, clustering around Saia. ¡°Mom, stop right now,¡± Ceila said, still wielding the chandelier. ¡°She hasn''t done anything but ruin our lives.¡± ¡°Don''t kill my daughter,¡± Vara said to the pious, then she charged forward with a scream. Saia took a snake from her bag, awakened it and threw it at her. She stopped with a yell as it bit her arm, letting both knife and torch clatter to the ground. Saia took out another snake. The other pious stopped advancing. An invisible force tore the snake away from Vara¡¯s arm and closed the wound. ¡°Attack!¡± Vizena yelled. ¡°Do that again,¡± Zeles said in Saia¡¯s ears. ¡°Her barrier faltered for an instant.¡± She took the bag with both hands. She felt the pressure of the dancers all around her, but kept her eyes on the pious as they advanced again. When they were close enough, she threw the content of the bag toward them like water on a fire. The snakes fell at the feet of the crowd, stopping them again. Saia clutched her gloved hand with the free one, scales scraping against skin. She pushed her viss forward, and all the snakes awakened. The screams cut the silence in the temple one after the other. Vizena shouted something in frustration. ¡°I can focus my power to create a breach,¡± Zeles said. ¡°Get ready to run.¡± Saia looked at the pious collapsing, at the sea snakes being torn apart by invisible forces. ¡°How much viss will you¡­?¡± ¡°Behind you,¡± Zeles said. ¡°Run!¡± Saia sprinted, pushing the dancers aside. She resisted the urge to brace herself for the impact with the wall of air, running faster instead. She jumped over the crack and kept going, eyes on the sphere on the ground. The wind started to condense around her, but she gritted her teeth and trusted Zeles to protect her. She fell to her knees, hand reaching out. ¡°You are¡­¡± Vizena began. The cold of the glass was like a gulp of fresh water. Saia put her hands on the ground and leaned forward with a groan, drops of sweat falling from her brow to the broken stones of the floor. She smiled, picking the sphere up with the gloved hand. The blue light within was disturbingly identical to Zeles''s. She remembered his words and turned around: most of the pious had run away, while the ones on the ground were slowly standing. They didn''t have wounds, which meant that Zeles was still alive, even if lost amid the snakes. She put them to sleep again. She stood, wavering a bit. Ceila ran at her side and clutched her arm to prevent her from falling. They were alone in the temple, now; the dancers had left too. ¡°I don''t understand a single thing of what just happened,¡± Ceila said. Saia smiled. ¡°I fear I don''t have it in me to explain, right now.¡± ¡°Just tell me that she''s gone.¡± Saia glanced at the sphere in her palm and nodded. ¡°She won''t hurt us anymore.¡± Ceila smiled and hugged her. Saia held her close, breathing deeply like she hadn''t done for a long, long time. 3.6 - Aftermath Saia was the first to step away from the hug, but she kept a hand on Ceila''s shoulder. ¡°Why were you with the dancers?¡± She looked at the floor covered in debris. ¡°I¡¯ve started to sell clothes shortly after you left. The dancers¡¯ costumist sew them and I took care of the market stand, but it was a slow start and I couldn''t leave my job. Vizena started requesting more and more from our crew, probably to keep me occupied, so I didn''t have any time left to see Lassem and... We broke up.¡± Saia slightly shook her head, but didn''t say anything. ¡°It took me a few months, but sales started improving. I came here to tell Vizena I''d leave the dancing crew, but she offered me a deal: I could see Lassem again, provided I left my activity and resumed dancing for her.¡± Saia realized she was still holding her shoulder and let her go. ¡°And you accepted?¡± ¡°I talked to Lassem, first. He still had feelings, but didn''t want me to give up my dreams. But we pretty much agreed that living in this village was impossible without having each other. So yes, I accepted.¡± Saia smiled. ¡°So you''re still together?¡± Ceila smirked back at her and nodded. She looked at the sphere in Saia''s hand. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Careful,¡± Zeles said in her ears. ¡°It''s Vizena. She''s deactivated right now, but I need to do one more thing to make sure she won''t come back.¡± She put the sphere inside the bag. ¡°Don''t tell any of this to anyone. Secret keeper''s mission.¡± Ceila nodded, scratching her chin with the right index in the gesture that meant ''promise''. ¡°You''ll live here now, right?¡± she asked then. Saia hesitated. ¡°That''s the idea, but I have to leave tonight. I''ll come back as soon as I can.¡± ¡°I have so many questions right now.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have time to talk about everything.¡± Saia yawned, her lack of sleep and the fading tension catching up to her. ¡°I need to stay alone for a bit.¡± Ceila nodded and gave her another quick hug. ¡°I¡¯ll tell everyone that you saved us. And I''ll have a talk with my mom,¡± she said, zigzagging towards the exit to avoid the sleeping snakes on her path. She stopped again near the entrance. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re back. We missed you a lot.¡± She waved one last time before disappearing beyond the open doors. Saia looked at the mess around her. There was blood on the floor, mostly belonging to the sea snakes that Vizena had managed to tear apart. She started to pick up the remaining ones and found Zeles underneath them. His light was dim, probably to hide his presence, but she still felt a node in her stomach. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°It was your plan,¡± he answered. ¡°Absolutely crazy, but it worked out in the end.¡± Saia kept him in her palms as she walked up to Vizena''s statue. It had toppled down, resting on the side with an unnatural rigidity, arms reaching out and face stuck in a horrified expression. It began changing as she looked, the pieces that had fallen with the impact flying back to their places, arms and legs bending to push the body up until it was standing. The features changed too, the body becoming vaguely masculine and the face turning into Zeles¡¯s. ¡°The monks will recognize you,¡± Saia said. ¡°Wasn''t your energy almost depleted?¡± ¡°I only have about a day left,¡± he said. ¡°But I want to die showing my own face.¡± Saia wanted to reply that he didn''t have to die, but held her tongue. He was extremely weak and there were still a thousand things that could go wrong in one day. ¡°It was a pleasure to know you,¡± he said. She felt her chest tighten. ¡°I¡¯m glad I could be your friend.¡± Zeles sat on the pedestal with his legs crossed. The gash on his chest had become a round cavity with levigated borders. ¡°I have one last favor to ask you: put me to sleep and leave me inside the statue. My memories are in my viss, and soon I will lose them piece by piece. I don¡¯t want to be awake when it happens.¡± Saia nodded. Zeles reached out to rest a giant hand on her shoulder. ¡°Goodbye then, Saia. I hope we''ll meet again, if there¡¯s some real god out there that will be merciful with me.¡± Saia knew her voice would have trembled if she tried to speak, so she just stared at the statue in silence as he retracted his hand. Then, she held Zeles''s sphere in front of her and slowly sent her viss forward until the light it emanated turned blue. She let her breath go in a sigh, then wiped her eyes and climbed the pedestal. She had to prop herself up with a foot on one of the statue''s bent legs to reach the round hole on Zeles''s chest. The cavity inside was just deep enough to hide the sphere. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. She climbed down and stepped back, looking up at the statue: the blue light was still visible, it wasn¡¯t difficult to guess where the sphere was. She surveyed the floor one last time to make sure there weren''t any snakes left behind. The last ones were in her bag, four in total, all piled up on top of Vizena''s sphere. She left the temple, welcoming the night''s breeze with closed eyes and open arms. Lights were lighting up everywhere in the village, despite the sky being still dark. She could see shapes of people moving around, meeting in groups that were merging into crowds. The central square was already full. She headed there, descending the stairs with legs that were trembling with fatigue. She stopped next to a wall: nobody had seen her approach in the dark, so she could observe the faces of the people at the light of the moving torches. Her heart started beating faster as her eyes examined the crowd, haunted by the fear of not being able to recognize her own family anymore, or worse, that they wouldn''t recognize her. Her fears dissipated when she saw her dad''s intent expression, eyes surveying the crowd much as she was doing. The faces of her mom and siblings resurfaced from the darkness every time he moved the torch. She let out a sigh that sounded like a sob and crossed the square toward them, cutting through confused groups of people she didn''t even glance to. Her family squinted at her through the dark, faces charged with hesitant hope. Her dad raised the torch as high as he could. As soon as she stepped into the opaque circle of light, they ran forward with tears, smiles and laughs. They embraced her as if she was the last thing they needed to feel like they could be happy again. The sun slowly resurfaced, a thin strip of orange light just above the sea. Saia took a deep breath, taking in the cold of the sand against her hands, the chatter of familiar voices all around her, her mom''s hand gently stroking her hair as her head rested on her tight. She sat up with a groan. ¡°Oh, you''re awake!¡± Heilam said, reaching forward to pinch her cheek. Saia felt a surge of annoyance in her chest and laughed at how normal it felt. ¡°I wasn''t sleeping,¡± she said, thinking about the snakes in her bag. She looked at her family, sitting in a loose half-circle on the sand, facing the sea. She could still hear the rest of the village celebrate in the distance, screams and laughs and insults at a goddess that couldn''t hear them anymore. She''d tried to go home, but everyone kept stopping her as soon as they recognized her voice in the dark. The thanks, tears and hugs had been a pleasant surprise at the beginning, but they got old quickly when the only thing she wanted was to be with her family. So now they were sitting in a small beach between the rocks of the bay, hidden from the houses. She got up. ¡°Where are you going?¡± her sister asked. Saia looked at her with a bitter smile. ¡°I have to leave again.¡± ¡°But you''ll be back, right?¡± Saia thought about saying ''yes'', but now that the dawn had begun she wasn''t as sure as she¡¯d felt just a few hours before. They''d have read straight through her if she feigned confidence she didn''t have. They''d have worried and tried to stop her. ¡°There''s still one thing I need to do to make sure that Vizena will be gone forever. Once that is completed, I''ll come back.¡± They were all serious now, jokes and plans for the future set aside. ¡°We can help you,¡± her dad said. ¡°No. Having other people with me will only make everything more difficult. I need to know that you''ll be safe.¡± ¡°We need to know the same about you,¡± Lada said. ¡°I¡¯ve fought Vizena and won, mom. I can do this.¡± ¡°Isn''t there anyone else who can think about that?¡± Lassem asked. ¡°You did enough.¡± ¡°There are... things I''ve learned in the last few months. I''ll give you the details when it''s all finished, but I''m the only one here who has the necessary knowledge, and the others who know wouldn''t help us. Quite the opposite, in fact.¡± They looked at each other, confused, as if to decide who''d make the next question. ¡°If you want to help me,¡± Saia continued, capturing their attention again. ¡°Tell everyone to stay away from the mountain and out of their houses for the rest of the day. The docks are safe.¡± ¡°The docks?¡± Heilam said. ¡°Why?¡± Saia adjusted the strap of her bag around her shoulder and began to leave. ¡°Just do it. People should listen to you now.¡± Her mom stood. ¡°Come here.¡± Saia stopped in her tracks. She gave a glance to the sun rising at the horizon, then obeyed with a sigh. Lada put a hand on her shoulder and one on her cheek. ¡°You will come back,¡± she said, looking straight into her eyes. ¡°You''ll come back healthy and safe and you''ll lead a life full of happiness. Do you understand?¡± As Saia stared into her mom''s black irises, she felt a small, familiar buzzing where her fingers were resting on her cheek. She felt a surge of conflicting emotions and realized her mom had just sent her part of her viss. It was too small a quantity to have any effect, which meant she hadn¡¯t done it on purpose. It was sheer will, and faith in her daughter''s abilities. She felt the tears swell up and hugged her. ¡°I will.¡± Lada stroked her head. ¡°Good. Then you can go.¡± Saia followed the trail traced on Rabam¡¯s map as high as it could get her. When it curved to the left, toward Lausune, she ripped the paper and kept going up. She stepped from tree to tree, keeping as hidden as possible, even if she knew with absolute certainty that the sentinels had already spotted her in the budding light of the day. At least she was in a spot where they couldn¡¯t know for sure from which village she¡¯d come from. It didn''t take long for them to show up. They were only four, and only two of them had spears, held casually against their shoulders as if they didn¡¯t expect to use them. She was surprised to see Coram among them. ¡°What are you doing, Saia?¡± he asked with a melancholic expression, as if he¡¯d half-expected to meet her in the forest. She took out the sphere. The monks froze as one, the spears immediately lowered. ¡°Don¡¯t get closer or I¡¯ll activate him,¡± she said without slowing down. She kept climbing, twisting her head to keep them at the edge of her vision. She saw movements up ahead and retreated behind a tree. ¡°What the fuck are you doing?¡± came a shout from above. She recognized Gaila¡¯s voice. She was descending with a bigger group of sentinels, a look in her eyes that bordered on hatred. She imagined the same expression on Haina, Ebus and the others, and for an instant she wondered whether it was worth it. An instant that passed immediately. ¡°Surrender now,¡± said another familiar voice from the head of the group. ¡°I need to reach the village, Maris,¡± she answered. They came out of the trees with a drawn sword, flanked by the two other priors of the sentinels. ¡°We''re going to kill you if you try. Surrender and you might survive this.¡± ¡°We both know that you can''t kill me. I just need a thought to wake up Zeles, you wouldn¡¯t be fast enough.¡± Maris advanced alone toward her. She held out the sphere and sent a bit of her viss forward, turning a sliver of light from blue to golden. She held the prior¡¯s gaze, determined to unleash Vizena even if it would kill her. When half of the sphere had become golden, Maris stopped and turned slightly toward the rest of the group. ¡°What the fuck are you waiting for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying,¡± a sentinel said, face red from the effort. Maris opened their palm to the side. The sentinel ran over and gave them a small object that glinted in the light like a shard of glass. Maris close it in their fist, but as much as their frown deepened and their hands trembled with the effort, the light of the sphere kept changing. Their expression gave way to disbelief. Saia let the sphere return blue and smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve found a way around your trick. Maybe I can tell you what it is once I''m done with everything.¡± Maris cursed, fist gripped so tight around the shard that Saia expected to see blood trickling down at any moment. She stared at them, unflinching, even as she was battling with guilt; she couldn¡¯t forget that Maris had been the only one to vote for removing Vizena since the beginning. ¡°What do you want?¡± they asked. ¡°Call for the abbot and the priors and tell them to wait in the temple. I want to negotiate.¡± They kept staring at her. She let some instants pass in silence, then stepped forward. Maris raised their weapon, immediately imitated by every monk in the area. Saia turned Vizena¡¯s light half-golden and kept going, using the trees as her cover. She could barely hear the steps behind her over her racing heart: a thrown spear, a sentinel foolish enough to attack, and she would lose everything. But the monks knew what would come next for them. They kept their distance as she climbed up toward the village. 3.7 - Negotiation Saia reflected on what waited ahead as she walked up the mountain, surrounded by monks. She held Vizena¡¯s sphere close to her chest, keeping at least a speck of her light golden, as dangerous as it was. She¡¯d felt sure the monks deserved to be controlled by her if they actually decided to attack, but she started to doubt that thought: awakening Vizena on the mountain meant putting all of the villages under her control, monks included. Suimer included. She couldn¡¯t let that happen, but she needed her threats to be convincing. She thought of how Vizena had managed to make her whole village believe she could hurt them at any moment, even if she knew she couldn''t actually do anything. She needed to be just as ruthless if she wanted the monks to listen. She saw movements around the village and braced herself. The people living in the houses outside were the first to spot the group of sentinels. They stopped and stared, and so did everyone who was walking in or out the entrance. Nobody Saia knew personally, but she recognized some faces and knew she was even more familiar to them, as one of the two outsiders who had joined their ranks. Maris ran up ahead, took one of the sentinels at the entrance aside and said something. The woman nodded and entered the village. Saia walked on, past the sentinels who had stopped all around her. ¡°What was that?¡± she asked. Maris didn''t answer, stepping aside from the entrance instead. Saia checked that there wasn''t a trap waiting for her, then entered the village. She walked along the mostly empty corridors. She heard the steps and voices behind her, the doors opening as the flood of sentinels and curious monks advanced with her. She stopped in front of a door and opened it. The glass laboratory was silent, the temperature weirdly low. A monk was cleaning an empty oven, singing softly. He didn¡¯t notice her passage. She walked on toward the temple. The doors were open wide, the priors standing around the room as she¡¯d requested, except for Maris and their colleagues. The abbot was sitting on the chair he used during the debates, right in front of the well. He didn''t get up when he saw her. Sentinels were aligned along the temple''s walls, half of them holding a spear, the others a sword. Maris and the sentinels¡¯ priors were the last ones to enter, closing the doors behind them. ¡°This is not what I requested,¡± Saia said, raising her voice as much as she could without yelling. ¡°I asked for the abbot and the priors, unarmed. No one else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that you don''t want him to control you either,¡± Laius said, nodding to the sphere. ¡°So we¡¯re all stuck, aren''t we? Either you put him away or the sentinels will stay here and we¡¯ll all have to starve to death.¡± ¡°Because you think that he''s here against his will,¡± Saia said. ¡°But he believes I''m his ally. I''m the only person he won''t hurt. And if you kill me, he''ll avenge me.¡± ¡°If you really think that''s how it''s going to go, why didn''t you already awaken him?¡± ¡°Because I''ll give him back to you if you do as I say.¡± The abbot glanced at Daira, who was standing at his side with crossed arms. She was so tense Saia could see her nails digging into the rolled-up sleeves of her tunic. ¡°What do you mean?¡± she asked. ¡°You just said that Zeles is your ally.¡± ¡°It doesn''t matter, as long as I can get what I want.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Saia stepped forward. The abbot stood and got away from the chair when she walked past him, betraying his fear. She stopped next to the well and put a hand on the shield that closed it. ¡°No,¡± Maris said. ¡°Absolutely not.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± Daira took two steps forward, then Saia raised the hand that was holding the sphere a bit and she stopped. ¡°Why would we ever exchange a rebel god with an even more powerful one?¡± ¡°Because you don''t have a choice.¡± Saia pushed with all her strength, holding the sphere to her chest with the other hand. She managed to move the shield a bit, and then some more by pushing with a leg. Once it was half-open, she looked inside: the cavity was much deeper than the structure outside suggested. She resisted the urge to examine it further and looked at each of the priors. ¡°Denes,¡± she called, then started walking toward him. He stepped back. ¡°I won''t help you. I''d rather die.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Saia kept going, taking a snake out of her bag. ¡°Then I''ll kill you. I''ll ask all of the other scholars and kill everyone who refuses. Or maybe I should try to do it myself and blow up this place in the process.¡± He had his back against the wall and his hands raised in front of his face. Saia felt the instinct to back down and leave him alone, but forced herself to wake up the snake instead. If her threats weren''t convincing enough, she eventually would have to kill someone. The sentinels at Denes¡¯s sides raised their weapons, but lowered them immediately when Saia started to wake up Vizena again. She extended the hand holding the sea snake''s head until it was in front of Denes¡¯s face, then let the snake free just enough to bite the air in front of his nose. He closed his eyes, breathing fast, head pressed against the wall. ¡°Last chance, Denes.¡± He opened his eyes, looking past her. ¡°Listen to her,¡± the abbot said. The scholar prior nodded, suddenly looking a bit more resolute. Saia stepped aside, allowing him to precede her toward the well. He slowly slid out the stone that covered the lever and all the hidden mechanisms that allowed him to use the viss inside the mountain. Saia stepped into the well, holding Vizena with both hands. She heard the distant rumbling she remembered from Aili''s transformation. ¡°We''re doing what you want, now,¡± a prior said. ¡°Give us Zeles.¡± ¡°You''ll let the sentinels and weapons out, first. Otherwise we''ll find out what happens when a person tries to become a god while holding a sphere.¡± The sentinels'' priors looked at each other, then at the abbot. He nodded slightly. ¡°Out,¡± Maris said through their teeth. They gave their own spear and sword to a monk passing next to them. ¡°We should have examined you more before letting you join us,¡± Daira said. ¡°You¡¯re not like Aili at all.¡± Saia inhaled sharply. She was tempted to reveal that Aili had helped her, and would have done even more if she''d let her. But she didn''t want to compromise her. She looked at Denes instead. He pulled a lever, and the pavement started to tremble a bit. ¡°Now we can''t stop it,¡± he said. Saia recalled the ceremony. He¡¯d said the same thing after the trembling, so it probably was true. Daira stepped forward. ¡°Give me the sphere, now.¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°Not you.¡± She looked at the priors one by one, trying to guess how proficient with magic they were. She couldn¡¯t let someone that could make her fall asleep get too close. Her gaze stopped on Rades, the prior of the helpers who had shown her and Aili their room. ¡°Come closer.¡± He was one of the priors further from her, so it took a while for him to reach the well. Saia glanced at the sphere inside her hand, still holding tight the snake''s head with the other. ¡°Are you going to kill him?¡± she asked. ¡°Of course,¡± the abbot answered. She was surprised by how uneasy she felt at the idea. Even if it was Vizena, even if it was what she deserved, she knew she''d still feel guilty if she let them kill her without doing anything. She didn''t want to let her ruin her life more than she''d already done. Most importantly, it didn''t sit right with her that they would kill her thinking she was Zeles. ¡°He''s the best god of the eastern villages. Possibly the best god in the whole mountain.¡± The abbot stared at her without answering. ¡°He builds houses personally for anyone that can''t afford them. He listened to all the problems we had, no matter how small.¡± ¡°We know. It doesn''t matter.¡± ¡°He never spied on people. He gave back the trust and respect tenfold.¡± Denes raised his head. ¡°We don''t have much time.¡± Rades stepped closer, hand outstretched. Saia bent forward and let the sphere roll on the floor toward him. He picked it up and handed it to Nides, a prior of the sentinels and the strongest person in the room. He knelt and smashed Vizena on the ground three times, until she broke. Saia looked at the light as it disappeared in an instant. She didn¡¯t feel anything except for relief; if the monks were ready to kill Zeles despite everything he''d done, despite the person he was, then Vizena didn''t deserve to live. Denes made a sudden movement. The trembling intensified, then stopped. Saia saw he was holding the pommel of a lever with both hands, clearly straining to hold it in place. ¡°I¡¯ve blocked it,¡± he yelled. She had briefly considered the existence of a security system. There was one, after all. Both Daira and Maris sprinted forward, arms outstretched and ready to put her to sleep. She threw the snake at Daira and extracted another one when she avoided it by dodging to the right. Saia aimed the other one, ready to throw as soon as she was close enough. She just needed to hold her off for some seconds, until... The earth trembled. Daira stopped and looked at Denes, still locked in the same position as before. ¡°It wasn''t me,¡± he yelled. There was another tremor, stronger. Saia let out her breath in a sigh. Dan and Mor¨¬c had managed to bring Zeles far enough from the mountain. She took out another sea snake and held them both in front of her. ¡°You need a new god,¡± she said, her words partially covered by another rumble. ¡°So either you try and force me to leave in the next few minutes, or I''m your only option.¡± Denes was red from the effort. He strained his neck to look at the abbot. Laius sighed, shoulders dropping. He looked more tired than defeated. ¡°Do what she says.¡± Denes let go of the lever. The light trembling resumed, along with the stronger, urgent one of the walls. ¡°Go inside,¡± he said, breathing hard. ¡°I can''t stop it anymore. For real, this time.¡± ¡°One last thing,¡± Saia said to the abbot. ¡°I strongly suggest you awaken me, after I become a sphere.¡± He nodded, a glint of amusement in his eyes. Saia left the sleeping snakes and the bag on the floor just outside the well. She took out the empty sphere she¡¯d taken from the glass laboratory and screwed it on the lid of the shield, then kneeled and used her shoulders to position it over the top of the well, sealing herself inside. She sat on the floor of the cavity, looking around. The bottom part of the shield was covered in grooves that formed geometric shapes similar to waves. The walls had them too, even if they didn''t cover every available surface. She realized that Aili had seen the same thing, and probably also tried to guess what their use was in the small amount of time she had at disposal. The viss started to seep in from the bottom, blinding and slow as a liquid. She tried to follow Aili¡¯s reasoning, instinctively withdrawing her feet from the approaching light. She could imagine it flowing inside the grooves, and realized they were influencing the movement of energies inside the sphere, to achieve a permanent effect. The light finally touched her. She felt all of the energies in her body buzz, ebb and wave as the light climbed up her body. She let her head rest against the wall and closed her eyes. 3.8 - The statue Saia woke up to a dozen voices screaming over one another. She saw Daira very close and instinctively drew back. She found herself floating in the air, or at least so she thought considering she could see the ceiling and the floor and it was becoming difficult to tell which was which. She focused on the rest of the room, which only required her to shift her attention and not her eyes. She tried not to think of the fact she didn¡¯t have eyes. The doors of the temple were open, a panting monk holding one of the big vertical handles to steady himself. His hands were trembling, his face was covered in sweat, and Saia knew from personal experience that he was in a lot of pain from the two bloody holes on his ankle. She wanted to see past him and her vision immediately expanded. There were more people in the corridors, more or less in his same situation. She observed all of them, making sure that no one had died yet. She focused on the room at the center of that turmoil, then expanded her domain more to include the whole village. Her attention was briefly captured by a corridor starting from one of the most external rooms and going out and down for such a long way that her vision couldn¡¯t reach the end of it. She had an idea about where it led, but decided to ignore it for the moment. Her domain stopped at the lake, giving her a perfect summary of what had happened while she was asleep. First, she¡¯d become a goddess, and that had been enough to stop the tremor. She could feel a subtle stream of her viss trickling down toward the base of the mountain. It was barely enough to keep some rocks from rolling down the flank, but it had stopped the earthquake. She¡¯d been asleep, which meant that the monks didn¡¯t have any reason to awaken her. The snakes she¡¯d left tied up over the lake had awakened the second she¡¯d lost consciousness. They''d freed themselves in their frenzy to reach the water, then found out it was unsalted. Their instincts had guided them toward the only way out, the tunnel, as if they were simply leaving one of the pools in the cave. Except this one had led them into the internal pool of the monks¡¯ village, as usual full of monks. The final step of her plan was entirely made of hope: hope that at least one of the priors in the temple would refuse to sacrifice all of those people for the security of the village, hope that the others wouldn''t have prevented them from waking her up. Judging from the position of the people around the room and what the abbot was shouting, that prior had been Daira. ¡°Please,¡± she was saying. ¡°Save them.¡± ¡°And then what?¡± the abbot yelled, neck and face tense with rage. ¡°We''ll be at her mercy forever! You have just destroyed their lives, it doesn''t matter whether they¡¯ll live or not.¡± The other priors looked at the scene, all of them torn between listening to the abbot or the woman everyone considered his successor. Or maybe they were scheming, their plans suddenly in disarray as they thought of how to take Daira''s place as the abbot''s favorite. Saia stopped paying attention to them. She focused on healing every bite she had caused, starting from the people that looked the weakest. Their bodies were already healing with the support of the viss they naturally produced, she only needed to speed up the process by pouring her own energy into them. The snakes had gotten far into the corridors, biting everyone they met. She put them to sleep. Despite healing at least fifty people, her energy didn''t feel like it had diminished: she had enough to keep doing that for two hundred years. ¡°Done,¡± she said in Daira''s ears. She sighed, slumping a bit with relief, then turned to face the abbot. ¡°I couldn''t let that many people die.¡± ¡°They are monks. They pledged to sacrifice themselves for the good of everyone else.¡± ¡°The children didn¡¯t pledge anything.¡± She turned to face Saia. ¡°I think I understand the kind of fear your goddess put on your people. I''m sorry for not removing her from her position.¡± Saia wasn''t entirely sure she could actually understand, but she was too tired to have that conversation. ¡°You could at least take her shard,¡± the abbot said, still furious but with the throat too hoarse to yell. ¡°I¡­ My hand wasn¡¯t steady. I didn¡¯t trust myself not to break her, and then we¡¯d also have the earthquake to think about.¡± ¡°And I¡¯d have taken the shard back before healing anyone,¡± Saia concluded. ¡°Also, shut up. I need to think.¡± He looked like he wanted to resume shouting, but he didn''t. Saia focused on the village: it was as if she''d cut the top of the mountain to see the whole place from above. She didn¡¯t find the shards anywhere, but after seeing the long corridor she¡¯d been expecting that. It made sense to keep them out of the gods¡¯ range, in case one of them managed to take control of the village despite everything. She¡¯d have to go there in person, but floating was a huge waste of energy. She looked at the workshops and storage rooms until she found one that was big enough to contain the statues. She¡¯d expected to find at least one for each deity, kept as spare copies in case something happened to the originals and the gods for some reason couldn¡¯t repair them quickly. They were only three, but they didn¡¯t resemble any of the others: they were grey, a color that wasn¡¯t associated with any of the gods, and made of some sort of porous stone instead of basalt or the other materials the gods were composed of. Their faces were flat slates without features. ¡°Bring me one statue,¡± she told the priors. They didn¡¯t move, too shocked to do anything else besides staring at her. Saia felt her viss rotate faster with frustration. ¡°You either give the order yourselves, or I will. People will panic.¡± Daira was the first to react and go to the door. Saia moved her focus to follow her while she asked some monks she found along the way to bring the statue to the temple. ¡°Can we leave, at least?¡± Laius asked. ¡°No.¡± Saia focused on her powers as she waited, testing what she could or couldn¡¯t do. Widening or restricting her view was the easiest thing, once she got the hang of it. She could feel the viss of everyone inside her domain, and if she focused on it she could read their emotions as if she was right next to them, holding their hands. She realized Vizena had known about the fear of Suimer¡¯s inhabitants all along. She had known, and probably even enjoyed it. The statue''s head finally appeared through the door. The priors moved until they were side by side, hiding Saia''s sphere from the monks that were carrying the statue. They positioned it to the right of the entrance. ¡°You can all leave, now,¡± Saia said to the priors. They obeyed immediately. She could see their relief in the way the viss moved inside their bodies. She focused on the statue, observing it up close without moving, despite being on the other side of the room. She remembered what Aili had told her: all the information about her body was stored in the sphere¡¯s viss, along with everything she needed to be a goddess. She deactivated her vision and imagined her body, trying to recall it exactly as it was. She found out that she instinctively knew each volume and quantity, the position of every bone and hair. She felt the statue¡¯s presence in her domain, even if she temporarily couldn¡¯t see it. She remembered how Zeles had changed Vizena¡¯s shape into his own and tried to do the same, willing the statue to adapt to her mental image. When she looked again, the statue had become vaguely similar to her. She tried a few more times, projecting specific parts of her body into the stone until the details were just right. She was surprised at how easy modifying the statue was. She tried to do the same with the floor of the temple, just out of curiosity, but as much as she willed it to fill itself with holes it didn¡¯t change one bit. She concluded that the material of the statues was somewhat easier for the gods to manipulate, but couldn¡¯t tell why. The statue was still a lot taller than her, so she removed pieces and adjusted the shape until she was of the right height. She focused on the hair next: it was sculpted on the head like it was for the other statues. It didn¡¯t seem real at all, so she detached strands of it, shaping the curls and softening the material until she was satisfied with how it looked and felt. She willed the statue to change color, from the gray of the stone to her brown complexion. Now she looked exactly like herself, except for her eyes. The black irises looked realistic, but not alive. She tried to add a luminous point to simulate light, but it didn¡¯t move when the candles shifted. She remembered Aili¡¯s words about viss being ¡®excess life¡¯ and infused it inside the statue. The eyes came alive, moving as if they were real, at least if no one looked too close. She kept adjusting her creation until she could look at the statue and believe, even for just a second, that she was staring into a mirror. When she moved its arms, the feeling intensified to the point it almost scared her. She made it cross the room, pick up the sphere and put it inside a cavity she¡¯d just created in its chest. She sealed it shut. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. She restricted her vision until she felt like a human again, even if the only sensation that coursed through her body was the buzzing of her viss, flowing from her sphere to the statue at every movement. Her tunic had been transformed with her body, but she had spare clothes in her bag. They fit perfectly. She picked up the snakes that she¡¯d left near the well and put them into the bag. She hung it over her shoulder; she marginally felt its presence, but not its weight. She walked up to the doors and opened them without effort. There were sentinels and priors outside, all of them keeping a safe distance. Their confused faces were the confirmation that the statue looked human enough. Part of her focus went to Maris and the shard from Zeles''s sphere that was still in their pocket. She pulverized it. They didn''t even seem to notice, eyes fixed on the back of her head. She ignored them and proceeded toward the hidden corridor. She entered one of the many storage rooms scattered across the village. A shelf on the back hid an old door painted in gray to match the wall of stone around it. The corridor on the other side had just the minimum amount of illumination, in form of torches set ten arms apart in the dark. She could still perceive everything around her: the corridor was clean, the torches had been changed recently. There was probably someone waiting on the other side. She kept going until the end of the corridor, alone. Now that she was a goddess, the monks weren¡¯t keen on following her around. She found a closed door and checked the room on the other side: there were four sentinels, weapons ready at hand. One of them was holding a message that had evidently been delivered through a hole in the wall that connected the room to the kitchens. She pushed the door, breaking the lock almost as an afterthought. ¡°Out,¡± she told them. When they hesitated, she opened the cavity in her chest just enough for the golden light to shine through. One of them started running. The others quickly followed, pushing themselves against the wall to squeeze past Saia without touching her. She closed the door behind her and observed the room, taking advantage of her all-around vision. There were nine slim columns set in a circle at the center of the room, each with a large base and a slightly concave plate on top. The name of each deity was carved vertically on the corresponding column. The shards themselves were small and insignificant, each one placed on a square piece of black cloth to make them more visible. If Saia hadn''t known how important they were, she¡¯d have thought that a particularly petty thief had stolen some jewels and replaced them with pieces of the window they''d broken to enter. Her hand hovered on Aili''s shard, the one marked with the name ''Koidan''. If she destroyed it now, the monks would have known that Aili was implied in her plan to kill Vizena, once they pieced out what had actually happened. She focused on Vizena''s shard, following a sudden thought. It still had a bit of viss on its surface, despite the goddess being dead. She didn''t dwell on it, putting Vizena''s shard on Aili''s plate and taking Aili''s shard. She opened another cavity in her body, near the right shoulder, and slid the shard there. She''d give it back to Aili as soon as she was in Lausune again, so that she could reattach it to her body or destroy it herself. She looked around, examining each one of the shards that were left. Setting more deities free could destroy the whole system the monks had in place, but it could also allow gods like Vizena to abuse their people unpunished. She needed to think further than that. She needed Aili''s help. At the same time, the gods still under the monks'' control were seven, more than enough to outpower her, Aili and Zeles. She broke their shards in half and took a piece from each, storing them in a new cavity at stomach level. Except for Vizena''s half-shard, which she pulverized with a bitter pleasure. She looked around the room one last time, found nothing of interest and left. The sentinels and priors were still in the corridor outside the storage rooms. The only ones missing were the abbot and Daira, but Saia immediately found them, one brooding in his room and the other reassuring the people who had been bitten by the snakes. Saia expanded her view, taking in every single person in the village, even the ones living outside the mountain and the lonely sentinels here and there on its flanks who kept to their duties despite everything. ¡°I could have destroyed you,¡± she said, making the air vibrate inside each room and in the proximity of the people outside, so that everyone could hear her words. ¡°All I asked was for you to remove Merea and choose someone else to play Vizena''s role. You never listened. Remember this moment: I could make you crumble in an instant, destroy everything you ever made, wipe you out completely, but I won''t. I''ll return, and then we''ll talk some more.¡± She left them to their collective confusion and walked out of the village. She searched the lake for Rabam, but there wasn''t a single trace of him. She thought he¡¯d entered the village in the confusion, but didn¡¯t find him there either. She made a mental note of looking for him after saving Zeles and having her long-due talk with Aili. She descended the mountain, going as fast as she could without having her clothes torn to shreds by rogue branches. She could see the forest all around her, feel the viss slowly flowing inside the trees. The boar was moving somewhere at the edge of her domain, muzzle to the earth while it looked for food. She arrived at Lausune when the sun had just started its descent. She was still in the forest and quite far from the temple when her domain touched Aili¡¯s. It felt as if she was reading her body¡¯s energies, except they were scattered in the air and terrain. They started to buzz and grow with agitation as Aili''s focus shifted, so Saia stopped before they could get entangled further. ¡°Who are you?¡± Aili said with Koidan''s voice, making the air tremble in the area where their domains touched. ¡°Really?¡± Saia said, doing the same. ¡°I¡¯m that different? I thought my viss was the same.¡± She could feel Aili''s relief and happiness even before she spoke. They were soon followed by surprise. ¡°You... you became a goddess? And Zeles? I''ve felt the earth tremble, I was so worried it was him.¡± Saia told her everything that had happened since the moment she''d left the village, feeling a bit guilty for the worried feeling Aili¡¯s viss emanated. ¡°It could have gone wrong in so many ways.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Why did you even do all of this?¡± ¡°I can give my viss to Zeles, now.¡± There was an instant of silence as Aili¡¯s energies shifted once again. ¡°You can do that?¡± ¡°He told me that gods can give their energy to each other.¡± ¡°I¡­ I didn¡¯t know that. You should have told me, I''d have given my viss to Zeles and you could have stayed human.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still human. And I knew you''d have given him your energies immediately if told you about that, but I don''t ask other people to make sacrifices I wouldn''t do myself. I''m not a monk.¡± ¡°But I had time to prepare for this. You¡­¡± Saia cut her off. ¡°There¡¯s another reason why I became a goddess.¡± She hesitated, feeling like they were too far from each other to talk about something that important. ¡°Can I get closer?¡± ¡°Sure. I don''t know how that would work, though.¡± Saia made a hesitant step forward. Aili''s emotions mingled with her own, a feeling that would have been very uncomfortable had Aili been a stranger. They both shrank their domains as Saia advanced, to the point they only barely touched. The feeling subsided, now more akin to holding someone''s hand and glancing at their viss every once in a while than being submerged in the turmoil at the center of their being. Saia kept going until she saw the temple, moving the leaves of the trees aside with winds in the hope of hiding herself from the sentinels. She stopped once she reached the last line of trees before the temple and realized she couldn''t go inside, for the same reason she''d left Vizena''s shard on Koidan''s pedestal: the monks should never know that Aili was on her side. She¡¯d turned to look her way through the temple¡¯s windows, even if they both knew there was no need for that. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± Aili asked. ¡°I don''t think the monks'' system is fair.¡± ¡°Me neither,¡± she answered immediately. ¡°If you, me and Zeles join forces, we can destroy it and change everything.¡± She felt Aili''s hesitation sparkle all around her. ¡°I agree that it¡¯s not a fair system, but I don''t think we should necessarily dismantle everything. A good idea would be making people aware of who is actually taking all of the decisions for them. Give them the chance to signal any problems they might have with the gods directly, with no need to involve the sentinels. Allowing everyone to participate in the debates.¡± ¡°Why not take it a step further?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± While she thought about how to formulate her answer, Saia was marginally aware of how weird that conversation was: two people standing and staring at each other, without moving any part of their faces or bodies. They didn''t need facial expressions after all, when the other person''s emotions were floating all around them. ¡°We could take all of that power inside the mountain and distribute it amongst every inhabitant of the villages. We won''t need deities anymore, at least for a while.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ not sure humans can actually retain such big amounts in their bodies. Plus, the viss will end at some point, we can''t pass it on to our descendants, nor transform everyone into gods.¡± ¡°I know, that''s why the next step would be to create a society like the one the monks have, but without priors and abbots.¡± ¡°The mountain would crumble if there¡¯s not enough viss to keep it together.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to leave.¡± Aili shook her head a bit, the first movement in the entire conversation. ¡°I¡¯m not convinced. Giving energy to everyone won''t guarantee that people will use it wisely. Some of them will waste it and others will keep it until they¡¯ll be the last ones left, and in the end we''ll have the same unbalance of power we have now, except without monks that can keep gods in check. I don''t think the society that would emerge from that would be fairer than this one.¡± Saia wanted to object to that, but she could see it was the truth. Loriem had proven that, biding his time until Zeles wasn''t paying attention to him anymore before murdering Milvia. She shook herself out of her doubts. ¡°We¡¯ll think about it later. We also need Zeles''s opinion on this. He''s the one who has dealt with this stuff longer.¡± ¡°I agree. Where is he, by the way? Still at Suimer?¡± ¡°He should be here. I told Dan and Mor¨¬c to bring him back about an hour after the trembling, unless something really bad happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just checked again, but they''re not here. Zeles neither.¡± Saia felt her own agitation flow from her body to the air around her. Maybe the monks had found out about them. Maybe they had crossed the forest again despite her warnings. ¡°I need to go check on them.¡± Aili nodded, her own worry mixing with Saia''s. She was about to step away, still hidden by the trees, when she remembered about the shards. She opened the cavity in her shoulder and took Aili¡¯s out to show her what it was. ¡°Almost forgot: it''s yours.¡± Aili''s viss condensed around the glass. ¡°I¡¯ve destroyed Zeles¡¯s,¡± Saia added. ¡°And took away a piece from all of the others. They might be useful in the future.¡± ¡°Smart. We won''t have to fear the other gods anymore.¡± Despite her worry, Saia beamed in hearing the most intelligent person she knew call her smart. ¡°Do you want it back?¡± ¡°No, keep it. It might be useful if we want to communicate with each other when we''re too far.¡± ¡°We can do that?¡± ¡°Yes, it''s something I''ve figured out recently. I''ll teach you once you come back.¡± Saia put the shard away in the cavity and sealed it shut. ¡°See you later then.¡± ¡°Be careful.¡± Saia moved her statue''s lips in a smirk, then retreated inside the forest. She walked east until she was out of Aili''s territory, then carefully stepped along the border of Dore''s village. She couldn''t feel the god''s energy nor see monks around, so she entered his territory and walked faster toward the sea. She focused her attention outward, watching the scenery outside of her domain as if she was standing just at its borders and looking out. She stopped as soon as the trees cleared, giving her a view of the sea. There was a black line in the distance, connecting water and sky. She thought of the vision she had in the forest and started running. 3.9 - The line She slowed down when Dore¡¯s temple entered her domain. The monks were huddled near the statue, with Dore''s sleeping sphere on top of its pedestal. They were discussing a message from the mountain that told them to be on the lookout for a woman that looked just like Saia, and not to alert the gods for any reason, since they could all be compromised. Saia left them wondering what ¡®compromised¡¯ might mean in that situation and ran past the temple toward the northern docks. There were already people gathering to look at the mysterious line in the sky. She slowed down, examining each boat with her powers. Her viss exploded all around her with relief as soon as she found Dan and Mor¨¬c sitting in the same boat they''d used, battered but alive. She was about to call out to them from afar, making the air tremble like deities did to produce sound, then thought better of it: she still wanted them to consider her the usual Saia, the fisher without the powers of a goddess. So she walked down the stairs that led to the docks and approached the boat with a smile. ¡°Everything alright?¡± she asked. Dan was sitting in front of his brother, pressing a clean cloth to one of his eyes. He perked up as soon as he heard Saia''s voice. He briefly smiled back, then his expression became pained. ¡°We''ve lost the sphere.¡± ¡°We haven''t lost it,¡± his brother added, wincing for the pain. ¡°We were attacked.¡± Saia felt the panic buzz all along her body at the idea of Zeles being lost somewhere at the bottom of the sea. Still, she forced herself to squat down and look at the boys closely. Their clothes were wet with seawater. ¡°What happened, exactly?¡± Mor¨¬c¡¯s eye was a bit swollen and purplish. Saia wanted to fix it, accelerating the recovery with her viss, but held back. Aili could heal him once he returned to Lausune. ¡°We did everything you asked,¡± Dan said. ¡°We found the sphere inside Vizena''s statue, even if didn''t look like Vizena at all.¡± ¡°She looked like Koidan,¡± Mor¨¬c specified. ¡°And she didn''t say anything when we entered.¡± Saia nodded to let them know that she was aware of that and gestured for Dan to continue. ¡°We returned to the boat and let it float to open sea by loosening the rope.¡± He pointed at it: the extremity was still knotted around the dock''s pole. ¡°You kept the sphere hidden, right?¡± Saia asked. Dan nodded vigorously. ¡°Yes, the whole time. We got as far as we could and waited. At some point there was a trembling.¡± ¡°We only guessed it was a trembling,¡± Mor¨¬c said, taking the cloth from his brother''s hands and pressing it onto his eye. ¡°We saw everyone run out of their houses, then the trees started swaying and there were some waves, which was weird since the sea was completely calm.¡± ¡°Something hit you?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Not the tremor,¡± Mor¨¬c said. ¡°It was a man,¡± Dan continued in his place. ¡°We were waiting as you told us, two hours or so, when a boat started to come toward us too fast, even if there was just one man rowing.¡± ¡°Someone we know?¡± Mor¨¬c shook his head. ¡°A monk. He told us to give him the sphere even if we were keeping it hidden. When we refused, he shoved me and I hit the border of the boat with my eye.¡± ¡°I was scared, so I gave him the sphere,¡± Dan said. His face was ridden with guilt. Saia wanted to hug him, but she didn''t know how to hide the fact her body was made of stone. ¡°It doesn''t matter,¡± she said instead. ¡°You did the right thing. What did the man look like?¡± ¡°Tall, brown curly hair, a beard, light-brown skin,¡± Dan said, looking at his brother as if to ask for more details. ¡°Strong,¡± he added, touching the cloth to his eye again. ¡°He looked melanchonic and scared of himself. He didn''t seem to want to hurt us, but then he did anyway.¡± If Dan''s description had evoked the image of a bunch of possible culprits she''d seen and sometimes interacted with whilst living on the mountain, Mor¨¬c''s narrowed it down to one. She stood, expecting pain for maintaining the squat for so long and finding only the frantic buzzing of her viss. ¡°Where did he go?¡± Dan pointed at the line in the sky. Saia nodded. ¡°Thank you for helping me so much. I''m sorry for this mess, the only reason I asked for your help was that I was fairly sure nobody would have hurt you.¡± She gripped the rope and started unknotting it. ¡°Go home, now. Koidan will take care of you. I need to deal with that¡­¡± Thief? Traitor? She didn¡¯t know which suited him best. She waited until they were safely on the dock, then carefully stepped onto the boat herself. It sunk a bit more than it should have for carrying a person of her frame. She looked at the boys, but they didn''t seem to have noticed: Dan was fussing around his brother as if to prevent other fears from taking hold, while Mor¨¬c''s sane eye was fixed on the stairs of the harbor. It darted on Saia when she gave a push to the dock with the row to free the boat from its hold. ¡°We''ll need answers,¡± he said, matter-of-factly. Saia was reminded of what she''d told Zeles the night when the earth had trembled for the first time. She nodded, then started rowing. The further she went, the more she was aware of the subtle flow of energy that connected her to the mountain. She couldn¡¯t go too far, or the tremor would have resumed. Unless she got Zeles back. The black line that connected sea and sky split in two as she approached, with horizontal pieces connecting the two main ones. It was a ladder made of shorter ones, each equipped with its own set of metal steps and handles to the sides. The pieces were connected by short but thick chains that made the whole structure sway in the wind. She couldn¡¯t see the top of it, hidden by the clouds. At the base of the ladder there were a boat, a man, and a dove. The animal was patiently perched on a step while the man fumbled with a piece of recycled paper. The boat was completely at the mercy of the waves, its only anchor a piece of rope tied to a swinging portion of the ladder. Saia stopped rowing and relied on the waves to propel her instead, stirred by a wind she created. She''d expected to feel the link to the mountain dwindle with the distance, but after a certain point it had only become stronger. Despite that, the mountain was almost outside of her domain, the only exception a piece of it that extended underwater. If she went further than that, she knew the earth would have trembled. She forced herself to stop, despite the man being still quite distant. He probably couldn''t even distinguish her, except for her silhouette standing on a boat. On the contrary, she was observing him from the edge of her domain and could see every crease in his expression. It was riddled with guilt, but also with a measure of hope she''d rarely seen on him. ¡°So you hit kids, now,¡± she said. Rabam jumped, almost letting the paper fall. He looked around, apparently unaware that the voice was just a trembling in the air some arms away from him. He finally found the figure in the distance and narrowed his eyes. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°You recognize my voice, don''t you? Or have you forgotten it along with human decency?¡± She couldn''t reach him in any way if not with sound. She tried to send a gust of wind his way, but she only managed to create some useless waves. ¡°Saia?¡± he finally said, his eyes opening wide, then narrowing again on her distant figure. ¡°Yes. Why are you doing all of this? How did you know about Zeles?¡± ¡°It''s my revenge,¡± he answered without hesitation. He patted the small bag that was hanging at his side, bulging with the sphere it contained. ¡°He has ruined my life, so I''ll ruin his.¡± ¡°Giving him to cloud people?¡± ¡°Yes. They offered me free passage to one of the big cities beyond the sea in exchange for a god.¡± Saia remembered his words about a worst punishment than death for Vizena: what was worse than falling in the hands of the very people who constantly attacked the mountain, who surely saw the gods as the only obstacle to obtain what they wanted? She tried to calm her viss, to transform the buzzing into slower waves like the ones that wobbled all around her. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°They offered you? How?¡± He glanced at the dove, then at the piece of paper in his hands. He sighed. ¡°I don''t have time for this. Just let me go. I promise you won¡¯t have to see or hear from me anymore.¡± ¡°You hurt my friends. You knew of my plans. You betrayed my trust, and now you won''t tell me why?¡± His shoulders slumped. ¡°I didn''t want to hurt the boys, but Zeles let Milvia die. I''ll never forgive him for that.¡± Saia looked at him in confusion, then realized he couldn''t see her expression. ¡°You were a monk,¡± she slowly said, recalling all of their interactions. ¡°A sentinel, if what you told me is true.¡± ¡°It is.¡± ¡°Then how did you know Milvia?¡± He propped an elbow on one of the steps to stabilize himself. ¡°I was sent to Lausune for a mission. I met Mili and fell in love with her. I tried to forget her as best as I could, but after two months I was still thinking about her. My priors didn¡¯t give me permission to participate in routine checks or missions, so I had to find a way to see her again without them noticing.¡± ¡°The paths,¡± Saia said. He nodded. ¡°I studied my dad''s books and found a hidden way to reach Lausune. Zeles believed I was just a merchant passing by, so I could meet Mili again without him suspecting a thing. I courted her and she became my girlfriend.¡± ¡°Did she know you were a monk?¡± ¡°Not at the beginning. I eventually told her everything during our strolls outside of Koidan¡¯s territory. I visited as much as I could. My absence was noticed and reported to the priors one time too many, and one day I found them waiting for me as I returned from Lausune.¡± ¡°And they imprisoned you and sent you to Namuri in exile,¡± Saia said. ¡°Ebus told me. How did you leave?¡± His guilt resurfaced at the mention of his brother. It got worse when he resumed speaking. ¡°It was my grandma. She''d known the person who is now Sulris, Namuri¡¯s deity. She told me to ask them for a favor that they owed her. When I was still in prison, she brought me the notes necessary to calculate a hidden path from Namuri to the mountain, and promised me she''d have communicated the position of the sentinels with a mirror every time it changed.¡± Saia thought about the old woman and her silences. ¡°She wanted to keep the family whole,¡± Rabam continued. ¡°Her, me, Ebus, our mom and our dads. I wasn''t keen on returning on the mountain immediately, though. I hated the monks for getting rid of me. I also met Mili at the market during one of her trips with her uncle in the nearby villages. She managed to find me a job and came visiting every time she could.¡± Saia knew what came next and closed her eyes, even if that didn''t change her view of Rabam¡¯s sorrowful expression. ¡°Then I received her uncle¡¯s letter telling me she''d been killed. I couldn''t wrap my head around how it was possible, since there was a god that should have prevented stuff like that from ever happening. Then I realized.¡± He looked down at the bag that contained Zeles. ¡°He either wanted that to happen, or didn¡¯t care enough to save her. Either way, it was all his fault. I went back to the mountain some days after that and learned that he was dying and had disappeared.¡± ¡°So this whole time you only wanted to take revenge on him.¡± ¡°Yes, but I didn''t know how. I knew, or rather, hoped he''d be eventually found out and brought back by the monks, but I also knew they''d just have cracked him and carried on as usual. It didn''t feel enough. I wanted to hurt him and also strike them for preventing me to be with Mili with their pointless rules.¡± Saia remembered the sorrow she¡¯d felt in his viss. Everything he was saying sounded intimately familiar: a prohibited love, the exile from his family, revenge on the god that ruined his life. ¡°The cloud people gave me a solution. I had stopped boiling my water, both because starting a fire each time was dangerous and I didn''t care much about being poisoned after Mili''s death. I started to drink the water of the lake. After the first rain, I had a vision.¡± Saia remembered what she saw at night in the forest. The message wasn''t for her, but Rabam: they were telling him what to do once he had Zeles''s sphere. ¡°I saw the cities beyond the sea, as big as the ones in the myths. A voice told me they could bring me there, in exchange for a sphere. I could obtain my revenge, escape my exile and start a new life somewhere better.¡± ¡°That still doesn''t explain how you knew that those two boys had Zeles.¡± ¡°This morning I saw you with my binoculars coming up the mountain with a sphere in your hand. I thought it was Zeles, so I rushed down the mountain to intercept you, but you were already surrounded by sentinels. I took advantage of the confusion to enter the village, but no one was allowed inside the temple except for the priors. I heard that they had cracked Zeles, so I left, thinking that my plan was ruined and I had to steal another god before the cloud people that proposed me the deal left. I was confused when the earth trembled, because if there were ten gods around the mountain and nine were enough to prevent that, cracking one shouldn''t have made a difference.¡± The dove gently cooed and Rabam pet its head with a finger. ¡°Then I realized that you didn''t hold a grudge against Zeles, but Vizena. So I checked what was going on in Suimer. I saw the whole population on the shore, as if they were alerted before the trembling started. And there was a boat floating in the middle of the sea, still connected to the docks by a rope. It didn''t make sense for it to be there, especially since the two people on board didn''t seem to be doing anything except for waiting. Or, I thought, keeping a fugitive god far enough from the mountain that it couldn''t prevent its trembling.¡± He extracted a long piece of graphite from his bag and wrote something on the paper. ¡°So I ran down the mountain and attacked them. I''m not proud of it, and there was a good chance I had gotten it all wrong, but I was desperate. Sorry for everything. At least we both got what we wanted, in the end.¡± He produced a tentative smile, then resumed writing. Saia only observed him, reflecting on his words. The message he was scribbling with such urgency was surely the confirmation the cloud people needed to retreat the ladder, with Rabam perched on it. At that point, he''d be too far for anyone to reach. She wondered what they''d have done once Zeles was in their hands. Not much, she realized. ¡°Well, since you''re so determined to bring Zeles with you, you should know that he''s dying.¡± Rabam had extracted a short piece of string to tie the rolled-up message to the dove''s leg. He lowered his hands, frowning. ¡°Do you think you can reach the cities beyond the sea before your friends find out?¡± Saia asked. ¡°How are they going to react when they realize the god you''re giving them has barely enough viss to survive the next few hours?¡± ¡°You''re lying. My grandma asked the scholars: Zeles should have five years of viss left, a lot more if no one awakens him.¡± ¡°The monks'' calculations are wrong, that''s the whole reason why they didn''t know he was already dying in the first place.¡± His eyes narrowed again, this time with distrust. ¡°And how do you know that?¡± Saia focused on his bag before answering, wishing she could consult Zeles before explaining more. ¡°He''s my friend. I''ve helped him hide his condition to the monks and he''s helped me deal with Vizena. That''s why he has almost nothing left.¡± He stared at her distant figure, apparently unable to answer. So she kept going, telling him of how she''d crossed into Vizena''s territory, of the fight that ensued, of all the viss he had to use to oppose Vizena and create an opportunity for Saia. ¡°Or did you really think I had accomplished all of that alone?¡± she concluded. Rabam stared a bit more, then lowered his eyes. ¡°Milvia''s death was a mistake he''ll never forget,¡± Saia added, nervous about the fact she couldn''t decipher his thoughts anymore. ¡°Vizena''s defeat was only possible because of the sacrifice he made to save my people.¡± Rabam finally let out a sigh, his body hunching some more. ¡°If I trust you and it turns out you have lied, I¡¯ll have lost the chance of a lifetime.¡± ¡°The chance to get killed, Rabam. You know me: I''ve never thought for a second about betraying you.¡± ¡°You were human, then.¡± ¡°I¡¯m human now. Let''s not lie anymore about what gods actually are.¡± He nodded, then raised his eyes to the sky. ¡°What should I do, then?¡± ¡°Go back to Lausune. My friend Aili is the new Koidan. She knows about you and how you helped me. She''ll protect you from the monks.¡± He stepped down onto the boat, reluctantly letting go of the ladder. Saia registered a gust of air somewhere above the point from which she was observing Rabam. It was just at the limit of her domain, so she couldn''t stop the object that had caused it. The harpoon struck the wood of Rabam''s boat. He screamed, clutching the ladder with both arms, scaring the dove away. ¡°I can¡¯t!¡± he yelled. ¡°They won''t let me.¡± Saia looked at him swinging left and right. Once again, she was being observed by forces more powerful than her. The dove came back, circled around the ladder, then perched two steps above Rabam''s head. He was silently crying now, clutching the piece of paper in his hand. Saia looked up: the sky was covered by a carpet of gray clouds. If there was a city up there, she didn''t know how to spot it, nor how to send it away. Except maybe for giving its inhabitants what they wanted. ¡°Send me,¡± she told Rabam. He wiped his face dry and breathed deeply. ¡°What?¡± he only managed to say. Saia took out her sphere from her chest and held it high over her head, so that whoever had thrown the harpoon could see it too. ¡°Write them that Zeles''s sphere is almost empty and I''ll go instead.¡± ¡°That''s not fair. All of this is still Zeles''s fault. He''s responsible for Mili''s death.¡± ¡°If he is, then I''m responsible too. It was my idea to tell people that he wouldn''t be able to pay them attention like before. I helped hide him. And when he learned about Milvia¡¯s death and wanted to go back to the temple to face his fate, I shut him down. You should direct your anger at me, too.¡± Rabam rubbed his face. ¡°I¡¯m so fucking tired. I don''t care anymore whose fault it is, I just want this mess to be over with.¡± ¡°Then do as I say. Write that letter.¡± He did. As soon as the roll of paper was secured against its leg, the dove flew away, ascending in a loose spiral across the sky. Saia waited for its return, ready to react at the first sign of danger. She had a lot of questions about these cloud people: how did they know about Rabam, what had happened to him and what he wanted; how they knew so many details about the mountain, gods included; why they wanted a god. Why they never came down to earth. The dove returned before she could find any answers. It perched on Rabam''s extended arm, allowing him to retrieve the answer. ¡°They ask for your shard, first.¡± Saia focused on the sphere between her hands. She had hoped they didn¡¯t know about it, but it was obvious they''d have found a way to protect themselves from her, if they didn''t already have one. She detached a shard like the ones she''d found in the monks'' village and let it levitate toward the margin of her territory. ¡°Get ready to catch it.¡± Rabam stretched an arm outward and nodded. Saia created a wind to give the shard momentum and direction. It was soon out of her control, flying toward the ladder. Rabam bent forward to catch it, then held it out to show that he had it. He wrapped the shard in the letter and used the string to bundle it tight. The dove flew away again, leaving them to wait. Saia sat down on the boat, in case they decided to test the shard by deactivating her. She was expecting the dove to return once more. Instead, the ladder started moving toward her. It entered her domain, as if to remark how powerless she once again was, and stopped in front of her boat. Rabam stepped onto it with trembling hands and immediately sat down, head lowered between his knees. Saia knew he needed time to recover, but they were being observed and every passing minute was a higher risk of a new attack. She put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°It''s not over yet. Listen to me.¡± He raised his head and met her eyes for the first time. ¡°Give me Zeles.¡± He obeyed, holding out the bag with the sphere without taking it out. Saia was relieved to see the blue light, even if she knew he had very little viss left. She focused on her own energies and divided them in half, then started pushing them toward Zeles. She thought of her family as she did that, repeating a message for him in her mind: ¡®take care of them¡¯. She didn¡¯t know how to make it actually legible, but she hoped he would get the general feeling. Once the process was complete, she gave the closed bag back to Rabam. Following a sudden impulse, she took the half-shards of the other gods from the cavities inside her body, leaving only Aili¡¯s shard inside. ¡°Bring them to my friend,¡± she said, handing them over to Rabam. He counted them under his breath and his eyes widened. Before he could put them away, Saia detached another shard from her own sphere and let it fall on top of the pile. ¡°And this one. Tell her where I went and that I''ll be fine.¡± Rabam nodded, too tired, shocked and scared at once to give an answer. Saia very gently squeezed his shoulder, then stepped onto the ladder. It started ascending even before she could figure out how to put on the straps that were hanging at the side. But she didn''t need them, after all. Her statue¡¯s hold was impossible to break. She looked down while they hoisted her, observing Rabam''s boat as it sailed toward the harbor. Soon enough she could see both the village where she was born and the one where she had found refuge, then all the remaining ones, sprawled around the giant shape of the mountain. Then the clouds covered everything, leaving her alone in the middle of the sky. 4.1 - Beyond the clouds The clouds thickened all around Saia as she ascended toward the sky. The mist that was condensing on the surface of her statue was frozen in place by the dozens of winds that hit the ladder from every direction, making it swing. She realized she couldn¡¯t feel the cold, even with the light clothes she was wearing, but her sea snakes could. She sent a bit of her viss their way, moving it in the pattern that produced heat. The grayness all around her was completely empty, so she deactivated her vision and focused on her domain instead. The first thing she noticed was that it had shrunk considerably: if she didn¡¯t put effort into expanding it, it only included her body and a span in every direction, to the point she would need to touch something to read its viss. If she willed it to expand beyond those limitations, a small quantity of viss left her body, becoming increasingly bigger the larger her domain was. She decided to keep it small, since there was something else preying on her energies. Her connection to the mountain hadn¡¯t severed nor faded: it was draining her viss away at a speed she hadn¡¯t experienced even while confronting Rabam. She tried to hold it back, remembering Zeles¡¯s words: sending viss to the mountain was instinctual like breathing. So she could resist, at least in theory, by metaphorically holding her breath. It worked for an instant, stopping the drainage of viss. Then, she felt pressure building up from inside the sphere, as if all of the energies it contained were trying to escape at once, as if it was about to explode. Her dark vision filled with fragments of light. The connection to the mountain returned, not because she had wanted to, but because she wasn¡¯t strong enough to avoid it. She felt something graze the edge of her domain and reactivated her senses: it was a gray surface of shining metal, curved and hollow. It disappeared inside the clouds while she was hoisted higher. Another one descended from above, or rather, she ascended to meet it. She expanded her domain just enough to understand what it was: part of a tunnel, the diameter taller than her, traversed by a perpetual trembling even if it was empty on the inside. She retreated. There were more pieces of tunnels swimming in the clouds, but she ignored them; the sky above her was becoming darker with an enormous shadow. She couldn''t see what was casting it, because the curtain of clouds was still thick enough to hide what waited behind it. She hugged the ladder with both arms, bracing herself for the impact. She pierced the cover of clouds and found herself in a vertical tunnel of rock. It was completely dark, except for a dot of light at the far end, small like a star. The rock was perfectly levigated, shining with small minerals but otherwise unremarkable. Saia looked up at the slowly approaching light. It took an hour for it to get to the size of a melon. At that point, she could get a glimpse of a wooden roof and see the metallic structure that was attached to it. It was pulling the ladder up with a constant rumbling. A shadow shaped like a human head appeared on top of the hole, making her viss buzz so violently she could feel it escaping onto the metal bar she was holding. The head retreated immediately, then a shout followed in a language she didn''t know. She wanted to scout ahead by expanding her domain, but she couldn¡¯t reach that far without expending too much energy. She set out to wait, her focus on both ends of the tunnels. Nothing happened except for the constant rumbling of the mechanism, until finally the hole was two armlengths above her head. She still couldn¡¯t see, but sounds reached her perfectly: whispers in the unknown language, the mechanism slowing down, the walls of wood and metal that encased the room creaking softly. As soon as the top of her head was over the border, she could finally look around, taking the whole room in at once. The hole was on a round wooden platform at the bottom of the room. A circular staircase ran along the border, leading to a second, bigger platform. Desks were set on top of it at regular intervals: some were empty, some occupied by stacks of documents pressed down by stones or carved statuettes. There was a final ring of stairs that led to the third and narrower platform. Everything was surmounted by a dome divided into four parts, with the mechanism at its center. The whole structure was supported by arching beams of metal. There were people on all three levels. The most striking feature was their completely gray skin, of all the possible shades between the deep gray of the clouds during a storm to a faint pearly gray. They were just as varied as the humans of the ten villages in that, and even when taking into account their faces she could see all kinds of noses, mouths and eye shapes, without a pattern of common characteristics. The hair formed loose curls, rarely straight or tightly curled as her own. Most of them kept it tied into a bun at the top of the head, only two or three people had cut it short. The color was usually a shade of gray darker than the skin, but when hit by the light it shone with azure, blue, pink or orange hues. Of the ten people who surrounded her, only one had completely white hair despite looking fairly young, while other two had midnight black hair, which made their respectively blue and orange hues even more striking. Their irises were all onyx black, pointed at her like the weapons they were holding. She focused on them to evaluate the risk they could actually pose: they were long metal sticks with three points, the middle one considerably longer than the other two, flattened to form two blades on either side and a sharp point. The two smaller ones had a mechanism at the base that, she guessed, could eject them. Without knowing how fast they were, she couldn¡¯t gauge whether she could stop them in time if they were fired at her glass heart. She considered messing with the mechanisms, but a quick exploration revealed they were too complicated and she risked obtaining the opposite effect. The cloud people only stared at her. She wanted to say something, but she didn¡¯t want to startle them into firing their weapons. She examined the rest of the room, instead. On the second platform there were only three people, two standing and one sitting on a chair with two wide wheels and a handle on the back. The third platform was once again filled with at least twenty people, holding a different kind of weapon that looked like a smaller version of the ballistae in the monks¡¯ village. They all contained one dart, aimed at her, but each person carried more of them in a tubular bag behind their backs. The ladder stopped moving once she had completely emerged from the tunnel. One of the people around her lowered their weapon and made two steps back, toward a thick wooden board on the floor. They kicked it forward until it covered the hole partially, leaving the rest of the ladder to hang down to the side. ¡°You can come down,¡± someone said. Saia was startled by the sound and chilled by the fact she recognized the words. She looked at the three people on the middle platform: the one to the right raised their hand a bit to signal they''d been the one speaking. Saia put a foot down onto the board to test whether that makeshift bridge could hold her weight. She left the ladder, the people around her stepping back at the same time. Someone lowered a lever in the wall of the third platform, and the mechanism on the ceiling started moving again. The ladder retreated completely inside of it. ¡°Come forward,¡± the person who had spoken first said. ¡°Don''t mind them, they''re only here to prevent you from hurting us.¡± Saia made a hesitant step toward the stairs. The guards moved with her without breaking the circle. She went on, amazed at how they didn''t even stumble as they climbed the steps backwards. Then she realized a fall might mean firing a weapon by mistake and slowed down. She stopped at the top of the stairs, two armlengths away from the three people waiting there. Two guards stood between her and them, but she could still admire their clothes. They weren''t impressive by themselves, brown or black or beige tunics held in place by a tall leather belt. But the front was all decorated with feathers, in parallel lines of one to three, each of them of one or more alternating colors. The guards were wearing them too, black feathers on brown cloth. And a lot of them seemed to be wearing a necklace made of small plumes. No, she realized: the feathers weren''t placed around their necks, they were part of them. At least half of the people in the room had them, white, brown or a mix of the two. She wondered whether they were animal people or something else entirely. ¡°I¡¯m Serit,¡± the person to the right said. ¡°Welcome to Irim¨¦ze.¡± Their dark hair shone of steel blue when they turned to address the people at their side. ¡°She¡¯s representative H¨¦she,¡± they nodded to the one on the chair. ¡°And she¡¯s representative Enanit.¡± This time, the nod was a bit stiffer. The first representative, whatever the word meant for these people, raised a cupped hand with the palm toward the ceiling. ¡°Welcome. We''ll have a chance to acquaintance ourselves soon, I think.¡± She looked a bit older than the person at her left, but a lot younger than the second representative. Her hair was free on the shoulders, a rare sight inside the room, and it shone of blue like the line of feathers on her chest. The second representative just looked at her. She kept herself half-hidden behind a guard, even if she didn''t look scared as much as angry. Differently from everyone else in the room, the plumes sticking out from the base of her neck were a dark, earthy red. She said a sentence in the language they were all speaking before Saia''s arrival. It seemed directed at Serit, but they didn''t answer, even if any trace of joviality disappeared from their face. ¡°Obviously,¡± they started, looking at Saia, ¡°if you hurt or damage anything, we''ll just deactivate you. Even if you should have realized by now that it requires a lot of ¨¦nu, or as you call it, viss, to do anything up here.¡± Their eyes glinted with amusement, and Saia realized they knew what was happening to her. ¡°What''s going on?¡± she asked. ¡°We''ll need your collaboration,¡± Serit continued a bit too quickly, as if they were anxious to leave that particular topic behind. ¡°But first, allow me to show you your new home.¡± They turned toward the representatives, raised both cupped hand, then started ascending the stairs toward one of the five doors of the room, all of them on the third platform. Two guards followed them, half-turned toward Saia, while two more positioned themselves right behind her. The rest crowded around the representatives. Stolen novel; please report. Two of the guards on the top platform pulled a second lever. The bottom floor of the room vibrated as two half-moons of iron started closing the hole, jutting out straight from the pavement. They were blocking Saia¡¯s only way out. Only her shard kept her there, so she examined each person in the room to find who had taken it, but it wasn''t anywhere. After all, if they knew how much it cost her to expand her domain and what its limits were, it made sense for them to have brought the shard as far away as possible. They certainly had the time to hide it well. She followed Serit out in the low light of the evening, not knowing what to expect but with the hollow certainty that it wouldn¡¯t be the mountain, nor the sea. The first thing she noticed was the buildings, identical to the ones she¡¯d seen in the vision destined to Rabam: they were built on a plain of barren earth, fairly distant from each other and made of light wood, the kind that was easy to carry but also easy to break. Thick carpets in various colors hung from the walls. ¡°We can''t afford too much weight,¡± Serit commented. ¡°Our city might very well collapse if we start building with bricks or stone or tough wood like humans do.¡± Saia focused on the horizon. She stared in disbelief, wondering how she could ever describe that view to Aili and her family, once she was back. The city was vaguely similar to the mountain, if someone had eradicated it from the ground, hollowed it out, flattened its top, turned it upside down and put the buildings inside as if it was just a big bowl of earth. Except the walls of the bowl weren¡¯t curved and levigated, but cut off at regular intervals, forming five huge rings similar to the steps of a giant staircase, or the terraces that some farmers dug at the base of the mountain to house their fields. Each step was several towerlengths high and the surface at the top had enough space for hundreds of houses, all pressed together to the point she could believe they were all the same building. Every terrace was connected to the next by smaller staircases, still huge by human standards but utterly unimpressive compared to the walls of yellowish earth that surrounded them. Each terrace had three staircases leading to the next level, placed at regular distances from each other. The people climbing them were little lines of ants. She focused her gaze up. The sky was a circle at the top of everything, interrupted by moving branches full of leaves. The vegetation was sparse at the bottom, where she was standing, and became thicker the closest it grew to the top, up to the fifth and last level, mostly empty of buildings as far as she could tell, but covered by a ring of trees that looked just like a forest. Looking at the walls of earth and rock, she understood why the buildings needed to be so light. ¡°How is this city flying?¡± she asked. Since she couldn''t talk in Serit''s ear without wasting energy to expand her domain, she made the air near her mouth vibrate as if she was actually talking. She still didn''t move her lips, preserving her viss. They turned, openly smiling. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re curious about us. Problem is, I can''t tell you anything about it until I know I can trust you. But I''ll be happy to answer other questions.¡± ¡°Why am I here? What do you want from me?¡± ¡°All in due time, I¡¯ll explain when we arrive.¡± Saia¡¯s viss buzzed with frustration. ¡°What is a representative?¡± she asked. This time, Serit made a short laugh. ¡°You really don''t know anything about us! It''s incredible how isolated your people are.¡± They returned more or less serious, even if there was still a twinkle of amusement in their eyes. ¡°They''re our governors. They take all of the major decisions. A bit like the gods in your villages, but without the powers.¡± Saia thought they seemed more similar to the abbot, but didn''t say it out loud. They had reached the nearest staircase that led to the top of the first terrace. Even if the mountain was higher, Saia would have preferred climbing it to the top than facing that neverending pile of steps. ¡°There are actually three representatives,¡± Serit continued, stepping onto the staircase as if the ascent was little more than routine to them. ¡°But one is away right now.¡± Saia started climbing behind them, the guards once again walking backwards rather than letting her out of range. She felt their fear every time they stepped too close. There weren''t many people on the staircase, and they all stared at Saia when they saw her approach from the opposite direction or walk past them. ¡°You don''t have many humans here,¡± she commented. ¡°No, and they mostly live on the fourth level.¡± Serit pointed at it, the last terrace before the one with the forest. ¡°And a lot of them aren''t citizens, so they can''t come down. Exception made for merchants, but they mostly sojourn at the bottom.¡± ¡°Lucky them,¡± Saia said bitterly. ¡°Sorry. We could have taken the elevators, but the guards might attract too much attention.¡± ¡°Elevator?¡± ¡°It''s a bit like being pulled up like you were, but you''re standing in a room instead of holding a ladder.¡± Serit had started breathing heavily, so Saia refrained from asking more questions. It took twenty more minutes of walking at a brisk pace to get to the top. The stairs stopped at the first terrace, and Saia could see another staircase in the distance that led from the first to the second level. The houses around her were identical to the ones at the bottom, at most two floors high and with carpets hanging on the outside of their walls, but clustering to the point the alleys only allowed for two people to walk side by side. The only large streets she could see were the one running along the border of the terrace and the one immediately under the wall of the second level. The distance between them seemed to be of at most two towerlengths, which was still a lot but somewhat less than she''d expected. ¡°There are no winds here,¡± Serit said, still panting a bit. They chuckled, as if they''d said a particularly clever joke. ¡°The whole structure was built to keep the warmth in and not allow dangerous gusts to knock us off the stairs or blow dust on our carpets.¡± They walked to the left, out of the square space in front of the staircase and into an alley. Two guards stepped behind them, while the other two followed Saia. ¡°It''s impossible to get lost, here,¡± Serit said. ¡°As long as you know at which level is the place you''re looking for, you just need to walk in one direction and you''ll eventually find it.¡± They kept walking for a bit, meeting considerably more people than the ones on the staircase. Some of them were looking out of the windows, talking with the neighbors or just staring in the distance. Or at Saia, as soon as they spotted her. They reached a square, a sudden open space amid the cluster of houses. She had a glimpse of rough wooden tables in front of what looked like a tavern, the sign written in a vertical script and some patrons eating and laughing. Serit plunged again into the web of alleys before she could see more. The streets were illuminated despite the sky getting darker by the hour. The lanterns fastened to the walls over the passersby¡¯s heads spread a soft golden light. At first, Saia had thought their half-domes of glass contained a flame of some kind, but looking closely it was a luminous fog with a brighter center. It shifted and expanded slowly behind the glass, eerily similar to the viss moving inside Saia¡¯s own sphere. She hoped they hadn''t pulled her up there just to use her as a fancy streetlight. The alley gradually became larger, then divided in two, then joined again further ahead, after a cluster of houses that was thus separated from the rest. As they approached, Saia realized that it was all part of one building: the carpets hanging from the walls had the same three colors, blue, gray and green, and the patterns were based on the intersection of multiple triangles. ¡°One of the first level''s warehouses,¡± Serit explained. ¡°Governative building. It''s not used as much these days, so Izha, the third representative, allowed me to set up a laboratory on the first floor.¡± The door was positioned just in front of the spot where the alley forked. Serit opened it with a key taken from a barely visible pocket. They gestured for Saia to enter, then said something to the guards in their language. She pushed the door open. The inside was dark, with barrels and crates piled up in pyramids along the walls. The only light entered from a line of narrow windows just under the ceiling. Escaping from there didn¡¯t look difficult, if their plan was to close her inside. Serit stepped in shortly after and locked the door behind them. ¡°The guards?¡± Saia asked. ¡°They¡¯ll return to their tasks. You won''t meet them again, unless you show up alone at the bottom of the city or get too close to the representatives for some reason.¡± ¡°I could kill you,¡± she said, more to test the waters than for any willingness to hurt them. ¡°Thank you for reminding me that I still have to tell you a couple of things,¡± Serit said, unfazed. ¡°But let''s find a table, first.¡± They crossed the room toward a square opening in the opposite wall, big enough to let in a whole cart of crates. The room behind it was smaller than the warehouse, with a considerably lower ceiling. There were two double doors that led to the outside, closed by a board of wood, then a large desk covered with dust and a spiral staircase behind it. There was a lantern on the desk, half-spherical like the ones outside, except for the handle at the top and the wooden pedestal attached to the bottom. Serit picked it up and started climbing the stairs to the second floor. Saia followed them, the wood creaking under her steps. Serit unlocked the door at the top. On the other side, there was a large room that reminded Saia of the first floor of Lausune''s post office, except it was less crowded with books and notes and the right side was mostly occupied by a kitchen. The table on the left was empty, except for four bottles at the center, each in a slightly different size. The vertical labels were all different, despite them containing the same transparent liquid. Serit set the lantern down onto the table, then took the bottles and placed them on a counter on the other side of the room. ¡°Sit wherever you feel comfortable,¡± they said, trafficking with something inside a cupboard. Saia moved a chair back and sat down. She looked out of the large window on the wall at her left: beyond the roof of the house on the other side of the alley, she could see the lights shining in a circle throughout all of the whole first level, the luminous lines of the stairs connecting it to the terrace above and to the bottom of the city. ¡°Sorry, I needed to eat,¡± Serit said, chewing on something while they sat in front of her. ¡°Now, on the question of why killing me is not in your best interests: I''m doing you a favor. Relatively speaking.¡± ¡°You took me away from my family, my friends and my house,¡± she replied. ¡°Relatively speaking,¡± they repeated. ¡°The only reason why you''re still awake is that I''ve spent the last month convincing the representatives that it was the right call. The original plan was to get an asleep deity, use it until the energy had ended, then discard it. We don''t need you, but your ¨¦nu, sorry, viss. If you misbehave in any significant way, and killing me would be a considerable misbehaviour, you''ll be shut down until the day you die.¡± Saia leaned back and crossed her arms on her chest. ¡°Thank you, then,¡± she spat. ¡°I imagine this favor came out of pure generosity.¡± ¡°No, it didn''t. Officially, you''ll stay awake to provide us with information about mount Ohat, for reasons you don''t need to know.¡± ¡°Mount Ohat?¡± ¡°Your people call it ''the mountain''. Which makes sense, considering it''s the only one you know.¡± There are more mountains? The question shot through Saia''s mind, startling her viss into buzzing. She was very glad her face didn''t move without her willing it. ¡°In reality,¡± Serit continued, ¡°You''ll be protecting me. The research I¡¯ll be doing on you is important to the point that some of my enemies could think about stealing you away and discreetly disposing of me. I trust your ability to stop them if they ever get bold enough to try.¡± ¡°Who are your enemies?¡± Serit let out a bitter laugh. ¡°I wish I could give you a list, but I''m not very liked. Look out for other people of science like me and representative Enanit.¡± ¡°She didn''t like me.¡± ¡°She doesn''t, I agree. But you''re making a mistake if you assume H¨¦she does. She''s an opportunist, not siding with any of the older representatives until she''s sure about which will be the winning opinion, or the one that will consolidate her position the most. See, we vote our representatives every five years and there will be another election next year.¡± She recalled the monks'' voting system to choose the candidates for the trials and nodded. ¡°In addition to this, if you¡¯ll collaborate with me as much as you can, I¡¯ll be able to fix your problem. A constant drainage of viss is just a waste, after all.¡± ¡°I thought it was your fault.¡± Serit looked out of the window. ¡°In a sense, it is. You''re still sending your energies to mount Ohat, even if your viss can''t reach it anymore. I guess your monks know how to prevent you deities from leaving.¡± ¡°How much time does it take to fix it?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, not much, but your situation will get worse before it gets better. Irim¨¦ze is always moving.¡± Saia tried to calm down her buzzing viss. ¡°You need my energies,¡± she said. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°To solve the most fundamental problem of us shilv¨¦. Or ¡®cloud people¡¯, as you call us.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Serit stared at her for an instant, clearly asking themselves whether she was joking. Then, they threw their head back and laughed. ¡°You really don''t know anything about us. Well, tomorrow you¡¯ll see. It''s quite the show, if you don¡¯t know what to expect.¡± 4.2 - Left behind Aili kept watching the horizon from the borders of her territory, wondering what the line was and why Saia hadn¡¯t come back yet. She wanted to move, leave the village and look for her, but then the monks would have tried to deactivate her and found out that they couldn¡¯t. All the advantage she had just gained on them would have dissolved, which wouldn¡¯t be a problem if she knew for sure that Saia was in danger. But there were thousands of other reasons she might be delayed, and now she was powerful enough that she could defend herself from virtually anything. She tried to think of something else, like the experiments she¡¯d been doing before Saia¡¯s arrival. First, she¡¯d tested her link to the mountain: she¡¯d tried to diminish the amount of viss she was sending and found that if the quantity was too small, she started feeling uncomfortable. She guessed she could stop the stream of viss altogether, if she wanted, but didn¡¯t try to, for fear of that discomfort turning into actual pain, or to cause another trembling. After that, she¡¯d been focusing on her senses, trying to figure out why deities could see, hear, or even touch and taste the world around them. She¡¯d found out that smell wasn¡¯t as instinctive as sight or hearing: it was deactivated most of the time unless she focused specifically on it. She¡¯d understood why only once she had tried to smell a bowl of soup at the center of a kitchen table, tuning out the people''s voices not to pry more than what she was already doing: together with the smell of the dish came the one of the tablecloth, the guests¡¯ body hodour and the traces of every single ingredient that had been used. Everywhere she focused, a dozen of seemingly unrelated smells came through her senses, and the fact she didn''t have a nose made it harder to metaphorically close it or tune out a specific fragrance. She detected a movement in the distance. All of her focus narrowed down to a point at the very end of her territory, over the seawater. Close enough to see the line in the sky making its retreat, but not to identify the person hanging onto it. She waited even after it had disappeared beyond the clouds, observing the gray nothingness above as the sky became darker. She spread her attention on all of her borders, hoping Saia, Dan and Mor¨¬c would have crossed them soon. The first ones to arrive were the two boys. She cured Mor¨¬c''s eyes as Dan told her of the man who had attacked them and of Saia leaving to face him. They had waited for her until the line had disappeared, then scuttled back to Lausune, eluding the monks. While Dan was as talkative as usual, Mor¨¬c refused to even acknowledge she existed, even as she healed his eye as new. He''d always been quiet in a sort of threatening way when dealing with her. Something had happened with the previous Koidan, and as long as she bore that identity, she had a part in it. She''d considered looking for the answer in the numerous notebooks sprawled all over the boys'' living room, but she''d been trying not to slip back into the habit of snooping on people''s writing. She''d been succeeding, partly because she was too caught up in her experiments to entertain the thought, partially because she felt Vizena''s specter loom at the end of that particular road. Dan wanted to wait for Saia, but she urged them to go home and rest. In the end she was alone again, wondering who the mysterious monk they¡¯d mentioned was and what was his connection to the black line in the sky. At least, he had left with it and wouldn''t have been a problem anymore. Or so she thought, until a man who corresponded to the description crossed the border. It was dark, so the sentinels couldn''t see him as long as he kept to the forest, and he was dressed like a monk. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked. The guilty face he answered with told her he hadn''t been sent there on some sort of mission. ¡°Rabam. Saia told me to come here.¡± ¡°Where is she?¡± He lowered his head. ¡°She left. Can I enter your temple? I''ll explain along the way.¡± As he said that, he opened a small bag wrapped around his midsection. Zeles¡¯s sphere was inside it. ¡°Be quick,¡± she said. He covered his head with the hood of his tunic and started running, avoiding the lights on his way. He maintained a good rhythm even as he stumbled down the flank of the mountain, then entered through the open doors at full speed. He stopped right next to the entrance and slumped down on the bench to his left. ¡°¡­ and she promised me you''d have kept me hidden,¡± he concluded his explanation, panting hard. ¡°That''s why I''m here.¡± ¡°What does it mean that she¡¯s with cloud people, now?¡± ¡°I can''t give you more details, unfortunately. The visions didn''t show anything of what''s happening up there.¡± Aili''s viss was buzzing so strongly she wanted to discharge it on someone as a lightning strike, but as much as she''d studied them she didn''t know how to go about that. ¡°They''re dangerous,¡± she screamed. ¡°They''re constantly trying to get past our defenses and their weapons are getting more powerful. And you gave them Saia?¡± ¡°She left of her own volition.¡± ¡°No, she left to protect you and Zeles.¡± The buzzing was too much: fear, worry, anger at Rabam and the monks, and at Saia for being so stubborn. She started to pace on her pedestal. A waste of perfectly good energy, but it was the only way to clear her head. ¡°She also told me to give you these,¡± Rabam said, quietly, as if any sound could start her off. He took out a handful of glass pieces from one pocket and kept them on his open palm. They were seven, one for each god, Zeles and her excluded. He took out another shard from a different pocket, this time whole and not cut in half. She would have recognized her viss anywhere: it was Saia¡¯s shard. Aili remembered that she had left her a shard of her own and felt marginally better. Sure, she hadn''t had time to tell her how to use it, but it was a good thing: the bigger the distance between fragment and sphere, the more energy was required to send the viss and the data it contained from one to the other. She would have figured everything out on her own, eventually. ¡°Leave them on the bench,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll put them away later.¡± He carefully set them down one by one. That gave Aili time to examine the viss they contained, connecting them to their original owners. She could easily recognize Mivion''s and Dore''s half-shards, since they protected the villages right next to Lausune, but she had no idea who the others belonged to. She''d have to touch their viss with her own to know. Unless she acted like Saia¡¯s words had suggested: deactivate all of the gods, climb the mountain, force the monks to apply any change she requested. Even now, the idea intrigued her and made her recoil at the same time. The system in place had to be changed, that much was clear. Giving so much power to a group of nine people, without the possibility and willingness to take it back for fear of wasting it, allowed the gods to essentially do whatever they wanted for two hundred years. They trusted the selection process too much and had no actual idea of how many things a deity could do without the sentinels knowing. But arbitrarily choosing an entirely new system and applying it was more difficult than both her and Saia could fathom. They risked breaking the balance the monks had reached; even if at first everything would seem to work fine, the flaws would start to become apparent over time, but at that point it could be too late to fix them. There was also a fact she''d never admitted to Saia: she liked the general idea of gods. Her life had been peaceful, she always had food, a roof, instant healing for her wounds. All things she''d learned not to take for granted while she travelled around the villages. And not only she¡¯d had those things, but everyone she knew did too, family and friends included. Even if her mom had left her and her dad when she was little, she''d always known there was someone making sure she was safe. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Her viss swelled with sorrow at the thought of her mom, but there weren¡¯t tears to release it. For all the lessons Daira had taught her, she''d never warned her about her body becoming a trap for her emotions. She focused on the temple again to calm down. Rabam had rested his head on the marble wall behind him and was now asleep. She checked the village, even if the pieces of her conscience she left to guard over it would have alerted her of any problem. Nothing. Another night alone with her thoughts, watching over a sleeping humanity. She recalled Cailes''s words, the night when they first met the monks. That their system couldn''t work on a large number of people, for the impossibility of keeping everyone in check. That implied the monks knew of other systems, of what was used before their predecessors found the mountain. She had to uncover the truth about their history. This time it wasn''t just to satisfy her curiosity, but to know why the first monks set up everything exactly the way they did. What they wished, but most importantly, what they had wanted to avoid. Once she knew that, she could begin to think of how to fix their broken system. Or even better, she could share the truth with everyone in the villages. Let the inhabitants decide how they wanted to live, without anyone - not her, not the gods, not the monks - forcing anything onto them. But before thinking about how to get there, she needed to sort out the problems of that night. She focused on Rabam¡¯s bag and tried to awaken Zeles. She braced herself for the discomfort of having another deity awake inside her territory, even if she knew it was only temporary: the night before, when Saia had awakened Zeles to ask for his help, he''d immediately shrunk his area to cause as little intersecting of their viss as possible. He''d been so swift she''d barely registered the gesture, and only truly appreciated it after Saia''s return as a goddess. She poured a tiny bit of buzzing viss into his sphere, but he didn''t wake up. She realized the monks had probably planned for the eventuality that neighboring gods would help each other overcome the control through the shards, and that only a human could activate or deactivate them. So she awakened Rabam instead. He blinked repeatedly, not even raising his head from the wall. ¡°Can you wake up Zeles? In the bag,¡± she added, noticing how confused he was. He opened it and activated the sphere with a finger, then closed his eyes and relaxed again. Aili felt Zeles¡¯s viss spread out to include the temple, then his confusion, until his domain finally shrunk to the point it contained only his sphere. ¡°Hi, Zeles,¡± she said, trying to make him feel at ease. ¡°I¡¯m Aili. Saia''s friend.¡± She felt silly saying that, as if he wasn¡¯t the deity who had watched over her since her birth. He paused for a long time, his golden light gaining and losing brightness at the rhythm of his thoughts. ¡°She did save me. How? Where is she?¡± Aili told him, repeating Rabam''s words as best as she could. ¡°How... how did she become a goddess?¡± ¡°I don''t know. Rabam doesn''t know anything more than what I''ve told you.¡± ¡°And now she''s above the clouds. She saved me twice in one day and I was sleeping the whole time.¡± He sounded just as sad and tired as she felt. ¡°She will come back,¡± Aili said. ¡°She has the power of a goddess, now. And her snakes.¡± Zeles''s sudden flare of light was the deity''s equivalent of a short laugh. ¡°I¡¯ve seen them in action, they''re quite terrifying,¡± he said, then the viss resumed its normal flow. ¡°What should I do next?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t many places you can go, unless you plan to leave the mountain. Vizena¡¯s temple is still empty, you could take her place.¡± Zeles seemed to consider it. ¡°Suimer¡­ Saia¡¯s family lives there. I have a feeling she¡¯d like for me to take care of them. What about you? Is everything going well, here?¡± Aili didn''t want to burden him with her problems so soon after he had fought a goddess and survived certain death, but she needed the advice of someone that had been in her situation for two hundred years and she couldn''t ask the other gods. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying not to think about it too much, but being seen and treated as an entirely different person by everybody in this village is destroying me. I thought I could endure it because I had already accepted to leave everything behind when I became a monk, but this situation is completely different than that.¡± ¡°The monks should have anticipated it.¡± ¡°They''ve chosen me because it''s the first time a deity has lived as a human in the same village they protect. I''m a bit of an experiment.¡± ¡°Do you have someone here you¡¯re particularly close to?¡± Aili thought about her old group of friends. She was acutely aware of their quiet houses scattered across the village. ¡°We drifted off. I was too focused on my research and travels, and them on their jobs, families and partners. Plus, they have an established life here, I don''t want to involve them in this. I have two friends in other villages, though. We mostly exchange letters, but obviously I can''t reach them right now.¡± ¡°Well, I suggest you find someone who''s willing to be your friend, not as Aili but as Koidan. Even if you can''t tell them everything, having someone you can talk to that doesn''t see you as an actual deity can be refreshing. Saia was that friend to me.¡± Aili thought about all of the people in the village at that moment. She didn''t have a candidate in mind, but she was confident in her ability to find one. ¡°And if you ever need help,¡± Zeles added, ¡°There¡¯s the register.¡± Aili felt her viss slow down for an instant. She knew about the register, of course. It would have been weird if Koidan had forgotten all about the people he¡¯d been taking care of for centuries at convenient intervals of two hundred years each. Daira had told her that the register was a list of the general information about a village¡¯s inhabitants that each god kept for their successor. The monks made sure to remove any data that was older than three centuries, of course, before they put the new god in place and awakened them. They were very careful about not leaving too many traces. For once, she wished they would have left even less. Looking around for that book was too big of a temptation, but of course she couldn¡¯t tell that to Zeles. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said instead, trying to sound cheerful. ¡°This is really good advice.¡± ¡°Glad I could help a bit. Is there anything else you want to tell me?¡± Aili realized she didn''t know his opinion about the monks. Sure, he had tried to elude them, but that might have been out of self-preservation more than an actual distaste for the system they had in place. ¡°Yes. What do you feel about this whole situation? Do you think the monks should keep going like this?¡± He took a lot of time before answering. Rabam''s breathing resounded in the temple. ¡°People are too reliant on gods to keep everything going. They''ve become careless, and they think gods are always right, which makes them powerless when it comes to situations like Vizena''s. If they had known that monks existed, that gods are humans like them and that ultimately they couldn''t hurt them, they''d have fought back.¡± Aili relaxed a bit. ¡°So you agree people should be more aware of what''s actually going on here?¡± ¡°Yes. Beyond that, I wouldn''t know what to change.¡± ¡°Me neither. We''ll figure it out.¡± She stopped, reflecting on what needed to be done. ¡°You don''t know anything about how or why the villages were founded, by chance?¡± ¡°Have you followed the courses before the final ceremony to become a monk?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then you know everything I do. But I was just a helper, maybe a history scholar will tell you more.¡± She thought back at her interrupted career as scholar, all of the books she had at her fingertips but didn¡¯t read. ¡°Thank you anyway. I''ll send someone to place you in Suimer¡¯s temple.¡± ¡°Yes, please. I''ll need to rest a bit. I imagine the inhabitants won''t be happy to know Vizena is back, even if she won''t hurt them anymore.¡± ¡°I truly don''t envy you. Rabam?¡± she called, this time at a normal volume. He was startled out of his sleep. ¡°Deactivate Zeles, please.¡± He obeyed. He was about to fall back into a sleeping position, so Aili called him again. ¡°I need to talk to you. Please listen carefully.¡± He rubbed his eyes and sat up straighter. ¡°Bring Zeles to Suimer, put him into Vizena''s statue and awaken him. I know you¡¯re a fugitive: if you try to steal him again, I''ll tell the monks where you are and how you managed to elude them. Follow my instructions, and you''ll be free to do whatever you want without my interference. Go back to your village, into hiding or in prison, I don''t care at all.¡± He looked at her with a hurt expression. ¡°I¡¯ll do it, you don¡¯t need to threaten me. Saia¡­ I¡¯m not sure, but I think she has just saved me. She managed to kill a goddess and become one, while I wasted so much time just moping around and not knowing what to do. I don''t want to go back in exile, nor in any place where the only thing left for me to do would be thinking about my fuck-ups.¡± He stood slowly. ¡°I want to stay here. I know what this means,¡± he added, pointing at the shards on the bench, ¡°And I want to help.¡± ¡°It will be a lot less exciting than what you expect. We¡¯re trying to build something new, not destroying the monks. And we''ll have to be careful.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Still better than what I''d do alone.¡± Aili looked at him. She recalled Zeles''s words about finding someone she could be somewhat honest to. ¡°Fine. We have an empty house in Chisellers road, you can live there.¡± His eyes went wide. She could feel his viss buzzing even without focusing on it. ¡°The house of... the dead woman?¡± ¡°We cleaned it. The murderer is in prison.¡± She had considered giving him Saia¡¯s instead, but the monks were probably keeping it under stricter surveillance. ¡°Yes, of course, I know," he said. "It''s just... I just realized I don¡¯t remember the path I had prepared from here to Suimer.¡± ¡°Just take a boat. It''s dark enough, Dore¡¯s still deactivated and the monks haven''t returned to guard the borders yet.¡± He nodded, only slightly calmer. ¡°Good luck,¡± Aili said. He was out of the door in an instant. 4.3 - Bottles Serit finished eating, then opened the door at the back of the kitchen. There was a short corridor on the other side that curved to the right. ¡°Your room is at the end,¡± they told Saia. ¡°If you need me, I¡¯m in the second to the left. But I gave dispositions to shut you down in about an hour, so try to limit your movements around the place. I wouldn''t want for you to fall and ruin your statue.¡± Saia nodded. She had tried to ask more about the ''fundamental problem'' of cloud people, but they had refused to tell her anything. She entered the corridor and walked on toward her room, not knowing what to expect. She didn¡¯t really need a bed, nor anything else apart from maybe some books to entertain herself with, but she guessed they would be in whatever language cloud people spoke. She distractedly adjusted the strap of her bag and froze. The snakes. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Serit asked from behind her. She considered keeping them without telling anyone about their existence, as a secret weapon. But even if they were asleep, they needed to eat and keep their temperature regulated. Whatever she''d be forced to do in the following days, she couldn''t guarantee them anything. She turned. ¡°I have some sea snakes with me. They''re asleep,¡± she added, opening the bag to show Serit. ¡°But they''ll wake up as soon as you deactivate me. They need a tank to swim and at least a mound of earth to¡­¡± ¡°I don''t have seawater,¡± Serit interrupted her. ¡°But there''s a public aquarium at the bottom level.¡± ¡°A what?¡± ¡°Think of it as a museum, but with fish.¡± Saia reflected on their words for a bit. ¡°A what?¡± ¡°Nevermind, the point is that they can take care of your snakes there. I¡¯ll store them in separate boxes for the night and have them delivered in the morning.¡± Saia looked at her snakes. She''d always thought of them as food at worst, tools at best. But they still deserved to be taken care of properly. ¡°Give them meat, any kind,¡± she said, gathering them in her hands with the same gentleness she would use to pick flowers. ¡°And keep them in the warmest spot you can find. Tell the people of the aquarium that they need to get on land, sometimes.¡± ¡°I sure hope they already know that,¡± Serit said, taking the bouquet of snakes with their bare hands. ¡°Be right back.¡± They turned around and disappeared beyond the kitchen. Saia proceeded along the corridor, trying to open the doors she came across to. They were all locked. She expanded her domain to check what was behind them: she found mostly tools and materials of various shapes and sizes, but no glass, and certainly not a shard with her viss on it. The second part of the corridor, after the right turn, continued for a bit despite not having doors on either side. The dullness of the unpainted wood was softened by the three large windows on the left wall. Looking through them, she could only see one of the alleys at the sides of the warehouse and the building in front of it. She reached the end of the corridor, where a single door awaited her. It was a bit ajar, discreetly letting her know that she could enter. She opened it and stepped onto a monochrome blue carpet. The first thing that caught her attention was another of those eerie lights, the half-sphere of glass bolted to the roof. A brass wand protruded from the center of it downwards, ending with a rounded tip half an armlenght over her head. She prodded it with a finger, but nothing happened. She observed the luminous fog for a bit before focusing on the rest of the room. There was just one window, facing the alley from which she and Serit had arrived. Below it, there was something she could only describe as a giant pillow. She sat onto it to try it out: it was big enough to hold her entirely, even if not fluffy enough to prevent her body from touching the floor through the padding of plumes and the sturdy cloth enveloping it all. Still, she appreciated the feeling of the pillow raising along the outline of her body, as if she was resting on a cloud. That thought ruined the whole experience. She was on a cloud, sort of, and away from home. She needed to play nice with Serit until she knew where her shard was, then steal it back and leave. She got up to explore the last interesting element of the room, beside a wardrobe that she chose to ignore: the bottles. They were lined up on the shelves of a small cabinet: it had five rows in total, but only the top two were occupied by one and three bottles respectively. They were similar to the ones she''d seen in the kitchen, with slightly different shapes and sizes, a transparent liquid inside, and labels in that vertical writing. Each of them was encased in a pedestal that protruded from the wood, to protect them when the cabinet was tilted forward. She took one of the bottom three in her hand, allowing it to enter her domain, and immediately felt the viss it contained. She focused on it, trying to read it as if it belonged to a person. The room around her disappeared for an instant, replaced by a bright morning sky extending all around her. Part of her was still aware of the room she was standing in and the bottle she held in her hand, but the rest was far away in that imaginary sky. Two giant birds flew in front of her, one attacking the other with its long talons. The person riding on the bottom bird bent forward to elude the attacker, who screamed of anger, gripping the reins of his animal in one hand and a sword in the other. Saia looked down and around her, but the vision didn''t move with her gaze. The bottom bird folded its wings and fell towards the clouds below. The attacker went after it, and only at that point Saia felt herself flying down with them, their warring shapes colliding in front of her. ¡°Do you like it?¡± She stopped reading the viss so abruptly she almost lost her grip on the bottle. Serit was standing in the doorway, looking pleased with themselves. ¡°The snakes are in the warehouse. I gave them some bird meat, it should last well beyond morning.¡± Saia slid the bottle inside its pedestal. Serit stepped closer and rested a hand on top of the cabinet. ¡°So you can read them?¡± they asked. They were trying hard to seem uninterested, but Saia was close enough to sense their curiosity. ¡°I saw two giant birds in the sky with people on their back.¡± Serit nodded, barely holding back a smile. ¡°That''s a scene from the middle. You have to look for the starting point.¡± They took the bottle back out, holding it as if it was the head of a baby. ¡°This a story-bottle. An old one, from when I was young. We usually read it by immersing a finger in it. You gods can read it with your innate use of the viss, of course. Humans can learn to read them with time, or they can obtain the same effect by drinking it.¡± They grimaced. ¡°A lot of stories have been lost this way because of some heartless merchant.¡± Saia considered the bottle with more attention. ¡°What''s that liquid?¡± ¡°Humans call it ''cloud water''. We call it ¨¦shan. A more literal translation in your language would be ¡®blood¡¯.¡± Saia recoiled a bit at that. Serit smiled openly. ¡°Don''t worry, it''s spontaneously donated. There''s a donation center at every level besides the fourth, and anyone can buy empty ¨¦shan from there. Even if famous viss-sculptors prefer to work with something that already has viss inside. They base the images on the memories already there.¡± ¡°How do they even do that?¡± ¡°The basics are easy, we all learn them at school. Magic comes easier to us than to humans. Obviously if you want images and not just voices, it requires a lot more work to get right.¡± ¡°No, I mean¡­ Our brain isn¡¯t supposed to understand the data inside viss, right? Unless we establish a code or something. So why can I see these images?¡± Serit shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not an expert in that field, but that¡¯s just how our blood works. It makes viss readable by our brains.¡± They put the bottle back on top of the shelf and took another one. ¡°You should start from this. It''s a course of Shiliz¨¦, our language. It contains the entire vocabulary, grammar and quite a few examples.¡± When they held out the bottle for her to take, she realized that ''quite a few'' was an understatement. The bottle was filled with three times the viss of the previous one. ¡°And I should study all of this?¡± ¡°Handle it carefully, it¡¯s incredibly expensive. Anyways, it''s not supposed to be read like the other story-bottles. Ideally, you should drink it. You can¡¯t, but I guess you''d gain the same knowledge by copying the information it contains into your viss.¡± Saia nodded, weighting the bottle in her hand. The novelty of everything she''d seen was fading. She looked around the room and saw it for what it was. ¡°So I''m a prisoner,¡± she said. ¡°Don''t think of it this way. You are my guest, if you need anything please tell me.¡± ¡°I want to go home.¡± Serit sighed. ¡°Apart from that.¡± ¡°Then I''m a prisoner. And there''s nothing you can say to change that, so please spare me the pleasantries.¡± Serit looked like they were about to say something else, then nodded. ¡°You should be deactivated shortly,¡± they said, eyeing the bottle she was holding. She walked up to the mattress and put it down on the floor. ¡°I¡¯ll study it a bit,¡± she promised. Knowing the local language would be useful, since she was forced to stay there. Serit nodded, looked around the room, then stepped back toward the door. ¡°Well, if you''re all set, have a good night.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. She glared at them and they retreated into the corridor, closing the door behind them. Saia laid down onto the cloud of cloth. The light on the ceiling was still shining, and she realized she hadn''t asked Serit how to switch it off. The movement of the fog created soft shadows on the walls, and the light was dim enough to be more soothing than distracting. She gripped the bottle with a hand, then decided to just lay it next to the bottle, the back of her fingers against it so that she could reach it with her powers without expanding her domain. She started to copy the information into her viss, wondering in the back of her mind about what being deactivated felt like. Her vision returned on a wooden ceiling. Something was off, but she didn¡¯t realize what it was until she glanced at the window: it was morning. She didn''t feel rested nor tired, just aware. Serit knocked at the door. ¡°Coming in,¡± they said. Saia sat up as they entered. ¡°Sorry for the early rousing, I promise that your waking time will be set later starting tomorrow. How is it going with Shiliz¨¦?¡± Saia recognized the name of their language. ¡°Well, I think.¡± She picked up the bottle. She could easily decipher the title now: ¡®Shiliz¨¦ complete course¡¯. ¡°I don''t think I can speak it well, yet. I still have a lot of viss to copy.¡± ¡°Then try to practice with me,¡± Serit said, changing the language to their own. ¡°We''ll be meeting people today who don''t speak any human tongue, let alone one as isolated as yours.¡± She nodded. If she hadn''t noticed their tension in the fast, slightly trembling way they spoke, she could have found it in the way they dressed: their dark gray tunic had white feathers on the shoulders and a single blue one at the center of their chest. The belt had brass decorations and small pink seashells sewn in with a silver string. The hair was tied in a tight bun over their head, showing off their delicate ears and marked jawline. The outfit looked much more colorful and put together than the tunic of the previous day. Serit opened the wardrobe. ¡°I¡¯ve filled it with some simple clothes of different sizes. Once you''ve found the right one, I''ll have something else prepared, a bit more suitable for official meetings. We might be talking with the representatives soon, and the better the impression we make on them the more time and resources we''ll obtain.¡± ¡°You will obtain,¡± Saia said. Serit went back to the door, leaving the wardrobe open. ¡°Good grammar, but I suggest focusing a bit more on the pronunciation. I''ll wait for you in the kitchen.¡± Once they were gone, Saia got up and stepped in front of the clothes. She only touched them, at first, gauging their exact sizes, then chose a cream-coloured one with small red feathers like drops of blood on the front. She also found a high leather belt and black shining shoes that were slightly too small for her feet. She put them on anyway, since she didn''t feel pain or discomfort anymore. She stared a bit at her bag before deciding to bring it too, even if the pockets of the tunic were large enough to contain everything inside it. She checked the room one last time before leaving. The luminous fog was still floating inside its sphere, but there was no apparent way to switch it off, so she left it to rotate alone in the room. She walked along the corridor, watching the alley outside of the window and wishing it was the sea, or at least a scorch of the sky. Serit was waiting for her in the kitchen, two pouches tied to their belt. They glanced up and gave her a brief nod before opening the door to the staircase. ¡°After you.¡± Saia walked down to the first floor while they locked the door. ¡°We have to go back to the bottom,¡± they said. ¡°It will take a while, so if you have some questions, it''s time to ask them.¡± ¡°Where are we going?¡± Serit smiled. ¡°It''s a surprise.¡± They left the building. Serit stopped again to lock the entrance. ¡°Then I have a question about your language.¡± ¡°Good. Ask away.¡± ¡°The... the words you use to refer to people,¡± Saia said, looking for the translation inside her viss. ¡°Pronouns?¡± ¡°Yeah, I don''t understand them.¡± Serit produced a knowledgeable smile, as if it was something they had anticipated. They gestured with their head to tell her to continue and walk on. ¡°At the mountain, if we want to talk to people who are not part of the conversation, we always use the same word. You... You sort of use the same word, but attach another one to it. But this other word changes based on the person.¡± ¡°Yes. That''s exactly it, in a nutshell.¡± ¡°And how do you decide which word it is?¡± Serit let her go first into the narrow alley. Saia was glad she could still see behind her as well as at the front. ¡°The short answer is that people will tell you the first time you talk to them, unless they''re public figures like the representatives, then you''re supposed to already how that. You¡¯ll notice it because it¡¯s the word they add after their names, but they¡¯ll only do it one time unless you ask. It¡¯s called a god-particle.¡± ¡°What¡¯s yours?¡± Serit told her. She practiced by repeating some sentences out loud, trying to recall the grammar rules she¡¯d copied into her viss. It was less like skimming a book''s pages and more like recovering a memory through the sparse details she recalled about it. They were at the stairs, now filled with activity. The influx of people was mostly going downwards, from the first level to the bottom. ¡°Is there a ceremony or something?¡± Saia asked, descending a step. At least the staircase was wide enough they could walk side by side. ¡°Not today. These people are mostly workers for the public buildings, or servants for rich houses. Some are higher students,¡± they added, nodding toward a group of five young people hurrying down the stairs with little regard to anyone standing in their way. ¡°Higher students?¡± ¡°We all get a basic education in our respective levels. Some go on to study specific subjects in a more particular way. There''s a building for that, the university.¡± Saia thought about the scholar monks and nodded. ¡°Did you go there too?¡± Serit laughed, but it was a short sound without much humour behind it. ¡°No, I''m a self-made talent.¡± That sentence was so ridiculously arrogant Saia laughed, and since her laugh was mostly her viss buzzing faster and light flaring up, Serit didn¡¯t notice. ¡°Alright, I have another question: if everybody has a god-particle, should I have one too? Or it''s fine if I don''t use it?¡± ¡°No, you''re right, you should have one. And always use them unless explicitly asked not to. If you don''t understand someone''s god-particle, ask them to repeat as many times as you need, but try not to get it wrong.¡± Saia nodded. Serit looked up, toward the distant trees of the top levels. ¡°The god-particle is not random. We choose based on the deity we¡­ resound with the most.¡± Saia recognized the word they used, even if she couldn''t find an equivalent in her own language: it was a mixture of ''having an affinity with'' and ''worshipping''. ¡°For foreigners who don''t feel a particular connection to any deity, the usual choice is Tynit, the goddess of glass and sand. You can change it later, once you know a bit more about our gods.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in gods.¡± And she didn''t plan to stay at Irim¨¦ze long enough to learn about them, but she didn''t say it. ¡°Well, it might be useful to know they exist, at least,¡± Serit said, sounding a bit offended. As if they''d already forgotten she wasn¡¯t there of her own volition. They finally touched the earth of the bottom level. The crowd poured in from behind them and dispersed in dozens of different directions. Serit followed three well-dressed people who barely talked to each other, each lost in their own thoughts. The street continued until the center of the city, and soon Saia recognized the buildings she¡¯d seen the day before. They walked past the one that contained the hole to the world below. An easy way out, considering a fall couldn''t hurt her, but she needed to find her shard first. The structure reminded her of a flower, with a central dome and round rooms jutting out all around it. A short outside corridor allowed visitors to access the central hall of the building. There was an old woman sitting on a bench near the entrance, looking at each person as they came in. She was wearing a green tunic that seemed made of a softer material than the ones everyone else was wearing. Her feathers were all at the front of her dress, along the collar of the tunic, of ten different colors even if they seemed to belong to the same kind of bird. The woman was staring at them now, for once focusing on Serit as much as she was looking at Saia. She didn''t know how to react, if she was supposed to stop or address her in some way, but Serit was marching ahead without glancing at her, so she did the same. ¡°Who is she?¡± Saia asked. ¡°A priestess,¡± Serit answered at a much lower tone. The main room was round like a temple. The walls were made of a darker and more solid wood compared to the other buildings, while the floor was of multi-colored stones that resembled the priestess''s collar of feathers. She had expected to find at least a statue: instead, there were ten tall openings in the wall, each leading to one of the ten rooms around the central one, a window between one passage and the next. On top of each one there was a carved symbol, different for every doorway. There was light coming from the ceiling. She focused her attention upwards, expecting to find a giant sphere similar to the one in her room. Instead, she saw clouds. Or better, they weren''t clouds, but the same luminous fog that shilv¨¦ put inside their lamps. Except it wasn''t trapped by glass, but free to move, various shining nucleus scattered in the midst of it. It formed diaphanous shapes she could barely recognize before they disappeared, replaced by others. ¡°Come on,¡± Serit said, some steps ahead. Saia followed them. There weren''t many people in the room, and each one was headed toward a doorway or another: that area was just a point of passage. Serit gave a long glance to the entrance with the symbol of a coin. They slightly shook their head and proceeded toward the next one, marked by the image of a chain curving on itself, the end pointed like an arrow up and to the right. They entered the room. The space was huge, but divided into three slices by two straight walls that started some armlengths away from the entrance, leaving a small round space right before it. The walls didn''t run up to the high ceiling, but stopped midway through, so the sounds could freely move from one section to the other. But most importantly, the giant statue of a deity was visible from every angle of the room. It was three times taller than Koidan and Vizena''s statues and made of various materials: iron body and face, silver hair, brass clothes, and two black diamonds in place of the eyes. She had a chain wrapped around the arm, the extremity dangling from the hand, steel point aimed at the floor, and through it, at the human cities below. Saia followed Serit without taking away the focus from the statue, expecting it to move at any second despite what they had told her. There was a priest standing to the side of the common space before the partitions, next to an open wooden box. Saia looked inside: there were bronze coins, not many, scattered at the bottom. Serit took one from a pocket and tossed it in without even looking at the priest. Saia scuttled on behind them before he could ask her to pay with money she didn''t have. The leftmost partition was filled with people. Even if they were all speaking in a low voice, there was a clear background chatter. Serit hovered near the entrance, all the confidence disappearing from their posture. ¡°Now what?¡± Saia asked. ¡°We wait for Hilon to see us.¡± People were beginning to notice them. They were all shilv¨¦, not a single human present, and they were all sending alarmed glances to both her and Serit. There was a woman at the center of all that chattering. She had long storm hair and was wearing a simple pink tunic, a color Saia hadn¡¯t yet seen anyone wearing. It was also empty of any feathers, embroidery or seashells. The woman was distracted from her current conversation by a sequence of hands tapping on her shoulders and mouths whispering to her ears. She turned, saw Serit and walked over with a smile. ¡°Is it what I think it is?¡± she asked them once she was close enough, nodding in Saia¡¯s direction. Serit gave her an embarrassed look. ¡°Yes, I hope you don''t mind. She already understands us.¡± The woman¡¯s black eyes became a bit wider at that. She finally turned to openly look at Saia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I wasn''t sure how to address you. I''m engineer Hilon.¡± Saia heard the god-particle she used. She greeted her too, using her words as a blueprint to introduce herself. Hilon looked slightly amused, clearly not knowing what to make of her presence. The only indications of her age were the wrinkles near her eyes and on the slate gray skin of her forehead. She was older than both her and Serit, for sure. ¡°I thought you would appreciate seeing her before your departure,¡± Serit said. ¡°You''re the first person to meet her who isn''t me or the representatives.¡± Their words lit up a new light in her eyes. ¡°I¡¯m intrigued,¡± she said, openly staring at Saia. Serit¡¯s smile was the one of a student who had just been praised by their favorite teacher. Saia stepped back, hating every second of that examination. She realized with a sparkle of anger that Serit had brought her there to exhibit her. Hilon put a hand on their shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m really tempted to stay and talk some more, but I''ve waited too long and the urge is impossible to contain.¡± Serit nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll document everything carefully and let you know as soon as you''re back.¡± Hilon smiled, then let go of them with a sigh. ¡°At least you believe I''ll be back.¡± She invited the both of them forward, retreating into the crowd. Serit followed her until she was snatched away by a younger woman that had Hilon¡¯s same round cheeks and thick eyebrows. ¡°Who is she?¡± Saia asked, not bothering to hide the venom in her voice. ¡°My mentor. She gave me a chance when nobody else did.¡± They gestured around them, as if to point at the crowd. They were all keeping away from them, ignoring Serit every time they raised a cupped hand to greet them. ¡°Come,¡± they said at last. ¡°Let''s take a spot. I want you to see well.¡± They led her through the crowd to the end of the partition, where the wall curved. At the center of it there was a short ring of steps, a wooden railing that didn¡¯t close completely, and a hole. Saia wanted to look closer, but Serit put a hand on her arm and shook their head. ¡°Only Hilon can walk the stairs. We must wait here.¡± ¡°Wait for what?¡± Saia asked, but Serit only looked at the crowd, an irritating half-smile on their lips. Hilon finally emerged from the assembly. Some people were crying quietly. ¡°Come on, now,¡± she said, descending the steps. ¡°I¡¯m not that old. The odds are in my favor.¡± ¡°Expand your domain,¡± Serit whispered. Saia did. She saw the hole directly from above, now. She could glimpse the distant shapes of some tubes identical to the ones she¡¯d seen the day before and the sea of clouds below, but apart from that, nothing. ¡°¡­ and be ready to be amazed, instead,¡± Hilon continued her speech. ¡°At the things I''ll discover when I''m back.¡± She turned toward the hole. ¡°Whatever happens, don''t interfere,¡± Serit said. Hilon jumped. Her body turned onto itself as Saia saw her fall toward the clouds. Her viss trembled so violently with panic she felt the statue sway. Hilon went down until she was past the tubes, then her figure turned one last time and exploded in a million shining pieces. They disappeared inside the clouds, the empty tunic left to float behind them. Saia retreated her vision and turned her head to stare at Serit. She couldn''t believe it, but the bastard was smiling. 4.4 - The elevators ¡°She didn''t die,¡± Serit said. ¡°I¡¯ll explain what just happened, but first let''s get out of here.¡± They turned around and started the slow process of cutting through the crowd of people gathered around the hole. The chattering had mostly faded, replaced by melancholic looks and some whispered prayer. It looked just like the end of a funeral. ¡°I saw her explode,¡± Saia said as soon as they were out of the partition and crossing into the central room. ¡°What you saw was her body turning into water. She rained.¡± ¡°And that didn¡¯t kill her?¡± ¡°She will come back, eventually.¡± They stopped talking when a priest passing by glared at them and only resumed the explanation once they were outside of the temple. ¡°This is the fundamental problem of us shilv¨¦: we can''t descend below a certain altitude without turning into water. Or better, ¨¦shan, blood.¡± ¡°That''s why you never come down to earth?¡± Serit nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve tried in the past, but we physically can¡¯t.¡± Saia took it all in, observing the morning activities going on around them. A couple was carrying bags of food on a wooden cart. A well-dressed man left a shop with a smile, a servant trailing behind him with a rolled-up carpet on her arms. An old man sitting on a bench was holding a bottle, gaze lost somewhere in front of him. That last vision momentarily distracted her from her thoughts: it would have been a very sad image to see, back at the mountain, but now she knew that the man was only reading. ¡°Why did she jump, though? She did that to herself, some people even wanted her to stay.¡± ¡°She didn''t have any choice. It has to do with how viss works in our bodies.¡± Saia was walking toward the staircase to the first level, but Serit took a turn left. ¡°We''re taking the elevators. Anyways, as you probably know, human bodies produce their own viss like most other creatures. We descended from humans, so our bodies do that too, but in much lower quantities, even if we still need it to function properly. A lot of it, actually, since our bodies have a higher percentage of water than humans do and they rely on the data in our viss to keep themselves together.¡± Saia wanted to ask about the ''descending from humans'' part, but Serit was already moving on with the explanation. ¡°So our bodies developed a solution to avoid meeting a premature death: once the quantity of viss becomes too low, we start feeling an itch that becomes stronger the more we ignore it. We call it the ¡®urge to rain¡¯.¡± They were reaching the end of the path. Saia saw a huge entrance in the wall of rock in front of them. Not many people were headed there, but she guessed the bottom¡¯s inhabitants were rich enough that they didn''t have to leave for other levels to get what they needed. ¡°The only way to stop this urge is to let ourselves turn into water, and that only happens when we die or get to a low enough altitude. The most efficient way is to just jump, like Hilon did. We have thirty holes in the temple, three for each god, destined solely to this purpose.¡± ¡°So she''ll come back, right?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°When? How?¡± she asked before they could resume the explanation. Serit laughed. ¡° ¡®When?¡¯ is a question for the gods. We''ve been trying to find a reliable way to calculate it for centuries, but our science isn''t at that point, yet.¡± They returned serious. ¡°The ''how'' is easier. Do you know how water travels around the world?¡± ¡°I know about the cycle of water, if that''s what you''re asking.¡± ¡°Our drops follow it too. We''re unconscious during this time, but the viss in each drop makes sure that they all flow together and are more or less able to reunite if separated. The water in the sea is filled with viss from all kinds of creatures, so our drops gather it during their voyage. Once it''s enough to sustain our full body for a significant amount of time, we evaporate and reform in our city.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ If you''re unconscious and the cities move around, how do you know where to reform?¡± ¡°The food we eat, the water we drink, the people we interact with leave data in our viss, and we leave our viss on the things we touch. It¡¯s a distinct imprint that we can follow unconsciously. Then again, this process isn''t perfect at all. Sometimes we wake up in a completely different city, sometimes the voyage takes longer than it usually does. And sometimes, we never return.¡± They were at the entrance, a dark opening in the wall half a towerlength high. The passage was divided in two by a low wall of rock, two guards standing at both sides of it. They stared at Saia as she and Serit passed between their vertical tridents, but didn¡¯t move or say anything. The short hallway opened into a larger room that resembled a bigger corridor rather than a proper hall. The wall in front of them was barely visible behind five large cabins of metal and the huge chains that kept them suspended. The chains disappeared beyond the ceiling, continuing inside a vertical square tunnel. Saia guessed the number on top of each cabin, one to five, identified the level they led to. A deep rumbling started in the walls as the chain labeled ¡®one¡¯ tensed and moved up, carrying the corresponding cabin with it. It disappeared into the square tunnel, out of her perception. They joined the line in front of its empty hole, made of only three other people who hadn¡¯t managed to enter the elevator in time. There was an operator behind a small desk at the top of the line: she had a small bottle tucked in her palm, but her eyes looked aware of her surroundings. Saia realized she was just listening to something and not having a vision. ¡°So that was why people were crying,¡± she said quietly. ¡°She might not return?¡± ¡°Exactly. But that''s a risk that comes with age, and she''s still fairly young.¡± The cabin arrived with a soft clattering of metal net against iron supports. There was a woman with a child inside. They hurried out, the kid almost running to keep up with their mother. ¡°Kids have to jump too?¡± Saia asked, horrified at the idea. ¡°Yes,¡± Serit answered while they stepped into the cabin. ¡°The first jump happens between five and seven years of age. The following ones are more frequent.¡± Saia carefully stepped onto the iron floor. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Serit reassured her. ¡°I¡¯ve seen thirty people pressed in here and it didn''t even squeak.¡± The other passengers gave the two of them confused looks. They seemed to relax once the elevator started moving upwards. ¡°It must be scary,¡± Saia said. ¡°I¡¯d be terrified of jumping even now that I can¡¯t get hurt, I can¡¯t imagine what a kid would feel.¡± Serit shrugged, glancing at the three other people in the cabin. ¡°Usually the parent that¡¯s closest to their next urge to rain goes with them.¡± ¡°Will you need to jump too?¡± Saia asked. They laughed. ¡°You wish. I returned five months ago.¡± ¡°So when will you leave again?¡± Their eyes twinkled with amusement. ¡°I fear you''ll have to do your own research on this.¡± The cabin stopped quite suddenly, to the point Saia feared some kind of issue. But the other passengers didn¡¯t even change expression as they stepped out, into a room that was only different from the previous one because there was a bit more light shining through the huge entrance. A lot more people were waiting to get in, only kept in check by the gaze of the operator. They left the room through the entrance¡¯s partition dedicated to the passengers who were leaving and found themselves outside, at the top of the first level. Saia could see the stairs several towerlengths away, one at their left and one at their right. Serit headed to the left, and she became too busy examining that unknown part of the city to ask more questions. The alleys were as narrow as anywhere else on the first level, but there were many more shops. She slowed down in front of a bottle store, each one in a different color and shape. She saw necks that arched like a heron''s, bellies squeezed like hourglasses and even round little barrels. ¡°Do you need one?¡± Serit asked, already reaching for one of their pouches. Saia almost recoiled at that. She accelerated. ¡°I thought I made it clear that I don''t want anything. Either you free me or you stop pretending you give a shit about me. If you feel guilty, you only have yourself to blame.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Serit hurried to follow her. ¡°That''s cheap glass, I certainly don¡¯t expect to buy anyone''s forgiveness with that. And I don''t need yours, by the way. There are more important things than what either of us wants.¡± ¡°Like what? Using me to... I don''t even know what it is that you''re trying to do. Making me prevent you from raining?¡± Serit nodded. ¡°And allow us to go to earth.¡± ¡°Why? To attack us better?¡± Serit frowned. ¡°We don¡¯t attack humans anymore. We¡¯ve stipulated treaties with all the major cities.¡± ¡°With the mountain too?¡± They hesitated. ¡°A lot of cities pass from that area, it could have been any one of them.¡± Saia didn¡¯t need to move her eyes to look at them, but she turned her head anyways to meet their gaze. ¡°Do you know for sure that this city didn¡¯t attack us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not part of the guards, so no, I can¡¯t be sure of that.¡± ¡°Would they have a reason to do that?¡± Serit¡¯s eyes focused ahead. ¡°I can think of some, but they¡¯re not compelling enough to waste artillery on.¡± Saia didn¡¯t stop staring, even if Serit was clearly avoiding her gaze now. ¡°Our gods have to constantly protect us from you.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t think it was Irim¨¦ze.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re right,¡± Saia looked ahead. ¡°You¡¯re the ones who kidnap people instead.¡± Serit sighed, but didn''t reply. Saia wondered once again where her shard was. Her instinct told her to look up, but she realized it was because she expected to find the mountain and its secrets. The shard could be everywhere in the city, or even outside of it. There were so many things she didn''t understand, and they could deactivate her from anywhere in the world. But, she realized, if they were too far away they needed someone to tell them to deactivate her. Even if they could observe her at all times, it was unlikely that Serit didn¡¯t have a way to alert the guards, in case she attacked. So she had to convince Serit that they were in danger in order to make them reveal their method for communicating with whoever had the shard, but to the point that they would actually use it. She was so immersed in thought she didn''t realize they had arrived at the warehouse. She followed Serit to the first floor. ¡°What now?¡± she asked once they were inside the kitchen. ¡°Now I''ll eat and think about this afternoon¡¯s experiment. I will need your participation. Do you think you can help me today?¡± ¡°What if I refuse?¡± ¡°Then your day is free from obligations. Just keep in mind that the sooner we give some results to the representatives, the less likely it is they''ll deactivate you.¡± That was one thing she wanted to avoid: being deactivated without warning, from afar, without a chance to fight back. And again, she didn''t want to lose all of that viss just because the mountain was too far. ¡°I want an empty bottle, though. And some ¨¦shan.¡± Serit smiled a bit. ¡°Third door on the right, don''t mind the chaos.¡± They took out a bundle of keys as they said that, detached one and gave it to her. ¡°I want it back when you''re finished,¡± they said. Saia ignored them, heading down the corridor. She tried the key on a different door, but it didn''t turn. She gave up and opened the right one, identical to all of the others. The inside was like a second, smaller warehouse, with the same contents of the bigger one, packed one on top of the other in boxes of cheap wood that scraped against the ceiling. A library, or maybe she should call it a ''bottlery'', was pressed from the sides by two such piles. The ¨¦shan in the bottles trembled a bit, stirred by the door''s closing. She touched them one by one as if to comfort them, reading the contents: they were all empty, not a single speck of viss on the inside and only faint traces on the outside, from the people who had handled them. She took one, then turned her attention to the boxes that surrounded her. They were so tightly pressed together she couldn''t open them, but by expanding her domain a bit she found tools of steel on the other side, vials encapsulated in sturdier wood, molds with spiral patterns on the inside and even nuggets of ores. She left and headed to her own room. Once there, she sat on the bed with crossed legs and held the bottle in both hands. On a whim, she took out Aili''s shard from its cavity. She could feel a piece of her viss inside, but she didn''t know how to reach for its connection to Aili''s sphere without tainting it with her own energies. She put it back: better to wait until it was Aili to contact her. She briefly wondered why she wasn''t doing that, but rejected the surge of anxiety that came with that thought. It had been only a day, after all. She focused on the bottle: she wanted to record everything she was experiencing of that world outside the mountain. Explaining what she''d seen with words was impossible, and Aili would have loved to receive all the details she could gather about the city and cloud people. She started by transferring a bit of empty viss into the glass of the bottle, and from there into the liquid. It floated around, maintaining its shape instead of dispersing. That would have been the beginning: she''d learned how to find it from the course of Shiliz¨¦, a portion of viss devoid of information and brighter than the rest to signal that the reader should focus there first. The rest of the viss had to be thin like a string, extending from the beginning in gentle curves. The author hadn''t seemed to follow a particular pattern, the only evident criteria was the huge amount of information that had to be packed inside that bottle, which forced the string to make tighter curves. She hesitantly produced a string, thinking about the image of the mountain seen from above. She perceived the viss finding its place inside the bottle almost without effort. She put the container down, raised her hands, then hesitantly touched it again with a finger, this time to read the content. The image was unclear, with more colors than shapes. She tried to take the viss back to redo the whole process, but found out she couldn''t. She found it weird that a bottle could prevent her to take its contents, then she realised the bottle wasn¡¯t the problem: it was her. The monks had made it so that the gods couldn''t take viss from anything except each other, thus guaranteeing that a fugitive god would have eventually faded. She was about to give up in frustration, then decided to try and modify the viss instead. If it turned out she couldn''t do even that, she''d have used that bottle as practice, then only transferred the images into another one once she was sure she could do it properly. She examined the information inside the viss: the image appeared in front of her, and at the same time she could sense the thread it came from. She focused on the small brown shape in the blue of the sea, Rabam''s boat: she remembered being able to see it pretty clearly from where she was standing. She focused on the memory, the picture inside her mind, and sent more viss forward to merge with the existing thread and make it stronger. She stopped reading and started again: the boat was clearer. The borders weren''t as clean-cut as she would have liked, but she could distinguish Rabam''s head and the rows he was holding. She looked at the rest of the picture: she needed to fill it in piece by piece with all the other details she remembered. Thankfully, her memory was inscribed in her viss, easy to recall and difficult to forget, even if it wasn¡¯t easy to untangle it from all the others and copy it into the bottle as it was. The expenditure of viss wasn''t excessive, certainly it was better than losing so much of it due to the precautions of the monks. She set out to work and kept going until the light outside became a penumbra. Only the other side of the city was receiving light, now that the sun had started its slow descent. Serit knocked at the door. ¡°Everything is ready for the experiment.¡± Saia stood and hid the bottle under the cloudy shape of her bed. ¡°Yes, I''m coming.¡± She looked at her clothes: the good part about having the body of a statue was that she didn''t need to change them that often. She still waited a bit before opening the door, to make it clear that she wasn''t at Serit''s orders. When she stepped out, Serit was already walking away. They turned their head, showing eyes wide with excitement, even if the rest of their face remained serious, focused like the point of the chain of that goddess''s statue. They led her without explanation to a room, the first to the right coming from the kitchen. There was a round table that occupied half of the room, made of more solid wood than the floor beneath it. The left side of the room was occupied by a line of four smaller tables. They were cluttered with objects grouped by type and size: tools in the first one, like hammers, pliers, scissors, but also nails, screws and bolts; bottles and other glass containers on the second, empty or full, but not labelled; more bottles, this time filled and labelled; and on the last table, an object she could only describe as an open nutshell of iron, bigger than two human heads put side to side. The grooves that were chiselled on the inside reminded her of the monks¡¯ well, except they were mostly incomplete, a huge part of the surface left untouched. She approached that last table, ignoring the central one. The two halves of the object were kept together by a hinge and could be closed shut through a complicated mechanism enclosed in a bump on the husk with a lock at the top. Inside, in the middle of the unfinished pattern of grooves, there was a perfectly spherical cavity. She snapped her head around to look at Serit, standing opposite of her behind the big table. ¡°What is this?¡± ¡°Nothing special, for now. But in order to obtain what we want, we''ll have to change the movement of the viss inside your sphere. In any case, I need more data to complete that thing, it''s not even a prototype now.¡± ¡°Why the lock?¡± ¡°It''s not properly a lock, but it will seal the husk tight, so the viss won''t disperse.¡± Saia examined the object with her domain. It seemed easy to break, at least. She tore away her attention from the husk and focused it on the big table. It was mostly empty, except for two stacks of rough paper and a basin of water at the center. She approached the liquid and found out it wasn''t water, but ¨¦shan full of viss. She touched the basin to read it, but it was mostly empty, with enough traces in it to connect it to Serit. ¡°Is it your blood?¡± she asked, without hiding the disgust. Serit laughed. ¡°No, I''ve just put some viss inside it. You''ll need it to manipulate the shape it will take.¡± Saia put both hands on the table, the basin between them. ¡°Is this what I''m going to do? Create shapes?¡± ¡°For now, yes. Based on the results, we''ll know how to proceed.¡± Saia nodded. At least it didn¡¯t sound as dangerous as much as boring. ¡°Which shape should I do?¡± ¡°Let''s see¡­¡± Serit looked around the room. ¡°A hammer.¡± Saia expanded her domain to include the whole content of the basin. She visualized what she wanted to obtain and sent small winds to move the liquid around. She managed to make parts of it retreat and pile up, until they formed the general shape of a hammer. Serit was scribbling down onto the sheets with a piece of graphite. They distractedly touched the ¨¦shan she was manipulating and jotted down something else. ¡°Excellent, but I need it to be solid. I should be able to pick it up. Even better, I should be able to pick it up and nail something to the wall without it becoming water again.¡± Saia glared at them. ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like that.¡± ¡°Please try.¡± Saia focused on the hammer of water and willed it to become solid. Nothing changed. She moved the viss around inside it, but it didn''t have any effect. She stopped trying, maintaining the shape but not wasting more energy otherwise. Figuring out how to do that wasn¡¯t her problem. ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± she said. Serit tapped the side of their cheek with the point of graphite. ¡°There''s something I didn''t tell you that might help to motivate you.¡± They stepped around the table and approached the husk of iron. ¡°The connection you have to mount Ohat is quite strong. It''s the kind of strength that''s difficult to break but very useful to repurpose.¡± They ran an index along the grooves. ¡°I intend to tie that connection to an object. A jewel of some kind, most likely, so that it can be worn without catching too much attention. The viss will leave your body to target it and keep the person who¡¯s wearing it whole and solid even if they fall past the rain threshold. It¡¯s essentially what your viss is already doing: keeping something together, just not a mountain but a person.¡± Saia crossed her arms. ¡°So what? I''m not feeling particularly motivated.¡± Serit looked at her. ¡°You should. I told you, the connection to mount Ohat is responsible for your constant loss of energy. If we change the connection, aiming it at something closer and smaller, we''ll reduce the waste of viss significantly. Which is becoming increasingly important, since Irim¨¦ze is getting farther every day.¡± Saia looked back at the basin, the hammer of transparent blood still jiggling at the bottom. ¡°So the solution you promised me¡­¡± Serit nodded. ¡°It''s the same thing that will allow us shilv¨¦ to walk the earth for the first time. I can only help you as much as you help me.¡± Saia nodded, lowering her head. She focused on the hammer again as Serit stepped back behind the table. ¡°Let''s try again,¡± they said, raising the graphite over the paper. 4.5 - Inspection Aili had expected the monks¡¯ arrival. It made sense that they would contact the gods to both investigate about their involvement and reassure them about the tremor and the general situation with Koidan. She hadn''t expected them to send so many people, though, and not the day immediately after Saia¡¯s departure. Most of them were sentinels, judging by the leather belt around their waist. The only one who wasn''t wearing it was Riena. Whatever reason they had descended the mountain for, she couldn¡¯t allow them to find Rabam. ¡°Good morning,¡± she greeted the group of monks as soon as they stepped past the line of white stones. Meanwhile, part of her was looking inside Rabam''s house. He was still asleep, since he¡¯d spent the night awake eluding the sentinels, talking to her in the temple and delivering Zeles to Suimer. He had refused to sleep on Mili''s bed, moving blankets and pillows on the kitchen''s floor instead. She didn''t have the heart to tell him that the spot he¡¯d chosen was closer to Milvia¡¯s place of death than the bed was. ¡°Wake up,¡± she said in his ear, sending a speck of buzzing viss into his body. ¡°Good morning, Koidan,¡± Riena said. ¡°We''re here to make sure that everything is working as usual. I need to talk to you, can I come to the temple?¡± The question was just out of courtesy. While Riena spoke, the sentinels divided into groups that proceeded toward the village, choosing different directions. Ten groups of two sentinels each, a net wide enough to notice any attempt to escape toward the mountain. It was clear they were looking for something. ¡°Sure, come in,¡± she said to Riena. ¡°Also, would you mind telling your people that there are monks entering their houses soon? I don¡¯t want them to worry.¡± Aili did as told, her voice resounding inside every living room. ¡°What''s going on?¡± Rabam asked. ¡°Did you move in the open, yesterday?¡± His face dropped into an expression of guilt. ¡°After I attacked the boys, yes. I was desperate and thought I was about to leave the mountain forever.¡± ¡°Then they''re looking for you.¡± She surveyed the village: now Riena was walking toward the temple, while the sentinels had stopped at the first houses of the village and knocked on the doors. ¡°They know your house is supposed to be empty, so if we''re lucky they¡¯ll avoid it. But it''s a huge risk, and if they find you there you''ll be trapped and they¡¯ll know I''m on your side.¡± He was retreating toward Mili''s bedroom now, to hide behind the wall. ¡°So what do I do? Leave?¡± ¡°No, they''re still looking from the mountain.¡± ¡°Then what?¡± Riena was almost at the temple. Aili remembered how good she was at reading emotions. She couldn''t afford to face her questions unprepared. She focused on the scholar''s face, trying to guess the true reason behind her visit. According to what Saia had told her, the monks had come very close to being completely subjugated. They considered Saia, a rogue goddess they couldn''t control, their biggest threat. So obviously they wanted to secure their position as best as they could while she was away. ¡°Then what?¡± Rabam repeated, almost shouting. ¡°Give me a second.¡± The monks had found the shards cut in half and knew that Saia had taken them with her. So the next move was to check whether they still worked as intended, and the best way to make sure of it was to temporarily deactivate all of the gods. Greeting them had been a mistake; now they knew her shard wasn''t working. The sentinels had already finished inspecting the first ten houses and were heading toward the next ones. She couldn¡¯t forget more sentinels were looking from the mountain, ready to alert them if someone tried to leave in other ways. ¡°Change your clothes,¡± she told Rabam. He set out to look for something to wear inside Mili''s drawers, forgetting his superstitions for a moment. Riena opened the doors of the temple and stopped in the doorway. ¡°Show me your sphere, please.¡± Aili opened a cavity inside her chest and took out the sphere. Riena came closer, reaching out with a hand. ¡°I¡¯ll be reading your emotions as we talk.¡± Aili nodded and put a knee on the pedestal, balancing to hand Riena her sphere. She wasn''t surprised by any of her requests, so far. It made sense to keep her where she could be easily deactivated, if she suspected she was Saia''s accomplice. Riena held her with both hands. She made a step back, away from the statue. ¡°Let''s start with your friend Saia: has she talked to you about a plan to hurt or go against the monks in any way?¡± Aili knew she needed to answer with half-truths, shielding her feelings with the worry she felt for Saia, Rabam, and Zeles. After all, Riena could read emotions, not thoughts. ¡°I knew about her resentment against Vizena and the monks, but she didn''t tell me about a plan to hurt you.¡± That was true, at least. Saia hadn''t told her how she planned to save Zeles, and that included everything she had done to become a goddess. ¡°Now what?¡± Rabam asked. He had wrapped colored blankets all around his body. From the chaos in the barely-shut drawers, she realized he probably hadn''t found anything of his size. ¡°Hide your face too.¡± ¡°Do you know what Saia has done?¡± Riena asked. Aili realized that letting her continue on that line of questioning was dangerous. She could corner her with one key question, especially if she was too distracted by Rabam to come up with an answer quickly enough. She needed to take her by surprise. ¡°Yes. She told me.¡± Riena opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. She stared at the sphere, her grip slightly stronger. ¡°You talked to her?¡± ¡°Yes, last night. She contacted me and told me she had become a goddess.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us?¡± ¡°She had my shard. She didn''t show it,¡± she quickly added, anticipating her question. ¡°But I''m sure she wasn''t bluffing.¡± She waited for Riena to make the connection inside her head. ¡®Yes,'' she wanted to scream, ¡®I know you don''t have my shard. I know you can''t control me.¡¯ But she kept quiet instead, playing the part of the innocent scholar who wasn''t interested in power games. Which she wasn''t, usually, but they were threatening her. She could feel her own frustration grow. Riena could probably sense it too, so she focused on the sentinels. They were proceeding with their inspection, moving in a diagonal line. Two more sweeps and they would have reached Rabam¡¯s house. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°What else has she told you?¡± ¡°She wanted my help to overthrow you, but I don''t share her views.¡± A half-truth. ¡°She¡¯ll be back and we''ll talk then.¡± A hope, but strong enough it could be exchanged for a truth. ¡°I can''t do better than this,¡± Rabam said. Aili had only marginally paid attention to what he was doing, so her whole being trembled with hilarity when she saw how he had used Milvia''s make-up: his eyes were painted of a heavy blue, cheeks contoured quickly to shape his face a bit differently. It was clearly an improvised disguise, but combined with the shawl that hid his hair and the blanket that covered his lower face, he was unrecognizable. ¡°You monks really are good at this stuff,¡± she commented, thinking about their ceremonies. She realized Riena had caught her hilarity too and decided to use it. ¡°As if I could ever betray the monks,¡± she said. ¡°After all I''ve seen and experienced. I can use the viss ten times better than before, and I barely need to focus.¡± Riena raised her eyebrows. ¡°You don''t give me the impression of someone who wants power.¡± ¡°No, but I want knowledge.¡± Riena nodded. ¡°So you know that we have no way of controlling you, except for pitting the other gods against you. Will you give me another shard?¡± She had both hands wrapped around her, so it wasn''t like Aili had a choice. Riena probably expected her to be shocked or surprised by that request. She wasn''t. It was the natural thing to do. First, the monks had deactivated all of the spheres using the half-shards. In doing so, they had discovered that one of them was missing. Vizena''s, or so they thought. Second, they had sent the monks, either just Riena and her sentinels or other groups too, to check on each deity. The only ones awake were her and Vizena. If Vizena''s shard was actually missing, it meant that Koidan''s half-shard, apparently identical to the others, wasn''t working. Third, they wanted to get their power over them back before beginning to properly untangle all of that mess. Thus, asking for her shard. As soon as she''d realized her mistake, when Riena was still far enough from the temple, she had considered taking a piece of glass from the windows, putting it in the indent of her sphere and pretending to detach it when Riena would have inevitably asked for it. But it was extremely easy to verify whether it was authentic, she just risked betraying herself. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can,¡± she said. Truth: the glass seemed extremely delicate, even if she knew it wasn¡¯t. ¡°If you prefer, I can deactivate you and bring you back to the village. We have the right instruments.¡± It wasn''t a threat, as much as a way to state that she didn''t have a way out of that request. ¡°What do I do now?¡± Rabam asked, panic in his voice. He wielded a kitchen knife in one hand and a chair in the other. Aili looked outside and saw the sentinels leave the houses behind his own. They just needed to cross the street, walk around the building and knock at his door. ¡°No, I want to try,¡± she told Riena. She mentally drew the shape of a shard on the external part of her sphere, copying the scar she already had from the day she became a goddess. She had waited too much to act and now was losing a piece of the advantage Saia had given her. Sure, she still had the other seven shards, wrapped in cloth and buried by Rabam under seven different trees, but it wasn''t that great if the monks could deactivate her at any moment. She needed to plan less and act more. To take risks, to throw some metaphorical snakes at her enemies. She cut the shard, then held back her energy from the mountain. Just an instant, but enough to cause a tremor. Riena took the shard, then held her and the sphere tight as the floor trembled. ¡°Now,¡± Aili said to Rabam. ¡°Leave the chair, hide the knife, go out as if you were scared of the tremor.¡± He obeyed. More people were pouring out of the buildings, both the ones the sentinels had already examined and the others. The monks themselves stopped for an instant, taken by surprise by the trembling. When they resumed moving, Rabam was already mingling with the scared inhabitants. He slipped from one group to the other, heading toward the mountain and past the line of sentinels. ¡°Was that you?¡± Riena asked. ¡°Yeah, sorry. I was very nervous and focused a bit too much.¡± She nodded, looking at the shard. ¡°Well, this was an unusual request, and a very delicate one. I''ll tell the priors that everything''s fine.¡± Aili''s vision blacked out. She was awake a second later, briefly wondering what had happened. Her statue was toppling over, so she steadied it. She saw Riena standing at the center of the temple and remembered. ¡°Sorry, but I needed to make sure,¡± she said. Her expression had softened now that she had obtained the shard. ¡°With you being close friends with Saia, we suspected you might be an accomplice.¡± ¡°I imagined that,¡± Aili admitted. ¡°You won''t be above suspects for a while. They might send me back if they find something else.¡± Aili used her statue to nod. ¡°Koidan,¡± one of the sentinels outside called out. ¡°Tell everyone to return to their houses.¡± Aili focused her attention outside: the inhabitants had gathered at the two squares of the village, the post office having the biggest crowd despite covering a smaller area. She found Rabam there, standing awkwardly between two groups and catching everyone''s curious glares. ¡°Yes, of course,¡± she answered the sentinels. She chose one of Lausune¡¯s biggest families, checking that they lived near the temple, in the first area the monks had examined. She told Rabam to approach them. ¡°Hello, Mairi,¡± she greeted one of the women. ¡°Can you please host my friend for today? He just arrived after a long journey and needs to rest a bit before going forward.¡± Mairi took a look at Rabam and quickly agreed. ¡°Everyone, please,¡± Aili announced loudly, making the air in the two squares vibrate with Koidan''s voice. ¡°Return to your houses.¡± They obeyed, causing more chaos. Rabam scuttled behind the family, murmuring a ''thank you''. ¡°One last thing,¡± Riena asked. ¡°What do you know about Vizena?¡± Aili had already relaxed, so that question made her energy buzz uncontrollably. It was clearly noticeable, and the more she waited the more Riena would suspect of her. ¡°She''s evil,¡± she blurted out. ¡°Saia hated her.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Aili didn''t know what Riena was expecting, so she doubled down on the truth. ¡°You saw it yourself, how she treated her village.¡± ¡°Yes, but there are some people who are protected by her controlling tendencies. Has Saia said anything about being part of them?¡± ¡°No. She hates Vizena, I''m sure of that.¡± ¡°Or,¡± Riena said in a tone of challenge, ¡°It was all a ruse, and she''s on her side. Maybe Vizena planned all of this.¡± A small part of Aili was glad that her confusion was genuine and she didn''t have to lie. The rest was freaking out. ¡°That''s... unlikely. I don''t understand, she also spoke at the debate against Vizena.¡± Riena relaxed once again. ¡°Sorry, I needed to make sure you weren''t sided with her.¡± She gave her the sphere back, clutching the shard with the other hand. Aili took it and held it in the palm of her statue, still confused. ¡°Is there something wrong with Vizena?¡± she asked. Riena watched her statue, clearly trying to gauge how much to reveal. ¡°She''s resentful because we took some years of her life.¡± Aili nodded. Zeles had been smart to come up with that excuse: that way, he could keep his interactions with the monks to the bare minimum. ¡°And,¡± Riena continued, ¡°She''s not letting us inside the village.¡± ¡°What?¡± The woman grimaced, and Aili realized she¡¯d almost shouted in her ears. ¡°She created a wall of air around the village. The people of Suimer can go in or out, everyone else can¡¯t.¡± Aili wanted to know more, but there was a necessary question she had to make. ¡°And you can''t deactivate her?¡± Riena produced a bitter smile. ¡°I¡¯ve said too much. Daira told me that you''re smart, good at learning things and connecting the dots. If you come up with a way to take Vizena back under our control, I''m sure any suspect toward you would disappear.¡± A sentinel entered the temple. ¡°We''ve examined every house, there''s no trace of him.¡± Riena stopped him by raising a hand. ¡°Thank you for your collaboration,¡± she said, looking at Koidan¡¯s statue. ¡°Please let us know if you notice anything out of the ordinary.¡± Soon after that, the monks were retreating through the forest. Aili observed them, her thoughts still buzzing from Riena''s words. She needed to send Rabam to Suimer as soon as it was dark, to find out what had prompted Zeles to act as he had. She spent the next hours stressing about the interrogation, both her answers and Riena''s. Rabam was resting in a guest room, with proper clothes on and a clean face. She wanted to discuss the situation, but she needed him rested if she wanted to send him out that night. The sun was becoming orange when she felt a distant nagging at her attention. It was as if something was slightly pushing her viss, the deity equivalent of a tap on the shoulder. The feeling came from Dore''s side of the border, which meant that the monks had awakened the other gods. ¡°Do you need something?¡± she asked, making the air tremble near the line of white stones in a spot where their borders were close. ¡°Yes. I don''t know what to do and I want your opinion.¡± Aili couldn''t tell how urgent the request was, since he was purposefully keeping his voice neutral. It could be just another trap from the monks. She shouldn''t assume Riena was the only test they had sent her way. ¡°Sure, tell me everything.¡± ¡°Vizena''s weird.¡± Aili tried and failed to glance at Suimer in the distance, beyond Tilau''s houses. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Her viss feels different. As if... As if she was replaced.¡± Aili was glad she could control her voice. Otherwise, she was sure it would have been an incoherent sound like the desperate buzzing of her viss. ¡°Are you sure? How do you know that?¡± ¡°You can tell the difference between mine and Mivion''s viss, right?" ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Same thing for me. And her energies have felt different since I woke up. The first time, I mean. Early this morning.¡± Right: he''d been asleep for a long time, then the monks had finally awakened him just to shut him down immediately after like everyone else, to make sure his shard still functioned properly. ¡°And it''s not just that,¡± he continued. ¡°Her energies feel like the viss of the Koidan before you.¡± ¡°Zeles?¡± ¡°Exactly, him.¡± Aili shifted her main focus to the inside of the temple. She listened to the thud of her steps on the marble to calm down a bit. ¡°They cracked him,¡± she said. ¡°That''s what the monks have told me, but what if they''re wrong?¡± ¡°Have you asked them about Vizena?¡± ¡°No. That''s why I''ve contacted you. I''ve been asleep for a long time because they suspected of me. I want to lay low for a bit, and this is the kind of thing that would make them suspect of me again. What if I''m wrong? What if they''ll think it''s a trick or a ruse?¡± Aili relaxed a bit. As long as the monks didn''t know anything about that, the situation would have been stable enough for her to reason with Zeles. ¡°I agree, it''s weird,¡± she said. ¡°I think you should keep it to yourself, for the moment. I''ll investigate a bit with the monks if they come back here.¡± ¡°But don''t mention me.¡± She thought about how she had incriminated him to save Saia. She didn''t feel particularly guilty, since that was one of the reasons she had succeeded in her plan against Vizena. Still, she didn¡¯t feel like hurting him further. ¡°I won''t. Thank you for your trust.¡± 4.6 - Superstition After trying for two days to solidify ¨¦shan first in the shape of a hammer, then a feather, a nail, a bolt and finally a simple glass marble, each one impossible to pick up and use for their original function, Saia and then Serit had to accept the evidence that she didn''t even know where to begin to solidify liquids and they weren''t able to help her. Serit was folded over on a stool, elbows on their knees, looking intensely at the basin on the floor as if they could force the liquid to collaborate with the strength of their frustration. ¡°I really thought you had an instinctual knowledge of how to manipulate viss. I didn¡¯t consider you needed to know the patterns.¡± Saia was pacing around the chair that Serit had insisted on bringing over despite her reassurances that she didn''t need it. She¡¯d found out she could move viss inside objects, just like Aili had suggested when talking about being a goddess, but it was useless if she didn¡¯t know which movement was required to solidify water. ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡± she asked. Serit breathed deeply, sitting upright. ¡°We already established that your powers have diminished since you left mount Ohat, probably another decision of your monks. You can control the viss inside liquids to some extent, which is promising, but you don''t know how to do that in a way that accomplishes our goals. Which means that it''s something you hopefully can learn, but someone has to teach you.¡± Saia looked over at the table. Two more basins occupied it: one filled with water, the other with bird blood. She¡¯d practiced with them to gauge whether they were easier to work with, but she¡¯d failed in both cases. She could create a shape by using winds, but not by manipulating the viss directly, and she couldn¡¯t figure out the steps to make that shape solid. ¡°Unfortunately, I can''t explain to you what to do. I hoped you would know.¡± ¡°I did, back at the mountain,¡± she lied. ¡°Maybe you should bring me there.¡± Serit sighed. ¡°I have no say in this. Also, someone should have to accompany you, and we can¡¯t even descend as high as the tip of the mountain without becoming liquid. We generally try to avoid it anyway, since your gods repel or dispose of every shile that rains in their territories. The holes in the temple get closed when the city flies over the area, so no one can jump down.¡± ¡°What else can we do, then? Is there anyone in the city who knows how to do something like this?" Serit shook their head. ¡°It requires too much energy.¡± Saia''s viss started to buzz with a mix of anger and fear. ¡°What will happen to me if there''s no solution to this?¡± Serit glanced at her, then lowered their eyes. ¡°I¡¯m going to be deactivated, right?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s too soon for that. There¡¯s someone who knows everything about this kind of stuff, but I hoped to use him only as a last resort, in case we really needed an external opinion on something. But I don¡¯t have any preliminary results, which means that convincing the representatives is not going to be easy.¡± ¡°Why do you need to convince them?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m talking about wind spirits.¡± ¡°What are they, now?¡± Saia asked with an exasperated tone. Serit produced a bitter laugh. ¡°The short answer is: sentient winds. The long one is that they created us shilv¨¦ and could probably destroy us easily if they wanted to, which makes dealing with them quite a delicate matter.¡± They lifted the basin and put it onto the table. ¡°We need to put all of this,¡± they gestured to include all the three basins, ¡°Inside some bottles.¡± They walked out of the room. Saia followed them. ¡°Wait, created you? What do you mean?¡± Serit crossed the hallway to enter the storage room. ¡°There''s a story-bottle about our history in the cabinet in your room. The gist is that wind spirits live for a long time and their society tends to change radically every few centuries, based on the plans and goals of their elders. About two millennia ago, their collective goal was to build a perfect city in the sky, and obviously each elder''s conception of a perfect city was different.¡± They opened a box full of bottles as they spoke and started handing them to Saia until her arms were full. ¡°At least they all agreed that a perfect city wouldn''t require them to work at all, so they started gathering humans with the promise of free land, taking advantage of the populations that believed their gods lived in the sky, or that wind spirits themselves were some sort of minor deities.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them.¡± Serit took some funnels and rubber hoses. ¡°Doesn''t surprise me, we don''t see them much either. They''ve since outgrown their perfect cities and moved on. Literally.¡± They nodded in the door''s direction and Saia turned to leave. ¡°Before then, they had kids with humans. The end result is us, shilv¨¦. When they left us behind, we took hold of the cities, but we know who they actually belong to. Even after all this time, we act as if we still consider them our parents. As if they could come back at any moment and scold us for being bad kids.¡± Serit''s tone was extremely bitter. Saia entered the laboratory and put down the bottles around the basins. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen a couple of humans around since I came here, though.¡± ¡°I told you: fourth level, third if they''re lucky or part of illustrious families. We are not proud of our earthly origins, even if I personally find the concept of following wind spirits around like lap dogs and despising humans when they both had the same role in creating us completely absurd.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Following like¡­ What?¡± Serit gave her a surprised look, then shook their head. ¡°Nevermind. Point is, wind spirits have educated their children to look up to them. The more our ancestors pleased them, the more they were considered similar to them, even if never perfectly equal. Humans, on the other hand, could never hope to obtain that. So they were confined at the borders of the cities, and they¡¯re forced to stay there even after centuries from the wind spirits¡¯ departure.¡± Serit put an extremity of a rubber hose inside a funnel and gestured for Saia to give them a bottle. She didn''t move. ¡°So humans are stuck up there? They can''t even leave?" ¡°If they live below the fourth level they have documents, so they could. But most of them don''t want to leave, believe me. Their families have lived here for millennia.¡± ¡°But what if they wanted to?¡± Serit leaned forward and took a bottle from the table. ¡°They would have to wait for a merchant to leave the city and go down with them and their people. It''s the only case when the iron ladder gets extended. But to do that they have to reach the bottom level, so they still need to be citizens.¡± Saia crossed her arms. ¡°You keep repeating that word, but I have no idea of what it means.¡± ¡°That they are inhabitants of the city.¡± ¡°And isn''t it enough to live here?¡± Serit tried to slip the bottleneck inside the other extremity of the rubber hose. ¡°If you¡¯re born inside the first three levels, yes. Citizens also have more rights, like voting and circulating freely inside the city.¡± ¡°Can those humans become citizens?¡± Serit nodded. ¡°How?¡± ¡°By working. Can you please help me instead of standing there?¡± Saia reluctantly lifted the basin full of blood and tipped it forward, so that a stream of red liquid could flow into the funnel. The bottle was filled quickly, and a bit of blood spilled onto the table and the rough surface of the floor. Serit carefully closed the bottle and took an empty one to gather the remaining blood. ¡°I¡¯m sure wind spirits will be able to help us because they can manipulate the shape and solidity of their bodies. That''s how they managed to reproduce with humans in the first place.¡± Saia nodded, shaking the basin to let the last drops fall into the funnel. She was glad she couldn''t smell the combined iron aftertaste of both the basin and the blood. ¡°I¡¯ll send a request for a hearing with the representatives as soon as we''re finished,¡± Serit said, closing the second bottle. ¡°If we''re lucky, we''ll get it even tomorrow. Enanit will refuse, H¨¦she will listen to her because she''s too young to know any better, and we at least won''t have wasted too much time.¡± ¡°Why are you so sure that they won''t listen to you?¡± Serit took a second before answering, holding the bottle tight with two hands. ¡°Enanit doesn''t like me at all. She doesn''t trust me, and this request is so out there I''m pretty sure she wouldn''t agree even if I weren''t the one asking.¡± ¡°And you can''t convince her?¡± Serit shook their head. They threw the blood-stained funnel into the empty basin. ¡°No. Her problem is with me specifically, not with something I did.¡± Saia watched as they prepared another funnel and bottle at the extremities of a new hose. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She''s like that.¡± ¡°Why you, then? There must be a reason.¡± They sighed and nodded at the basin with the ¨¦shan. Saia lifted it and started tipping it forward. ¡°I¡¯m a child of viss.¡± They glanced at Saia, as if expecting a reaction from her. ¡°I don''t know what it means. Is it bad?¡± ¡°No. I''m essentially¡­¡± Up to that point, they''d been eager to answer Saia''s questions and share their knowledge, only reacting with hilarity to her ignorance of some things they considered obvious. Now they were visibly battling with themselves on whether to complete that sentence. Saia waited. Had it been anyone else, she''d have tried to reassure them. But she needed to hate Serit, detach herself from them as much as possible, because there was a concrete possibility she''d have to hurt them to escape from there. If their words could help her despise them a bit more, all the better. ¡°I wasn''t born like everybody else,¡± they blurted out, still holding the bottle in position despite it being already full. ¡°I solidified spontaneously at the top of the city. Everybody does that when they return from the voyage, but I never rained. I just... Started existing.¡± Since they weren''t moving, Saia took another empty bottle and handed it to them. ¡°How is that possible?¡± she asked. ¡°Nobody knows. There are a lot of superstitions connected to the children of viss.¡± ¡°So you just appeared from nothing? You don''t remember anything?¡± They started to shake their head, but stopped before completing the gesture. ¡°Sort of? Every person who returns from their rain-voyage has some vague memories about the places they''ve seen and the people and creatures that drank them. That happens because our blood stores the viss in a way that makes the information it includes readable by our minds through our senses, which is why story-bottles work the way they do.¡± Saia interrupted them by raising a hand. ¡°So that¡¯s why you knew so much about the mountain. We drank you.¡± Serit nodded. ¡°We took advantage of the fact that one of your gods had disappeared, as we learnt from that friend of yours.¡± ¡°Rabam?¡± ¡°Yeah, him. Every time a person recomposes at the top of a city, they¡¯re required to report all the information they can remember about their last voyage. We were careful to rain only inside the territory where the god wasn¡¯t active, at least until the monks took control of the situation. Still, we gathered a lot of data that way, and Rabam filled in the gaps. Also, we were observing you with our instruments.¡± They closed the second bottle. ¡°Going back to the children of viss, we have the same kind of memories one would gain after a rain-voyage, plus others about shilv¨¦ that don¡¯t seem to follow a single thread. They¡¯re all confused, sometimes in direct contradiction to one another.¡± ¡°Like?¡± ¡°They''re set in different cities, for example, with different people. They feel like pieces of many different dreams.¡± They started preparing the hose, bottle and funnel for the third basin. ¡°There are theories, of course. The most important one is that we are a partial attempt at recomposing of people who rained and couldn''t reform.¡± ¡°That happens?¡± Serit nodded. ¡°Sometimes people wait too long to rain, so the viss in their bodies is too little and doesn''t contain all of the information they need to recompose themselves. This information gets lost even with age.¡± Saia thought of Hilon, the woman who had jumped, and how she¡¯d pointed out that she wasn''t that old. ¡°Sometimes they manage to reform again,¡± Serit continued. ¡°Without limbs or something else missing. There are people who have reappeared only to die immediately for some internal damage.¡± Saia recoiled at that. She started to pour water inside the new funnel. ¡°So what did you lose? Your memory?¡± Serit produced a small smile. ¡°That''s another theory, good guess. But no, apparently when the residual viss of a lot of dead or dying cloud people gets together, sometimes it has enough information on how to form a person to solidify into a new individual that isn''t one of the original ones but has some of their memories.¡± Saia poured the water until the first bottle was full. ¡°There''s also the fact that the underworld is under the earth and sea. For us, at least,¡± they added as an afterthought. ¡°So some people think that we''re actually dead souls who escaped from the goddess of death, or were rejected, or even sent back to fulfill some mission or take souls.¡± ¡°And Enanit believes that?¡± ¡°I don''t think she believes it word for word, but the consequences of these superstitions run deeper than that. We are essentially considered the leftovers of dead people, and there¡¯s this underlying belief that we could remember who we were at any moment and turn out to be completely different people from what we were up to that point. Which means that we''re not trusted, and we generally don''t get important roles or big responsibilities.¡± They finally closed the last bottle and put it down next to the others. ¡°We also have a reputation to be criminals. But that''s more due to the fact that we don''t have anybody to wait and support us after we appear, so a lot of us have to steal or engage with the criminal world. I was lucky because Irim¨¦ze has a small community in the fourth level, even if it''s not a good place to live in. I''m one of the few who managed to leave. And people like Enanit hate that.¡± They piled up the funnels and rubber hoses inside the basin at the top of the stack while Saia took the bottles. They walked back to the storage room. ¡°By the way, my god-particle is connected to the goddess of death, and children of viss can''t change it. There''s a stigma associated with it, so no one else chooses that particle as their own.¡± They gestured for Saia to put away the bottles next to the ones that contained empty ¨¦shan. ¡°I¡¯m going to wash this stuff and send that message. I guess you have the rest of your day free.¡± ¡°Can I go out?¡± ¡°Not by yourself.¡± Saia rolled her eyes. ¡°Then I guess I''ll read.¡± Serit nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the answer as soon as I get one.¡± 4.7 - Defiance Zeles woke up for the second time. The first thing he noticed, besides his sitting statue and the mess of melted wax on the floor, was Rabam sprinting towards the door, as if hiding from the statue was sufficient to elude the god. ¡°I don''t blame you,¡± he said in his ears, and the man stopped just outside of Vizena¡¯s temple. He looked back, face hidden in the darkness outside, even if his fear was evident in the buzzing of his viss. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for allowing Milvia''s death with my actions,¡± Zeles said. "I don''t expect yours or anyone''s forgiveness when I say this: if you''ll ever need help or protection, come here without hesitation.¡± He only nodded once, then ran away. Zeles took in the new shapes of Vizena''s territory. It was deep in the night, but the goddess had been killed just the day before and there were still people around, talking and celebrating. It was a more quiet kind of celebration, made of words and tears, all of the conversations that had died inside their minds flowing out freely. Zeles knew it would only have lasted until they realized that there was another god. He explored the streets with his mind while the rest of his powers was intent on cleaning the floor and walls from the wax that stained them. He repositioned the surviving candles to light the whole room in a way that made it welcoming. He didn''t listen to the conversations, of course, but as the biggest part of his focus drifted along the roads he couldn''t help but notice how much the people of the place gesticulated when they spoke. They had to be the gestures Saia had talked about; he was glad the inhabitants felt safe enough to use them again. He couldn''t entertain his curiosity any longer, because the next thing he noticed was the behavior of their viss. He was looking at two people in particular, an old woman and a younger one, sitting next to each other in front of the respective houses. The older woman''s viss was scarred with sorrow. Fear was sprinkled everywhere, and a more recent layer of regrets was expanding against the thin veil of joy for the goddess¡¯ disappearance. The younger woman was scared too. It was both old fear and new fear, piled up together until every word she said was shaking. He realized he was spying on them and retreated to a higher height, focusing again on the village at large. Every single person had deeper traces of some sort of suffering in their viss, be it grief or loneliness or fear, the kind of traces that could only be left by years of tension and pressure. He retreated into the temple, leaving only a small part of his perception hovering above his territory, in case cloud people decided to attack or the celebrations went too far. He decided to just wait. These people didn''t need a deity, but time to heal. He would have protected them, of course, but he wouldn''t have interacted with them unless they wanted to. No more fake celebrations about fake deities, no more sermons that only meant to consolidate his or the monks'' power. He looked down at his new statue, blue with stripes of beige and gold. He decided to keep it that way instead of changing it to a basalt-looking texture, not to introduce too many changes. It felt weird to think that now his statue belonged to someone else. Even weirder, that the one he was using had been inhabited by the person who had caused all of the suffering he''d seen outside. He waited, content to watch over people until they returned to their houses. The hour before dawn was completely silent. Then, the inhabitants started leaving in small groups. Some of them went to work, some to school, some started to cook and take care of the houses. Some took the path that led to the temple. Zeles stood, then changed his mind and sat down again, to look less menacing. He waited for them to enter, but they lingered outside instead, looking through the windows but staying away from the doors as if they were the entrance of a dark cave. He waited, without even moving his statue not to scare them. If they wanted him to be a silent presence in their lives, a force that could protect them without manifesting anything stronger than a wind, he would oblige them without question. Then, a group of six people entered the temple. There was a woman with Saia''s round eyes and a man with her relaxed demeanor; a younger woman with arms wrapped tight against her torso, and a young man dressed impeccably well. Then the youngest of them all, Lassem if he remembered right, holding a young woman''s hand. They stepped into the light of the candles, mingled with the soft hues of dawn. ¡°Who are you?¡± Saia''s mom said, and he remembered that her name was Lada. The people outside were entering now, taking their spots next to the walls. ¡°I¡¯m not Vizena,¡± he said, moving the statue''s lips for the first time. ¡°She disappeared forever. You won''t experience that hurt again as long as I''m here.¡± ¡°You''re not Vizena,¡± Lada repeated slowly, as if deciding how much she should believe him. ¡°Do you have a name?¡± He considered lying by looking inside his memories of the ancient texts and finding a plausible godlike figure. But lying to protect himself had led to Milvia''s death. ¡°Zeles,¡± he said. They looked at each other. ¡°I never heard of that name,¡± Saia''s sister said. ¡°Are you new?¡± ¡°I was Lausune''s god, before. They called me Koidan, but Koidan now is someone else, so I''ve decided to use my real name.¡± He could see and feel the confusion all around the room. He waited for further questions, but they didn''t come. Maybe they thought him insane. He decided to move on. ¡°I know what Vizena did to you. I won''t spy on your conversations. I won¡¯t force you to do anything you don''t want to. Ask Lausune''s people if you don¡¯t believe my words.¡± Lassem raised his head. ¡°That means we can leave?¡± ¡°Of course you can.¡± He hugged the young woman next to him, Ceila if he remembered right. All around the temple, people were exchanging incredulous glances and excited hugs, but a part of them seemed to remember that they were in front of a deity, because they didn''t cheer out loud. ¡°That''s all,¡± Zeles said, smiling. ¡°I¡¯ll only talk to you when you request it or in situations of danger. I don''t require you to come to the temple, nor to pray.¡± This time, some timid cheer broke out from the crowd. Lada nodded and took her husband''s hand. ¡°And Saia?¡± she asked, the question barely a whisper. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Zeles answered to her whole family, talking in their ears so that nobody else could listen. ¡°She''s far away from here, but as safe as anyone can be,¡± he said, thinking about her powers. ¡°If I get any news from her, I¡¯ll tell you immediately.¡± They looked like they wanted to ask more. Their viss was brimming with worry, but eventually they all left with the rest of the inhabitants. Zeles observed as people screamed the good news to their neighbors, that they could finally leave their village after a life of isolation. They were saying his name, and he briefly wondered whether he should have told them not to mention it outside of the village. But it would have meant explaining why, finding an excuse, involving them, which would have taken away a piece of the serenity they had just obtained. Besides, there was no point in that anymore: there was a group of monks inside the forest, just outside of his territory. All of them were sentinels, except for a woman. ¡°Vizena,¡± she called. ¡°Do you hear me?¡± Zeles made the air in front of them thick as a wall. The woman squinted and extended a hand to touch it. ¡°I see,¡± she said. ¡°I need you to answer my questions. But first, let me enter your temple.¡± Zeles just waited. ¡°We''re not here to remove more of your energy or evaluate your conduct, if this is what you fear. I''ll enter your temple alone.¡± She tried to step forward, but stopped when the barrier''s wind made her hair flutter. ¡°This is my last warning, Vizena. Then we''ll consider you a traitor and a danger to our cause and act accordingly.¡± ¡°Let me give you a warning too, then.¡± The woman''s unreadable expression widened with surprise. She probably didn''t expect his voice. ¡°Don''t ever try to enter this place again while I''m alive. You don''t have any more say on these people and this land.¡± The woman looked straight ahead, frowning a bit. ¡°You''ll lose a lot more than just two or three years every once in a while. But if you''re so determined to go down this road, I''ll let the abbot decide your fate.¡± She slowly turned to leave, as if to give him time to call her back. He just watched as she and the sentinels went up the slope, into the forest and out of his sight. He wished Rabam would come back, so he could tell Aili what had just happened. She deserved to be informed, in case his choices would affect her too. He felt a nudge at the border of his conscience. He divided his focus again, the biggest part turning to the leftmost border of his territory. ¡°Yes?¡± he asked to the air. ¡°Hi, I''m Lorin,¡± it answered. ¡°You''re new, right?¡± He recognized the deity of the neighboring village of Kivari. ¡°New?¡± he asked. Then he realized she could probably feel the difference between his viss and Vizena''s. ¡°Yes, I guess I''m new.¡± ¡°So the Vizena before you is dead?¡± ¡°Yes. My name''s Zeles, by the way.¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Diba. I''m kind of new too, just fifty years as a deity.¡± ¡°Congratulations on the anniversary.¡± ¡°Thank you. Excuse my bluntness but I''m glad you''re so nice, the old Vizena was so passive-aggressive. She never told me her real name.¡± ¡°She wasn''t loved by her people either.¡± ¡°Yeah, I''ve heard something about that. Well, it was a pleasure to know you. Let''s talk again sometimes.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he answered, non-committally. He wasn''t sure she¡¯d want to talk to him again after word spread of how he''d treated the monks. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful. He was on the lookout for the monks¡¯ return, but they didn''t show up. That probably meant they were discussing how to get rid of him. He was surprised at how little they scared him. Maybe it was the effect of having enough viss to last him a hundred years. Maybe he had finally made peace with the fact he would need to die, eventually. That night, Rabam returned. He stopped just one step inside the border, despite his repeated invitations to come to the temple. ¡°Aili wants to know if you have a plan for kicking out the monks the way you did or it was just a whim of the moment. I have different things to tell you based on the answer.¡± Zeles couldn''t keep out the amusement from his voice. ¡°I don''t have a plan.¡± ¡°Then she wants you to know that she''s extremely disappointed, because Saia did all she could to make both of you seem innocent and you just ruined her work. And that now she has to plan around what you did to fix this situation. She asks whether you want to collaborate from now on or she has to work by herself.¡± Zeles sent a wind forward to blow a letter into his hands. ¡°I won''t lie anymore about who I am and I''ll protect these people until my viss ends. Apart from this, I don''t want to cause her any harm or weaken her position, and I''ll listen to her plans. The letter contains everything I did up to this point. I figured it would be better¡­¡± ¡­ to have it in writing instead of relying on Rabam to remember every single detail. Word will probably spread soon about my name and the fact that Vizena is dead, considering I have no intention of preventing my people from leaving. I''m proud of what I did, even if I do recognize I could probably have handled everything better. ¡°The understatement of the century,¡± Aili commented, making the air in the temple tremble. Not even pacing on the pedestal was enough to dispel the nervous energy of her viss. Rabam, sitting on a chair in Mili¡¯s home, folded Zeles''s letter. ¡°No, please, read it too,¡± Aili told him. ¡°I need to know your opinion on what the monks would do in this case.¡± He set out to read. Aili forced herself to divert her attention to the rest of the village. The sun was disappearing and the people were returning home, except for some fishers who readied to go out at sea again. She healed a temperature and a troubled stomach before Rabam could answer. ¡°Nothing even remotely similar happened when I was a sentinel, but we were taught that the last resort against a rebel god is to attack him from three sides and deactivate him.¡± He moved aside some of the half-carved statuettes on the table to make space, then took one picturing a heron and put it in the center. ¡°First, they contact the two other gods that border with him.¡± He positioned a snake and a crab on opposite sides of the heron. ¡°Then they send some sentinels at the border, far enough that the god can''t see them.¡± He pushed a swallow forward. ¡°Then give the signal. The two gods attack together, and once the rebel god is busy enough, the sentinels go in and deactivate him.¡± He toppled over the heron with the swallow. ¡°The statuettes weren''t really necessary,¡± Aili commented. ¡°You are just showing off.¡± He smiled, then returned serious with an embarrassed cough. ¡°It¡¯s a huge waste of viss, both from the gods who have to stop the rebel and the rebel himself, who will either run out of viss or be deactivated and then destroyed.¡± ¡°And how long do we have before the attack?¡± ¡°I guess they have to discuss it, first. They hate wasting viss.¡± Aili thought back to when Saia had tried to convince them to have Vizena replaced. ¡°Don''t I know it. How many days do you think it will take?¡± ¡°I don''t know. Two, maybe. Probably more, but I really have no idea.¡± Aili stopped and gathered as much of her attention as possible without leaving the village without protection. Her first idea was using the shards to deactivate Dore and that other deity, Lorin, even if that would have required finding out which shard was hers. But the monks would have known that the shards were nearby, and she was an obvious candidate. They still had the other half-shards, so they could reactivate them as many times as needed and go on with their plans. If she couldn''t deactivate them, maybe she could convince the gods not to attack, either through threats or in exchange for something they really wanted. Except she had no idea of what that could be. She could maybe guess Dore¡¯s wishes, after talking to him a bit more, but Lorin was outside of her range. In addition to that, she needed to think of a plan of action for the monks to defeat Zeles, as Riena had advised her to do. It wouldn''t have worked, of course, but it had to be convincing enough for the monks to act on it. That way, she''d have complete control over the situation, knowing their moves in advance, and clear her reputation while saving Zeles and proving to the monks that he was basically invincible, thus discouraging further attacks. Problem was, she had no idea what that plan could be. She focused on Rabam again. ¡°I¡¯m about to ask you something extremely dangerous, and I will completely understand if you refuse. Please don¡¯t feel pressured to accept just because I¡¯m the one asking.¡± He sat straighter, as if ready to spring into action. ¡°Tell me what you want.¡± ¡°I need you to go up the mountain and get some information for me.¡± He gave her a quick nod, looking up as if encouraging her to continue. ¡°I need to know when the attack will be, with as much precision as possible. I also need to know who the current gods were before being transformed. There¡¯s a book entirely on that.¡± He stood and started to gather his stuff into his backpackof leather covered in fur. ¡°You don¡¯t need to go now. You can rest for tonight.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea, if we only have two days.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes, but only if you get the chance to do this and it doesn¡¯t jeopardize everything: get a book on the ancient history of the monks and the mountain.¡± He nodded again, more hesitantly this time. ¡°Sorry,¡± Aili added. ¡°I know I''m asking you a lot.¡± ¡°It''s not a big deal. I¡¯m good at hiding and I have someone on the inside that can give me that information.¡± Aili observed him getting ready for the hike with growing nervousness. In a few minutes, he was out of the house and at the village''s northern border. ¡°Please, don''t get caught,¡± she told him. He gave the air a reassuring smile and kept on walking, beyond the line of white stones and towards the village that once was his house. 4.8 - Meeting The next day, Saia and Serit readied for their descent to the bottom of the city. Serit insisted to take the stairs. ¡°We don¡¯t have time to wait. We should be at least an hour early to show the proper amount of respect.¡± They set off at an extremely fast pace that Saia was glad she could match with ease. ¡°I have a question,¡± she started, to gauge whether they were willing to talk. ¡°Go on,¡± they said, trying to keep their evident nervousness at bay. ¡°I was thinking about the basins, and I don¡¯t understand why you shilv¨¦ rain the way you do. You could, I don¡¯t know, lower yourselves inside a container until you were past the line? Then someone would haul you up again. You need viss, so you could have someone pour viss into you, and then¡­¡± Serit looked back at her and smiled. ¡°Then?¡± ¡°Then reform,¡± she reluctantly concluded. ¡°You see what the problem is, right?¡± ¡°That you wouldn¡¯t recompose spontaneously?¡± ¡°Exactly. While the viss can come from someone else in the way you just outlined, the reforming process is a bit more complicated. We don¡¯t know enough about it, we don¡¯t know what exactly prompts it. The only sure way to recompose is to go through the whole cycle. Or not to rain in the first place,¡± they added as an afterthought. ¡°Which is what I plan to happen once you¡¯re keeping someone whole with your powers. The idea is that the viss you¡¯d use for the process would both keep the person solid and also feed them the viss their body needs, delaying the urge to rain indefinitely. But this is something I¡¯ll add at the end of the process, once the kernel works as it should.¡± Saia nodded. If she knew the details on how the whole rain-and-reform process worked, she could maybe use it to her advantage, even if she had no clue on how to do that yet. Serit kept an uncharacteristic silence for the rest of the trip, until they were forced to stop by a group of armed guards blocking their path. ¡°We¡¯ve been sent as your escort,¡± their captain said, pointing the trident to Saia¡¯s chest. Serit looked at her and sighed. ¡°Sorry.¡± They proceeded along the path, the crowd of cloud people around them becoming thinner with every turn of the road. It disappeared when they arrived at a large building at the center of the bottom level, surrounded by a small garden of patchy grass that was enclosed by a low wooden fence. The building had three round, short towers with monochrome carpets hanging from the walls, a different color for each tower: blue, gray and green, the same ones of the carpets on the outside of the warehouse. They were connected to a central round structure similar to the main room of the temple. There were more guards at the entrance. Serit showed them a document with their personal information and the letter of the representatives in which they accepted to see them. Saia remember their words about being early and was expecting a long wait, but the guards gestured for Serit to enter. They went inside first, Saia stepping in after them with her ring of guards. A short hallway opened into the big central room. The huge table at the center was triangular with the borders cut off, so that in place of the tips there were three other borders the size of a regular desk. One of the larger sides of the table faced the door, and the chair of heavy wood at the opposite corner was empty. Enanit sat at the left corner, while H¨¦she was on the right. Two different piles of documents and groups of bottles with complicated labels were strewn in front of them. Serit bowed their head and raised both their cupped hands above it. ¡°Thank you for receiving me, representatives.¡± ¡°You talked about a request,¡± Enanit said. ¡°And yet we haven''t seen any results.¡± She glanced at Saia. She remained impassive, realizing the representatives didn''t necessarily know that she understood their language, unless Serit had told them in the letter. H¨¦she gave Serit a polite smile. ¡°Make your request, then we''ll evaluate it.¡± ¡°Thank you again. I require permission to visit Ifse and bring the sphere with me.¡± Saia resisted the temptation to voice her disappointment when they called her ¡®the sphere¡¯. Enanit scoffed and looked away. ¡°Denied.¡± H¨¦she glanced at her before addressing Serit. ¡°Why do you need this?¡± ¡°The first step to make sure she can keep a shile whole is to check whether she can manipulate ¨¦shan well enough to solidify some objects. I''m positive she can, butshe doesn''t know how to. I know a wind spirit who could be willing to teach her without asking too many questions.¡± ¡°Last time I checked,¡± Enanit interjected. ¡°You were building an iron kernel that would force her to keep a person whole and solid. I didn¡¯t get the impression we needed to convince her to do it or even check whether she is capable.¡± ¡°No, but it would make my work a lot easier. Years shaved off of my research, a lot less resources wasted, higher probability of success. And we agreed that the contingency plan in case of failure would be too dangerous, so it¡¯s better to try everything we have before we get there.¡± Enanit moved some sheets aside, looking annoyed. ¡°And what did the main plan entail? I don¡¯t think about your research the whole day, engineer.¡± Saia had an even more difficult time pretending she wasn¡¯t listening. She badly wanted to ask Serit about what the contingency plan entailed, but that would mean distracting them from the conversation in a way that would have tipped off the representatives on the fact she understood them. ¡°It entails knowing the pattern her viss takes when she manages to solidify ¨¦shan and copy it onto the kernel,¡± Serit said. ¡°Also, I think it would be beneficial to be certain it¡¯s in the realm of possibilities. We don¡¯t want to keep someone solid if that means they wouldn¡¯t be able to move, for example.¡± H¨¦she looked at the other representative. ¡°Why are you contrary, Enanit?¡± ¡°They might betray us. It could be a way to escape to another city. Maybe they have received a better offering.¡± Serit tensed. ¡°I can assure you of my absolute devotion to this city.¡± ¡°But you can''t prove it with results.¡± ¡°I think,¡± H¨¦she interjected. ¡°That they have already proven themselves. They promised to get us a sphere, and they did.¡± Enanit shot her an annoyed glance. ¡°There''s also the fact that wind spirits might find out who she is and want to keep her. We aren''t in a position to refuse them anything.¡± H¨¦she slowly nodded. ¡°That is a valid concern. Serit?¡± ¡°I can only reiterate the trustworthiness of my contact at Ifse. He belongs to a low stratus, he isn¡¯t involved with the elders and engineer Hilon is¡­¡± ¡°Irrelevant,¡± Enanit said. ¡°I reject your request. H¨¦she?¡± She took a second before answering. ¡°I reject it too.¡± She gave Serit an apologetic smile. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. They didn''t answer, only unclenched their hands and repeated their greeting. Saia sensed that the meeting had finished. She expanded her domain to include the room and the table with the sheets. Enanit¡¯s were all about boring stuff that concerned water pipes and some citizens¡¯ requests. Among H¨¦she¡¯s pile she found a short letter about something called herlamis, which roughly translated as throw-circles: I have to be honest with you: we might win the next match with the Midnight Cormorants, but we¡¯re thoroughly unprepared to face the other teams from Agm¨¦ze. Our narrator¡¯s stories are too classical for this kind of event, and Ilit is still recovering from that elbow injury. The letter wasn¡¯t signed, but the tone made it clear it was someone H¨¦she knew quite well. Serit was already walking out of the building, so she followed them. Once they were back on a more populated road, the ring of guards stopped following Saia. ¡°What¡¯s the contingency plan?¡± she asked immediately after. They sighed. ¡°I really wish Enanit hadn¡¯t forced me to mention it at all. It¡¯s only going to make things sourer. ¡°It won¡¯t. I can¡¯t imagine my situation getting worse than this, except for you deactivating me.¡± They glanced at her. ¡°It¡¯s exactly about us deactivating you in case you do something dangerous or I can¡¯t find a solution. Of course I will go on with the research and try to use your viss anyway and build the kernel to the best of my abilities. But in case that fails, we won¡¯t just put your sphere on a shelf. The plan is to harvest your energy.¡± Saia thought about how the monks had taken away three years from Vizena¡¯s lifespan. ¡°Is that possible? I thought you could just remove it, not keep it.¡± ¡°Kind of. It¡¯s like detaching lichen from a rock: it will shatter in smaller pieces that would then dissolve immediately.¡± Saia¡¯s viss buzzed with excitement in hearing those words so similar to the ones of a book she¡¯d read back at the mountain. She didn¡¯t show it, though, waiting for Serit to finish their explanation. ¡°If you plan to extract a small or average amount of viss, which is about the quantity you can find in a person or animal, the pieces are going to be insignificant. That¡¯s why we would attempt to extract all of your viss at once, which is a lot and would shatter in bigger chunks. We¡¯d then gather it immediately with some machines that were built just for this task. We¡¯d still lose at least two-thirds of it immediately, and the technology is experimental, since we never really had a chance to test it properly. But we¡¯d eventually do it, if it turns out there¡¯s no other use for you.¡± They looked away and maintained a casual tone that felt forced, as if they were aware they were talking about how to dispose of her corpse. She thought back at the meeting they just had with the representatives, and how it had ended with a failure. ¡°What now?¡± she asked Serit. They didn''t answer, eyes focused on the staircase in the distance. Saia observed the big round building, now hidden among the other houses. There was no need for her to be there at all: nobody had addressed her or asked for her opinion. She was just a sphere to them, full of power they couldn''t wait to use. Then she remembered how Serit hadn¡¯t let her leave the warehouse the previous day. She looked up at the city''s walls as if they were a mountain. Maybe seeing her going around without Serit was the signal to deactivate her. But to know she wasn¡¯t following them, someone needed to observe her from afar, no matter where she was. Her eyes looked up to the last level, the fifth, mostly empty of buildings and full of vegetation. It seemed like a good place to start looking. Except she couldn¡¯t get there on her own. She followed Serit back to the warehouse in complete silence. Once the kitchen door was closed behind them, she decided to address the situation again. ¡°So what do we do now?¡± Serit was about to cross into the corridor, but they stopped in the doorway. They spoke with their head half-turned toward her, eyes to the ground. ¡°We wait for Izha, the other representative. He approved of my plan to get a sphere. When he''ll return from his rain-voyage and see that I succeeded, he will listen to me.¡± ¡°And when is he going to return?" Serit turned completely now, still avoiding the gaze of her stone eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve told you, it¡¯s impossible to know for sure. Statistics tell us it will probably be between three to four months.¡± Saia made some quick math. She''d be down to seventy or fifty years of viss by then. ¡°It''s too much.¡± ¡°I know. Sorry.¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± Saia repeated louder. ¡°That''s it? We just accept it and wait?¡± Serit finally looked at her. ¡°There are no other options. Trying to leave the city on our own will get us shot.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Serit stepped forward and reached for one of the chairs around the table. ¡°The same reasons Enanit mentioned: dealing with wind spirits is a delicate matter. We''re in a position where we can''t refuse any of their requests, so the only way we have to defend ourselves is to make sure they don''t make them at all.¡± They didn''t sit down, grabbing the back of the chair instead and leaning a bit forward. ¡°That requires keeping everything secret and having total control over what we tell them. She doesn''t think I''d be able to handle that.¡± ¡°You said you know a wind spirit.¡± ¡°Yes, even if I don''t know how much he can help me.¡± ¡°And you can''t contact him? Ask him to come here, or¡­¡± ¡°No. We send letters through doves and pigeons, and the guards are looking out for them too. Nothing can leave the city if the representatives haven''t explicitly authorized it. Besides, I don¡¯t think he¡¯d be allowed to leave his city either.¡± Saia crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall. ¡°We should talk to the representatives again, then,¡± she said. ¡°And try to convince at least H¨¦she.¡± Serit''s hands tensed around the chair''s back. ¡°It''s too risky. Insisting might ruin mine and yours reputation forever. They could refuse to see us again, take away my research, keep you asleep forever.¡± They looked like they could go on for a bit, but just became quiet and shook their head. ¡°Of course I don''t mean going there to insist,¡± Saia said. ¡°But maybe we can offer them something in exchange. Can you tell me more about them?¡± ¡°No. If you say something you shouldn''t know and the representatives find out that I''ve told you stuff about them, my research won''t be the only thing on the line. I risk my credibility as an engineer and my rights as a citizen.¡± ¡°And if we don''t do anything I''ll risk my life.¡± Saia paused, realizing they didn''t care. ¡°I¡¯ll last less,¡± she said then, her voice low and sharp. ¡°If you waste my viss, you''ll need to catch another sphere.¡± Serit let go of the chair. ¡°We can deactivate you until Izha returns. That should save up some viss.¡± Saia tried to imagine how much further she could get from home in three months. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then that''s it.¡± Serit sat down, dropping their body against the chair. ¡°End of my solutions.¡± Saia looked out of the window, to the shadow of the walls slowly moving towards the houses. She needed to convince Serit to trust her and negotiate with the representatives. She had compelling arguments on her side, but they implied revealing a lot about the mountain, potentially about her friends and family too. And from what she recalled, information was another thing the representatives wanted from her. Maybe she could leverage that, if nothing else came to mind. She detached from the wall. ¡°I need to tell you something, but it''s long and if I just used words you would never believe me. Can I have another empty bottle?¡± Serit shrugged and, after a bit of rummaging in their pockets, handed her the key to the storage room. Saia returned almost immediately with the smallest bottle she could find. She sat at the table in front of Serit and deactivated her vision, focusing only on the viss that she started to spin inside the ¨¦shan. She heard Serit move and handle plates and glass containers, but she kept focused on the memories of the night she''d fought Vizena. She didn''t dedicate as much time to clarifying the details as she usually did when writing her ''diary'', as she had finally decided to label it. In her mind, at least: the actual label recited ¡®sceneries¡¯. She left out the part where she went up the mountain to become a goddess, figuring cloud people didn''t need to know the exact process, nor the inside of the monks'' village. She added some final touches where the information was missing and activated her vision again. Serit was still sitting in front of her, eating cooked bird meat from a plate. They openly stared at her in a way that would have been impolite if she hadn''t been perfectly still for several minutes. Activating her sight didn''t do anything visible, like moving her eyes, unless it was a conscious decision. She batted her eyelids, startling Serit. ¡°Here¡±, she said, handing them the bottle. They opened it and rested their hand on the border, only a finger bent to touch the ¨¦shan inside. Their eyes zoned out and their mouth opened a bit. The longer Saia watched their expression, the more it looked like someone about to scream in fear. She felt uncomfortable and stood, pacing along the room. ¡°That was... something,¡± Serit said after a bit. They turned their head, clearly looking for her, and finally found her standing next to the wooden counters. ¡°Why are you there?¡± ¡°You looked like you were about to freak out.¡± ¡°Oh. Sorry about that, it''s just my reading face.¡± They shook away the ¨¦shan from their finger and closed the bottle. ¡°It was definitely a dangerous plan, but it worked out nicely given the premise.¡± ¡°I can do that again.¡± Serit pushed the bottle to the center of the table. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It was a difficult situation, but I managed to take Vizena by surprise. I know how to keep information hidden, and I''m way more powerful now. At least give me enough answers to come up with an idea, then you''ll decide if it''s worth trying.¡± Serit interlocked the fingers of their hands on the table. They looked down at them, seemingly considering her words, then shrugged and raised their head. ¡°What do you need to know?¡± She sat in front of them. ¡°H¨¦she. What are her views, what does she do when she''s not working?¡± ¡°She''s very young, as I mentioned, at least for a representative. She became popular thanks to her career as a herlamis player. Then¡­¡± ¡°Herlamis?¡± Saia asked, remembering the letter. Serit raised their head at that, eyes twinkling with excitement. ¡°It''s our most important sport. We have four local teams with six categories each, then there are tournaments with teams from other cities in the same category.¡± Saia didn''t know exactly what a tournament entailed, but she didn¡¯t want to derail the conversation further. ¡°Then,¡± Serit added, ¡°She became a coordinator for these events, then head of a category, and eventually president of the Twilight Doves, the second more popular team of the city.¡± ¡°So she wants her team to win, right?¡± Serit gave her an uncertain nod, as if wary of what she could say next. ¡°Then I could play in the next match. I don''t get tired and I''m stronger than a regular person. Or even a not regular one.¡± She was about to mention the injured player she could replace, but that would mean revealing she had read the letter, and she didn¡¯t know how Serit would react to that. Plus, they were already shaking their head before she could end the sentence. ¡°She isn''t the kind of person to allow cheating. She considers the sport something sacred and has put a lot of focus on the quality of the stories her narrators produce.¡± Saia inclined her head, remembering that word too. ¡°Narrators?¡± Serit smiled. ¡°The other reason why I don''t think your idea would work. Herlamis isn''t only a matter of physical prowess.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Serit looked out of the window. ¡°You know what, maybe I could bring you to watch the next match, in two days. We''ll keep practicing with the ¨¦shan in the meantime.¡± Saia nodded. She didn''t miss the fact they had told her where they were going, this time. She hoped they were starting to trust her a bit. 4.9 - Reunion It was almost noon when Rabam arrived in the proximity of the lake. He had camped in the forest for the night, checking the previous day¡¯s hasty calculations in the last lights of day and then by memory, once the night had descended. Only when he saw the water gleaming beyond the trees and the chairs folded to the side he remembered it was fourthday, so his grandma wasn¡¯t coming back to fish until the next day. Provided the monks hadn¡¯t found out about her involvement and imprisoned her. He looked for the hiding spot he¡¯d used during his months of living in the area. It was on the slope that led to the beginning of one of his hidden paths, a short escape route that was protected from the sentinels by the thick amount of vegetation that surrounded it. The spot was a vaguely circular area of bare ground, big enough to host a sleeping bag with a grown man inside. It was surrounded by bushes on all sides, which offered a bit of extra protection against sentinels who were walking around the area and not observing from the outposts. He sat there, listening to the sounds around him, craning his neck outward every once in a while to catch a glimpse of the lake. His stomach growled and he wished he had taken the time to prepare some food, the previous night. He mostly carved and slept to keep away thoughts of Mili and his failed revenge, interrupted from time to time by musings on what Aili¡¯s plan could be, if there was one already. He roused to fish in the late evening, then huddled up inside his sleeping bag, two tunics on, the tattered one that he¡¯d had to sew multiple times in the last months due to his numerous walks in the wood and the spare one, mostly untouched. He awakened in the early morning and set out to wait some more. The sun was already fairly high when he heard the dust and pebbles move on the path that descended toward the lake. He stood slowly and crouched as he stepped from one tree to another, approaching the blue-green spots that blinked at him from the holes between the trees. Then he saw Lakam¡¯s chair and his grandma sitting peacefully in the sun. He made sure to rustle some leaves as he approached in order not to startle her, careful to stay inside the trees'' shadow. Her ears weren''t working as they used to, so he had to call her. She turned her head without even flinching, used as she was at hiding her true emotions. And yet, she couldn''t hold back a smile. ¡°So you''re safe, then. I didn''t dare to hope for it, after that disaster.¡± He stood at the limit of the area he could occupy without being spotted by the sentinels and gave her an uncertain smile. ¡°So everyone knows about me, now.¡± ¡°They know what you did, but not how to find you. Stay put, don¡¯t press your luck, and they''ll eventually accept they''ll never get you.¡± ¡°I think it''s a bit too late for that.¡± ¡°Nevertheless, you should plan carefully about what to do next. They have decided¡­¡± A movement in the distance caught Rabam''s attention, and he gestured for his grandma to stay quiet. He looked at the slope of the path that led to the village, already stepping back toward the trees. He saw a person there and his heart dropped, then dropped once more when he recognized Ebus. The way he stopped and stared with wide eyes revealed that he had seen him too. Rabam hid behind a tree anyways, in case there was someone else with him. He waited with his heart thumping in his throat for Ebus''s next move, half-expecting him to turn back and scream to call the sentinels. He had made it clear how much he disapproved of him a long time ago, when he didn¡¯t even think him worthy of a farewell. Instead, Ebus gripped the wrapping of cloth he was carrying tighter and started his descent toward the lake. He kept staring at the tree hiding Rabam even as he gave the bundle to his grandma. ¡°Sheep roast beef with¡­ Stuff. The usual.¡± ¡°Thank you, dear,¡± she said, apparently oblivious to the situation, but her hands visibly trembled as she unwrapped the wooden container that held the food. Ebus stepped toward the trees and crossed his arms. ¡°Come out, Rabam.¡± He stepped aside, keeping a hand on the trunk. He stared back at him, unsure of what came next. ¡°Why the fuck are you going around the mountain helping a traitor when you should stay in exile?¡± ¡°Easy to say, for you.¡± Ebus unhooked his arms and stepped forward. Rabam didn''t know what to expect, so he just stepped closer to the tree and braced himself. The hug took him by surprise, even if a part of him had hoped for it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about Milvia. We should have understood earlier what was going on in Lausune.¡± Rabam shook his head and hugged him tighter. They stayed like that for a bit, then Ebus pulled away. ¡°You should go back to Namuri before they find you.¡± ¡°I need to do some things inside the village. Don''t try to stop me. If you alert the sentinels, I will try until they capture me. Even if they might kill me.¡± ¡°They won''t kill you, they would probably just send you in exile again.¡± ¡°There are rules¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re old. Times have changed.¡± Rabam shook his head. ¡°I went too far this time.¡± ¡°Which is why you shouldn''t do anything else!¡± ¡°Lower your voice,¡± Lakam said. ¡°You''re scaring the fish.¡± They both turned to look at her. She had put the food aside and was now fishing. Ebus sighed, bringing his attention back to Rabam. ¡°Why are you even doing all of this?¡± he asked, almost whispering. Rabam retracted his hand from the tree and stood straighter. ¡°Saia was right. The secrets and divisions kept by the monks are unfair.¡± ¡°If you thought that, why did you become a sentinel? Why didn''t you ask to leave the monks as soon as you knew you wanted to be with Milvia?¡± ¡°Because then I couldn''t see you, or mom, or grandma, or our dads. Or do you think it was fair that we couldn''t see each other for two years? That they could kill me if I said a word in edgewise?¡± Ebus didn''t say anything despite seeming ready to reply. He was so serious that Rabam couldn''t tell whether he was changing his mind or doubling down on his opinions. ¡°Since you''re so confused about your priorities, Ebus, tell me something,¡± Lakam said without turning her head. ¡°What if Cailes had been exiled? Would you have stayed?¡± Ebus sighed. ¡°It depends on what he did to deserve that.¡± ¡°What if he was from the villages below, would you have held back?¡± Ebus turned and made some steps toward her, until he could stare at her face. ¡°You don''t seem surprised about him being here. You already knew he would visit you.¡± ¡°I was surprised the first time, but it was a long time ago.¡± Ebus looked at Rabam, then back at his grandma. ¡°You''re involved in this?¡± ¡°Of course. And you should have been too.¡± Ebus returned to the tree. ¡°What are you here for?¡± ¡°I don''t want to hurt anyone, if that''s what you want to know.¡± ¡°I want to know everything.¡± ¡°To tell the sentinels?¡± ¡°To help you, ratbrain. I don''t know what you want to achieve, but I can''t see you thrown into a cell again.¡± Rabam gave him a quick smile and stepped away from the tree. ¡°I need to gather some information and take a book. More than one book, maybe.¡± ¡°Information about what?¡± ¡°What do the priors intend to do after what happened? How will they attack Vizena?¡± Ebus inclined his head. ¡°You''re well informed. Nobody knows for sure, though. The abbot, the priors and the older sentinels are having a meeting after another in the temple, but nobody else can assist.¡± Rabam nodded. ¡°I need to enter, then. I need to know exactly what they''re talking about.¡± ¡°You barely know how to enter the village,¡± Lakam pointed out. ¡°I still have my plan, but I need someone on the inside to distract the sentinels,¡± Rabam said, looking at Ebus ¡°It depends on how many I need to distract.¡± ¡°Two. The ones near the pool. I need them to go away for a bit.¡± ¡°Don''t tell me you''re going to enter from the tunnel.¡± ¡°Don''t worry about that.¡± ¡°It''s so fucking dangerous.¡± ¡°It will be way more dangerous if there are two guards waiting for me on the other side. We need to find a way to make them leave the room.¡± ¡°Oh, I know how to do that.¡± Ebus put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Focus on staying alive. I''ll think about the rest.¡± The two sentinels entered the kitchen before the beginning of their turn. They were young, because the older ones needed to rest after the meetings and in anticipation of the attack. Ebus had already prepared their midnight meal while two of his colleagues focused on finalising their own experimental dishes. He gave them the food wrapped in paper as they laughed and joked with each other. He felt a bit of guilt at the idea that his actions might ruin the levity with which they talked. But if he could still speak to his brother after abandoning him in the moment when he needed him most, their friendship had a chance to survive too. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. They left, and he took his time cleaning the wooden table on which he had worked the whole evening. He had time until midnight, and then he needed to act fast, before Rabam emerged from the water of the pool. Not having a way to signal him when to act unnerved him. He helped his colleagues and they all left together. He headed toward his and Cailes¡¯s room, then made a detour toward the pool. There was a storage room nearby with the necessary tools to clean the pool and scrub its walls. He entered the small space and kept the door slightly ajar, one hand on the handle. He heard distant laughs and recognized the voices of the two sentinels. He waited a bit more, past the midnight chime bells. They eventually stopped talking, the sound of their voices replaced by the tearing of the paper package in which he had wrapped their meal. It was two simple pieces of breath with meat, with a container of his best red sauce on the side. He had chosen it specifically for two reasons: first, everyone liked it, more or less secretly depending on how much weight their culinary taste had on their reputation; second, a good sentinel always checked their food to catch traces of someone else''s viss before eating. But even good sentinels often forgot to check the sauce. He waited as the silence stretched in the corridors. Finally, he heard their voices again, which meant that they had finished eating. He closed the door, then his eyes, relaxing his back against the wall. He started counting under his breath, thinking about the emotions contained in the viss he¡¯d given them. The sauce needed to be digested before they were assimilated by the body, influencing the sentinels¡¯ viss. He¡¯d thought about making them fall asleep, but when they¡¯d wake up they''d know they had been manipulated and who the possible culprit could be. So he had decided to use the opposite strategy and put extremely agitated viss in the sauce, helped by the constant worry for his brother. The voices reprised, a bit louder than they had been, a bit unstable, until they turned outright hostile. The sentinels started arguing out loud, uncaring of the late hour. Ebus heard doors further down the corridor open, and he almost cursed out loud. He didn''t need more people around. After two last shouts, there was silence, then heavy steps left the pool toward the opposite end of the corridor. Ebus waited in silence, breathing slowly. He heard the doors gradually close, the remaining sentinel step around the room. In addition to the agitation, there was a hint of guilt, another thing that was easy to feel when thinking about Rabam. Unfortunately, he couldn¡¯t control which sentinel would be influenced the most. He could only hope that the one in the pool room would be the most affected, or he''d have to improvise. He was startled when the sentinel in the room screamed ''Wait!'' and ran out. The steps stopped, then reprised toward the end of the corridor, until Ebus couldn''t hear them anymore. He waited for some instants, breathing hard, then detached himself from the wall and took a mop from the tools in the closet. He carefully stepped out, checking the corridor in both directions as he approached the pool. He stepped closer to the water and looked in, but it was empty and still at the light of the torches. He swallowed his worries and stepped back toward the entrance, holding the mop like a weapon, even if that couldn''t save him if the sentinels came back. Rabam broke the surface of the water and gripped the shore. ¡°Fuck,¡± he yelled, then laid down panting. ¡°What''s the matter, dear?¡± his grandma asked. She had insisted to stay past sleep time, telling the sentinel who came to look for her that she wanted to fish some more, all while Rabam hid in the forest. He rested his face on his arm. The wind bit the half of him that was laying on the mud, while the cold water of the lake froze the rest. ¡°They added a grate.¡± Rabam touched his forehead where he had hit the cold grid of metal. Judging by how small the holes were, it was put there to block snakes. Not that he could be sure, since he had swum in the dark, trusting his touch and the memories of the many practice sessions he had made before meeting Saia. The light only started near the end of the tunnel, close to the pool, and it wasn''t much. He suspected it became brighter the closer he got to the pool, but he never went that far. He heaved himself out of the water. ¡°What now?¡± his grandma asked, still sitting in her chair with fingers crossed on her belly. Rabam sat down on the grass, some steps away from the small torch planted on the ground she used to light the area. ¡°I¡¯ve failed. Again.¡± He took the neck of his tunic in his palm and sent his viss into the pattern made of purple string. The heat irradiated from his chest and stopped his shivering. ¡°I asked you ¡®what now¡¯, dear. Your brother is waiting for you.¡± ¡°There''s nothing I can do. I didn''t think of that, I''ve hit it with a stone but it doesn''t break. It¡¯s not that resistant, but I¡¯m not strong enough. There¡¯s just a bit of air at the very top, it¡¯s difficult to move while straining like that.¡± ¡°Then find another way in. Tell Ebus that you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°I don''t know. But if you don''t come out of that pool he''ll get in trouble and think that you¡¯re dead, and when he¡¯ll find out the truth he''ll never speak to you again. And forget about asking for his help.¡± ¡°Getting myself captured would be worse for both.¡± ¡°So you''ll just wait? Sit here and sulk? I don''t know how you ever thought you could hurt the monks, with that attitude. Maybe it would be better if they just captured you.¡± ¡°I know. But I don''t know what to do.¡± ¡°Either you think a bit more or you get brave fast. Ebus is waiting for you, and if one of you must get captured, it shouldn''t be him.¡± Rabam felt his agitation rise and his body becoming uncomfortably warmer. He realized he was sending the tunic more viss than necessary and retracted his hand. He looked at the purple dot, thinking about the pattern sewn on the inside of his clothes. He stood and took out his carving knife. He was aware of the curious gaze of his grandma while he walked up to a tree and cut out a low branch that seemed thick enough. He walked back to his backpack, took out his spare tunic and turned it inside out. He sat close to the torch, his back to the mountain. In the remote chance a sentinel looked toward lake Naurbi, they would have known there was someone else there besides the fisher, but he needed light to work. What he was trying to accomplish was already hard enough. He put the pinky of his hand on top of the dot, pushing his viss into it, then moved the cloth around with his other fingers. ¡°What are you doing, now?¡± his grandma asked. ¡°I can weaken the grate, maybe.¡± He felt the cloth become warmer under his hands as he twisted it, moving the pattern too. He scrunched some lines together, bent some others and kept them in place with stones, trying to follow the general principles of magic from the very basic lessons he¡¯d taken as a sentinel, years before. Mostly, he let the warmth guide him, replicating the twists that made it more intense. The cloth became so hot it was painful to hold down, so he wore Saia¡¯s glove to handle it, even if it made his movements awkward. A flame started at one extremity of the pattern. He patted it down, careful not to ruin the work he¡¯d made up to that point. ¡°Should be hot enough,¡± he mumbled, taking the cylinder of wood in one hand and the carving knife in the other. He started to copy the pattern onto a cylinder of wood cut from the branch, creating grooves instead of using a string. Normally there were calculations to be made to make sure the pattern was the same when taken from a relatively flat surface to the round shape of the cylinder, but he''d had enough practice with statues to make a rough estimate. It wasn''t the kind of pattern that required extreme precision, at least, or it wouldn''t have ever worked on the moving cloth of the tunics. ¡°Can I have one of your needles?¡± he asked. His grandma nodded again and pointed at her bag. She had more than one needle, both to mend clothes and attach plumes to her bait. He took the longest one he could find and forced it inside an extremity of the cylinder of wood, rotating it so that it would stick. He finished carving the grooves all around it, adding some lines he¡¯d seen on the binoculars, that could amplify the effect of an already existing pattern. He wished it was enough to give it the intensity he needed. He wished he''d studied magic a lot more. ¡°You''ll burn your hand¡±, his grandma commented. ¡°I¡¯ll use the glove,¡± he said. ¡°And the effect should be all focused on the tip.¡± He got up too fast and his head spun. ¡°Come here,¡± his grandma said. He stepped closer and she took his hand. He felt a surge of new viss slithering through his skin. ¡°You wasted a lot of energy. Be careful this time.¡± He nodded, already feeling a bit better. He put away the carved wood and needle into his deep pockets with the carving knife, made sure that the backpack was well hidden in the grass, then turned to face the lake. He took several deep breaths while he advanced into the freezing water up to his neck, then a last one before plunging into the depths. He went down, kicking with his legs and feeling the water in front of him with his hand. He touched the bottom of mud and pushed on it to propel himself forward, up to the point where it gave way to stone and dropped down for several armlengths. He descended some more, gripping the stones of the vertical wall, until he felt a void. The tunnel was large enough to let a person through, and from what he''d seen the size remained the same until the end. He pushed and kicked the ceiling to move forward faster, a hand always in front of him to catch the grate. His fingers bumped against the metal. He gripped it and pushed himself up, until his face scraped against the ceiling. There was a small layer of air there, probably the reason why the monks thought it was safer to build the grate in that spot. He took out the tool he''d made and gripped it tight for fear it would slip, since he couldn¡¯t feel it well with the glove on. He sent his viss forward until the wood felt uncomfortably hot, then put the tip of the needle against the base of one of the bars of metal that composed the grate. He increased the flux of viss gradually, the tip of the needle glowing slightly orange in the dark. Once he felt that the metal in that spot was hot enough, he hit it with a stone. It took two more tries to uproot it, three small bars detaching from the rock. He found out they hadn¡¯t been secured inside holes, but just stuck tightly there, so the grate wasn¡¯t as stable as it looked. Displacing two more bars on the opposite side was even easier, and then he just kicked and hit the grate until it slid out of place with a scraping sound. He breathed deeply as he put away his tools, fumbling in the dark. His lungs were burning, but he swam on anyways, knowing that the end of the tunnel was close. The penumbra became a light overhead. He kicked in its direction until he broke the surface of the pool with a huge breath, too exhausted to care about the sentinels. He flailed weakly when someone took him by the back of his tunic, then calmed down in recognizing Ebus''s voice. ¡°Out of the pool, quickly.¡± He found the border and pulled himself up with his brother''s help. Ebus lightly pushed him toward the entrance. ¡°Storage room to the left.¡± He put a mop down as he spoke, absorbing the drops of water and the footprints Rabam was leaving behind. He found a room with the door slightly ajar and entered. In the small space before the pile of tools, he saw a folded tunic and a large towel. He dried and changed himself, then waited for Ebus with his forehead against the wall and his eyes closed. He didn''t dare to sit for fear of dozing off. Ebus entered shortly after. ¡°They''re coming back, so we have to wait a bit before leaving. Why did it take you so long?¡± ¡°There was a grate.¡± That reminded him of the tools in his tunic''s pocket. He transferred them into the new one''s, then bundled his old clothes inside the wet towel. Ebus checked the corridor. ¡°Looks like they''re back into the room. Follow me from a distance, so I can distract anyone we might meet before they see you.¡± Rabam waited for him to be halfway through the corridor before stepping softly behind him. The walk from the pool to Ebus and Cailes''s room wasn''t long. His brother ushered him through the door and closed it behind him. Seeing the inside of their room again sent him a wave of nostalgia. He¡¯d always appreciated how much space they had at disposal, enough for a large bed, a drawer that looked ancient in an elegant way, and a desk under the little square window that gave to the outside. Cailes was sitting in front of it with the back to the door, so he didn''t see Rabam until he turned to greet Ebus. His smile disappeared and he sprang up. ¡°Rabam?¡± he asked, looking at Ebus. ¡°Yes. I didn''t want him to get captured, so I''m helping him.¡± ¡°Help doing what? Why am I learning of this just now?¡± ¡°I need books and some information, then I''ll leave,¡± Rabam said. ¡°I don''t want to put you in danger more than I''m already doing.¡± ¡°Why do you need it?¡± Rabam lowered his head. ¡°I can''t tell you, sorry.¡± Cailes''s accusing gaze turned to Ebus. ¡°He risks a lot if they capture him, this time. The abbot is furious and we''re all scared that what happened with Saia will happen again.¡± ¡°Precisely why you shouldn''t be helping him. Giving him anything will bring us back to that situation, and we might lose everything this time.¡± Ebus looked lost on what to say. He nodded, eyes to the floor. ¡°You''re right, but we can''t have him captured.¡± ¡°We should at least stop helping him.¡± ¡°You knew me, Cailes,¡± Rabam said. ¡°I¡¯m the same person. I was exiled because I¡¯d fallen in love and didn''t want to abandon my family, and when the abbot and the priors exiled me they decided to send me away from both. And now Mili''s dead.¡± Cailes''s expression softened a bit. ¡°I know you''re not a bad person, but they''ve seen you dealing with Saia after she betrayed us.¡± ¡°She only wanted to save her family.¡± ¡°That''s not true. She took the power and left without even touching Vizena, and now we know she was involved too.¡± Rabam stared at him with his mouth half-open, realizing how many things they didn''t know, how much more he couldn''t tell them. ¡°If they capture him because I didn''t help him today, I''ll never live it down,¡± Ebus said. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°So you''ll do everything he asks you to?¡± ¡°No. I''ll never talk to him again after this is over. But today I have to fix what I did two years ago.¡± ¡°You failed to consider me in this decision. It''s a huge risk you''re asking me to take.¡± ¡°I know and I appreciate it immensely. I''ll make it up to you somehow.¡± ¡°¡®Somehow¡¯ means food, right?¡± Ebus made a tentative smile. ¡°Mostly.¡± Cailes sighed in a mockingly exasperated way. When he looked at Rabam, his eyes were sharp again. ¡°I¡¯ll be helping you because you''re my husband''s brother and part of my family. Don''t betray our trust or I''ll swear I''ll do everything I can to make you pay.¡± Rabam could only answer with a quick nod. He eyed the soft rug in front of the bed. ¡°Not so fast,¡± Cailes said. ¡°I want to know what your plan is to take the stuff you need. They need to know who you are to give you books from the library.¡± ¡°I can take the books,¡± Ebus said, earning a glare. Rabam looked around the room. ¡°Do you have some makeup?¡± Cailes nodded and pointed at one of the desk''s drawers. ¡°Mostly basic stuff for the ceremonies.¡± He stopped for a moment, looking thoughtful. ¡°Do you plan to hide with that?¡± Rabam shrugged. ¡°I don''t know yet. I''m trying to come up with something.¡± Cailes opened the drawers and started to take out pillows and sheets. ¡°That''s all we have.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, I''m used to sleeping in the forest.¡± Cailes gave him a weirded out look, then sighed. ¡°I wish the abbot had accepted to let you live in Lausune. This whole situation is fucked up.¡± The second Rabam took the pillow and sheet, all the energies in his body left him. He laid down in a bundle of cloth as he tried to come up with an answer to Cailes¡¯s comment, but he was asleep before he could think of one. 4.10 - The arena Irim¨¦ze¡¯s arena was on the second level, a detail that surprised Saia. ¡°Wind spirits never liked herlamis,¡± Serit explained as they stepped forward with the rest of the line. ¡°So they only allowed the arena to be built on the second level, far enough from their houses at the bottom that they didn''t hear the cheers.¡± Saia nodded and looked up at the curving walls of the arena. They were built with sturdy wood, dark and levigated, with a coat of transparent paint making it shine in the light of the numerous sphere-lamps scattered at the base of the building. ¡°Our arena is one of the most beautiful ones in the world,¡± Serit said, smiling wide. ¡°And I guess the fact that you live here doesn''t have anything to with this opinion.¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± they answered, seemingly blind to her sarcasm. ¡°Visitors come here often to see it. You''ll immediately understand why once we''re in.¡± They finally reached the end of the line and entered a small room with a desk in front of the opposite wall from the entrance. Four functionaries sitting at the desk exchanged the spectators¡¯ coins for pieces of rough wine-colored cloth that had a number sewn onto it. Two guards observed the exchanges, while four more kept watch on the two doorways that opened at the sides of the desk. Serit bought two tickets with eight coins. They were slightly different from vissins: first of all, they didn''t have the mountain depicted on one side, but one of the ten symbols she¡¯d seen on the doorways in the temple that led to the deities¡¯ rooms. They were also larger and less thick. The functionary didn''t seem to give that much weight to the fact Saia was a human as she handed her a piece of cloth. Then the tips of her fingers accidentally grazed his hand and his eyes widened. She quickly followed Serit toward one of the doors, mentally cursing for forgetting that her hands were as cold as stone. On the other side there was a small elevator and a wooden staircase coiling around it. They got to the top and found themselves outside, on the stands of the arena. It was evening and the city was already immersed in the dark despite the orange hues of the sky beyond its walls, to the point a group of staff members holding portable lanterns escorted the spectators toward their seats. Serit didn¡¯t wait for someone to approach them, instead taking out a small sphere-lamp from a pocket, so small it could be held in their palm. They checked the number on their cloth and started walking with confidence along the seats, which were nothing more than stairs of wood curving at regular intervals to accommodate the spectators. There were numbers engraved next to each seat and painted in gold. They finally reached their adjacent seats and sat down. Saia saw Serit''s smirk and examined the rest of the arena, looking for what they were expecting her to see. The square area at the bottom was perfectly illuminated, and at first glance Saia hadn''t asked herself why. Now that she was focusing on it, she realized it was a field of fog: it was similar to the one she''d seen near the ceiling of the central room of the temple, but ten times denser. The players walking on it seemed to be standing on a void, the fog moving under their feet in slithering tendrils. The light was enough to illuminate their whole bodies, but not so intense that it was painful to watch. Not that it would have been painful for her anyways. The players seemingly suspended on air and the swirls of the fog gave the scene a dreamy quality. ¡°I think I get it now,¡± she said. Serit''s smirk became bigger. ¡°The floor is made of glass. They have special shoes that allow them to run without slipping.¡± ¡°And the fog?¡± ¡°It''s just regular sprites, but in extremely large quantities.¡± ¡°Sprites?¡± Serit''s eyes widened, as if realizing only at that moment she didn''t know what they were talking about. ¡°Wind sprites, to be specific.¡± ¡°What are they?¡± Serit looked like they were about to launch on an explanation, but a movement from the stands caught their attention. ¡°I¡¯ll explain at home.¡± They pointed at one spot on the other side of the arena. ¡°Look, the narrators.¡± Saia noticed a large platform jutting out of the stands and hovering on that side of the field like a balcony. It was well illuminated, with four large spheres at the corners of the engraved wooden handrail. The narrators were two men dressed in the colors of their respective teams. They stepped onto the balcony side by side, greeting the spectators by raising their cupped hands multiple times. They turned toward each other and repeated the gesture, then stood in position in front of the handrail, several armlengths of space between them. The crowd cheered. ¡°The team in purple and pink is H¨¦she¡¯s, the Twilight Doves. The ones in blue and black are the Midnight Cormorants.¡± ¡°Why birds?¡± Serit shrugged. ¡°Tradition. It¡¯s not unusual for the teams of a city to have a common theme for their names.¡± The field was divided in two by a white line made brighter by the fog that shifted beneath it. Two long benches had been placed next to each side, and the people who occupied them all wore clothes with the same colors, staff and players both. They roamed their side of the field, exercising or talking to each other, until another person dressed in green and gold entered the arena from a wide doorway just under the narrators¡¯ balcony. Apparently it was the signal for everyone to take position, the colors of the two teams mixing as some players crossed the line at the center of the field to join the opposite side. Each half had a circle at the center: the one on the left, where most of the Twilight Doves were, was delimitated by a bright purple line, while the right one had a dark blue one. ¡°They''re bringing in the h¨¦rve. Balls, without the double meaning it has in your language,¡± Serit said. Two members of the staff stepped onto the balcony, each with a full bag on their shoulders. They put them down next to each narrator and left. ¡°Now there''s the setup. Usually the narrators of the two teams decide together in advance what they''re going to say, and the match doesn''t get played until they both agree.¡± They were about to add something, but the narrator of the Doves took out an object from his long robe. The whole arena went silent while he put it in front of his mouth. The shape vaguely reminded Saia of an ocarina. ¡°Welcome, my dear spectators.¡± The voice sounded near and not strained, as if he was talking from the bottom row of the stands in front of Saia and not from the other side of a three-towerlengths wide arena. ¡°Today I¡¯ll be narrating the story of Han¨¦, a young huntress from the city of Nerm¨¦ze, with rainbow waterfalls falling from the sky.¡± ¡°The first narrator introduces the main character of their team and the setting," Serit quickly whispered. The second narrator took out another ocarina-like object. ¡°And I''m here to narrate the story of Sanon, an old guard who needs to find the only egg of the legendary bird of crystal.¡± ¡°The second one introduces their team''s protagonist and the common goal of both characters.¡± Two players, one from each team, had left their position to approach the stands. Each narrator took a piece of cloth from their respective bag and let it fall toward their player. When they wore it Saia saw it was a short cape that only covered the shoulders, pink for the Twilight Doves, black for the Midnight Cormorants. They both had a big golden dot sewn at the center. ¡°Good choice,¡± Serit said. ¡°They are the players who represent the protagonists. Usually the best attackers.¡± The players returned to their places. Some staff members in green lined up at regular distances along the borders, while the one dressed in green and gold jogged toward the center of the field. ¡°The refer¨¦e,¡± Serit explained. ¡°Now the first narrator, the Doves¡¯, will choose which ball to play first. Oh, it''s a gray one,¡± they added, as the man let it fall from the border of the balcony onto the field. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The refer¨¦e screamed: ¡°Gray,¡± then positioned the ball in the center of the field and whistled with another small device. The players started running. The Dove that reached the ball first kicked it, but the teammate it was headed toward was anticipated by an opponent. She hit the ball with the head, then took it with both hands. She started to run away, but another Dove touched her shoulder and she stopped in her tracks. ¡°One,¡± the refer¨¦e shouted while the woman looked around at her moving teammates. ¡°Two.¡± The player threw the ball toward another Cormorant, who tried to run away with it. The refere¨¦ started counting from one even if no opponent had touched him. ¡°Two important rules,¡± Serit explained, eyes peeled on the action. ¡°First, if an adversary touches you, you have three seconds to pass the ball or it goes to the other team. Second, the opponents can¡¯t touch the player who receives the ball for three seconds, no matter which team they belong to.¡± A Dove intercepted the ball and ran between two opponents, headed toward the purple circle to the left. ¡°And he has to put the ball there?¡± Saia asked, pointing at it. ¡°Yes and no. Each team can score in both circles and they get a point anyway, but it determines which narrator will speak next and how the story¡­Yes!¡± They screamed, jumping up. The player had made a swift passage to another teammate, who had then slammed the ball down inside the circle before anyone could interfere. While the purple team cheered, together with at least half of the spectators, the ball was kicked back to the narrator. Serit sat down. ¡°As I was saying, each ball has a color that determines an event in the story. Gray ones are neutral, the narrator can expand on the story but not add events that are connected to other colors. The ball was launched by the purple narrator and the team scored on the purple circle, so he gets to continue his story. If it had scored on the other circle, they still would have gotten the point but it would have been the other narrator''s turn.¡± ¡°What if the Cormorants had scored on the purple circle?¡± ¡°Their narrator would still speak next, but the point would go to the Cormorants. Same thing if the Doves had scored in the blue circle: they''d get the point, but the ball would be discarded and the blue narrator would choose the next one.¡± ¡°Without narrating?¡± Serit shook their head. ¡°Only when the ball they throw scores on their circle.¡± The narrator put the ball aside and raised the voice amplifier again. ¡°Han¨¦ wanted to sell the egg to the best offerer and become rich enough to stop working for the rest of her life. Once she finally had enough money to buy the equipment, she set out to climb the city''s walls.¡± ¡°Bold,¡± Serit commented. ¡°Usually narrators try hard to make their characters¡¯ motivations as sympathetic as possible. When they don''t, they''re usually planning a change of heart during the narration, but they might not have enough chances to make it happen in a way that¡¯s believable.¡± The purple narrator took out a green ball and let it fall onto the refer¨¦e¡¯s hands. ¡°Green means new character,¡± Serit said as the refer¨¦e shouted the color. They tensed as the Cormorants were about to score, but when a player threw the ball toward the green circle, a Dove jumped to push it instead. Serit cheered. ¡°It''s the last person to touch the ball before it goes into the circle that counts,¡± they said. The ball was discarded and the Cormorant¡¯s narrator took another one, green again this time. ¡°He''ll try that too. Makes sense.¡± This time, it was the blue team to score in their own circle. The ball was kicked back to the narrator. ¡°He started his voyage toward the top of the city, where the rainbow waterfall begins. There was an inn there, and a man who had fought with him in the War of the Thousand Fogs¡­¡± A cheer gradually emerged among those in the public who were siding with the Cormorants, blue cloth wrapped around their necks. It became louder as the narrator described the character. ¡°They already know him?¡± Saia asked. ¡°We all do,¡± Serit said somberly. ¡°Usually when narrators add a secondary character, they choose it from the ones that were already used in previous matches of the team.¡± ¡°¡­ and he decided to help his comrade,¡± the narrator continued. ¡°After a night of celebration, they left together in the morning.¡± He stopped until the cheering subsided, then said a word that Saia didn''t understand. She was about to ask Serit, when one of the Cormorants left his position to approach the border of the field. A staff member gave him a short cape similar to the ones worn by the protagonists of both teams, but without the golden circle or line in the center. ¡°What does it mean?¡± Serit sighed. ¡°That their chances of scoring just redoubled. You''ll understand why in a bit.¡± The player went back to his position near the purple circle. The narrator took out another gray ball and threw it to the refer¨¦e. ¡°Why not a green one?¡± ¡°They have to play a gray ball after the ones of other colors, or pass the turn to the other narrator. Plus, they have infinite gray h¨¦rve but only three for each of the other types.¡± This time, the Doves immediately took possession of the ball. It went back and forth between the circles for a bit before the Doves scored on the purple one. After a brief description of how his protagonist was camping near the fountain and dreaming about her family in another city, the Dove narrator played another green ball. His team was noticeably more aggressive in their attacks, to the point the refer¨¦e stopped the match to give them a penalty. The Cormorants received the ball and started playing again from the halfway line of the field. Still, it was a purple score on the purple circle. ¡°Amidst dreams of her family,¡± the narrator started even before receiving the ball again. ¡°She sensed a presence watching her in the night. She opened her eyes and saw a person come out from behind the pink waterfall, a woman with two big gray wings and ears similar to the ones of a donkey.¡± Serit held their breath for an instant. Saia tried hard to pretend she wasn''t interested, but the truth was that she couldn¡¯t help but wonder what would happen once the characters of the two teams met, and how she could copy both story and game in her diary without it seeming a fever dream. When the game resumed with a gray ball from the purple narrator, she asked Serit information about that character. ¡°It''s a new one, but he did something interesting with it,¡± Serit explained, without tearing their eyes away from the game. ¡°Those creatures with wings and long ears were introduced by the third narrator in the entire history of the team, but no one ever expanded on them despite fans'' requests. No narrator of the Twilight Doves has ever dared to touch the only character we got of that type, the expectations are too high.¡± Saia nodded and returned her attention to the match. For the first time since the start of the game, she was hoping for someone to score on the purple circle, no matter which team it was, to hear more from the Doves'' narrator. The players behaved as if they had heard her thoughts. Both teams hovered around the purple circle, making an attempt to score after another. Until a Cormorant caught the ball and sprinted to the other side of the field, where the small number of defenders wasn''t enough to prevent her from scoring in the blue circle. The blue portion of the crowd cheered, but it was more subdued than usual. Saia guessed the Doves weren¡¯t the only ones wishing for their narrator to speak again. The Cormorants¡¯ narrator made a quick interjection on how his protagonist and the other main character reached the top of the city, then took out a purple ball. ¡°So soon?¡± Serit said. ¡°Purple introduces the end of the story, by the way. If they score, the protagonist will make an attempt at reaching the goal. If they succeed they have to score again with the copper ball, then the match ends. But they can only score in their own circle.¡± Meanwhile, the ball was being thrown in a corner of the field, the Doves trying to push it away from both circles. Their efforts were disrupted when a Cormorant threw it over their heads to a teammate, who then slipped between two defenders and scored in the blue circle. Serit swore, their words drowned by the crowds¡¯ disappointment. ¡°I hope they make it interesting, at least.¡± ¡°They arrived at the top of the city,¡± the narrator said, ¡°And found a cave where the pink water came out of the wall of rock. They walked along the stream, up to the end of the cave. Once there, they found the origin of the waterfall: it was the egg of crystal, abandoned by its mother centuries ago.¡± They took a copper ball and threw it. Serit held their breath and bent forward, elbows on legs. The match was moving again toward the right side of the field, with both teams pressed against the circle. A purple player stepped back by mistake, foot on the other side of the line. ¡°Penalty,¡± Serit said through their teeth in the exact moment the refer¨¦e announced it. They restarted some arms lengths from the circle, with the ball in the blue team''s hands. Serit crossed both hands over their mouth and squeezed tight. The ball flew over the circle multiple times, and in the end a Cormorant smashed it down. Saia expected them to stop as it had happened all the other times someone had scored, but they kept playing as if nothing had happened. She looked at Serit, then turned her head toward them so that they would know she was looking at them. ¡°Only the characters can score when there¡¯s a purple ball on the line,¡± they said. As if on cue, the purple player with the mantel of the protagonist took the ball and sprinted toward the purple circle. A Cormorant touched him, forcing him to pass the ball to a teammate. They threw it back and forth with enough ability that the blue defenders struggled to anticipate them. In the end, the Doves¡¯ protagonist scored in the purple circle. The purple ball went to the Doves¡¯ narrator. Serit sat straighter with a sigh. ¡°With a purple or copper ball, in case of failure the other narrator gets to say why the attempt failed.¡± ¡°Before they could take the egg, a cry arrived from the entrance of the cave. The crystal bird flew down to take away their prize.¡± He took out a blue ball and threw it without hesitation. ¡°Killing,¡± Serit said. ¡°It works exactly like a purple ball. If the Doves score, they can kill a secondary character. If they want to kill the protagonist, a golden ball is played, and if they succeed again the game ends.¡± They didn''t get that far. The Cormorants scored on the purple circle, forcing the Doves¡¯ narrator to play a gray ball. As the match went on, the purple team''s protagonist captured the bird with her huntress skills, wondering about the morality of killing a parent to get their offspring. The other protagonist had time to remember the war with his veteran before the bird killed him. Then he met the other two characters, and a fight ensued over the egg. The last ball was a purple one played by the Cormorants. The Doves scored on blue, closing the match in disadvantage. ¡°They agreed on letting the egg stay with the soldier,¡± the Cormorants narrator said, looking at the Doves¡¯ narrator to catch any sign of disapproval. He was nodding. ¡°The egg would be housed in the center of the city, for everyone to drink at its waters, bringing him and his dead companion glory for eternity.¡± He raised his cupped hands and lowered his head to acknowledge the applause that followed. ¡°The huntress left the city,¡± the other narrator said. ¡°Because being with her family was all she actually wanted, and they would have loved her even if she had failed to bring them riches.¡± The cheer was even stronger, and then continued while the two teams paraded along the field before leaving the arena. ¡°As you can see the score is a little less important than the story, especially for H¨¦she.¡± Serit stood in the dark of the tribune and took out their portable lamp. ¡°The players have to know what to prioritize. Knowing in which circle to score is important: making the character fail before they succeed increases empathy, and they can score in the opponent''s circle to increase the suspense or give time to their narrator to think.¡± They started walking toward the illuminated exit of the stands, holding the lantern as if they actually thought Saia needed its light to see. ¡°So, what do you think?¡± They asked once they were outside, out of the crowd. ¡°Have you changed your mind?¡± Saia couldn''t admit she felt less certain than before to their smug face. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her,¡± she said. ¡°There must be something I can offer.¡± 4.11 - Infiltration Rabam spent the whole day making calculations at the desk. He was so engrossed in what he was doing he only remembered to eat the soup his brother had left him halfway through the afternoon. Then the door started opening and he could only hide by jumping behind the bed, thinking for a foolish moment it was a sentinel coming to arrest him. Luckily, it was Cailes. ¡°I have the books,¡± he said, raising them over his head. ¡°A copy of the list of gods and something on ancient history.¡± Rabam took them. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Ebus will bring you food after he finishes preparing dinner. I¡¯ll have to leave in a couple of hours, do you need help with your disguise in the meantime?¡± ¡°Yes, I would appreciate it a lot. I have an idea on how to find out what they''re saying at the meetings, but I fear that some of the sentinels would recognize me.¡± ¡°You should start by cutting your hair and beard.¡± Rabam reflexively touched them. ¡°I¡­ hadn''t thought about it.¡± Cailes approached the wardrobe and took out a mirror, a basin, a razor and a small jar of homemade shaving cream. Rabam took the basin and filled it with water from one of the bottles scattered all around the room. He waited for Cailes to find all the tools, looking down at his own reflection. The beard was something new from after the exile, inspired by the fashion of Elgen and the western villages. The hair... He raised a strand in front of his face and examined the loose curls. Mili used to love them. He closed his eyes, trying to remember how her hands felt between his locks. He let go of the strand, out of breath for trying to hold in the sudden pain. He gripped the borders of the table and breathed slowly until it subsided to a distant thought and no more memories were resurfacing to the front of his mind. Then, he took the scissors that Cailes was handing him and began hacking at his hair. ¡°There you go,¡± Cailes said, stepping back with a small brush between his fingers. Rabam had been looking insistently in the mirror for the past hour, as if a part of him feared that losing sight of his transformation would have turned his reflection into a stranger. Even now, after Cailes had helped him fix his hair and make-up, it was easy to lose track of his actual facial traits. The door creaked again. He tensed, then heard the slow rolling of a cart and turned his head. ¡°Here''s the food, as requested,¡± Ebus said, closing the door behind him. The cart barely fit between the bed and the wall. ¡°There''s no way I could have prepared thirty of them in secret, so only the ones on the top are real.¡± He saw Rabam and froze, squinted, then laughed. ¡°Amazing! I couldn''t recognize you.¡± He stepped closer and leaned forward with his hands on his knees to get at the level of Rabam¡¯s face. ¡°You look like one of those fanatics that put up the Founding Anniversary decorations two months in advance.¡± Rabam felt the tension break and laughed too. He stood to hug his brother, then approached the cart to examine what he had prepared. The cart had three trays completely occupied by bundles of cloth. He opened one at the top: a piece of flat bread wrapped around slices of meat and vegetables. The bundles on the other trays, instead, only contained more cloth. ¡°It''s more than enough,¡± he said. ¡°Thank you.¡± He grabbed the cart''s handle, then turned to look at Cailes. ¡°I know I''m asking a lot,¡± he began, uncertain on how to ask. Cailes sighed. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°Could you put the books in the forest? If everything goes well I''ll leave tonight through the tunnel and I can''t take them with me.¡± Cailes nodded. Rabam told him how to find the tree in which to leave them, so that he could pick them up later without the sentinels noticing. ¡°They have to be returned in two weeks,¡± Cailes said. ¡°Or I''ll get in trouble.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come back before then and give them to grandma.¡± Ebus opened the door and checked that there weren''t monks outside. ¡°Go,¡± he whispered. Rabam pushed the cart out of the room. He kept going along the corridor, blood rushing in his ears. It became almost painful when he heard steps coming in his direction from the opposite side. He was tempted to turn into a side corridor, even if it meant taking a longer path to the temple. But he''d have to talk to someone, eventually. It could be a good chance to test whether his disguise was working. He didn''t glance at the monk that was approaching from the other side, keeping his eyes fixed on a spot further ahead. He knew from the angle of the person¡¯s head that they were looking at him. One second and it was over, the steps continuing further behind him. He made a deep breath and picked up the pace, the cart''s wooden wheels rumbling on the stone floor. He turned a corner and finally saw the temple''s doors. They were closed shut, without any sentinel waiting outside. He had a feeling that it would have made his task more difficult, but he didn''t allow himself to analyze exactly why. He stopped the cart in front of the doors and knocked as hard as he could. His hammering heart counted more seconds than the ones that were passing. The left door opened a crack. He reflexively lowered his head to hide his face behind his hair, but it was too short. Two sentinels looked outside. Rabam recognized one of them as one of his older colleagues when he was part of the monks. They hadn''t interacted much, not enough turns together. The other had to be slightly younger than him. She stared at his face with eyes full of suspicion. ¡°Who are you?¡± He couldn¡¯t blame her, there weren''t that many people in the village. If she was a particularly social person, she''d probably seen everyone at least once and was now mentally digging through his makeup to get at his real identity. ¡°They told me to bring here the food for the expedition,¡± he said, lowering his voice. ¡°Which expedition?¡± she asked. He pretended to be taken aback. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°The one for tonight? Against Vizena?¡± They looked at each other. ¡°Who''s there?¡± someone asked from the inside. Rabam recognised Maris''s voice and tensed. The sentinels'' priors were the only ones that could recognize him with ease. Them and the abbot, of course, who knew everyone''s face by heart. ¡°Don''t worry,¡± the older sentinel said. ¡°They made a mistake in the kitchens. We''ll handle that.¡± Someone resumed talking from the inside, a different voice that had probably been interrupted by Rabam''s arrival. ¡°There''s no expedition tonight,¡± the older sentinel said. ¡°We''re going on eighthday.¡± Three days left. Rabam nodded. ¡°Who told you the expedition was tonight?¡± the younger sentinel asked. Rabam tensed. ¡°A guy¡­¡± he began, hoping she''d let the question fall. ¡°You can leave these here anyways, we¡¯ll find a use for them,¡± the other sentinel said, reaching for a bundle on the second tray of the cart. Rabam wanted to stop him, but that would be too suspicious, and the younger sentinel was already glaring at him. He couldn''t leave the cart there, of course, or they''d find out that most of the bundles were fake. Ebus was a cook, so he was used to not leaving traces of his viss behind, but Rabam would have been captured immediately. He needed to distract them from the food. ¡°A man told me,¡± he answered the younger sentinel. ¡°I didn''t know him. He said he was a cook and that I had to bring this stuff here.¡± The elder one retreated his hand and stood straighter. ¡°Describe him.¡± ¡°Long brown hair and beard, voice higher than mine.¡± ¡°Where was he? Give us all the details you remember.¡± Rabam knew what was going to happen as soon as he''d told them everything: they''d have sealed any possible exit to the village, pool room included, and interrogated everyone they saw around. The only way to buy some time for him to escape was to convince the sentinels to look outside first. ¡°I was gathering herbs in the gardens near the forest, when that man approached me with a basket full of these.¡± He gestured at the food. ¡°He told me he was a cook and asked me if I worked in the kitchen, and when I said yes he told me to bring here the food for tonight''s expedition.¡± The sentinels looked at each other again. ¡°We need to organize the search immediately,¡± the older one said to his colleague. ¡°Go tell our priors what happened. Be discreet, don''t interrupt the meeting.¡± She nodded and retreated inside. ¡°And you, bring the cart into that room,¡± he told Rabam, pointing at an empty classroom further down the corridor. ¡°And wait for us there. We need to ask you more questions.¡± Rabam nodded while the man retreated inside. He pushed the cart further down the corridor, walking as fast as he could. He opened the classroom''s door and pushed it inside, then closed it. He ran at a light pace toward the end of the corridor. He had minutes before the hunt for him started; he needed to leave the village before the whole mountain was covered with sentinels. There was no time to go back to Ebus and Cailes, it would only put them in danger. He slowed down and walked toward the pool, praying to find people there and not be alone with the sentinels. He was lucky: there were two families with kids and a classroom of older children being taught how to swim by a teacher. They were all wearing lighter swimming clothes, so they glared at Rabam when he approached the pool with his tunic on. He slid into the water before the two sentinels chattering near the door could stop him. A deep breath and he disappeared underwater. He swam inside the tunnel, the water around him becoming darker as he left behind the light of the torches. His hand scraped against the remains of the grate. He proceeded with caution until he''d left them behind, then swam at full force out of the tunnel and into the lake. He had almost finished the air when he emerged. He splashed around at the center of the lake, limbs burning. He didn''t see anyone near the shore, not even his grandma, so he immediately swam toward the shadow of the trees, aware that any sentinel looking in that direction could spot him in the dimming light of the early evening. He got out of the water, ignoring the cold wind pressing the wet cloth of his tunic against his back. Whatever sickness he would get that way, Aili could heal it. Provided he managed to reach her without getting captured. He got his backpack from his hiding spot. He put it on and started heading down the mountain, the paths he''d calculated that day still fresh in his mind. He needed to circle back toward the gardens to reach the spot where Cailes had left the books, then go back to Lausune as fast as he could before the sentinels started patrolling the whole mountain to find him. At least, he had everything Aili had asked him to take: the book about the gods, the volume of ancient history and the exact date of the attack. He stopped halfway through, the lake not yet out of his sight. Whatever Aili wanted to do, three days weren''t much. She needed to read the books, and since she hadn''t given him any titles, he couldn''t be sure they actually contained the information she needed. The consequences of his actions that day were also difficult to gauge: the monks could be scared, but also determined to attack earlier. He needed to make sure they waited as much as possible, maybe scare them. He took out his carving knife, turned toward the lake and set out to work. The gardens were ripe with activity when Rabam arrived. The helpers were arguing with the sentinels, who were trying to send everyone else inside and question them about what they had seen at the same time. Rabam slid from tree to tree, keeping low among the bushes. He counted under his breath to find the right tree, keeping an eye on the sentinels in the meantime. They were all holding spears except for two, who were looking around with their binoculars. He finally found the right tree: there were bushes in front of it, and if Cailes had managed to take the books outside, he should find them there. He hid behind the trunk and leaned forward until he could touch the earth under the bushes with a hand. He felt a bundle of rough cloth and slowly dragged it on the earth toward his hiding spot, stopping every time his movements caused some rustling. The voices of sentinels and helpers continued in the background, agitated but not alarmed. Still, he only relaxed when he finally held the books in his hands. He brushed the earth off as best as he could and put them inside his backpack. The evening''s wind bit into his skin harder through the damp cloth. He tried to hold in a sneeze, but some of it still managed to come through. ¡°There!¡± a sentinel shouted, pointing index and binoculars in his direction. Rabam stood and started to run down the flank of the mountain. He was forced to change direction by some movement further down, one of the many groups of sentinels sent out to look for him. He went east, toward the lake, the shouts of his pursuers stronger behind him. Soon more of those groups would have converged in the area, following the sound of their voices. He saw one approaching from the right and ran a bit closer to the border of the forest. They still saw him. A sentinel went straight to intercept him, a spear aimed at him. ¡°Stop!¡± he screamed, but Rabam didn''t slow down. The sentinels had never fought outside of training and never killed anyone, so he hoped in some seconds of hesitation, enough to get out of reach. But the sentinel raised his spear as Rabam ran next to him, and he knew he would attack. He was too close to run out of the way. Then their eyes met and the sentinel shrieked, the spear frozen in his hand. ¡°His face!¡± Rabam kept going. He touched his face as he ran from tree to tree, but he didn''t feel anything different than usual. Then he remember the makeup: the swim through the tunnel had ruined it completely. The monks seemed to consider him dangerous enough for that simple thing to scare them. He saw the lake from afar. He risked a glance over his shoulder: there were at least twenty sentinels running toward him, but at least he had managed to put a bit of distance behind him. He smelt the smoke and looked at the tree, its dark shape curving toward the water of the lake, but he didn''t see any fire yet. He abruptly jumped to the right, landed on all fours, and crawled toward the bushes as quickly as possible. He found his spot and crouched there, carving knife in one hand and backpack held to his chest with the other. He breathed heavily, listening to his pursuers getting closer. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°Spread out and check the whole area.¡± ¡°What''s this smell?¡± ¡°Calm down, I''m trying to light my torch.¡± Flickering dots of light appeared among the trees. Rabam retracted a bit more into the bushes, until he couldn''t see the monks anymore. He put down the backpack and covered it with soil as much as he could. Aili wouldn''t have gotten her books, but she could always send someone else to retrieve them after he''d bought her some more time. His capture would have meant interrogations and another process, which would have slowed down the monks'' plans of attack more than anything else he could do. The rustling of leaves became stronger as the light approached. He saw the arm holding the torch, then the head of a monk. He tensed, waiting for his reaction once he saw him. ¡°Fire!¡± someone screamed. The monks turned and ran toward the lake. The rustling of leaves became more intense as all of them converged toward the tree. The smoke was denser, now: Rabam had planned for the fire to start once he was halfway down the mountain, so he had covered the flames with grass and some dry leaves to create smoke and slow down their growth. Then it would have reached the twigs and wood he had piled up on top, creating enough light to attract any sentinel in the area, including the ones who were observing the temples with their binoculars. ¡°There''s a message,¡± he heard them shout. Rabam risked raising his head over the leaves: there weren''t sentinels further down, at the moment. They were all observing the message he had carved on the tree: ¡®Your village will crumble in two days from now. Join us or die¡¯. Along with the cart of food and the mistery of his infiltration into the village, he hoped it was enough to make them hesitate. Of course they would figure out it was all a ruse once two days had passed with nothing happening, but he hoped Aili could make good use of that extra time. He took his backpack and walked away from their frantic attempts to tame the fire with the water of the lake. He had no choice but to cross the forest at night. At least the boars had been scared away by all the shouts and movement. He had nothing to fear, except for the silent emptiness of Mili''s house waiting for him on the other side. 4.12 - Suggestion The morning after the match, a crate full of story-bottles was delivered to the warehouse. ¡°The best past matches of the city''s teams,¡± Serit explained to Saia as they set down the crate on the kitchen''s table. ¡°We''ll study them together.¡± ¡°How?¡± she asked, looking down at the rows of wooden screws and dusty glass. Serit opened a bottle and put a finger inside, motioning for Saia to read it too. She sat down in front of them and gripped the bottle with one hand. ¡°We''ll read slowly, I guess. Stop me if you see something you don''t understand.¡± They spent two days doing just that, with Serit explaining some details and rules they had glossed over during the match, like how the narrators kept playing purple balls after both of them had finished all the other ones, until a team scored twice. Or that the ball always went to the narrator when they had to speak, even if it had to be discarded immediately after. ¡°It''s because the players can add some viss to the surface of the ball. They can communicate simple messages through the intensity of the viss,¡± Serit had explained. ¡°The code they use is nothing too complicated, but this way they can suggest to the narrator what to do and vice-versa. The story is more of a collaborative effort than it looks.¡± ¡°What if the ball goes to the opponents?¡± ¡°They can read the viss if they know the code, but usually the teams change it before every important tournament. More importantly, all of the suggestions of the opponent get discarded.¡± She wanted to actually practise the movements, but Serit insisted that learning from the bottles was more important. They finished just at the end of the second day, when a guard appeared in the doorway to announce that H¨¦she had accepted their request for a meeting. The next morning, they returned to the arena. There were guards in front of the entrances, more numerous than during the previous match. They didn''t stop Serit, instead surrounding Saia when she entered, falling in step with her as she climbed the staircase to the stands. The arena was a lot less impressive in the morning light. The wood of the seats was cracked and sometimes even stained, and the floor of the field seemed made of simple gray marble, the light of the fog lost in the atmosphere. The players of the Twilight Doves were divided into two teams and playing with a gray ball. The narrator sat alone on the balcony, eyes on the game but a finger immersed into a bottle. Saia looked at the floor and remembered what Serit had said about it: wind sprites. She wanted to ask them what they were, but there was a barrier of guards dividing them and they were already descending the stairs that crossed the rows of seats toward the people sitting at the bottom: members of the team''s staff, talking to each other or observing the match. A handrail divided the seats from the area around the field. H¨¦she was sitting right in front of it, observing her team. She turned her chair when the rest of the staff went silent, staring at Serit. ¡°Come closer,¡± she said to both them and Saia. She could feel the guards tense the closer she got to the representative, so she slowed down and stopped some steps away from her, the ring of guards squished into the small space between the handrail and the seats. ¡°Thank you for accepting to see us,¡± Serit said, raising their cupped hands. ¡°We have an unconventional proposal that might interest you.¡± When they said ''we'', H¨¦she glanced at Saia. ¡°I hoped for some updates about your research,¡± she said, keeping her voice sweet and a light smile on her lips. Still, those words betrayed her hope to get an edge over her colleagues. ¡°Unfortunately, I''m still looking for a way to teach Saia how to solidify ¨¦shan, and it seems like she can only learn it through someone who already knows how to do that. But maybe she doesn''t have to meet a wind spirit to accomplish that.¡± H¨¦she''s eyes returned to the field. She gave them a quick nod that seemed more of a dismissal than a sign of understanding. ¡°She can read the story-bottles and copy the information they contain inside her viss. Maybe she can do the same with patterns. My hope is to start with making her learn herlamis, and if she can do that, ask my contact for a bottle in which he demonstrates how to solidify himself.¡± Saia listened, nodding along in key moments to emphasize what Serit was saying. The idea they were illustrating was older than her arrival at Irim¨¦ze, another contingency plan Serit had considered and immediately discarded. As they had explained, the viss had to be recorded inside the bottle, in a way that would let Saia see both the spirit and how the viss moved inside his body. Since wind spirits couldn''t write story-bottles as well as shilv¨¦ did, the transcribing would have to be done by a viss-sculptor from Irim¨¦ze, with enough precision to record every single change of pattern inside the spirit at every movement they did. Huge cost in both time and money with only a small chance of partial success, not enough to consider it a solution. But H¨¦she didn¡¯t know that, since Serit had never pitched the idea to the representatives. ¡°I thought that maybe Saia could play for your team, to test whether she can learn only from the bottles. The activity of moving her statue requires her to create various patterns in quick succession, which is what she¡¯ll have to do when solidifying someone.¡± H¨¦she looked at them again. ¡°It''s great that you have found an idea, Serit, but what do I have to gain from this?¡± ¡°She''s extremely strong and doesn''t get tired. She can learn new information extremely fast.¡± Saia didn''t like how they were talking about her without feeling the need to address her, even if she appreciated they were referring to her as ''she'' and not ''the sphere''. She also saw H¨¦she''s glances to the match become more frequent the more Serit talked, as if she was waiting for the best time to politely dismiss them. ¡°I¡¯m from the mountain,¡± she said, capturing her attention. ¡°Mount Ohat. We have stories and myths nobody has heard. I could make suggestions.¡± H¨¦she¡¯s surprise reminded Saia that she had never heard her speak. ¡°Let''s say I accept,¡± she said. ¡°What if you fail and everyone realizes you''re not human?¡± ¡°They''ll only think she''s a tanhata dressed as a human,¡± Serit interjected. ¡°A good story to boost the team¡¯s image.¡± Saia''s viss buzzed stronger when she recognized the word. She needed to ask Serit what it meant as soon as they were alone. ¡°Enanit will be furious if she finds out.¡± ¡°I can temporarily change my appearance,¡± Saia said. H¨¦she nodded, then smiled, and for once it seemed sincere and not a mask to cover other thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, I''m curious and one of my players needs to rest. But I also have to think about the future of my team, and the right way to do that would be to ask a player from a different category to replace him, not a complete beginner.¡± ¡°Is there something I can do to convince you?¡± ¡°If you want in, you need to earn your place. Being strong isn''t enough, I need to see how you move.¡± She clapped her hands loud enough that it reverberated in the whole arena, then took out a tool from a pocket identical to the ones the narrators used to amplify their voices. Saia saw swirling grooves all over its surface. H¨¦she¡¯s viss flowed to fill them. ¡°You''ll have a new player for today''s training,¡± she announced. ¡°Ilit, she''ll take your place. Please use this time off to rest that elbow.¡± Ilit nodded and jogged out of the arena through the players'' entrance. ¡°Nashan, I want to see what she can offer story-wise. If she writes a suggestion, try to incorporate it. I want to know your opinion at the end.¡± The narrator nodded. H¨¦she put away the amplifier and turned toward the team''s staff. ¡°Please, give her a uniform and bring her down there.¡± A woman from the staff stood and led Saia into the building and down the stairs. The guards followed her for a bit before going back to guard the entrance to the stands. Saia was led inside a room full of benches and clothes. The woman waited outside as she changed, then gave her a piece of paper with a list written by hand: every element of the list was a letter of the Shiliz¨¦ alphabet with a circle drawn next to it. ¡°The current code. Keep it with you for reference.¡± Saia was about to point out that the circles were all identical, then noticed the traces of viss on the paper. Each circle had a different intensity associated with it. She examined them all, then put them in a pocket of the uniform. It was a tunic made of one piece, purple with small pink plumes sewn at the hem and on the short sleeves. The staff member led her out another door and down a short corridor. The end was square and bright, large enough for five people to enter side by side. She could hear the players shout to each other as they moved around the field. She realized she was stepping outside alone, without Serit besides her. If her theories were right, the guards observing her from afar should notice that and deactivate her. Stolen story; please report. She stepped onto the rough glass of the field with her special shoes and braced herself for the fall. Nothing happened for several instants, to the point the team''s captain started to gesture at the position she had to occupy near the red circle. Saia jogged up to the empty spot, wondering if she had guessed wrong and being near Serit had nothing to do with whether she got deactivated or not. But then she couldn''t imagine the reason why they didn''t ever leave her alone in the warehouse. Unless they feared the enemies they had warned her about so much they didn''t dare to get too far from her, except when they were forced to. Which was weird, since she''d never sensed that much fear or anxiety coming from them. The narrator threw a green ball down and the players moved. Saia had memorised many matches from the bottles Serit had brought, but even in the rare case when she guessed what she had to do in time, she found that moving her body accordingly wasn''t that easy and the opponents were quick to anticipate her. Her role was that of a runner, the most versatile one, because she had to follow the ball back and forth while the rest of the team kept their position in the half of the field to which they were assigned, either as attackers or defenders. It took her one second too much to realize that she had to run toward the ball like the other runner of her half-team. The other still managed to catch the ball despite being against two runners. When one of them managed to touch his shoulder, he stopped and turned, eyes looking around. ¡°One,¡± a staff member shouted. A player screamed something at Saia and she realized the other runner was looking for her. She got closer, but two opposing defenders did as well, blocking her path. Just before the refer¨¦e could shout ''three'', the runner threw the ball at her and an opponent intercepted it. She ran behind him, pushing more viss into her legs to go faster. She managed to touch him, but the refer¨¦e whistled. ¡°The three seconds weren''t over.¡± Saia nodded, stepping back. She hadn''t paid attention to the counting, focused as she was on reaching the player. While the opposite team received the ball, she risked a glance toward H¨¦she, but she couldn''t see her expression from that distance. Not that she expected anything positive, apart from amusement, maybe. The match resumed. The opponents managed to get the ball to their own half of the field, and their attackers made two attempts at scoring. Saia joined the defenders, ready to run toward the opposite half of the field in case the other runner caught the ball. Except the attackers focused on her side of the circle. The defenders got closer to each other, freeing more space than what they could afford. She stepped forward to touch the opponent who was holding the ball. Instead of retreating, they accepted her touch. ¡°Not this close to the circle,¡± a defender shouted. She realized why too late: the attacker she''d touched easily passed the ball to the one to their right, since the defenders didn''t dare step too far from the circle. That one was still close enough to be untouchable for three seconds, which allowed her to get even closer. She tried to throw the ball down, but a defender deviated it. The first attacker had circled around her and was in position to catch the ball. He managed to score while the ring of the defenders was still closing. Saia jogged back into her starting position before the angry glances of the players could become words. The ball was thrown to the narrator, who briefly closed his eyes to decipher the team''s suggestions. ¡°Is he telling two stories?¡± she asked the closest player, one of the only two humans. They were playing for the mixed category, after all, where the gender and species of the players didn¡¯t matter, as long as their strengths were roughly equal. ¡°No, just one for both teams,¡± he answered. The story had begun a while before Saia and Serit had arrived at the arena, so she had to guess who the protagonist, his goal and the city in which the story took place were from the short introduction of the next character. ¡°In Lym¨¦ze, the city of trees, there was also a temple dedicated to the goddess G¨¦lana. Here lived a group of young people who were servants of the goddess, hunting in her honor to feed the whole city. Nobe and his friend approached the guards at the door, looking for someone who could give them guidance.¡± As the next character was introduced, Saia reflected on the stories that were either part of the mountain''s sacred texts or Suimer''s local legends. Since it was clear to everyone that she didn''t know how to play, she had to convince them with her ideas for the story. She hadn''t seen enough matches to know what they had already heard hundreds of times and what could be new, so she needed to get her information in other ways. She focused on the stands, where H¨¦she was talking with two members of the staff, the rest confabulating among each other. Saia expanded her domain, taking in the entirety of the arena. She tried to mitigate the explosion of viss that left her body by expanding only one side, but found out she could only let it expand in every direction equally. She stopped as soon as all of the staff was inside her territory, aware of the days of life that were leaving her at every second. ¡°¡­a temple, I''ve seen it too many times in the last year only,¡± H¨¦she was saying. ¡°The character they added is a priest of G¨¦lana, so it makes sense to introduce him that way,¡± a member of the staff pointed out. ¡°Maybe we could make it more symbolic. Nobe could meet him while hunting, for example,¡± said the other. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about why Nashan has introduced him in the first place,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°He needs the characters to find a boat if he wants to reach the island. I hope he¡¯s not planning to achieve it by divine intervention. There isn''t enough meat on this story to pull it off.¡± ¡°It''s a story focused on the goddess of water,¡± a staff member from the group sitting on the stands said. ¡°She was the one to give the protagonist the mission, she¡¯s the one who sent his friend his way. Invoking G¨¦lana too feels a bit excessive.¡± Saia gave Serit a glance. They looked resigned, as if they were taking for granted that she would fail. She shrunk her domain. There were a lot of old stories in Suimer regarding the sea, like the Loripit, a species of fish that became smaller every time they ate human meat until they transformed into one of the beautiful shells that could be rarely found by digging near the shore. But the fact the protagonist needed a boat made her think about another one that Aili had told her. She put together a plan while the narrator chose a gray ball from the bag of the opposite team. The new character had become a part of the opponents, despite such divisions not existing inside the story. Fortunately for her, the ball was being juggled back and forth in a corner between the attackers of her team and the defenders of the other, so she had all the time she needed to compose the message in her head, using the code she''d been given: a thread of viss, the different intensities that corresponded to the letters one right next to the other. She jogged in the general vicinity of the ball, ready to help in case it was headed her way, with the goal of adding the sentence to its surface. But the opponents easily avoided her and threw the ball to one of their runners, who quickly approached their team''s circle. If they scored, the story would go forward and her suggestion would have been useless. So she expanded her domain again and added the viss with her message on the surface of the ball. It was short: ''Water-goddess jealous, send flood, boats float free''. The opponents scored and she cheered internally. The ball returned to Nashan, who took a while longer before speaking, to the point the refer¨¦e started shouting numbers again. ¡°The goddess Lunush¨¦ was displeased with Nobe because he had involved a follower of G¨¦lana without her approval, so she made the sky rain as it had never happened before in the history of Lym¨¦ze. The waters of the twenty rivers started to grow and grow until the knots that fastened the boats loosened. Nobe and his allies fled the temple of G¨¦lana and prayed together Lunush¨¦ to not hurt the city in their stead. After hours of supplication, the waters returned to their rivers, leaving behind a single boat.¡± Saia glanced at H¨¦she and her staff as the narrator told of how the protagonists pushed the boat into the river and sailed toward their goal, which apparently was to prevent the assassination of the local representatives. Their expressions weren''t clear from that distance and she didn''t feel like wasting more energies to hear what they were saying. She kept playing as best as she could, even managing to steal the ball from an opponent and pass it to the other runner of her team before the staff called for a pause. She jogged with the other players toward the stands, where the staff was distributing water bottles. She pretended to sip the one they gave her, studying H¨¦she with her all-around vision. She was looking down at the team from behind the handrail, a pensive expression on her face. Once the players had finished resting and rinsing most of the sweat, she finally addressed them. ¡°What do you think, Doves? Could Saia play a match with you after adequate training?¡± ¡°No offense,¡± the other runner of her half of the team said. ¡°But it looked like she was playing for the first time.¡± ¡°I saw a lot of rough talent,¡± the captain added, putting away the main character¡¯s coat he''d been wearing. ¡°Her throws are strong and extremely precise, she just needs to learn where to throw. And she¡¯s a fast runner. She doesn¡¯t even seem tired.¡± H¨¦she glanced at Saia. She understood it was something she needed to work on, pretending to tire out a bit and maybe adding some drops of water in place of the sweat she didn''t produce. ¡°She lacks technique,¡± one of the defenders said. ¡°She''s obviously not better than Ilit, if that''s what you want to know.¡± H¨¦she nodded and thanked them for their contribution. Saia looked around for the narrator, the only one who could help her cause: he had descended from the balcony and was now walking between the seats toward the staff. ¡°You can get changed, we''ve finished for today,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°Saia, come up here.¡± She obeyed, using one of the two staircases that led from the lowest level of the stands to the field. It was blocked by a locked gate at the top, but a woman of the staff opened it to let her through. She approached H¨¦she like Nashan was doing from the other side, except he wasn''t immediately surrounded by armed guards. He gave Saia a confused look before focusing on what H¨¦she was asking him. ¡°You added a good twist to the story. Did Saia contribute in any way?¡± She realized the narrator could just say ''no'' and her whole plan would have failed. ¡°Involving Lunush¨¦ for the boat was her idea, even if the original motivation was a bit distasteful.¡± He looked at Saia. ¡°Our gods aren''t ''jealous''. I suggest you at least learn about them before insulting them again.¡± H¨¦she gave Saia a slightly amused look, probably thinking about the fact she¡¯d be considered a goddess too. Saia wanted to reply that G¨¦lana, Lunush¨¦ and their other gods weren¡¯t real, at least not in the way the mountain¡¯s deities were, and that they should only be grateful about that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said instead. ¡°I¡¯ll make a better suggestion if I''ll have a second chance.¡± And she stared at H¨¦she, eyebrows raised with an implicit question. She dismissed Nashan before beginning to answer. ¡°I like the suggestion you made. Everything else wasn''t as good, though, and we¡¯ll play another match soon against a team from another city.¡± ¡°If I may,¡± Serit said, raising from the seat from which they''d been following the conversation. ¡°It''s the first time she''s ever touched the field, after only two days of watching past matches. With your training and some more examples, I''m confident she can improve even faster. Look at how good she speaks Shiliz¨¦.¡± H¨¦she gave them a long look before nodding and turning to face her staff. ¡°How is Ilit?¡± ¡°Stable,¡± said the woman who had accompanied Saia to the team''s changing room. ¡°His elbow still needs a bit more rest. We should prepare a substitute in any case.¡± ¡°Then it''s decided,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°Saia will train with us. Ilit remains our main runner, but we''ll replace him as soon as he gives signs of fatigue.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Serit said, releasing their breath with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± Saia added. ¡°I¡¯m sure of that, but I need to warn you about something,¡± H¨¦she said, lowering her voice and pushing the wheels of her chair until she was just in front of Saia, only the presence of a guard to divide them. ¡°Don''t use your powers to cheat. I will know it and immediately disqualify you.¡± Saia''s viss buzzed as she wondered whether H¨¦she knew how she''d put the message on the ball. ¡°I need my powers to see, hear and move my body,¡± she said. ¡°And I can''t put viss onto the ball without them, which defeats the purpose of having me here.¡± ¡°Then use your powers for that, but nothing else. I''m trusting you.¡± Saia nodded. H¨¦she dismissed her and Serit with a smile. ¡°Keep me updated on how the experiment is going, engineer.¡± Serit hesitated, the uncertainty they¡¯d been keeping hidden up to that point resurfacing. ¡°There''s still a chance this plan will fail,¡± they said. ¡°In that case, we''ll talk again about your visit to the wind spirits. If Saia can prove she can disguise herself well enough.¡± Serit thanked her and raised their hands in a farewell. Saia quickly imitated them, her viss buzzing with a sense of triumph. 4.13 - Old identities A quick glance at the first pages told Aili everything she needed to know about the volume of ancient history that Rabam had brought her. Still, she took one entire day to read it completely, hoping there was hidden information in later chapters. The book didn¡¯t begin with the arrival of the monks at the mountain, like she¡¯d hoped, nor with the nomination of the first abbot or the construction of the chamber where the viss was stored. Instead, it was filled with the same myths and anecdotal stories she¡¯d listened to during the lessons she had followed before becoming a monk. The book ended with the election of the tenth abbot, and even then it was difficult to distinguish which parts were true, which speculation, and which outright lies. She put the book down behind her pedestal, being extra-careful in her movements, since she couldn''t control well the pressure she was applying with the viss buzzing of frustration all around her body. Rabam had wrapped the covers with green cloth before delivering the books, so the monks couldn¡¯t recognize them from a distance. She was starting to doubt there was anything in the library about how the monks had discovered the deposits of viss, for example, and gathered it all inside the mountain as Daira had told her. It hurt to think about, but there was also the possibility that Daira had lied about it all, which meant she knew even less than she thought. Still, she refused to accept it was all lost until she had looked everywhere. Maybe that part of history was deemed too dangerous to be recorded and was only told to some people. The abbot had to know something, maybe the priors too. Daira herself was a good starting point, but she had no idea how to talk to her without raising suspicions. She needed to earn the monks¡¯ trust first, regardless of how she planned to gather information. Her attention shifted to the second book, the one that listed the monks who had become gods, the very same one she¡¯d read with Saia. She hesitated, letting the wave of nostalgia in her viss wash over her. She missed her. The more days passed without her coming back, the less sure she felt about her being able to deal with whatever danger she had to face. She didn¡¯t know anything about cloud people and what they were capable of, nor did Saia. Her only consolation was that the viss in her shard pulsed with vitality, at least during the day. She had hidden it in a small cavity in her statue¡¯s stomach, under the one occupied by her sphere. It wasn¡¯t wise to keep it so close, but she just couldn¡¯t have it buried under a tree like the others. She picked up the book from the pedestal and started reading in the low light of twilight. Not that the lack of proper illumination mattered, since she didn¡¯t need to strain to see. She turned the pages until she found the list of Dore¡¯s predecessors. She saw the woman Saia had seen and pointed out, but she wasn¡¯t the most recent one. The last Dore was a monk called Ludunus, a name that sounded strangely familiar. She stopped to wonder for a bit, then kept reading, hoping the text would give her more clues. He had done researches on animals and was also an expert on anything related to viss. He''d been chosen because of his patience and rationality, even if he''d been the third choice at the trials after the first two candidates had refused. ¡°Help!¡± The shout came from Rabam¡¯s house. He was hiding under the kitchen¡¯s table while a group of visibly strong people was trying to ram down the entrance. Some steps behind them, Liraira was observing the scene with crossed arms. ¡°Stop!¡± Aili shouted with her Koidan voice. Everyone froze. Liraira was the first to recover. ¡°You didn''t save Mili, so I hope you''re not here to save this scum.¡± ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°He''s living in Milvia''s house!¡± ¡°Yes, because I reassigned it, since she didn''t have children and all of her relatives already have a house.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mad about someone living in her house. I knew it would happen, I was prepared. But I don''t want her ex-boyfriend to have it. I''ve told you how much of a piece of shit he is.¡± Her voice raised until she was basically screaming. Rabam retracted a bit into himself. Aili realized he wasn''t hearing her side of the conversation, so she made sure to include him when she spoke again. ¡°You''re confusing him with someone else.¡± ¡°No, I''m sure about that. You have no idea how many people told me that there were some movements inside, especially at late hours of the night. I didn''t believe them, but then I saw that Mili''s orange trees were still alive and nobody seemed to be watering them. I''ve hired some of my dad''s workers to observe the house and they saw him return here two nights ago. They saw his face.¡± Aili returned her focus to the quiet of the temple for the instant necessary to calm down. She hadn''t looked toward Liraira¡¯s house on purpose, for fear of having it become a habit. Among all the inhabitants, she was the one who most resembled a metaphorical slippery slope. ¡°Why does she think you were Milvia''s ex-boyfriend?¡± she asked Rabam. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°I am.¡± ¡°What?¡± He didn''t elaborate, gaze lost in the general direction of the entrance. ¡°Why haven''t you told me?¡± ¡°I don''t know. Didn''t want to think about it. I didn¡¯t know you that well or how you would react.¡± Aili started pacing on the pedestal. ¡°She thinks you abandoned Mili. She doesn''t know that you were a monk.¡± ¡°She''s right to be angry. If I''d been less selfish, I''d have left Mili as soon as I met her again after I was exiled. Maybe if she''d found someone else who could live with her, she''d still be alive.¡± Aili wanted to address that self-loathing, but Liraira was still standing outside. ¡°Regardless of who he is, he''s allowed to stay here,¡± she told her. ¡°He''s not a bad person.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to argue with you, but he''s the worst crook that ever walked the nine villages. He only visited Mili until he got a job from my dad, then he was never seen again. And it''s weird that he was renting a house and only came back now that this one is free. He could be involved in her death, for all we know.¡± Rabam shrunk a bit more. ¡°That''s enough,¡± Aili said, feeling his hurt in the way his viss moved. ¡°The decision is final, so you can go home.¡± Liraira crossed her arms. ¡°I won''t. You''ll have to force me, and I''ll be back as soon as I can. I want him out of Milvia''s house.¡± ¡°The sentinels might notice that something''s going on,¡± Rabam pointed out, quietly as to not let the people outside hear his words. ¡°Especially now that they''re more alert than usual. And I don¡¯t want to live here either.¡± ¡°There aren''t many alternatives. Saia''s house is out of the question and there aren¡¯t other empty houses at the moment. I could build one, but that would require time and res¡­¡± ¡°Send me to prison.¡± Aili stopped. ¡°What?¡± ¡°This way I can stay nearby. You can get me out at night. It''s the last place the sentinels would think to check, and if they find me there, you could always tell them that you have captured me and not ruin your reputation completely.¡± Aili considered his words. ¡°Are you sure? There¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± he cut her off, then stood. ¡°It¡¯s the right decision.¡± ¡°You''re not planning to get revenge behind my back, are you?¡± He shook his head. Aili quickly checked his viss: he didn''t seem to be lying, but he was certainly conflicted. ¡°I trust you,¡± Aili said, then louder: ¡°He''ll leave tonight. Go home, now.¡± Liraira relaxed a bit, her rage slowly replaced by swelling grief. She gathered the workers who had helped her and started to retreat. Aili observed her to make sure she wasn''t planning something else. She felt a weird mixture of grief and relief when she realized she wasn''t attracted to her anymore. It was just an old crush, not due to her personality as much as her looks, to her chestnut hair and elegant neck worthy of a heron person... She suddenly remembered who Ludunus was. She retreated into the temple. He¡¯d written a book, the ¡®Treatise on Hereditary Traits¡¯, and she¡¯d read all of it. Maybe he wasn''t the same person, but it was a particular name, the mention of ¡®researches¡¯ in his description was pretty telling, and the year of publication of the book was close to the creation of the last Dore. For once, the idea of talking to him didn''t seem that dreadful. She could have an interesting conversation, if she played her cards right. She focused on the book of gods again, this time looking for the youngest Lorin. And young she was, at least for deity standards, her transformation happening barely fifty years ago. She''d been a helper, specifically an organizer of the debates and a chronicler. She took note of the most important events happening in the village, births and deaths as well as the topics of the debates and the most important discoveries. Her work led her to know first-hand what the major problems of the village were, and she was often the one to bring them up to the priors. Aili started pacing on the pedestal. She got the sense of a person with a high sense of justice, who also trusted the monks and the priors enough to actively work with them, but not so much that she wouldn¡¯t criticize them openly. She was also fairly young, which meant she still knew some of the elder monks living in the village. She could leverage that. Or, more precisely, Zeles could. She focused on Rabam''s house again. He was sitting on the floor of the dining room, in a corner, chipping away pieces of wood from a thick branch. His eyes shifted up when Aili moved the stack of papers on top of the table. ¡°I need to send a new letter,¡± she told him. ¡°Could you deliver it to Zeles before going¡­?¡± She couldn''t bring herself to say ''to prison.'' It was so unfair. ¡°Of course,¡± he said, then returned to his art. Aili started moving her viss around in quick configurations to nudge the pencil this way or that. The resulting calligraphy was bigger than her own, irregular like the one of a child, but at least the monks wouldn''t see her statue write the letters and wonder who was receiving them. Dear Zeles, I have a plan to deal with Lorin before the monks ask her to attack you. You''ll have to use all of your experience in speeches and what little good sense¡­ She scratched it out. She was still angry at him for rejecting the monks without even bothering to hide his identity from Suimer¡¯s inhabitants, but it was still one of her only allies, not to mention the person who had watched over her during most of her life. ¡­ and your good sense in order to convince her. First of all, exaggerate the aftermath of Saia''s actions. She knew two of the current priors before they were invested with their roles and she should be of about Laius¡¯s age, so it isn¡¯t unlikely that she knows him too. She should believe they¡¯re more divided than they seem. She realized that Zeles couldn''t know the abbot nor the other priors, so she added a brief explanation of their roles and general attitudes toward rules and tradition. After Saia¡¯s transformation into a goddess, the abbot wanted to let everyone who was bitten die to protect the village. Daira didn''t agree and ultimately saved them by reactivating Saia. Tell her this and try to gauge her opinion about the situation, and on which side she would be on. If you''re unsure, assume it''s Daira¡¯s. Then tell her that the monks only want her to attack you because you were on Daira''s or the abbot''s side, depending on who she agrees with. We don''t need her to be completely convinced or even on our side, but she should decide to wait until she knows more and not attack for the moment being. Her extreme sense of justice will make her hesitate a lot before taking a stance. She reread the letter, wondering whether there was more to add. She didn''t want to be too tough with him, but couldn¡¯t afford what had happened the last time to be repeated. You don''t have to follow my plan if you don''t want to. But whatever you do, please, I beg you, don''t give me more problems. And yes, you being in danger is my problem, after everything Saia did to save you, how much she risked. I can¡¯t let it go to waste. She reread the last sentence, hoping it was enough. She closed the letter and left it on the table for Rabam to deliver, then observed the village from above, in search of problems that were under her control. 4.14 - Sprites "Seron is the god of wood," a voice explained while his statue appeared to Saia''s sight. "He''s the god who started the creation of the world and made the first humans, from which all the shilv¨¦ descend. He guided them as they established their society and gave them the rules and laws they had to abide to." Saia stopped reading the string of viss inside the bottle, only focusing on the section she had reached. The statue stopped rotating onto itself and the explanation became a single vowel held by a voice with infinite breath. The god had a large face, pronounced cheekbones and a curved nose. His mouth was smiling, but his eyes were narrowed and filled with authority. He had a green plume tied around his wrist and was holding a small tree. Or better, he wasn''t holding it: it was growing out of the tip of his fingers as if they were five thick roots. Saia tried to enlarge her vision, but her powers had no effect on the world depicted in the story-bottle. She resumed reading, waiting for the rotation of the statue to bring the tree closer to her viewpoint. She stopped reading again once it was at eye level: there were small human-like figurines sculpted on top of it, depicted in the midst of various activities, like gathering herbs, sitting in a circle or looking up to a miniature bird perched on a branch. The tree pivoted out of her sight as the rest of the statue slowly paraded in front of her. She was almost at the bottom of its long robe when she realized that she hadn''t listened to the voice. It was the third deity she''d studied that afternoon, so she decided to take a break. She left the darkness of the story-bottle and found herself immersed into another one, blue and colder. The sun was on the other side of the city, shining on the third, fourth and fifth levels. Even if the afternoon was mostly dark, at least in the last few days the warehouse''s side had received light in the morning, so she could enjoy it while she went to the arena for training. Serit always accompanied her every time, questioning her about the gods and myths she''d learnt as they walked. "The gods are understanding," they loved to repeat every time she got something wrong. "The people are not." She got up from her bed and put the story-bottle away. She hadn''t yet got to the point dedicated to the goddess of viss and death, even if she''d read some legends about her. She strongly suspected she was the last one on the list, and that maybe Serit had chosen that bottle specifically because it followed that order. Or maybe all the ones that talked about gods did. She noticed that the lantern at the center of the ceiling had dimmed some more. It had been fading since the first day she''d arrived, but she didn''t know how to rekindle it. She expanded her domain enough to include it and felt viss moving around in the fog inside the glass hemisphere. Serit''s lamps never faded, and it didn''t look like they were doing anything special to keep them bright. Maybe it has something to do with the wind sprites they had mentioned during the match. She left the room and walked up to the laboratory. Usually there were three kinds of sounds coming out of it: scraping and screeching of metal on metal, the soft scratching of graphite on paper, or the pensive silence that preceded them. Saia took the quiet as an implicit permission to enter. She stepped inside and stood next to the door, waiting for Serit to finish writing. They were bent on the table, standing with a foot on a chair and an elbow on the knee, puffing with frustration every two words they wrote. The smaller tables had been all joined into one in the corner, most of the tools piled up on the floor. The creepy metal shell was open, showing fresh new lines. Serit stood straight and stretched their back. "Do you need something?" Saia nodded to the lamp next to their notes. "Can I have another one for my room? Mine is almost gone." Serit stared at her with a tired frown, then their eyes shot wide. "I didn''t tell you how to feed it." They ran past Saia. She walked behind them at a sustained pace, fearing that the fragile wooden floor wouldn''t take kindly to her running. "Feed it?" "Yes," Serit voice came from behind a turn of the corridor. "Sprites need viss to survive." She finally reached her room. Serit was standing just under the light, squinting at it despite the dimness, their eyes fatigued after a day''s work. "Look", they told Saia, then raised their arms above their head and put an index finger against the tip of the metal pole that jotted out from the center of the half-sphere. Nothing seemed to happen to her normal vision, so Saia stepped closer until she didn''t need to expand her domain to perceive the flow of viss from Serit''s finger to the rod. "This is for feeding them," they explained. "Every lamp has something similar for giving energy to the sprite. Not only lamps, actually, they can be used to power a lot of things, but you have to feed them regularly." The light was slowly becoming brighter. Saia wasn''t sure about it, but it looked like the fog was also moving faster. "You''re telling me a lot of things about these wind sprites, but I still don''t get what they are." "They''re... Best I can describe them, they''re impressions left behind by a dying animal. They''re essentially made of wind filled with viss." Saia focused on the creature living inside the lantern. "You''re keeping an animal in such a small space?" "They''re not strictly animals. They don''t feel pain or tiredness, they technically don''t even feel hunger, even if they have the instinct to absorb viss when they don''t have much left. Check their imprint if you don''t believe me." Saia did. The sprite''s viss was completely golden, without specks of different colors. Compared to a person''s, it seemed devoid of any kind of emotion or even sensation. "I''ve seen a lot of snakes die," Saia said, leaving out the fact that she''d been the one killing them. "They never became wind sprites." Serit retracted their hand from the metal rod. The lantern was even brighter than the day Saia had arrived at the warehouse. "Sorry, I should have been more clear: it''s specifically death by drowning. And even then, it''s rare for a wind sprite to be formed." "Why drowning?" "Because when a creature drowns, it eventually comes a moment when they release all the air in their lungs to breathe in water. This release is violent enough to tear a huge quantity of viss from the body. If there''s enough viss and the air doesn''t disperse too much while resurfacing, the viss will model the air around it in the general shape of an animal based on the data it contains." "Like shilv¨¦?¡± The glance Serit shot her was half-confused and half-offended. "I mean," she clarified. "You said that shilv¨¦ reform thanks to the data contained in their viss. Is it the same principle or something else entirely?" "Same principle, but it''s not specific of us or wind sprites. The viss of every creature contains the necessary data to reshape it, and its natural movement inside the body helps the healing process. That''s why maintaining a good flow of viss in your body is always important." "So if a human drowned¡­¡± Saia began, thinking about the consequences of what she''d just learnt. Serit tensed up, as if sensing what she was about to say. ¡°¡­What would they become? A wind spirit?" she concluded. "Wipe that thought out of your mind." They walked out the door. "Come, I''ll show you some more uses for sprites." Saia followed them along the corridor. "Why?" she asked. "Because it can be useful to know." "No, why shouldn''t I say that wind spirits come from drowned humans?" Serit stopped and turned. "It''s the ultimate offense to compare wind spirits to sprites, and even worse to suggest they descend from something they consider as lowly as humans. If we''ll meet wind spirits, you have to promise me you won''t mention that again. Not even to other shilv¨¦, actually. Just keep the thought to yourself." They resumed walking toward the end of the corridor and past the laboratory''s door. "But it''s the truth, right?" Saia asked. They didn''t give her any kind of acknowledgement. Instead, they opened the kitchen door. "The more viss we use the closer we get to our next rain-voyage, so nobody uses too many sprites sunless they have enough money to buy them and enough servants to keep them alive." They approached the big box of wood next to the shelves and counters. Saia had seen Serit take food from there multiple times, but the inside was completely dark, not a single lamp or sprite illuminating the area. Serit didn''t open it, knocking a bit on the wood instead. "Come closer and get a look." Saia put her hands against the side of the box and examined the inside. The wood wasn''t as compact as it looked like: small tunnels passed through it in every direction, curving into waves, loops and spirals. "It''s a pattern," she said, then something else caught her attention: a stream of luminous fog full of viss. It was gone in an instant, running further along the tunnel. Saia expanded her domain to contain the entire box. The sprite moved fast all around the pattern, taking but a few instants to reach the same point again. She retracted from the box. "What is it?" Serit smiled and opened it: there were shelves inside, filled with fruits, vegetables, meat, bottles of water and jars with sauces. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Put your hand inside." Saia did. She waited some seconds, but nothing happened. Serit made some back and forth with their eyes between her face and her hand, their expression becoming more and more confused. "You''re not feeling anything?" "No?" Saia retracted her hand. "Why? What am I supposed to feel?" "Cold." Serit closed the box''s door. "This is a refrigerator. Lower temperatures slow down the deterioration of food, allowing it to last longer." Saia looked at her hands: she could feel the objects she picked up, but they all felt like they had the same warm temperature. She wanted to investigate that further, but the refrigerator seemed more interesting. "So this is a pattern activated by a sprite?" "Exactly. Sprites have a little bit of intelligence, so they can be trained to run in only one direction. These," They pointed at some brass buttons set in the wood of the box, "Are for feeding it. Only once a week for this little guy." They affectionately knocked on the wood. Saia thought about what she''d learnt about magic and patterns back at the mountain. "I thought patterns needed a flux of viss to work." "The sprite is the flux of viss. It has enough viss and it moves fast enough to activate the pattern." "But¡­¡± Saia could feel that something was missing to connect the explanation to what she already knew, but couldn''t quite put her finger on what it was. Aili would have known which questions to ask. She focused on her shard for an instant, to make sure her viss was still bright. "I don''t understand," she admitted in the end. "I thought the viss had to be outside of a creature to work in this way, but I can''t tell you why." "Maybe you''re referring to the concept of ''multiple movement''?" "What is that?" "If you take any creature, sprites included, and examine their viss, you''ll find that it moves in a pattern specific to that creature." Saia nodded. "I knew that." "What you might not know is that this general movement is composed of smaller and undetectable movements. Micro-portions of a creature''s viss move in different ways depending on which material they are travelling through. For example, the viss that''s flowing in your bones at this moment¡­¡± They stopped, staring at Saia. She didn''t need to examine them with her powers to feel their growing embarrassment. "The viss flowing in my bones," they said. "Is following the general pattern of my body, and some extra turns and loops that make it easier, for example, for my bones to regrow if I break them. The crucial point is that these movements are small compared to the size of the more general pattern, so they don''t influence it." They knocked against the refrigerator''s wood. "This is why the movement internal to the sprite has no effect on the movement of the whole viss of the sprite inside the pattern. Or better, these two movements are happening at the same time and have separate effects: one produces the cold, the other keeps the sprite alive and running." Saia nodded hesitantly. It was a lot to take in. "If you made a pattern big enough," she said slowly, following the thought without knowing yet where it would bring her. "And made a group of people run through it, would that activate the pattern?" "No, because they wouldn''t be able to run fast enough for a long enough period of time. The viss has to maintain at least a certain speed across the pattern, only a bit slower than the one it has in your body or sphere. Only wind sprites can reach that speed, as far as I know." "And spirits?" Saia added. They didn''t answer, instead stepping away from the refrigerator and toward the door that opened onto the corridor. "In order to activate a pattern, you need enough viss going at a high enough speed, and a source of viss to replace what is consumed. Whether I feed a sprite or push energy onto a pattern directly, I''m the source of viss. The only difference is that by feeding a sprite I can do other things besides standing next to the refrigerator all day, and it would still stay cold." Saia thought about the metal kernel they were creating inside the laboratory. "Why don''t you use one of your sprites for your experiment? Why did you have to kidnap me, or another sphere?" She kept her voice calm, even if her viss was buzzing so much inside her statue that she couldn''t believe Serit didn''t perceive it too. "I''ve tried. Believe me, I''ve tried so many times it''s actually embarrassing." They gestured for Saia to follow them and entered the corridor again, heading for the small warehouse where the empty story-bottles were stored. They took out a chest from under a broken crate and opened it with one of their keys. There was a wooden box inside, similar to the refrigerator, except for the fact that there wasn''t a cavity for food inside, just solid wood. The small tunnels sprawled through it in complicated patterns, occupying all of the space at disposal. "This is the closest I ever got. I never actually found the right pattern, but that was the least of my concerns. This thing had two huge problems." They turned it around with a lot of effort: there were two leather straps on the back, as if it was supposed to be worn like a backpack. "It required a lot of viss: one sprite would have died instantly, completely consumed, and it wouldn''t have had any effect. A thousand sprites could maybe buy us an hour of use, which isn''t enough to go all the way down to earth. And, most importantly, it couldn''t actually transfer its power to a person." They let go of the object. It produced a dull thud when it fell back onto the wooden bottom of the chest that contained it. "What your monks did is impressive to say the least. Being able to have a pattern here," they pointed at Saia. "And the effect over there," they pointed at the floor, but she guessed they actually meant the mountain. "Is something neither humans nor shilv¨¦ have achieved yet. That we know of, at least." "So¡­ You want to use whathever they did? And the viss in my sphere?" "Exactly. I don''t know what is possible yet, so I''ll start with trying to tie your sphere to a person, either by targetting an object they wear or their body directly. We''ll see." They closed the chest and walked up to the door. Saia followed them along the corridor, determined to squeeze as much information as possible before they resumed their work. "What about the sprites in the temple and arena? What are they doing?" "They provide illumination and atmosphere. They''re also a way to display power and wealth without coating everything in rare metals as humans do." "What are tanhata?" Serit stopped with a hand on the door of their laboratory. "That is a change of topic." "Sorry, I just heard them mentioned a couple of times and I couldn''t find an explanation about what they are." Serit gave an impatient look to the door, then sighed. "They call themselves something different, tanhata is the term used by humans and shilv¨¦. If I remember right, tan means ¡®person'' and hata ¡®statue''. Best I can describe them, they''re living materials." "Materials?" "Yes. Imagine a statue entirely made of topaz, but moving of their own volition. Or made of wood, or cloth." Saia smiled. "It''s not that difficult to imagine." "Sorry, I keep forgetting." "How were they created?" "I don''t know the details, but a group of other tanhata inject some of their viss into the materials they''ve gathered until they come alive, following some sort of ritual." "Do they have spheres?" "No. I think the similarities between gods and tanhata stop at the ''moving statue'' analogy." "But there was a book¡­¡± Saia hesitated, wondering if revealing that could be a mistake, then decided she wasn''t saying anything too specific. "A book back at the mountain said that spheres are similar to tanhata." Serit''s gaze became more intense. "They are?" "But the statue isn''t actually part of our body. Are there tanhata made of glass?" "I don''t know, there aren''t many of them around and they all live on the fourth level. But knowing this gave me some ideas." They were gripping the door handle as if it cost them a lot of self-control not to open it and run to their notes. They were more impatient than before, now that Saia had told them that gods and tanhata were connected. "I''m going to train for a bit," she said. Serit nodded. "I''ll join you later. There''s a lot of stuff I need to do." They entered the laboratory and closed the door. Saia went back to the kitchen, then proceeded down the stairs, through the hall of the main entrance and into the warehouse. She and Serit had moved all the boxes and crates as much as possible out of the way, piled up along the walls. A line divided the room in half, and two circles were drawn at the center of each portion. A series of multi-colored balls was lined at the edge of the field, even if she usually only used the gray one to practice. She ignored it, proceeding instead toward the crates. She''d broken one by mistake, the previous day, and found it was all filled with logs of wood. She took out one of them from the middle, hidden under all the others. It was covered in slashes, some superficial, some deep enough it was pure luck it hadn''t broken in half. She balanced it on top of the crate and slashed at it with a gust of wind. While she did that, she paid attention to the pattern her viss shaped in her domain. She wanted to be more in control of her powers, more precise. More lethal, if necessary, even if she didn''t plan to use that against people as much as any weapon they could point at her. She practiced for one hour, then decided it was time to start training for the match. She hid the log, then took the gray ball and started running back and forth between the two circles, imagining various players coming at her as they did in training. She tried to move as accurately as possible, based on the story-bottles of past matches she''d read and analyzed with Serit. Her body always reacted the same way: no sweat, fatigue or pain. She had to look back at her memories to find how her arms were supposed to ache if she carried a boat for too long, or her knees protest against the rock floor of the cave as she waited for a sea snake to emerge. She stopped at the center of the warehouse, overwhelmed by thoughts of home. She felt the desire to go back every second of the day, but only when she was alone she was forced to face the fact that she had no idea how to do that. It was a second exile. She sat down and deactivated her vision, leaving only the other senses aware of her surroundings. When visiting the representatives despite not being allowed to speak, she had thought that being near Serit was the only way she could avoid being deactivated, since there was no other need for her to go with them. But they didn''t know that H¨¦she would have made her play with the Doves in the arena, where Serit couldn''t follow her. Yet, she hadn''t been deactivated, not even during the subsequent training sessions. Despite that, Serit still escorted her to the arena and back every day, staying on the seats to scribble on their notes. She hadn''t forgotten about what they''d told her the first day about having enemies that might attack them and wanting her around for that reason. Regardless of whether these enemies actually existed, maybe Serit was truly afraid for their safety and that was why they wanted to stay close to her as much as possible. But that didn''t explain how the guards could know if she decided to break free and use her powers against the city. There had to be a system in place to observe her, it didn''t make sense for them to keep her awake if they weren''t sure they could stop her. She thought about the monks and their binoculars. They could be using something similar, or even the same technology. But that would allow her to easily escape at night, provided she was careful enough to avoid the streetlights. There were other pitfalls, like her being able to control Serit like a puppet if she wanted, the way Vizena had done to her in the temple. She could only think of two explanations: they weren''t observing her, but had other means of finding out whether she was out of their control. Or they were observing her, but Serit was able to communicate with them quickly enough not to deactivate her in a specific circumstance. Or both. She had an idea to find out the answer, but she needed to wait for the dark if she wanted to test it properly. She stood and resumed her training, trying not to think about her plan too much. Two hours later, she heard the door of the staircase open and Serit descend toward the warehouse. "I''ve made the calculations," they announced, stepping inside. "You can expand your domain a total of six times for about thirty seconds each. Anything beyond that is a too big expense of viss and we''d better off waiting out for representative Izha''s return." Saia nodded and threw them the ball. Serit took it without hesitation. They were fairly athletic, which meant that staying in a warehouse all day wasn''t exactly what they were doing before Saia''s arrival to Irim¨¦ze. Still, she was forced to slow down and throw with less strength, which was good practice for when she needed to play with her teammates. She kept part of her focus on the small window to the outside the whole time, until it finally was dark enough for her test to begin. She expanded her domain to include the secondary entrance and unhooked the wooden bar that kept it close. She waited until she could stand close enough to it, then threw the ball in Serit''s general direction with so much force it bounced against the wall, hit the door, and with a bit of help on her part, slipped outside. "Sorry," she yelled. "I was distracted." She ran out as she spoke, drowning Serit''s protests with her voice. She expanded her domain to see where the lights were and stepped to the side of the door to avoid them. The ball touched the wall of a house to the right, and she realized how narrow the streets were. It didn''t seem possible for someone to see her even if it wasn''t that dark outside, unless they were standing on the higher levels of the city, at just the right angle. She jogged up to the wall, then her viss trembled. She heard the distant impact of her body collapsing before losing consciousness. She awakened in the same spot, face on the compact soil of the street. "I told you to never do that," Serit said, squatting beside her with the ball under their arm and the portable lantern in the other, the light drawing worried shadows on their face. "Always warn me before you go out." Saia ignored them, analyzing the situation: it had been at most a couple of minutes since they had deactivated her. The real question was why she had been reawakened: was it something Serit had done, or had the guards seen them standing next to her and decided it was safe to reactivate her? The last option didn''t make sense if she considered the arena, or the fact it was so dark. So Serit had a way to instantly communicate with the guards, and they had a way to know she was away from them, even if she didn''t know what it was. It was good to have at least that partial confirmation. She stood and patted down her clothes, extending her domain to examine Serit in search of objects with patterns or hidden wind sprites. She found none. "Come on, let''s go inside," Serit said, eyeing the few passersby who were stopping to observe the scene. Saia let them lead her back to the warehouse and close the door. She looked at the dozens of crates stacked on top of one another. She''d have to examine the whole warehouse more closely in the days before the match. 4.15 - Connections Aili chose to have her talk with Dore in the early morning, since the village was mostly asleep and she could focus more or less completely on the conversation. It felt weird to be able to contact him without moving from her spot or even checking that he wasn¡¯t busy with something else. But she couldn''t wait too much, or the monks would have talked to him first. ¡°Good morning,¡± she said, making the air vibrate in the point where the borders of their territories were the closest, to the point she could feel a faint trace of his viss. ¡°Have you talked to the monks?¡± was his immediate answer, buzzing with anxiety. ¡°Yes. I''ve told them of your suspicions about Vizena.¡± ¡°Something''s going on. Suimer¡¯s inhabitants are leaving the village a lot more often, now,¡± he continued. ¡°And they call their god Zeles, not Vizena.¡± ¡°Interesting," she said, mentally cursing Zeles. ¡°You can tell them that yourself when they¡¯ll come down to talk to you.¡± A bit of his viss escaped its bounds in the spike of nervousness that followed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They don''t have a shard to deactivate Vizena with, so they''ll ask you to attack her.¡± She kept her tone as cheerful as she could without making it mocking. ¡°It''s your chance.¡± ¡°Chance¡­¡± he repeated, clearly unsure about what she meant. ¡°To prove yourself! They deactivated you because they thought you helped Koidan escape, and you were worried they would suspect you again if you told them about Vizena. Well, if you attack her and help the monks bring her back under their control, they will be convinced of your innocence. Although¡­¡± She trailed off, letting him ponder her words. ¡°What?¡± he asked after an instant of silence. ¡°Although,¡± she reprised, her voice now thoughtful and uncertain. ¡°It might be a set-up. Nevermind, it''s too risky. Don''t attack.¡± ¡°Why? Obeying to the monks is my duty.¡± ¡°I know, but it was a monk to frame you as a traitor. They could have organized everything to destroy you once and for all, since you were the one noticing that Vizena has apparently been replaced by my predecessor.¡± ¡°It wasn''t a monk to tell everyone I was a traitor. I know it was one of the inhabitants of your village. They''ve told me that when they awakened me.¡± ¡°Yes, but a monk must have examined them to make sure they weren''t lying. It must have been someone trusted, maybe even multiple people. And they lied to frame you as a traitor.¡± ¡°Why would they? I was just tending to my village, I didn''t see anything suspicious.¡± ¡°Tilau is the only place bordering with the forest, the only way out from the mountain. They needed you asleep in case they were discovered. It''s easier to escape the monks than an awake god.¡± ¡°That''s why you think they want to hurt me again?¡± ¡°Yes. They didn''t succeed in taking you out of the picture permanently, so they''ll probably try again. This seems the best chance to have you destroyed while making it look like it was just an accident.¡± ¡°You seem sure this Zeles is capable of destroying me. I have enough viss to last me a while, I don''t think he does. And Lorin will be attacking him too, the monks will try to distract him¡­¡± He sounded a bit unsure, but still not swayed by her words. ¡°If he''s not particularly powerful, how did he manage to replace Vizena, then?¡± He shut up and didn''t answer, but the peripheral buzzing of his energies revealed that he was pondering the question. ¡°If they managed to destroy and replace a god once, they could do it twice,¡± Aili added. ¡°If this traitor monk, or monks, is trusted enough to have you shut down, they could find a way to tell Lorin not to attack, or even deactivate her. Then you''d be alone against Zeles, with much lower odds of victory.¡± ¡°Then what do I do? I can''t refuse to attack, they''ll punish me.¡± ¡°There''s no need for you to refuse. You can just pretend to try and tell them that you failed, they have no way to check.¡± ¡°I¡­ I don''t know. I really don''t know.¡± Aili refrained from insisting. The fact he¡¯d asked her what to do meant he believed her a bit, or at least he thought her explanation made sense. As with Lorin, she didn¡¯t need him to be completely convinced, just confused and overwhelmed. Enough to make him hesitate, maybe hold back in a crucial moment. ¡°Think about it,¡± she added. ¡°There''s no hurry to take a decision until after they contact you, and it might take some more days.¡± There was no answer, so she decided to change topic. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I¡¯ve heard you''re the famous Ludunus. I''ve read your ¡®Treatise on Hereditary Traits¡¯ when I was still a monk, it was one of the most fascinating reads I ever had.¡± ¡°Yes, that''s... That was me,¡± he seemed to cheer up a bit as he spoke. ¡°It''s still a passion of mine, even if not as important as being a deity.¡± ¡°How did you find out about hereditary traits in the first place?¡± ¡°I was part of the group of scholars that was studying the viss¡¯s property of intensity, particularly of human viss. I found similarities between the information contained in people''s viss and the one in their closest ancestors, like parents, grandparents and so on. I decided to focus on that phenomenon, thought that it was interesting and kept going.¡± ¡°And how far back can these similarities go?¡± ¡°Forever, potentially. Every creature is linked to the ones who generated it, that are chained to the ones that generated them, and so on.¡± ¡°Until we get to the first humans, right? The ones who were created by the gods, the actual ones. Would they have information related to the gods too, or¡­¡± ¡°It''s impossible to say. I only managed to go some generations back thanks to the small number of corpses that were buried and not burned in ancient times. They still had some small traces of viss left in them, but it didn''t give me many details about their ancestors.¡± ¡°But you wrote of how animal people were born in ancient times. It must have happened before the villages were built, right?¡± ¡°There''s no need to go that far, most of the animal people''s families we have around the mountain are fairly recent, three to four centuries old. A lot of families have also disappeared or reverted back to being humans without traits, since they were getting their viss from animals that couldn''t be found around the mountain.¡± By his intonation, Aili expected him to elaborate further, but he seemed suddenly hesitant, as if he''d realized he had revealed too much. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard something so interesting.¡± She was glad she was genuinely enthusiastic about it and didn¡¯t need to pretend. ¡°How did you find out about that?¡± ¡°It''s all in the books,¡± he said quickly, with a tone that suggested he wanted to close the conversation there. ¡°I¡­ I''m sorry, I don''t want to sound like I don''t believe you, but I''ve looked for this kind of information before and I haven''t found books that go far back enough on the history of the mountain, and nothing on what happened before.¡± ¡°Maybe you didn''t look well enough.¡± Aili retreated a bit to hide her irritation. ¡°Could you give me some titles?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ll ask the monks to consult them the next time they come down to talk to me.¡± ¡°So this is what you were after the whole time, right?¡± Dore said. ¡°You didn''t care about helping me, you only wanted to get information no one else would give you. You can stop pretending now, because I won''t tell you anything. I won''t betray the monks, even if some of them want to destroy me.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Sorry if I gave you the impression I only wanted to talk to you for this reason.¡± He didn''t answer. She waited a bit longer, then resigned to the fact that the discussion was over. She observed the village from above as it awakened. Despite having done everything to protect Zeles and fend off the monks, Dore¡¯s remark about only being interested in extracting information from him had bitten deep. All of her interactions with the inhabitants were based on a lie, and she constantly had to act as if she wasn''t gossiping with them at the market just a few months before. And then there were the monks and Dore, where she actually had to think about how to best deceive them. She feared having to do that with Zeles too, if he kept disregarding her plans and advice. Which only reduced her social circle to one person. She glanced inside the prison and found him sitting at the table in the center of his room, looking out at the sea through the window despite the early hour. She''d decided to move the prison to a different building after Loriem had complained about hearing the constant ticking of the clocktower. He''d been put in a cell with a wall made of vertical bars, an exact copy of the monks'' village setup. There wasn''t space and privacy, which didn¡¯t make sense since there was a god checking from above that the prisoner wouldn''t escape and they only needed to rely on guards when it was time to bring him food. So she''d decided to build two large rooms inside an abandoned warehouse, with a fenced garden to take a walk in the morning and afternoon. The doors were locked and the windows couldn''t be opened or easily broken. One of them was covered by a grate instead of glass and faced the internal side of the warehouse, where a guard was sitting behind a desk at all times. But at least the prisoners had a decent amount of space and a bit of privacy. Rabam lived in the adjacent room. His door was always open, but he didn''t get out to walk during the day because the monks could spot him. Aili softly knocked with her wind on the wall of wood to announce her presence. ¡°How is it going?¡± she asked. Rabam broke out of his calm gazing to gave her a short laugh. ¡°As well as you can expect,¡± he answered, suddenly lowering his voice. Loriem could hear a bit, after all, if he stood close enough to the grate that faced the inside of the warehouse. At that moment, he was only sleeping on his bed, the loud snoring echoing in the empty half of the building. ¡°I don''t know how he can sleep,¡± Rabam whispered. ¡°I can barely do that, and I only had a secondary role in Mili''s death. Compared to him, at least.¡± ¡°Rabam, it wasn''t in any way your¡­¡± ¡°I smelled fried eggs the other day,¡± he interrupted her. ¡°Does he have a pan in there? I thought he wasn¡¯t allowed to touch pans anymore.¡± ¡°You have every right to be angry at him, but living in this constant state of anger will hurt you too, in the long run. I have enough time to build a new house now, wouldn''t you prefer¡­¡± ¡°No. The monks would wonder who you built it for.¡± ¡°You could calculate a blind spot between the other buildings.¡± He shook his head. ¡°If they come down here and see it, they''ll wonder why it isn''t visible from above. They still don''t trust you, we should avoid any suspicious move.¡± ¡°So you''ll stay here indefinitely? Punish yourself like this because it''s easier to pretend that Milvia¡¯s death was your fault instead of facing the fact that you couldn''t have done anything to prevent it?¡± He passed a hand on the rough surface of the table, eyes cast down. ¡°Are you at least carving?¡± ¡°I don''t trust myself with a knife, right now.¡± Aili felt again the need to insist: that he should move somewhere else, that he was inflicting himself additional suffering on top of the one that already stained his viss, that he had nothing to prove and a lot to heal. She held back, knowing it would be just another fruitless conversation. She paced on her pedestal, looking for another solution. She could send him out to live with Zeles instead, and only return to her periodically to check whether there were letters to deliver or plans to carry out. But then she''d be truly and completely alone, not to mention unable to act quickly enough. The alternative was to make sure the monks trusted her, then build him a house. She already had a half-formed plan to gain their trust, but she feared it would either succeed and have Zeles deactivated, or fail so spectacularly that the monks would have realized she had never wanted them to succeed in the first place. At least she could distract Rabam a bit. ¡°There''s a plan I was thinking about. I need your input of ex-sentinel.¡± He shrugged. ¡°Sure, I have nothing else to do.¡± ¡°Point out any flaws you find, no matter how small. First of all, I''ll ask to speak with a prior¡­¡± 4.16 - The match Saia waited for the match to start on a bench at the field¡¯s border, with all the other substitute players. Ilit would have started to play as a runner, as H¨¦she had established, then he¡¯d be replaced with Saia at the first sign of fatigue. The players of the Twilight Doves mingled with the team from the city of Agm¨¦ze, the Stars of Jade, with green and yellow uniforms and a green circle in their half of the field. She wondered how people could travel from one city to another. She could only imagine them descending along a ladder similar to the one they¡¯d used to hoist her, but that would have implied having the other city fly over Irim¨¦ze, and she was fairly sure it hadn¡¯t happened. Or maybe they had ascended the ladder instead, flying under the city. The opponents in the Doves¡¯ half of the field gave her curious glances when they thought she wasn¡¯t looking at him, unaware that she could see in every direction. She imagined it was because of the mask she was wearing, made of wood and vaguely shaped like a bird, with purple and pink plumes glued on. It had been H¨¦she¡¯s idea, after she had tried to change into another person and found out she couldn¡¯t without copying all the information she needed from their viss into her own. Problem was, she didn¡¯t know which data were necessary, and it was probably a lot more than she had anticipated, with the other person having to stand in her domain the whole time, wondering what was happening. It was also too expensive to find a statue that was realistic enough. Besides, her teammates would have inquired where Saia was, and it was difficult to believe she¡¯d been replaced so close to an important match. So they¡¯d chosen a simple mask, counting on the semi-darkness of the arena to conceal anything else that could identify her. The players jogged up to their positions as the refer¨¦e entered, the fog shifting under their feet. The stands were mostly dark, except for some specks of light where the staff or a spectator was holding a lantern. The screams of encouragement and the constant movement in the dark felt like they were surrounded by a restless night sky. Even the sprites beneath her seemed agitated, their viss buzzing to the point she could easily perceive it at the edge of her restricted domain. Once both teams were positioned on the field and the narrators on the balcony, the refere¨¦ commanded silence. The ones to start were the Twilight Doves, as of mutual agreement. The narrator took out a gray ball from the bag beside him and held it firmly with both hands. ¡°This is the story of Nobe, a young man who lives in Lym¨¦ze, the city of trees, half in perennial darkness and half in eternal light, the two sides mercifully divided by the waters of the twenty rivers.¡± Saia remembered from Serit''s lessons that water was an important element of shilv¨¦¡¯s faith. For that reason the cities in the stories usually had waterfalls or rivers, unlike any real city that was floating in the sky, where the water was gathered from rain and clouds. ¡°There were voices of foreign ambassadors coming to the city, and he dreamed to meet them and leave with them for foreign landscapes. He thought his desire was bound to only remain a dream he had to suppress as he crossed the city from dark to light to work as an apprentice carpenter.¡± The public was almost quiet now, even if still restless. ¡°One day, while he was walking on the bridge of quartz that crossed the river, he heard someone speak to him. It was Lunush¨¦¡¯s voice, coming out of the water. He dropped to his knees while she gave him his mission.¡± He stopped and stepped back. Saia knew he was smiling even without checking his expression. There were some murmurs of protest from the public, as if they had forgotten that it was the second narrator who introduced the goal of both protagonists. The other narrator took a gray ball too. Her hair was tied high on top of her head, letting two big earrings twist over her shoulders and shine of a silvery light. ¡°Silan lived on the fourth level of the city, with the other children of viss.¡± Saia felt her teammates and the spectators holding their breath. It was uncommon for a character to be a child of viss. ¡°One night, the goddess of death awakened her with whispers in the dark. She told her of the ambassadors and the danger that lay in their next meeting. ¡®You''ll have to save them,'' she said. ''This is the mission for which I''ve created you in this city. Stop the assassin, even if you have to send their viss to me, in my palace under the waves.¡¯¡± Saia couldn''t see Serit, even if she knew they were on the third row of stands somewhere at her back. She briefly wondered what they thought of that presentation. The book she¡¯d read about the gods presented the goddess of death as a stern woman living in a palace that was half under the earth, half under the sea, even if there was discordance on the exact location. She constantly spun a thread of viss from her hands, letting it fall into the water, creating all the viss that existed in the world. Her team¡¯s narrator dropped the ball onto the field, starting the match. Ilit broke into a run, the other two runners of the Doves following a bit to the sides to intercept the opponents. He reached the ball first and passed it back to another runner before an adversary could touch his arm and force him to stop. The back and forth continued until a defender of the Stars caught the ball, and soon after one of their attackers scored on the green circle. That gave the chance to their narrator to expand on how her protagonist was choosing the weapons for the mission. Saia felt a bit uneasy in seeing so many connections to the goddess of death. Despite the Doves¡¯ best efforts, the Stars scored a second time, once again on their circle, with a green ball. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°As Silan descended the levels toward the bottom, she heard steps walking beside her in the dark. She raised her eyes to the left, but didn''t see anyone. Someone tapped on her shoulder. She turned and saw a large hat that oozed dark, and below it, a figure shrouded in a cape with the symbol of the city.¡± Saia saw her teammates glance up at their narrator. His face didn''t betray anything, but he quickly replaced the green ball he was holding with a gray one. ¡°He''s stalling,¡± the defender next to Saia murmured. As the other narrator''s description went on, she realized why: the character was a former palace guard, just like the one that Nobe was supposed to meet at the temple of G¨¦lana. The personality was similar: someone who had failed a mission and left the guards because they couldn¡¯t live with the shame. It was still the other narrator''s turn, predictably with a gray ball. Saia had the feeling the adversaries were holding back, wanting a score on the Doves¡¯ circle that would force the narrator to continue the story despite not being ready. Saia expanded her domain to gauge the audience''s reaction to the character that had just been introduced. She didn¡¯t find enthusiasm or surprise in their viss, but there weren''t particularly bad feelings either. ¡°Makes sense,¡± a spectator said. ¡°They want to enter the palace, after all.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so bland,¡± said another one on the other side of the arena. ¡°Maybe the next one.¡± ¡°Saia,¡± a staff member yelled, and she immediately shrunk her domain. ¡°You¡¯re going in.¡± She stood and waited for the refer¨¦e to stop the game. As soon as Ilit had run out of the field, she entered and got into position. After the whistle, she followed the opponent that was holding the ball, trying to ignore the hole created by the enormous expense of viss she¡¯d used to expand her domain enough to reach the stands. She could feel the year she had just lost, like empty lungs underwater. When the adversary threw the ball, she managed to reach it first. There wasn''t enough time to get into the intricacies of the game, so she had trained on how to run as fast as she could while making it seem as natural as possible, snatch the ball, and throw it as soon as possible to the right player. She counted on the opponents focusing on her at least in the first few minutes, believing she was some sort of new prodigy that H¨¦she was showing off for the first time. The more they were focused on her, the more they would underestimate her teammates. A Star touched her arm. She barely registered it, but she''d been on the lookout for that kind of thing, especially with a few opponents in her proximity. She stopped as the refer¨¦e started to count, then threw the ball to an attacker with a bit more force than needed. One of the opponents managed to deviate the ball, but not to catch it. It rolled off, a defender and two runners immediately behind it. The Stars had a chance to try a score in their own circle, but slowed down instead, bringing the ball closer to the purple one of the Doves. That gave her time to get an idea for a new character for her team''s narrator, so that he could play a green ball next instead of a gray one. Problem was, she had no idea of who that character could be. She tried to guess the expectations of the public based on what she''d seen and heard. They obviously wanted something new, but they also didn''t seem particularly disappointed. After all, the opponents¡¯ character could be useful in the story, specifically to enter the palace of the representatives and prevent the assassination. So she needed to think of a character that could be useful for the same reason. She joined the circle of defenders around the scoring area. She had no idea who could know their way around such a guarded place. Maybe some kind of servant, but it didn''t seem to be the exciting solution the spectators were looking for. She found nothing, except for a strong need to ask Aili instead. She always knew everything. A sudden idea distracted her, giving an opponent the chance to try a scoring throw. A defender hit it, sending it far away, and Saia went in pursuit with the other runners, thinking fast. The Doves needed a character who knew a lot of things and was good at planning. They needed Aili. Except she was a letter carrier, and shilv¨¦ didn''t send people to deliver letters, but birds. So her character needed to be something else. A bird trainer, maybe. The opponents scored on the purple circle. Saia expanded her domain a bit to include the ball and left a bit of her viss on it as it was carried away toward the balcony, her idea written as a string of different intensities. The narrator caught the ball and slowly rotated it in his hands. ¡°Nobe left his job the next day,¡± he said, speaking slowly. ¡°He started his descent toward the bottom of the city, head filled with dreams of glory. He imagined how it would be like to earn the gratitude of those ambassadors by saving them. Would they invite him to their houses in distant cities? Would they regard him as their peer? The voice of the goddess faded from his memory as he chose the temple of G¨¦lana as his next stop.¡± He put away the gray ball, seemed to hesitate a bit, then took out a green one. Saia buzzed with excitement, realizing he planned to use her idea. She focused on the trajectory of the ball, ready to snatch it out of the air. She managed to arrive first, and immediately threw the ball to an attacker. It flew over the heads of the two defenders and the runner who were barring her way. She observed the action intently, waiting for a moment where she could sprint and interfere, but there was no need: two of the attackers threw the ball back and forth at each other right before the opponents could touch them, and the last throw was a score in the Doves¡¯ circle. The ball was kicked back to the narrator. ¡°At the temple, Nobe was welcomed by a woman with a dress of plumes, a flock of doves following her every step. She stared at Nobe and smiled, as if she already knew him, but didn''t speak. He asked who she was, so she extended her arm and opened her hand.¡± He imitated the gesture. ¡°A dove perched on it, a piece of paper in its beak. Nobe took it and read: ¡®I¡¯m Ailoma, servant of G¨¦lana. Do you want to enter the palace?¡¯ So Ailoma joined Nobe in his quest, promising to help him with the excuse of tending to the representatives¡¯ birds.¡± While the narrator spoke, Saia imagined the scene with the actual Aili in it, and not the shilv¨¦ version of her everyone else was certainly thinking about. The doves weren''t her idea, but she had to admit they contributed to making the character interesting. Once the narrator had finished, she reactivated her vision and expanded her domain to include all of the arena. Most of the public was hunched forward, enthralled by the narrator''s voice. She could see their curiosity in the way their viss moved. A runner yelled at her, and she realized she wasn''t running anymore. Focusing on multiple places of the arena was relatively easy, but moving the statue at the same time required a lot of skills. She was so pleased with herself she almost dismissed the feeling that something was wrong. She quickly checked the rows of seats, expecting to see a guard with their trident pointed at her or the angry figure of H¨¦she calling her name. Her domain had been expanded for too long, so she decided to ask Serit whether there was anything wrong. She didn¡¯t find them, but an empty seat stained with their viss, droplets of sweat, and an intense mixture of desperation and fear. 4.17 - Tattoos Saia expanded her domain further to figure out what had happened and hopefully find Serit. Before she could look around, the opponents caught the gray ball and one of her team¡¯s runners shouted for her to go in pursuit. She focused on the action as best as she could, running behind the ball and trying to prevent the Stars of Jade to score on the green circle, while her expanded domain still drained her viss. She remembered Serit¡¯s words about their security being the reason they had advocated for the representatives to not deactivate her. As much as she hated it, she needed to make sure they were still alive. Checking the stands row by row was an exhausting amount of work, and probably useless considering Serit and whoever had attacked them could move around. Besides, if someone wanted to hurt them it made sense to leave the crowd, so she decided to start from the inside of the arena. She expanded her domain again, including the rooms and corridors behind the stands. She wondered what to do once she found Serit and the attackers. What had happened at the warehouse made it clear that she couldn¡¯t leave, or she¡¯d be deactivated as soon as she stepped out of the field. Without being able to get closer or keep her domain expanded indefinitely, she could only alert the security and wait for them to solve the situation. There were people going around the corridors under the stands, staff members as far as she could tell. Most of them paced and talked to each other, slow and aimless, clearly waiting for the match to be over before they could spring into action. In the midst of all that calm, the group of five people running in the general direction of the exit stood out like a sea snake in a school of sardines. She saw that the one at the center was Serit and stopped moving her statue, focusing all of her attention on the situation. They were trying to struggle, but the other four people pushed and shoved them forward, forcing them into a quick pace. Her attention was abruptly brought back to the arena by a teammate screaming her name. She started running toward the opponent who was holding the ball, keeping purposefully a bit too slow; she needed someone to score if she wanted enough time to investigate what was happening. She saw an attacker getting closer to the circle and positioned herself in front of him in place of an actual defender. When he tried to score, she stepped forward a bit too soon, leaving some space to her right. He quickly passed the ball from one hand to the other and scored. The defender Saia had replaced yelled something, but she was already tuning her out. She expanded her domain once more while the opponents cheered and the ball was carried toward their narrator. The group that had taken Serit was taking a detour to avoid two janitors. Saia kept a bit of her focus on what was happening in the field, using the rest to quickly examine the four kidnappers: they were three shilv¨¦ and a human, their lower faces covered by scarves of different colors, without a common pattern she could identify. Their heads were shaved to the scalp. They wore common tunics with pink plumes that showed support for the Doves, identical to many she¡¯d seen among the crowd that day. They left their forearms half visible, showing the swirling tattoos that covered them. She checked inside their pockets. Apart from the small lights and tickets, three of them carried knives. The third one was holding his own, pointed at Serit¡¯s back, close enough they could feel the tip every time they struggled too much or tried to slow down. She cut the pockets with a slash of wind and carried the knives away before they could clatter to the ground and alert their owners. After debating with herself on how to get rid of the last knife, she sent a strong gust of wind to tear it away from the shilv¨¦¡¯s hand. ¡°Stop!¡± he whispered, sharply enough it had the urgency of a shout. The four kidnappers halted, one of them clamping a hand around Serit¡¯s mouth before they could scream. ¡°Your knives?¡± the one that had been holding one asked. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. They quickly realized their pockets had been cut. ¡°She knows,¡± the human hissed. They broke into a run, dragging Serit with them. When they tried to struggle again, the shilv¨¦ right behind them punched at the base of their head, making them fall to the ground. They weren¡¯t unconscious, but hurt and confounded enough two of the kidnappers picked them up without encountering resistance. Saia pushed waves of viss into their bodies, trying to make the whole group fall asleep. They slowed down and stumbled, but they didn''t fall onto the ground as she had expected. She pushed more viss, increasing the quantity bit by bit despite the days of life that were leaving her at every second just because she was keeping her domain expanded for too long. Back at the match, the Stars¡¯ narrator had finished talking about something Saia hadn¡¯t followed in the least. She redoubled her efforts, pushing out so much viss it made her connection to the mountain disappear for an instant. The four kidnappers dropped to the ground as one. Saia nudged Serit with a bit of viss, looking for the nearest guards near the exits. She screamed in the corridor behind them with a fake male voice. ¡°Help! They''re attacking me!¡± The three guards looked at each other for so long Saia was on the point of nudging them forward. She just created another scream, further down the corridor. The guards finally sprung into action. Two of them extracted their tridents and ran away, while the third headed in the opposite direction, probably looking for support. Saia guided them with two more screams, making sure they were heading toward the four asleep kidnappers and their barely awake prey. She pushed some viss into Serit to help them along, then shrunk her domain again. She focused on the field just in time to witness the purple ball falling onto the field. She started running even before guessing who had thrown it. If her team scored twice in a row, the match would end and she could check on Serit in person. She ran behind the attacker that was holding the ball, waiting for her to throw it to a teammate, then sprinted to intercept it. She circled around the defenders to cross into the midfield with the purple circle. She passed the ball to an attacker and slowed down, pretending to be tired. She found Serit¡¯s seat on the stands, but it was still empty. She waited for her team to score, then decided to check on the situation inside the arena again. She found a group of people collapsed on the floor, but they weren¡¯t the kidnappers. The guards were rolling on themselves and clawing at their own tunics, the tridents abandoned on the floor beside them. ¡°Let me rain!¡± one of them screamed when one of the janitors appeared at the end of the corridor. Saia expanded her domain more, hoping the kidnappers hadn''t left the arena; she wasn''t sure she could go much further before her connection to the mountain disintegrated all the viss she had left in a matter of minutes. Luckily, they were still running down the corridor, Serit a stumbling figure in their midst. They had almost reached the exit that wasn¡¯t guarded. Saia tried to make them fall asleep again. They only stumbled, but this time she paid attention to how the viss moved inside their bodies. Part of it was moving in slow waves like she intended, then reverted back into alertness before the tiredness could take over. The flow started to change when passing from the shoulders to the torso. She remembered the tattoos and looked closer. The viss followed the swirls and waves as if it was a pattern on an object, then came out on the other side without traces of tiredness. She needed to disrupt the tattoos in some way. She tried to extract the ink, but only managed to move it around under the skin. She would keep going if she didn¡¯t fear creating a new pattern with unknown effects. Back at the arena, the narrator had almost finished his turn and was about to release a copper ball. She didn¡¯t have the time to think of a better solution, so she used her winds to slash at the first layer of the kidnappers¡¯ skin. Their screams paralyzed her for an instant. She pushed viss into them until they fell asleep. ¡°Run!¡± she yelled at Serit, giving them a bit of energy. They were startled out of their stupor. They stared in shock at the bodies and blood, then shook their head and made their way toward the inside of the arena, yelling for the guards¡¯ help. Saia returned her focus to the field in time to intercept the ball. She ran toward the purple circle, checking both the entrances to the stands and the positions of her teammates with her all-around view. She let an opponent touch her back to stop in her tracks and make a sudden passage to the Doves¡¯ attacker that was wearing the protagonist¡¯s cape. The crowd exploded in a cheer when the Doves scored in their own circle. In the moving lights of the lanterns, she finally saw Serit emerge from the corridors of the arena. She pretended to join her team¡¯s celebrations, wondering about the kidnappers and how much, exactly, they knew about her. 4.18 - Delivery Aili''s viss was all over the place. It didn''t help that she had to stay awake at night and feel her anxiety grow instead of sleeping. She couldn¡¯t even ask Rabam to deactivate her, since he had the day before with the task of delivering to Zeles the letter with the instructions on how to protect himself from her plan. Besides, she needed to stay awake in case the monks decided to pay her a visit. She had requested a meeting by waving a blue flag at the top of the clocktower¡¯s pole, arranging it so it looked like a piece of cloth got stuck there, but she hadn¡¯t received an answer. That could mean they were busy with something more important, like the attack on Zeles. She read again his letter, abandoned on the table inside Rabam''s cell: I appreciate your worries. Believe me when I say that my intention for acting as I did was never to add more problems to solve. I just want to protect the people of Suimer like Saia has asked me to do. They don''t deserve to be lied to again, so I won''t do that. I won''t lie anymore about who I am, and if the monks will destroy me for that, so be it. I didn''t follow your plan, but you''ll be pleased to know that Lorin is on our side. I told her the truth about Vizena and what she did, about Saia and what she wanted to accomplish. She''s still uncertain about some things, but for now she will hold off from attacking. She didn''t trust his report at all. Maybe Lorin had earned his trust only to betray him, maybe she hadn¡¯t been swayed from Zeles''s words and would have attacked anyway. But she was too far to do anything. She could only hope that Dore wouldn''t attack either, and that Zeles would be strong enough to fend off Lorin in case she did. She hated not knowing what was going on, but she could only pace on the pedestal and check that everything in Lausune was going on as usual. She kept mulling over the situation for the entire day, until finally she noticed someone approach her borders from the forest. A group of five sentinels, Maris walking at the front. She observed their stern expression, trying to guess their thoughts. She had hoped to meet with Riena again, or even someone she didn''t know. Anything was better than a prior who was completely on the abbot''s side. ¡°What do you want?¡± they asked, stopping some steps in front of the border. ¡°Thank you for coming here. I was told to find a solution to bring Vizena back under our control.¡± She created a breeze to lift another closed envelope left on Rabam¡¯s table and carry it up to the border. Maris didn''t have a reaction in seeing it drop to the ground. Aili wanted to ask them whether the monks'' attack had worked, but she wasn''t sure she was supposed to know about it. ¡°This is the plan I came up with,¡± she said, nudging the letter forward with a gust of wind. ¡°Unless you have already dealt with it?¡± Maris waited until the letter was well on the other side of the line of stones before bending to pick it up. ¡°We didn¡¯t,¡± they only said. Aili stopped pacing. She felt her viss slow down in knowing that Zeles was probably safe. ¡°I don''t trust you,¡± Maris added, tearing away the top of the envelope. ¡°You''re too involved with Saia and Daira not to be part of this.¡± ¡°As I told Riena, she was my friend, but I wasn''t on her side. That letter will prove it to you, if you''ll give me a chance.¡± ¡°And Daira?¡± ¡°She was my mentor, nothing else.¡± She wanted to defend her further, telling Maris that Daira hadn''t planned to betray the abbot, she¡¯d just wanted to avoid the death of such a big number of completely innocent people. But that meant revealing that she knew exactly what had happened when Saia became a goddess. ¡°Why?¡± she asked instead. ¡°Is she suspected too?¡± ¡°She didn''t obey a direct order of the abbot, putting the whole village in danger.¡± She wanted to protest, but her situation was precarious enough as it was. ¡°Was she punished?¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°She¡¯s not a prior anymore. The abbot didn''t think it right to do anything more.¡± Aili realized from their expression that they didn''t quite agree, but there was something else. Sorrow? She remembered the meeting in the tent, all the time the priors spent together. It was likely Maris considered her a friend, and now felt like she had betrayed them. The prior opened the letter and started reading it in silence. Their eyes shot up at some point during the beginning, looking at the temple in the distance. ¡°Why such a long trip? They could just board in Kivari and enter Suimer when the ship stops at the next harbor. They would be inside in two days. Not¡­¡± They read the lines again. ¡°Not after weeks of voyage.¡± ¡°Yes, but then Vizena would immediately find out they''re not part of the crew. They need to be familiar with it and behave like actual sailors.¡± Maris kept reading without giving her any sign of acknowledgement. ¡°Stir a discussion in the temple?¡± they asked after a bit. ¡°I left it vague because I''m not sure what kind of situation they''ll find once inside the village, but I know from visitors that came from Suimer that the shape of Vizena¡¯s statue has changed.¡± ¡°It''s Koidan¡¯s,¡± Maris said. ¡°We saw it with our binoculars.¡± ¡°Then they could pretend like they had no idea of what''s going on and ask for explanations. I suggest they do it during the ceremony too, when it''s likely to cause more problems.¡± Maris nodded, and Aili took it as a sign that they didn''t hate her plan completely. Until they read forward and frowned. ¡°Someone concealed as Saia. Explain.¡± ¡°The monks creating problems at the docks and in the temple are likely not enough to distract Vizena from the attack. We need to find someone that resembles Saia as closely as possible and make it look like she''s arriving from the sea on a boat. This way we''ll capture Vizena''s attention.¡± ¡°How are you so sure of that?¡± ¡°We know they''re somehow connected, right? We don''t know whether they were actually enemies or allies, but we know that when Saia became a goddess, Vizena''s shard disappeared.¡± ¡°And yours. Replaced with a useless piece of glass.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told Riena that we were friends and she wanted me on her side. She thought I''d have accepted to help her if she destroyed my shard. Regardless, Saia leaving was either part of their plan, in which case seeing her coming back would mean something went wrong, or a very unpleasant sight if they are enemies like Saia declared.¡± ¡°It''s all guesses. What if there isn''t a connection?¡± ¡°Then we''d have bigger problems to solve, like two separate attempts at attacking the monks that are both succeeding independently.¡± Maris''s hand twitched, crumpling the paper a bit. ¡°They are not succeeding.¡± Aili struggled not to contradict them. ¡°No,¡± she managed to say. ¡°For now they''re not, but we can''t risk it.¡± Maris resumed reading, then began again from the top. Aili waited, trying to anticipate possible questions. There were none. Maris folded the letter and put it inside their pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll bring your plan to the abbot''s attention.¡± They turned, gestured for the other four sentinels to follow them, then started their ascent toward the village. Aili observed them as much as she could, both to make sure they were actually going away and to catch some revealing expressions or gestures about what Maris thought. She saw them argue with another sentinel, but couldn''t expand her domain further to listen. They soon disappeared behind the trees. She returned to her pacing, even if it was less frantic than before. Maris wouldn''t have accepted the letter if the monks didn''t desperately need a new plan, or so she hoped. She wouldn''t be sure until Rabam was back, hopefully with an update from Zeles or his own observations about what had happened. She had to wait until evening for him to finally cross the border on the forest''s side. He stopped before leaving the tree''s protection, since it wasn''t yet dark enough for him to safely return to his cell. ¡°What happened? Why did it take you so long?¡± Aili asked. He slumped down against a tree, breathing hard. ¡°Suimer''s side of the forest is full of sentinels. I''ve tried for the whole day, but I couldn''t get close to the border.¡± ¡°So you didn''t deliver the letter?¡± He shook his head and took the envelope out from his worn-out backpack. ¡°At least I saw the attack. There was a lot of wind along the borders, every time the sentinels tried to enter they found resistance.¡± ¡°So the attack failed?¡± Rabam smiled. ¡°Yes. Completely.¡± ¡°Good. I gave the monks my plan, though, so we really need to deliver that letter to Zeles. He needs to know all of the details, otherwise¡­¡± She let the sentence hang, but Rabam nodded anyway. They had conceived a perfect plan at the scope of ensuring that the monks would have followed it. It was good enough that it would actually succeed, if Zeles didn''t know what would happen in advance. ¡°I¡¯m going tomorrow, hopefully the sentinels will have left by then.¡± ¡°Sure, but don''t take unnecessary risks. If they''ll actually go through with the plan, it¡¯ll take at least twenty days before they''ll be ready to act, likely more. We have a bit of time.¡± Rabam nodded. ¡°And then you''ll go to live in a proper house,¡± Aili added. He sighed. ¡°Eventually I will. You''re right, I can''t keep going like this. But I do think staying in a cell is the best solution, for now.¡± He looked at the twilight in the distance. ¡°Can I ask you a favor?¡± he said after a bit. ¡°Sure.¡± ¡°Could you bring me my carving tools? I miss it.¡± Aili obliged immediately, making them fly from Milvia''s house to his hand, keeping them away from people, behind the buildings or into the shadows as they crossed the village. ¡°Thank you,¡± Rabam said, setting out to carve. He didn''t create animals, this time, but waves and swirls. Aili observed in silence, wondering what he was trying to accomplish. ¡°What are you doing?¡± she asked after a bit, incapable of holding back her curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m experimenting with patterns.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t explode.¡± He laughed. ¡°I¡¯m being careful. I¡¯m just tweaking the patterns I already know.¡± ¡°Can I watch?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± he said, chipping away a piece of wood. Aili set out to observe what he was doing, wondering at the back of her mind which rules made the patterns work as they did. 4.19 - Steeds They were finally back at the warehouse, doors locked, the sprite lamp placed on the kitchen table right between them. Serit was drinking something dark from a tall and narrow glass. Whatever it was, their hands weren''t trembling anymore. ¡°H¨¦she is satisfied with the idea you had and how you played. She says that nobody suspects you of not being human. She has allowed me to send a letter to the wind spirit we''ll have to meet and organize the expedition, provided we update her about any progress we make two days before we write to the other representatives.¡± They took another sip, gaze lost somewhere outside the window, where the lights on the other side of the city shone in a sea of darkness. ¡°Were they captured?¡± Saia asked. After the match, she''d briefly checked the entrance where the kidnappers had collapsed: they weren¡¯t there anymore, and there was no trace of a fight. ¡°No,¡± Serit said. ¡°I¡¯ve called for help, but when we came back, they weren¡¯t there anymore.¡± ¡°They did something to the guards.¡± ¡°The rain whistle. The human had one hidden beneath his scarf. They threatened me with that too, to make me stop struggling.¡± ¡°I looked for weapons, but I only saw the knives.¡± Serit put down the glass and rotated it on the table with the tip of their fingers. ¡°It¡¯s small, it looks more like a jewel than a whistle, and it doesn¡¯t even have a pattern engraved on the surface. It produces a sound that disrupts the receptors with which shilv¨¦¡¯s bodies gauge how much viss is left inside them. They''re responsible for sending impulses to our brains when the viss is low.¡± Saia remembered what the fallen guards were screaming. ¡°So they suddenly needed to rain?¡± ¡°No, their bodies thought that they needed to rain, and reacted accordingly. When the urge to rain gets ignored for too long, it becomes painful and debilitating. The rain whistle can stop every shilv¨¦ that listens to it for at least an hour, which is the average time it takes for the receptors to start functioning well again and for the body to call off the emergency.¡± ¡°Who were they?" ¡°I have no idea, but they sure knew a lot about me. You''re the biggest secret of the city at the moment, but they knew how you could protect me and were ready in case you''d try to put them to sleep.¡± ¡°It was their tattoos. I had to break their skin.¡± Saia mentally shuddered in remembering that. Now that she could look at the situation with a bit of detachment, she was horrified by what she''d seen and done. She hoped she hadn''t hurt them too badly, but she couldn''t really think of any other solution at the moment. ¡°Yes, I think I know what you''re talking about. They''re special patterns that can be traced on the skin and modify the flow of viss inside the body to obtain some sort of constant effect. This one in particular is very rare, because sleeping becomes impossible without someone helping you with their own viss the entire time.¡± ¡°But they ran away after I ruined their tattoos, even if they were asleep.¡± ¡°They didn''t have hair. Probably they had cut it and given it to an external accomplice, so that they could wake them up from afar if they didn''t see them come out of the arena.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°The protagonist of the Albatross was a child of viss,¡± she said after a bit of silence. Serit nodded distractedly. ¡°It''s weird,¡± Saia continued. ¡°It¡¯s a rare occurrence in the matches I¡¯ve watched, and yet it happened the day someone decides to kidnap you.¡± "It did distract me a bit, I have to concede you that, but I think it''s more of a coincidence. Although they had to take their information from someone.¡± ¡°Enanit?¡± she asked. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want us to leave.¡± ¡°Maybe, or maybe H¨¦she, as much as it would pain me.¡± ¡°Why would she do something like that?¡± Serit shrugged. ¡°Who knows? The representatives are the most likely candidates, though. Getting a rain whistle would be almost impossible without their help.¡± ¡°It costs a lot?¡±Saia guessed. Serit finally turned to face her. ¡°No, it has to be produced from zero and they''re the only one with the blueprint. I gave it to them in exchange for this place,¡± they opened their arms to embrace the room and the warehouse beneath. ¡°And resources to get started on my research about descending on earth.¡± ¡°So you... invented the rain whistle?¡± They nodded, then smiled. ¡°My first important invention. They decided to not produce it, though: it''s dangerous even for the shilv¨¦ who''s using it, even if they¡¯re aiming at someone else. Humans and wind spirits can use it without a problem, though, and it doesn''t have any effect on them.¡± They laughed. ¡°That part was a nightmare to explain.¡± ¡°And nobody else knows about it?" ¡°Hilon does, of course. And a couple of my friends from back when I was living on the fourth level.¡± They laughed again, hit by another memory. ¡°We tried it on each other to see what it was like.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°What?¡± Saia thought about the writhing shapes of the guards. ¡°Why?¡± Serit shrugged again. ¡°It was fun, once you were past the pain. It was foolish of me, I should have been more careful. Now I know better, but at the time I couldn''t resist showing off.¡± A smile creeped out from the corner of their mouth. "Who am I kidding, I''d probably do the same now.¡± Saia looked at the dark liquid left in the glass. ¡°So it''s the representatives? Are you sure of that?¡± ¡°If it''s not them, it''s their staff,¡± Serit said in a cheerful voice. ¡°Or some hate group, er even religious fanatics. Maybe some jealous scientist? Or even better, one of the many enemies of the representatives, someone who only sees me as a resource to steal.¡± They emptied the glass before Saia could even think to stop them. ¡°In any case, we have to give them the credit they deserve: they didn''t want to kill me, just to take me away. They probably needed my expertise for something but didn''t like my hourly rates.¡± They giggled, clearly pleased with themselves. Saia checked their viss: it was buzzing in some places and flowing peacefully in others, but other than that, everything seemed fine. They were just drunk. ¡°What if they try that again?¡± she asked. ¡°We''ll have some extra protection for the trip,¡± they said, suddenly serious. They rubbed their temples, blinking through the light of the sphere. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± ¡°I only did it because I don''t want to be deactivated. If you want to show your gratitude, you could let me go home.¡± Serit stood. ¡°I¡¯m off to bed, now. Tomorrow we''ll get the money for the trip and buy mounts and materials.¡± ¡°Mounts?¡± Saia asked. Serit produced a short laugh. ¡°You''ll see.¡± The next morning, they ascended on an elevator toward the third level. ¡°You really have never seen a horse?¡± Serit asked with their usual laugh as they stepped out of the atrium into the temporary shadow of the morning. ¡°No. And I don''t see animals here, so I don''t know how you have seen one.¡± ¡°We have a huge zoologic garden with a lot of creatures from earth. The aquarium with your snakes is there, by the way.¡± Saia looked down at the bottom of the city. Only some pieces of it were visible between the houses of the first and second levels. She looked for the zoologic garden, expecting a huge building, but there were too many that could fit. ¡°We can visit it when we come back, if you want,¡± Serit said. Saia glared at them. ¡°Again?¡± ¡°Sorry. No being nice, I get it.¡± ¡°If you want to be nice, let me go back home. Otherwise, I''m not interested.¡± Serit nodded. They guided her through streets that were even more crowded than the ones on the second level. ¡°I call them ''horses'' but they''re not actual horses,¡± Serit said, approaching a building on the outskirts of the level, just under the wall of the fourth one. ¡°They''re sprites shaped like horses.¡± Saia looked up at the building: it was taller than all the houses around it, and twice as large. The walls were of unusually solid wood, while the bit of roof she could spot from there was made of glass. A menacing man at the entrance made her think of a guard, even if he wasn¡¯t holding any visible weapon. He was well dressed, the border of the purplish-red tunic he was wearing decorated by rows of gold-tinted feathers. Serit extracted a letter from their pocket and showed them to the man. He raised his eyes twice as he read, once to glance at Serit and once to look at Saia, then nodded and gave them the letter back. ¡°Welcome,¡± he said, pushing the door open with an arm and stepping aside. Saia had expected a luxurious entrance, like the one in the temple: instead, there was a small room of cheap wood with a desk at the center. She barely noticed that there was a person sitting behind it, since her attention was entirely captured by the wall of glass on the other side of the room. There was a barren field behind it, extending for most of the width and length of the building, covered by a ceiling of glass. There were people running around, each accompanied by a different sprite, all of them bigger than a human. The people were holding long sticks of metal that ended with a fig-shaped tip. They seemed to be shouting orders, and most of the sprites moved accordingly, with different degrees of reticence. They seemed to be enthralled by the metal sticks, constantly reaching for them, to the point the handlers had to keep moving the tips away. They only stopped and allowed the sprites to reach them after they completed a complicated movement in the air. Serit approached the desk and gave the letter to the receptionist, a thin woman with big onyx eyes and pearl-gray skin. ¡°The expedition for Ifse? We prepared your steeds as requested, we only need a final confirmation. If there''s anything missing or you need to change the order, this visit is the last chance to make your request. Please mind there might be variations of price depending on what you ask us to change.¡± She applied a stamp at the bottom of the letter as she spoke, then rang a small bell at the side of the table. Serit took the letter back, unfazed by her words. The representatives were funding half of the total price of the expedition, and from what she could tell, Serit had more than enough to pay the rest. She still didn''t know where, though, even after examining the entire warehouse. A side door opened and a tall man wearing the simple gray tunic of the handlers gestured for them to follow him. They walked down a corridor that traced the perimeter of the field, the wall to the right a series of panels of glass. ¡°You look like you''ve never been here before,¡± the man commented. Saia realized that she was walking with the face completely turned toward the field, more out of habit than necessity, while her all-around vision informed her of where she was going. ¡°I haven¡¯t,¡± she said, then nodded toward a handler and her sprite. ¡°What are they doing?¡± ¡°She''s teaching it how to follow directions. That one,¡± he pointed further back, ¡°Is teaching his sprite how to stay solid during the trip.¡± The handler in question was riding a sprite that was floating half an armlength above the ground. The sprite¡¯s light flickered and the handler fell straight through it, rolling on the ground like someone used to fall fairly frequently. ¡°What if it happens while we''re flying?¡± ¡°If you were a shilv¨¦, I''d just tell you not to worry, you''ll just anticipate your next rain-voyage. But even if you''re human, the risk is almost nothing. We only choose and train the best ones, the others are sent to the pipes.¡± ¡°Sprites can easily change their solidity state,¡± Serit explained. ¡°They float between solid and gassy, and they can even detach pieces of themselves without interrupting the flux of viss from the fragments to the body and vice versa.¡± ¡°And you train them to stay solid?¡± Saia asked to the handler. ¡°Exactly. Solid enough to carry someone, at least. We only reward them with some viss if they managed to keep that state while completing the exercises.¡± Saia turned her head toward Serit and consciously raised her eyebrows. ¡°The sprites know how to change their state, they just need to be told when to do that,¡± Serit said. ¡°Huge difference compared to what we want to accomplish.¡± The handler gave them a curious glance, but Serit didn''t elaborate further and he didn''t ask. They followed a turn of the corridor, then entered a side door labeled with the number eight. ¡°After you,¡± the handler said, holding it open. There was a luminous vortex in the center of the room, similar to the one under the field of the arena or the temple¡¯s ceiling. The handler clapped twice and the fog started to divide, clearer shapes emerging in the dark room. Now that they weren''t confused in the daylight, Saia could see what they were: sleek donkeys with longer legs and shorter ears. ¡°Three for the cargo, as requested,¡± the handler said, pointing at them. ¡°And two for the passengers.¡± Saia expanded her domain to include Serit. ¡°My statue,¡± she whispered in their ears with her powers. They were a bit startled. "Better four for the cargo,¡± they said then, nodding as if to themselves. ¡°And one for the passengers." The handler hesitated, the smile vanishing from his face. ¡°This will cost you a bit more.¡± ¡°It''s not a concern.¡± The man escorted them out, back through the corridors and out of the entrance. ¡°Now?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Now we visit the market,¡± Serit said. ¡°You need to learn the language, at the very least. And to get appropriate clothes." 5.1 - Guards The rest of the preparations took two more days. In the morning of the third, Saia woke up to a series of voices in the corridor outside. She was about to expand her domain, thinking about the aggressors in the arena, when she heard Serit¡¯s voice among them. ¡°There isn''t a spare key, so if someone enters or you find the window open it means they broke in. Now excuse me a minute, please.¡± Their steps approached Saia¡¯s room. She got up from the bed, avoiding the ceiling light. She opened the door before they could knock and was met with their nervous smile. ¡°I showed the warehouse to the guards. Are you ready?¡± Saia observed her statue from all sides to make sure she was wearing everything. Serit had bought her a pile of equipment at the market, a cheaper version of what they were wearing at that moment: a dark gray bodysuit adherent to the body, another one in a heavy white cloth, a long brown tunic made of three layers of feathers and plumes. The outfit was completed by a pair of boots and gloves stuffed with plumes that made handling anything close to impossible. She''d put on everything the night before, since she wouldn''t have enough time from the moment she awakened to the departure. "Yes." "Goggles and scarf too?" She briefly took them out of her bag. "Good. I know you don''t need them, but for a human they¡¯re absolutely necessary.¡± They descended the stairs to the warehouse. Saia took two of the bags, while Serit carried the remaining two with a lot more effort. Saia checked the contents and found clothes and tools. "Where is the kernel?¡± she asked. "In the laboratory. We can''t risk having wind spirits finding out about it." They left the warehouse and its small contingent of guards and set off toward the elevators. The cabin to the fifth level was the only one without a line waiting to enter. The two guards in front of it motioned for Serit to show them a document of sorts, so they took H¨¦she¡¯s letter and handed it over. One of the guards lowered a lever and the grate slid aside, allowing Saia and Serit to enter. Saia observed the two elevators rooms of the second and third levels slowly crawl past them as the cabin ascended. The elevator finally stopped in a different room, smaller than the other ones. Two new guards asked to see the authorization again before they were allowed to step off. While one of them gave Serit precise directions to follow to reach the departure spot, Saia gradually expanded her domain to include the elevator room and its surroundings. The ring of the fifth level was bigger than all the other ones and sectioned into different areas by grates of metal. She saw a sunny area full of human-sized trees, basking in the sun but reluctant to expand higher due to the strong winds at the top. There were people working in an orchard nearby, carrying baskets and carts from one tree to another. The section where they were standing had some serious-looking buildings in sturdy wood, and every single person she could see was a guard. She didn''t find her shard, but she didn''t expect to: they knew how far she could reach before she completely depleted her viss, it would be foolish for them to keep it so close. Serit guided her out and to the left, along a faint path traced on the fertile soil of the fifth level. The ground raised until they were standing on a small hill of barren land, closer to the top of the wall but still protected from its violent winds. A group of people waited there, and she was surprised to see a human face among the gray shilv¨¦ ones. Long golden earrings shone from behind her cascade of black wavy hair when she turned her head. Her eyes widened in surprise in seeing Saia, a smile emerging from her lips. ¡°Welcome,¡± a man proclaimed with a naturally loud voice, capturing her attention. He had already lowered the goggles onto his face, the scarf covering most of what they left exposed. "I''m Atan, your guide for the duration of the trip. You must be engineer Serit and apprentice Saia.¡± ¡°We are.¡± Serit cast a doubtful glance at the rest of the group. ¡°Where are the guards I requested?¡± Atan pointed at a group of four shilv¨¦, each holding the reins of two or more sprites. They were barely visible in the sun, so their harness and saddle seemed to be floating in mid-air. The bigger ones carried bags and satchels, except for Saia¡¯s mount. ¡°Them?¡± Serit shook their head, but didn¡¯t elaborate further. "Let me take your bags,¡± Atan said. He took one from Serit and one from Saia without waiting for an answer. While he secured them on the back of a cargo sprite with the guards'' help, the human woman stepped forward and raised a cupped hand, eyes fixed on Saia. "I''m Run¨¬,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve been told there were two people travelling with us, I didn¡¯t imagine there was another human. I¡¯m a merchant from Oisilin.¡± She looked at Saia intently, searching for a sign she recognized the name of the city, if it was even a city. ¡°What do you sell?¡± Saia asked to change the topic. Run¨¬ made a dismissive motion with her hand. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "Cloths and paper, mostly. And some hunting weapons. What''s your business in Irim¨¦ze?¡± she asked, finally recognizing Serit too with a glance and a quick greeting. ¡°She''s my assistant,¡± they said. ¡°I need to meet a fellow engineer and compare notes on a project commissioned by the representatives.¡± Run¨¬ nodded, then looked at Saia again. ¡°Wind spirits are very weird about humans. I got used to it after years of business trips, but you might find it shocking.¡± ¡°Don''t worry,¡± Run¨¬ interjected, taking the last two bags. ¡°I¡¯ll help you avoid blunders. If you have any doubts about how to behave, ask me without hesitation.¡± He walked over to the sprites again. The merchant turned and pointed at the last member of the expedition, a young shilv¨¦ woman that looked barely twenty. ¡°My daughter and apprentice M¨¦non.¡± She turned her head and quickly acknowledged them with a smile before returning to her task, which seemed to be checking off the contents of the bags from a list. Her face was elongated just like her mother''s, but despite being half-human, she looked just like any other shilv¨¦ around her, with stone-gray skin and black hair full of delicate pink hues. Run¨¬¡¯s eyes focused on a spot behind Saia and Serit. ¡°And what do they want, now?" Saia had noticed three figures approaching from afar. She observed them better without turning her head. She couldn''t process what she was seeing, except for the fact that the three individuals were all riding a sprite and were completely dressed in blue. Only when they got closer to the group Saia realized that the bright blue that covered them wasn''t cloth, but a thick layer of plumes. While the hands that were holding the reins still had a humanoid shape, the head was one of a bird. Saia thought they didn''t have eyes until she noticed the blindfold they were wearing, wrapped just above their beaks. They were long and curved, decorated with swirling patterns that seemed to have been carved with a needle all across the surface. A trident hung from each of their saddles, the handle divided in two and the points wrapped by pieces of cloth. ¡°We''ve been sent to escort engineer Serit and their assistant to Ifse,¡± the one in front of the group said with a deep voice. Saia was surprised to hear that it sounded completely human. Serit nodded, visibly more relaxed. "I was worried you wouldn''t come." The guide approached the three bird people. "I''m Atan, I''ll be leading the trip to Ifse and assist the participants. I wasn''t informed there would be three additional guards with us." "Me neither," one of the regular guards said, probably their captain. With the blindfolds and beaks instead of a face, it was difficult to guess what the three newcomers were thinking. Saia checked their viss: she found a bit of fear mixed in with their apparent calm. ¡°We¡¯re part of the hunting division," the one at the front said, then led his sprite in a wide curve around the group to join the other guards. The other two bird people followed him. "Hunting division?" Saia asked. "They''re extra protection," Serit said. "Their eyes are extremely sensitive to the light, that''s why they''re blindfolded. They can still see well enough." She wanted to ask more, but Atan was gesturing for the group to approach the sprites. ¡°You can mount on your assigned steed. Meanwhile, I''ll give you some instructions about the trip.¡± Saia observed the merchant and her apprentice. First, they got hold of the reins. The moment that happened, the sprites¡¯ shapes became more defined and their contours stopped moving. The women then pushed one leg inside the flank of their mount, and the movements of its winds propelled them upwards until they were sitting on top of the saddle. They wobbled a bit, even if the sprites didn¡¯t seem to be moving. Saia approached her sprite and did her best to imitate them, but the upwards push was unexpectedly strong. She created a wind of her own not to fall over. ¡°The winds shouldn''t be too strong today, but still remember to tie yourselves correctly.¡± Serit had mounted too. They showed Saia how to knot the four ropes dangling from the saddle: two around the legs, two around the waist. ¡°We''ll follow a loose upward spiral. If you feel the wind getting stronger, bend forward as much as you can and guide your sprite in a larger curve. Remember to keep the patterns in your clothes active at least at minimum capacity.¡± Saia thought of the swirling purple string on the inside of each garment she was wearing. In her case it was an incredible waste of money, but they needed to keep up the appearances. ¡°How much should it take?¡± Run¨¬ asked. ¡°The city is right above us at this moment, so about three hours. Any more questions?¡± He looked insistently at Saia, sensing she was the most inexperienced one. She shook her head, but everyone¡¯s attention remained on her. "Why a cargo sprite?" Run¨¬ asked. Saia didn''t know what to answer without revealing too much about herself. ¡°I¡¯d ride something sturdier too, if a fall could kill me,¡± one of the guards answered in her place, eliciting laughter from the rest. "Do they know about me?" Saia asked Serit, speaking straight into their ears. They shook their head, then gave a long glance to the birdguards. "I guess I''m too used to it," Run¨¬ said, giving Saia a conciliating smile. "If you don''t have any questions, I suggest we get started," Atan said, securing the ropes around his legs. Saia repeated the movement of the reins she''d learnt from one of Serit¡¯s story-bottles, observing everyone else''s actions at the same time to better imitate them. Her sprite detached from the ground vertically, then stopped when Saia loosened her grip on the reins. She could see them across the sprite''s muzzle, as if they were held in its mouth. The guide adjusted the goggles on his face, wrapped the cloths tighter around his head and neck, then led the group toward the top of the fifth level. Saia put on her goggles too before following him. The impact with the wind made her sprite stagger for an instant. She held the reins tight until it resumed advancing, body swirling faster. The top of the wall was completely barren, a surface of rocks pressed into the hard ground. Saia didn''t expect to see giant spikes of metal jutting out of the external border at regular intervals: they curved up and outward, showing a blunt angle to the sky all around. ¡°It''s for the winds,¡± Serit explained, bent over the saddle and yelling. ¡°It''s better to use sign language," Atan said. "She doesn''t know ours,¡± Serit yelled back. They ascended more, following a loose spiral as the guide had anticipated. He was at the top, periodically checking down on the rest of the group through the translucent shape of his mount. After him came the merchant, her daughter, then two of the guards with the sprites that were carrying the cargo. Saia and Serit advanced side by side, two regular guards in front of them, the three birdguards right behind. The last two guards closed the group, their captain among them. The ground of the city started to get smaller underneath them, while the sky expanded in every direction. Saia tried her best to not look down, but it was hard considering she could see everything around her and the body of her mount was translucent. Then she realized it was her chance to get a glimpse of where she was in the world, to catch a landmark she could use to get back to the mountain once she escaped. She saw squares of green and yellow, sometimes blue as they flew over water. But the ground was too far and the clouds that surrounded Irim¨¦ze confused the contours. She focused up then, where the cloud moved in herds. She saw glimpses of colors and a distant moving shape that reminded her of a swarm of jellyfish with a thousand tentacles and the core thick with colors. ¡°Ifse,¡± Serit said, still screaming above the winds, forgetting she could hear them clearly through her domain. ¡°The city of cloth and paper.¡± 5.2 - Ifse The city disappeared again behind the clouds. Saia expanded her domain to include Serit too and spoke directly in their ears. ¡°Cloth and paper?¡± ¡°You''ll see when we get there,¡± Serit said, quietly this time, seemingly realizing she could listen to them perfectly. ¡°Just don''t expect anything like Irim¨¦ze.¡± Saia nodded. Her attention fell again onto the three blindfolded birdguards behind her. ¡°You have animal people too?¡± she asked Serit. ¡°It''s complicated. It''s very common for us to have at least some feathers, because we eat a lot of bird meat.¡± They lowered the neck of their bodysuit to show the sparse brown plumes at the base, then put it back with a shiver. ¡°In our case it''s not permanent. Every time we rain and reform, every change to our bodies disappears. Not just residues of other creatures, but also things like tattoos, scars or wounds.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They''re not decoded in our viss, which is what determines how we are reformed when we return from our rain-voyage. It wouldn¡¯t be impossible to make them permanent, but it¡¯s a long process and only allowed for medical reasons.¡± Saia observed the guards, thinking about the implications of Serit''s words. ¡°So every time they return they have to do everything from the beginning? I can''t imagine how many birds they have to eat to change so much.¡± Serit laughed. The three guards were startled by the sound, since they weren¡¯t aware of the conversation happening in front of them. ¡°The jacinth eagles would be extinct, if that were the case. No, usually we extract the viss from fallen feathers or from the animals themselves. We have enough in the zoologic garden to supply the guards.¡± ¡°How do you extract viss from an animal? With you machine?¡± ¡°I mean, we didn¡¯t try, but they¡¯re too powerful for that, they would kill the animal and only get a smidge of energy we can¡¯t really use for anything. No, it would be more efficient to kill them ourselves and then harvest it from their bodies, since we can¡¯t do that while they¡¯re alive. Some of the zookeepers are trying to teach them to give us their viss at command, but so far they¡¯ve been failing. So we just extract the viss from the feathers they lose.¡± Saia observed the guards again to get an idea of what the jacinth eagles might look like. She was glad she didn''t need to turn her head and get caught staring. She expanded her domain a bit more to include them, but they didn''t have her shard, just like all the other members of the expedition. ¡°Besides some exceptions,¡± Serit continued, "No shilv¨¦ genuinely considers themselves an animal person. Since it¡¯s temporary, it¡¯s more of a symbol of wealth and social status. Have you seen Enanit¡¯s feathers?¡± Saia remembered her permanent red necklace and nodded. ¡°They come from a rare species of parrot. She has an aviary full of them at home. But she can¡¯t carry them with her, so that¡¯s her way to show off.¡± Saia noticed at that moment that her sprite was a bit too far from Serit¡¯s, and even from the rest of the group. She tried to steer the creature by pulling the reins to the side, but they slid inside the sprite¡¯s mouth without achieving any effect, as if they didn¡¯t exist. The guards tensed while they looked at her drifting away from the spiral of sprites. ¡°Feed it a bit of your viss,¡± Atan yelled, watching the scene through his mount. Saia did, then she realized she had used her domain and not her hands and touched the sprite¡¯s fog to keep up appearances. When she steered again, the creature followed her lead. ¡°It must have seen a bird in the distance,¡± Serit commented. ¡°Sprites hunt them when they¡¯re hungry.¡± Saia eyed her mount. ¡°I didn¡¯t think they were capable of hunting.¡± Serit nodded energetically. ¡°They sprint toward the prey, absorb it in their bodies and suffocate it by applying pressure. Once it¡¯s dead, they can extract the viss it contains and let the body fall for some other creature to eat.¡± Serit grinned, like they were somehow proud of how gruesome that detail was. Saia didn¡¯t give them the satisfaction of looking disgusted. ¡°Could they attack us too, if they wanted?¡± ¡°Sprites don¡¯t want, I told you. When they feel like they don¡¯t have enough viss to keep going, they hunt, and their instincts draw them toward the easier preys.¡± ¡°Easier than someone who doesn¡¯t fly? Compared to a bird?¡± Serit laughs. ¡°You¡¯re not entirely wrong, but luckily their instincts don¡¯t think the same way you do. They tend to go for smaller prey first, even if said prey is able to vomit acid or become invisible for a bit.¡± Saia turned their head toward them, uncertain for a moment about whether she had heard their words correctly. ¡°Become invisible?¡± she repeated. ¡°Yes. Some species of animal can use their viss in simple ways to escape predators or catch prey. You don¡¯t have them at mount Ohat?¡± Saia looked ahead, thinking about it. ¡°I¡¯m fairly sure we don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t surprise me, if your monks wanted to keep magic a secret.¡± They passed through a layer of clouds, the humidity sticking to their clothes and forming pearls on Saia¡¯s stone forehead. Once on the other side, she saw the city again. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. It wasn¡¯t easy to trace where that mass of fluid colors started or ended, since flags, banners and pieces of cloth flowed from one structure to the next, fusing them into one giant building that extended in every direction. She couldn¡¯t see the top levels, cut off from the lower part by a thick layer of clouds. It took a bit of focus to get over the initial awe and see the individual pieces that composed the city: simple platforms of wood with slim columns at the corners and a flat ceiling perched at the top. Each of them was decorated by spirals of paper dangling from the borders and around the columns. Most of them were open at the sides, but she saw some closed ones, with walls of cloth that enveloped the platform completely, each died with a simple geometric pattern in no more than three colors. Lights moved on the platforms, ignoring the short bridges of wooden planks and rope that connected them as they flew in the space between them. Other figures walked instead, but from that distance Saia couldn¡¯t distinguish whether they were humans or shilv¨¦. She felt a twinge of apprehension when she realized that the platforms were all tied to each other through ropes. Decorated as they were with more spirals of paper, they couldn¡¯t hide the sense of instability. Nor she could see what was holding everything up. ¡°Not a city for me,¡± she commented. ¡°Not a city for humans,¡± Serit replied. ¡°On multiple levels.¡± The city was surrounded by a series of evenly-distanced lights, each human-shaped and standing with a tube of wood in their hands, a pattern carved on the outside. Atan guided the group right through two of them. Saia was about to ask what they were, but once her sprite was past them, the winds hitting her back became a gentle breeze. It was just like standing inside Irim¨¦ze again. The platform they were approaching was empty, except for the spirits standing or floating at the center of it. Saia couldn''t see many differences with the sprite she was riding, except for their humanoid shapes with luminous eyes and the weapons they were holding. They were needles with points at both ends, the center as wide as one of her wrists, with a leather handle secured around it. ¡°The infamous wind warriors," Atan explained, belting the words for everyone to hear. ¡°I know their weapons don''t look impressive, but the danger lies in the way they use them. They can fly fast enough to pierce anyone''s heart, so be careful. Especially you two.¡± He pointed at Saia and Run¨¬. ¡°Don''t talk to them unless they ask you something first. It''s different with common people, but be extremely careful with spirits of higher standing.¡± ¡°How do we know if they have a higher standing?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Warriors do. If we''re lucky, we won''t meet others like them for the rest of our stay.¡± He guided his sprite toward the platform, until it was hovering over the floor. He didn''t step down, addressing the warriors instead. ¡°We''re the group from Irim¨¦ze,¡± he said, handing them a letter. One of them took it. They looked at the group, glancing up and down from letter to visitors. Saia was astonished by how similar the two guards were. They were both shaped like two bald people, equally tall and broad-shouldered, their sexless bodies naked except for a purple sash worn diagonally over their shoulders and chest. It moved with the winds of their bodies. Saia could only imagine how difficult it would be to wear more clothes with that constant movement hampering every gesture. ¡°The birds?¡± the guards asked. Their captain guided the sprite forward, holding out another piece of paper. ¡°We have our own permission,¡± he said. The guards read them quickly, then nodded. ¡°You can dismount. We''ll check the cargo, now.¡± It was Atan, and not Run¨¬, to approach the sprites that were carrying the goods for the market. She waited patiently as her cloths were moved aside one by one and the weapons thoroughly inspected. When they asked for the authorization to sell them, Run¨¬ provided it without a word. The inspection continued in silence for a bit, sprite by sprite, until the guards finally floated aside. ¡°Don''t ride inside the city,¡± was their only welcome. Atan took his sprite''s reins and led it toward the ladder of rope that connected the platform to the one above it. ¡°I¡¯ve reserved a room for us in my favorite hostel,¡± he said. ¡°A room?¡± Saia murmured in Serit¡¯s ears. ¡°It¡¯s common. They¡¯re big enough and it would be too expensive to do otherwise for the amount of time we have to stay here.¡± Saia climbed the ladder after Serit. They were all holding the sprites'' reins with their teeth as the creatures flew beside them, unfazed by the strong winds that made the ropes swing or the thousand towerlengths drop that awaited them below the city. They arrived on a platform that looked more like a crossroad, since it was smaller, completely empty and had four ladders leading in four different directions, long ribbons of cloth decorating them. ¡°Each color is a district,¡± Atan said. ¡°If you ever get lost, don''t panic and follow the orange flags.¡± He climbed another, shorter ladder. The group kept going for a bit, each platform a bit more elaborate than the previous one. There were cushions and blankets tied to the columns, which some wind spirits were using to relax or converse in a semi-solid form. On others, crates were stacked on top of each other, two guards observing them. The majority of the other platforms were hidden behind four walls of cloth, one of which was a flap that could be used as a door. Atan entered one with walls of flowy green cloth, with writing sewn in gold above the point where the two folds of the entrance overlapped. Saia could barely read it after studying the first part of the bottle Serit had bought her. They all entered, still leading the sprites, which redoubled the space their already numerous group was taking up. Despite that, the platform was so big there was still one half of the room untouched. In front of that half there was a desk, not positioned on the floor, but growing out like a branch from the frame, then enlarging to create a flat surface. A spirit floated behind the counter. They had no facial traits except for the eyes, but a long curtain of ever-shifting curly hair set them apart from any other wind spirit she''d seen. The dress helped too: purple cloth in multiple layers that were constantly moving one over the other, revealing different silver decorations every time. They closed the register they were reading and opened another one. ¡°Welcome,¡± they said in a heavily accented Shiliz¨¦. Atan approached them and answered in the wind language. The two of them went on for a while, then the spirit flew to the ceiling of the platform, where ribbons were dangling from string sewn to the cloth. They gestured for the group to follow them, crossing a flap hidden in the wall. There was a room immediately attached to that, then another beyond, this time connected to the rest by a short bridge. It seemed a weird corridor made of rooms and ladders, since each one of them was clearly connected to others, the rooms, from which came quiet voices and, sometimes, loud snoring. The spirit stopped in front of a room on the right, tied the blue ribbon to a hole in the entrance and flew away. ¡°Room twenty-nine,¡± Atan said, checking the golden inscription sewn in the cloth. ¡°I gave instructions to bring us a room for the sprites too, it should come here soon.¡± He held the flap of cloth open, inviting the group to enter. The platform was enclosed by walls of turquoise and filled with pillows and heavy blankets. Curtains were hanging from the ceiling, and round strings on the wall allowed them to be tied in a way that sectioned the platform into smaller rooms. They started to set up their spots at the four corners of the room, the sprites hovering near the ceiling with the reins dangling below. Serit, Saia and Atan shared one section of the space, Run¨¬ and her daughter another, the two groups of guards occupying the rest. They were still tying the curtains to divide their portions, when a voice calling from the outside in the spirits¡¯ language interrupted them. ¡°They''ve set up the room for the sprites,¡± Atan translated. They rushed to move them to the new platform. A group of spirits had tied it to the main one in a way that made it easily reachable just by parting an opening in the wall. ¡°Hostels move rooms around all the time based on the guests'' needs,¡± Atan explained to Saia as they freed the sprites inside the room. ¡°It will cost us a bit more, though.¡± They returned to the bedroom. Serit collapsed on a stack of pillows, and Saia did the same after a bit, realizing she was the only one who didn''t look tired from the trip. ¡°Where''s the wind spirit we have to meet?¡± she whispered. "We''ll think about it tomorrow. Now let me sleep," Serit said with a yawn. Saia waited as everyone around her dozed off, wondering what awaited her in that maze of cloth. 5.3 - Blame Rabam carved out another pattern, not entirely satisfied with the last one he¡¯d made. He worked steadily, chipping away a piece of wood, then stopping to listen. Chip, listen. Chip, listen. Loriem was always moving, and when he wasn''t moving he was snoring. He cooked in the morning, singing something to himself or yelling at the guard that was sitting in the empty half of the warehouse that the eggs or the flour had finished. Then Rabam could hear the pages of a book being flipped through and an irregular muttering. In the beginning, Rabam had thought he was reading out loud, but in the rare moments his voice became clearer he realized they were insults and swearing, even if he couldn¡¯t piece together who they were aimed at. When the bells of the clocktower rang, he immediately complained about not being let out for a walk. Rabam was grateful for that noise, because it gave him time to hide his things before the guard could take Loriem into the garden. He paced mostly in front of Rabam¡¯s window, occasionally calling out for him to show himself. It wasn''t difficult to resist his call. In the evening, he could be heard playing cards by himself, muttering against fate or laughing when they came out in the right order. Rabam listened to it all, waiting for a breakdown of some sort, for him to start crying and asking for forgiveness. He didn''t know how that man could live with himself after what he''d done, and he was becoming impatient to find out. ¡°How is it going with the pattern?¡± Aili asked, diverting him from his thoughts. Rabam turned around the piece of wood at the light of the only candle he had lit, sitting on the floor in the dark of the room. He didn¡¯t dare to light more of them, since the sentinels might wonder who else had been arrested. ¡°It¡¯s getting better.¡± He took the one he had finished the night before and pointed it at a fork that was lying on the table. He pushed some viss into the pattern, and the fork shot toward him until it clattered to the floor. Rabam turned the sculpture in the opposite direction and used the pattern again: this time, the fork slid away from him. ¡°Shut up,¡± Loriem mumbled in the other room, probably awakened by the sound. Rabam waited until the snoring resumed. ¡°Thank you for the magnet,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the herbalist had a lot of them. Did you need to change the amplification pattern to reach this effect?¡± ¡°A bit. The basics are the same as the binoculars, but I had to remove some lines. I didn¡¯t add much, just this,¡± he pointed at a swirl near the base. ¡°It should make it more focused.¡± He removed the magnet stuck inside the cavity of the wood cylinder and tried to fit it inside the one he had just started to carve. ¡°I¡¯m trying to make it as small as possible,¡± he explained to Aili. ¡°Why?¡± Rabam shrugged. ¡°I feel like it could be useful. I don¡¯t want them to find out. And it keeps my mind occupied.¡± He worked some more, knowing she was still observing his movements. Once the night sky started to become lighter, he set his works aside and prepared his backpack. He put in the books to return to Cailes, as well as the letter for Zeles. ¡°Aili?¡± he called under his breath. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I need to talk to Loriem. Can you promise you won''t listen to our conversation?¡± The silence protracted for a bit. ¡°I¡¯m a bit worried about this.¡± ¡°There are bars between us, I can¡¯t hurt him. And I have no intention to.¡± ¡°I won''t listen, but I''ll keep watch from afar. Just in case.¡± Just in case I try to murder him, Rabam thought. He couldn''t blame her, after the past few days. He put on his backpack and approached the window. He could hear light snoring, then a body turning over a mattress. He looked at the guard through the bars of the window. They were reading a book, leaning back on a chair, feet propped on the desk in front of them. They suddenly looked up, then nodded and left the warehouse. ¡°Loriem,¡± Rabam called, realizing it was the first time he addressed him. The snoring stopped. ¡°What?¡± came the sleepy answer. ¡°I want to talk to you.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? After all the times I''ve tried, you want to talk right now?¡± Rabam sighed. At least it was easy to hate him without feeling guilty. Feet shuffled closer to the wall that divided them. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°Why did you kill Milvia?¡± He tried to calm his breathing during the instant of silence that followed. ¡°Oh, fuck off,¡± Loriem spat. Rabam opened the door and stepped in front of his window. Loriem immediately stepped back. ¡°How¡­¡± ¡°Why did you kill her?¡± ¡°How did you escape?¡± Rabam pressed his lips together in contempt, then decided it was a good way to force him to answer. Stolen story; please report. ¡°You are a murderer. Why would I free you?¡± ¡°Oh, come on. I don''t know what you did, but at least I am allowed two strolls in the garden.¡± ¡°But I''m the one who decides if you stay here or not, and right now you¡¯re losing your chance.¡± Loriem glared at him in silence until Rabam started to walk away. ¡°Wait.¡± He gripped the bars. ¡°It was an accident. I didn''t plan to get that far.¡± Rabam had to close his eyes for an instant to calm himself down. ¡°You hit her with a pan in her own house.¡± His voice raised at every word until it became a scream. ¡°How was that not wanting to go too far?¡± ¡°I thought Koidan would stop me,¡± Loriem yelled back. Rabam really wanted to keep screaming at him, but that sentence took all of the words out of him. ¡°What?¡± he spat out. ¡°I was angry at Orver for ditching me after years of collaboration, so I went after his daughter. I just wanted to scare her, but she escaped and that made me furious.¡± ¡°That made you furious?¡± Rabam only repeated, his voice high and grating. Loriem nodded. ¡°So I tried to enter the house. I expected Koidan to stop me. I was thinking about it the whole time: ''now he''ll tell me to leave her alone''. But he didn''t, and when that girl returned home I asked her to enter.¡± ¡°And then you killed her,¡± Rabam said, whishing him to go on. He had already read everything in Orver''s first letter, he didn''t wish for more details. ¡°I was the most surprised of all when she died,¡± Loriem continued. ¡°I kept thinking ¡®now Koidan will stop me and save her, now he''ll stop me.¡¯ But he didn''t. He let me kill her.¡± Rabam shook his head. ¡°No. That''s not right.¡± ¡°Then why he didn¡¯t stop me?¡± ¡°You shouldn''t have even thought about murdering her,¡± Rabam yelled. ¡°Let alone entering her house and attacking her with a pan.¡± ¡°She was the one to let me in. And using the pan was an idea I had in the moment, because she had so many of them in her house.¡± ¡°Then why did you attempt that after Koidan said he couldn''t help Lausune anymore?¡± Loriem''s eyes narrowed. ¡°That''s not what he said at all. He said he''d be busy fighting the evil god. How was I supposed to know he wouldn''t even stop a murder? Gods stop murderers, it¡¯s been like that since the beginning of time. Or do you live expecting things to start falling upward at any moment? Do you kiss goodbye to the sun every night because it might not rise again?¡± He shook his head. ¡°He wanted me to kill that woman, that''s why he didn''t stop me. There''s no other explanation.¡± Rabam closed his fists. The most disturbing part of his words is that they sounded right. The monks knew how humans worked, that murders, thefts and crimes were something that plagued every society. It was the deities¡¯ job to prevent them, to protect the humans from themselves. Or at least, that¡¯s what the monks repeated, what he once believed too. Now he wasn¡¯t so sure anymore. ¡°Then why is Koidan keeping you here?¡± he asked. ¡°He''s not the same Koidan.¡± Rabam''s heart skipped a beat. ¡°That''s impossible.¡± ¡°Our god was good. He talked to people, to me, even if it was late or inconvenient. I¡¯ve been on the verge of¡­ Of many things, before I killed that woman,¡± His voice raised and started trembling. ¡°He was never dismissive. He didn''t try to fix me by giving me books on how to be a better person and forgetting about me most of the time.¡± He was crying now. As he observed his distorted face, Rabam''s guts twisted with disgust and contempt. ¡°And who is he, if he''s not Koidan?¡± he asked. ¡°Fuck me if I know. The evil god, maybe.¡± He wiped the tears out of his face. ¡°I don''t know why Koidan wanted that woman dead either. I don''t pretend to know what goes through a god¡¯s head.¡± Rabam felt completely out of words. He walked out of the prison, head in a haze, barely registering Loriem''s begging to be freed. He adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and took a deep breath. There was a line of light just over the horizon. Soon it would be enough for the sentinels to spot him, so he started walking toward the forest. ¡°Sorry,¡± Aili¡¯s voice said into his ears. ¡°You listened?¡± Her silence lasted the duration of a nod. ¡°I know I should have done more,¡± she added. ¡°But it''s difficult to talk to him after what he''s done. I genuinely thought the books could help.¡± ¡°I wouldn''t worry about it too much. He''s a lost cause.¡± Still, he couldn''t help but wonder what it would take for Loriem to accept that he had murdered Milvia and it was entirely his fault. Maybe if he knew the truth about gods, how they were actually humans, how Zeles was asleep when he killed her¡­ But no, he''d probably just find another explanation. Everything not to accept it had been his fault. He reached the border of white stones. ¡°I¡¯ll deliver the letter,¡± he told Aili. ¡°If I can ask you a favor, find me a temporary place to stay for when I''ll come back. I have no intention to return inside that prison.¡± ¡°Sure, I''ll ask around immediately,¡± she replied, and he could hear a smile in her voice. ¡°Since there are so many monks around, I tweaked your viss to hide your lies. It¡¯s not invincible, but¡­ It¡¯s something.¡± He thanked her and crossed the line and started climbing upwards. He knew the main hidden path between Lausune and Suimer by heart, but it was bound to change soon, since the month was approaching its end. He doubted his calculations when he saw a root stained with soil that covered the red he had painted on its surface. The monks were always careful not to ruin signs they had put in place, but they couldn''t avoid the ones they didn''t know existed. He left the path and bent in half until he was hidden behind the bushes. He couldn''t go too far, or the sentinels would spot him. He walked ahead, looking for the monks that were waiting for him. He found two possible hiding spots among the trees, but couldn''t get closer without alerting the people behind them. He slowly retraced his steps until he reached a point where another of his paths branched off from the one he was following. He took it, walking carefully. He heard voices further down the path and stopped to look for another deviation. He started to feel nervous: it was the only one he had left, then he''d have to go back once again. But the signs were intact and he didn''t hear anyone speak or move, so he kept going. He only realized something was off an instant before Ebus stepped out of the trees. Rabam stopped, expecting a swarm of sentinels to follow him. ¡°Are you here to capture me?¡± he asked an instant. Ebus got closer, showing his tormented expression in the faint light of the morning. ¡°I¡¯m here to ask for your help.¡± ¡°How did you know where to find me?¡± ¡°They imprisoned Cailes.¡± Rabam frowned, wondering how it was possible. Then, he remembered. ¡°I have the books.¡± He took off his backpack and took them out. ¡°Here, maybe if you bring them back immediately¡­¡± But he was shaking his head. ¡°It is the books, but not for the reason you think. Soon after you left, the priors requested the register of the gods. Both the original and the copy were out for consultation, so they looked for the scholars who had taken them. When they found out Cailes didn¡¯t have his books anymore and couldn¡¯t say where they went¡­ They reacted badly.¡± Rabam slowly put the backpack on. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°They couldn''t find the books anywhere in the village, so they''re keeping him in prison until he tells the truth. I begged them to release him and they told me to find you for them.¡± Rabam glanced around again: that sentence sounded like a signal for the sentinels to come out. ¡°Who do you think I am, a traitor?¡± Ebus snapped. ¡°There''s no one with me, I wanted to talk to you in private.¡± ¡°There are monks all around the mountain,¡± Rabam rebuked. ¡°Yes, because I needed to make sure you would come here.¡± He breathed deeply, even if that didn''t do much to calm him down. ¡°I talked to grandma and she told me that you calculated the paths to move around from Lausune to the rest of the mountain. So I asked da¡¯ for help, and he managed to work out which ones you might be following. I revealed them to the sentinels, all except for this one. They can''t see me right now, so we should hurry or they''ll surely come here.¡± ¡°And what do you want me to do? I have no idea of how to save Cailes.¡± ¡°But you can figure something out, right?¡± Rabam looked around again, seeking an answer. He needed to go back and ask Aili what to do, but it was almost day and with sentinels on the mountain the risk was too high. The area was more guarded than usual, and if they were moving around there was no guarantee they couldn¡¯t see his paths. He only found one possible solution. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you,¡± he said. ¡°They''ll capture me and free Cailes.¡± Ebus nodded, relaxing a bit. Rabam took out the letter for Zeles. He was tempted to ask Ebus to deliver it in his place, but they''d probably be both searched upon their arrival at the village. He tore it apart and made sure to scatter and hide the fragments. Aili would be smart enough to know he didn''t deliver it when she realized he wasn''t coming back. ¡°Let''s go,¡± he said, leaving the protection of his paths. 5.4 - The market The morning after their arrival at Ifse, Saia and Serit followed Atan along the platforms and ladders of the city. Run¨¬ and her daughter joined the group, as well as three regular guards and two of the birdguards, following from a distance. The rest of the escort was waiting at the platform, watching over the sprites and the portion of cargo that Run¨¬ didn''t plan to sell that day. M¨¦non held the reins of the strong sprite that was carrying the rest. ¡°Purple is the market district,¡± Atan was explaining, gesturing at the ribbons tied to the ladders they were using to ascend. ¡°At least, it''s the closest one to this level of the city. This one is fairly important, though, since materials from earth and the shilv¨¦ cities are sold and sorted out here. I''ve worked here in my twenties, to learn the language and accumulate the experience I needed to become a guide.¡± There weren''t many wind spirits in the hostel district, even if they could be seen flying further up above their heads. All the movement that the city had seemed to lack up to that moment could be found in the market district: spirits were moving around with bags full of merch and it was unclear whether they were about to sell it or they had just bought it, and in exchange for what. The market sprawled across various platforms, all of them more or less at the same level and interconnected. Each one held at least one stall, often more: it was easy to gauge the status and wealth of the merchants that occupied them based on how many crowded on the same platform. Saia also saw other platforms, scattered here and there, that were completely different from the ones she¡¯d seen so far: they were sturdy frames with a wooden ceiling and no floor, small enough to contain a standing person and nothing else. Inside each of these platforms there was a floating spirit, solid shoulders against the ceiling of the platform, bottom part floating in almost completely gaseous form. Most of them were reading books of ornated paper, placed on a ledger carved from the wood of the frame. Ropes descended from the horizontal poles that composed it, each connected to one of four platforms dangling at different heights. More platforms were tied to those ones, down to the bottom of the city. ¡°Who are they?¡± Saia asked, pointing at one of those spirits. Atan turned. ¡°Well, they¡¯re what keeps the whole city afloat.¡± Saia gestured at the market around her. ¡°They''re carrying all of this?¡± ¡°Don''t worry, they are strong enough, and a lot more than the minimum amount we need to keep everything floating.¡± They entered the crowd of a platform in the central area of the market. Saia walked right behind Atan, the only way she could stay close enough to hear what he said without passing through every spirit on her path. ¡°It looks like a punishment.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, really, don¡¯t worry for them. Those are newborn spirits, and that¡¯s the first step of their education. They have to keep up the city while they study to become citizens of a higher stratus.¡± ¡°Newborn?¡± Saia repeated. They didn¡¯t look any different than the adults around them. ¡°Yes. They are born from the sea.¡± He moved on quickly, not giving her time to ask follow-up questions. ¡°Groups of hunters and explorers are always on the lookout for them, and the shilv¨¦ cities made a pact with the elders to send their way any newborn that reaches them.¡± ¡°And how long does it take for them to not be considered young anymore?¡± ¡°Sadly, it''s not that simple. The elders can''t afford to let them free until there¡¯s someone to replace them, otherwise the city would collapse. So they made a list.¡± He stopped abruptly to avoid two spirits locked in an animated conversation at the center of the platform they were traversing. ¡°Every new spirit is given a unique name and added to the bottom of the list upon their arrival in the city. The spirit at the top of the list at that moment ascends to an higher stratus, leaving their turn at the platforms free to be filled by the spirit who just arrived. This whole system is also a way to discipline the young spirits, to prepare them for the life in the city. They get moved up and down the list based on their merits or failures.¡± They entered a calmer spot of the market, with a lot of empty stalls. ¡°There,¡± Run¨¬ said, pointing at one of them. Her daughter was already marching toward it, sprite in tow. Saia observed all of the other stalls in the nearby platforms. She saw another one that sold clothes: the spirits tried the dresses right on the spot, leaving their own in the hands of a merchant''s assistant as if it was completely normal to be naked in public. Her eyes were pointing at one such scene, and Atan seemed to notice. ¡°Wind spirits can shapeshift,¡± he explained. ¡°Nudity is much more tolerated, since they can choose what kind of body to have on a whim.¡± M¨¦non started to fill the stall with rolls of paper and cloth while her mother talked to a spirit customer she was clearly familiar with. The human guards scattered around the platform not to make their surveillance too evident, while the birdguards stayed behind Saia. ¡°I think everything''s settled here,¡± Atan said. ¡°We can move on to the residential district to meet with your contact.¡± Serit nodded and gestured for him to make way. They started to climb longer ladders, which like the rope bridges were becoming noticeably sparser. Similarly, the platforms were giving way to structures with a completely different shape: they looked like tubes of cloth with circular lines that jutted out at regular intervals, as if a series of rings a bit too large for them had been inserted by force. They were dangling from a rope that exited from a hole at the top and was connected to the few platforms in that area. The hole was large enough to be comfortably used as an entrance from the wind spirits in the area. ¡°What¡­¡± Saia began, but Atan started his explanation before she could finish the question. ¡°Houses. As you can see, they''re very different from the ones us shilv¨¦ and you humans use, and also from the hostel¡¯s platforms. They would be quite dangerous for us, but for wind spirits they have an ideal shape.¡± Stolen novel; please report. They walked up to the border of the platform, closer to one of the dangling houses. ¡°Each ring is a floor, which is little more than a disk of wood,¡± he explained, pointing at each of them. ¡°The first one can be accessed through the entrance at the top, then each subsequent one has a trapdoor that leads to the next. They''re secured to the walls through a series of traditional knots, I wish I could show you. It''s enough to bear the weight of the owner''s possessions, but not a human or shilv¨¦ for an extended amount of time. That didn¡¯t prevent me from trying.¡± He chuckled. ¡°The most terrifying week of my life.¡± Saia wondered why creatures who didn''t need anything except some viss every once in a while built houses. She expanded her domain to look inside: the third and bottom floor only contained live birds, the wood at the bottom covered with a rag that was stained with feces. She guessed it made sense to keep them as a source of viss to eat. The first two floors, instead, were clearly occupied by the owners, considering the clothes carefully folded in the corners, the chests of wood full of either jewels, toys or documents, the embroidered pillows and the decorations of colorful paper dangling from the low ceiling. Atan and Serit were already moving on, while the birdguards lingered in her general proximity. Even without seeing their eyes, she knew they were glaring at her. She shrunk her domain and followed the other two up the next ladder. Atan stopped at the center of the platform it led to and pointed at one of the tubes hanging in the air. Saia could see a couple of the market''s platforms below them and a drop of hundreds of towerlengths further down, mercifully cut out from her view by a thick layer of clouds. The tube looked different from the others because it was directly connected to two platforms. One of them looked exactly like a hostel room, closed on all sides by thick cloth. The other, on the opposite side, was completely open, except for the roof of dark rough cloth that couldn¡¯t completely block out the sun. It was full of vases with plants, their leaves and branches hanging out from the borders. ¡°This is the house you were looking for,¡± Atan said, pointing at a small number painted in gold at the top of the tube. ¡°Twenty-two of residential district three.¡± Serit nodded. ¡°Thank you. You can leave us alone, now¡± they added, looking at the guards. The two birdguards walked to the opposite side of the platform and stood there. ¡°I¡¯m going to check out on Run¨¬,¡± Atan said, stretching. ¡°Then I¡¯ll book a pool for this afternoon at the public bathrooms, so we can all get a proper bath. Contact me if you need anything.¡± He left. Saia turned to look at Serit. ¡°How are we supposed to contact him?¡± ¡°Doves,¡± they answered, then sighed. ¡°Before we meet Filsun, I need you to know that he''s a bit atypical, as far as wind spirits go. Don''t expect everyone else to behave like him or react to things the same way he does. If anything, expect the contrary.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°And he''s a bit annoying,¡± Serit added, then took a deep breath and yelled: ¡°Filsun! We''re here!¡± An instant later, a translucent shape stepped out from behind a plant. ¡°Serit!¡± he said, two arms detaching from the torso and opening in a welcoming gesture. He was about to float down, but Serit stepped forward and touched the ladder. ¡°Can we come up?¡± Only then the spirit''s luminous eyes seemed to notice the birdguards on the other side of the platform. ¡°Absolutely. Please excuse me a second while I get some clothes.¡± Saia realized he''d been talking in shilv¨¦, mostly without an accent she could recognize. He floated away, a shapeless fog of light, and entered the house from the hole at the top. Serit started climbing the ladder, and Saia waited until they were on top of the platform before following them. The vases were small, their collective weight not straining the ropes that held up the platform. She observed the plants, but didn¡¯t see anything too outlandish compared to what they had on the mountain. Maybe it was the lack of flowers that made everything a bit dull. Filsun returned with a flowy tunic without sleeves that floated and enlarged with each movement he made. It was orange, with yellow and gold decorations. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯d invite you to the other platform but my wife is resting.¡± His gaze indulged on Saia, and she felt the weight of all of the questions he was holding back. But he tiptoed on toward Serit, enveloping them in a strong hug. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re back. You''re like a child to me. No, better, a grandchild.¡± Serit hugged him back, eyes lost on the wooden floor of the platform. Saia couldn''t read their expression, whether that mention of a familial link was appreciated, whether they considered that to be truth or courtesy. She didn¡¯t think it interesting enough to read their viss, and the hug ended before she could come to a conclusion of her own. ¡°How is my daughter?¡± Filsun asked, keeping a visibly solid hand on Serit''s shoulder while the rest of him floated and shifted. ¡°Hilon rained a week ago,¡± Serit said. The spirit nodded. ¡°She mentioned she''d have to go soon. Let''s hope she''ll return safely.¡± He let go of Serit and turned to examine Saia. ¡°We don''t know each other, right?¡± His voice was low and energic, like he could talk in Irim¨¦ze¡¯s arena for hours without an amplifier and not feel the least bit inconvenienced. She didn''t answer, giving Serit an uncertain glance instead. She remembered Atan¡¯s remark about talking to wind spirits, and she couldn¡¯t understand whether Filsun was of a high social stratus or not. He followed her gaze and laughed. ¡°Don''t worry, you can speak freely. My wife is human, and everyone in this city descends from humans, in one way or another.¡± Serit froze, as if a sudden wind had torn the back of their tunic apart, exposing it to the elements. They leaned over the border of the platform and looked up and down. Filsun laughed again. ¡°What are you scared about?¡± ¡°Someone could hear you.¡± ¡°We''ll have to accept the truth of who we are, eventually. You and I are both remnants of people who don''t exist anymore, but so is everyone else in the world.¡± ¡°It''s not that simple,¡± Serit answered quickly with another glance behind themselves. ¡°Saia, please, introduce yourself before this madman gets us killed for treason.¡± Filsun eyes returned on her. ¡°I''m Saia. Serit¡¯s assistant.¡± He nodded. His features were undefined and kept changing slightly, diluted by the daylight in the atmosphere. "Where are you from?" He peered at her, trying to find clues in her face and clothes. ¡°She was born on Irim¨¦ze,¡± Serit interjected. ¡°She''s the one I hoped you could help me with.¡± Filsun smiled at them. ¡°You know I love humans, but they produce too little viss for what I can teach.¡± Serit sighed, looking at Saia, probably deciding whether to reveal who she actually was. ¡°What do you teach, exactly?¡± she asked to fill the silence. ¡°I help young spirits unlock the full potential of their bodies. When they get here, their shape changes with their emotions and they can''t become solid, not at will at least. I teach them how to control that.¡± Saia nodded, thinking about her experiments with ¨¦shan. Serit¡¯s calculating stare gave way to a resigned expression. ¡°Promise me you won''t reveal anything of what I''m about to tell you,¡± they told Filsun, ¡°For my and Hilon¡¯s sake.¡± He became serious, his features changing a bit faster with growing agitation. ¡°I won''t. I suspected it was something important, since you didn''t write anything about it in the letter.¡± Serit stepped closer to him, to the point wisps of wind from the spirit''s body brushed their hair aside. ¡°We lied. Saia isn''t a human, but a special kind of tanhata. My goal is to teach her how to solidify ¨¦shan.¡± They gave Filsun a meaningful look. They stared at each other for so long Saia started to think there was some sort of mental communication going on. Then, Filsun¡¯s face lit up. He floated a step back from Serit and looked at her. ¡°The representatives are going insane, clearly,¡± he said, but his smile made it clear it was the kind of insanity he liked. ¡°It would give us a chance to reunite with humans in a way that''s never been done before,¡± Serit added quickly, glancing around. ¡°Thought you might be interested in that.¡± ¡°I am. Hilon has never seen the earth, and my wife will always regret not being able to show her the place she came from. We both came from, if you really think about it,¡± he added with a mischievous smile. ¡°We''ll pay you, of course. The representatives¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in payments. There¡¯s still something I¡¯ll ask of you, but consider it more a request for help than anything. But first¡­¡± he turned toward Saia. ¡°Let''s make sure I can actually teach you something.¡± His shining eyes were focused on her. His fog rearranged until his body became solid, the shapes clearly defined even in daylight. Then, he raised a hand. 5.5 - Interrogation Rabam woke up in a cell. The rough stone walls made it look like a normal room somewhere in the monks¡¯ village, but when he lowered his gaze on the furniture, he realized it was identical to the one where he¡¯d spent the days preceding his exile: a bed with a flat mattress shoved in a corner, a separ¨¦ hiding a toilet area, three full bottles of purified water on a table facing the wall, a rough stool in front of it and a drawer with clothes and some books. A torch in an iron holder illuminated the small space. He sat up on the bed, trying to recall how he had gotten there. He remembered reaching the village with Ebus. There was a group of sentinels waiting for them, as expected. They ambushed them before they could step out of the trees, even if they were unarmed and didn''t struggle. He remembered clearly a cold hand touching his neck, a sudden flow of viss, then nothing. He stood and looked around, wondering if he had awakened spontaneously or the person who had put him to sleep had used their control on him, and in that case, for what reason. The answer came in form of far away steps from the corridor outside. They stopped right in front of the room''s entrance, an opening in the wall covered by a frame of metal and a door made of vertical bars. He stood from the bed and walked toward the wall opposite the entrance, putting his back against it before the approaching sentinels could yell at him to do the same. It was the procedure to follow before they entered, and he hated that his mind had recalled it so quickly, as if he¡¯d never left his cell at all. Two sentinels appeared on the other side of the door and opened it with a set of keys. Only one of them stepped inside, lowering his spear to avoid the room''s stone roof, and stopped to the right. Rabam noticed they weren''t particularly concerned about getting too close, which meant they didn¡¯t fear him attacking. They had to have a big enough portion of his viss to control him. He resisted the urge to run a hand over his short hair to find the spot where it was missing. ¡°Follow us,¡± the sentinel at the entrance said. Her face was a bit familiar, maybe she''d been a new recruit when he was still a sentinel. He followed them without hesitation. He¡¯d given a lot of thought to how to escape in the past, enough to know he couldn¡¯t succeed alone and without resources: the sentinels had taken his backpack, not before he managed to crush the pattern he had created to prevent them from discovering what it was. Each cell was at the end of a curving corridor without other doors, isolated from the others. It was an incredible amount of wasted space, and the reason why there weren¡¯t many cells to begin with. After all, most crimes were punished with exile or harsh working hours. He tried not to think what would be of him, if both exile and permanent residence weren''t an option. The corridors irradiated from a central room that was only connected to the rest of the village through the hall where the sentinels held their meetings. As they approached the entrance, a simple arch in the stone, he wondered whether it was the right time to ask whether Cailes and Ebus were safe or imprisoned. But even mentioning them could strengthen the monks¡¯ suspicion that they were accomplices in his actions, so he held back. The shadow gave way to a circle of suffused light, coming from the torches hanging from the walls. The room was small enough that the entrances to the various corridors were one right next to the other, only an armlength of empty space between them. He recognized the disposition of the chairs inside the room, identical to when he¡¯d been interrogated after the sentinels had found him wandering outside without authorization: a semi-circle of chairs, occupied by the three sentinel priors and the abbot. There were two more in front of them, one free, one for a woman he supposed to be a consciousness scholar. There were four more sentinels in the room: two armed of spears just behind the abbot, two with swords standing next to the door that led to the rest of the village. ¡°Sit here,¡± the sentinel in front of him said, pointing at the free chair. She then stood behind him with the colleague who had accompanied her. He tried and failed to look at the priors and abbot in the eyes, focusing on the scholar instead. She offered him her open hands. He held his breath for an instant before taking them. ¡°You betrayed us again, Rabam,¡± Laius said, his blue eyes irradiating anger while his face and body remained perfectly calm. Rabam didn''t know what to answer. He expected him to start screaming at any moment as he''d done in the previous interrogation. It was the first time he''d seen him openly angry and not merely displeased, so it had left an impression. Maris, like the previous time, was the one leading the interrogation. ¡°What''s your family''s involvement in this?¡± He felt his heart accelerate. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Liar. We know that¡­¡± The woman let go of Rabam¡¯s hands to raise her own. ¡°Wait. Something¡¯s not right.¡± She gripped his fingers tighter and closed her eyes. If Rabam focused, he could feel her viss buzzing against his own, even if the way his heart raced made it difficult to distinguish that sensation from the rest. ¡°Tell me Ebus isn¡¯t your brother,¡± she said. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°What?¡± She reached out, placing a hand on his cheek. He was startled, to the point the sentinels behind him stepped forward. ¡°But he is,¡± he protested The woman shook her head without opening her eyes. ¡°It¡¯s the truth, and yet¡­¡± Rabam could feel her viss more clearly, to the point he instinctively leaned back to escape her touch. She let him go before he could get out of the way and firmly gripped his hands instead. ¡°Someone muddled his imprint. Now his lies shouldn¡¯t be hidden anymore.¡± Rabam tried to breathe slowly, knowing the tenser he was, the easier it would be for the monks to read his feelings. He knew he wasn''t good enough with viss manipulation to conceal his emotions, but he''d have to hide at least Aili¡¯s involvement. She was the only one who could save him from that situation, but she couldn''t do anything if she was deactivated. ¡°I¡¯ll ask again,¡± Maris said. ¡°How is your family involved in this?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not.¡± ¡°Lie,¡± the woman immediately said. ¡°They just wanted to help me.¡± Rabam quickly added. ¡°They did it out of love, not because they wanted to harm you or the village. They feared that if you''d capture me again, I''d be executed.¡± He frantically glanced at each of the priors, hoping for reassurance or confirmation. None came. ¡°Who is ''they'', specifically?¡± Maris asked. ¡°Your mother? Your fathers?¡± ¡°My brother. But not Cailes. He¡¯s¡­¡± He held back his words: the more he elaborated on the answer, the easier it would be for them to catch the lie. The priors watched him as if expecting him to add something. When nothing came, it was the second sentinel prior to speak. ¡°His grandmother, the fisher, confessed about her involvement,¡± she said. "He was telling him the new positions of the outposts with this.¡± She took out from her pocket a small mirror identical to the ones the sentinels used to communicate with each other. Rabam watched it disappear again inside her tunic. ¡°And who was giving her that information?¡± Maris asked. Their colleague shrugged and looked at Rabam. ¡°She has her contacts,¡± he answered in her place. ¡°And many people who owe her a favor. She never told me who they are.¡± ¡°Riena?¡± the abbot asked, looking at the scholar beside Rabam. ¡°What he said is mostly true. He likely doesn''t know who the contact is, and it''s likely that his family didn''t act to hurt us specifically.¡± ¡°You won''t exile them, right?¡± ¡°They have betrayed..." Maris began, but their other colleague, the second oldest after the abbot, raised his hand to stop them. ¡°You get the benefit of the doubt on this,¡± he said to Rabam. ¡°It all depends on your next answers. What¡¯s your involvement in Zeles''s disappearance?¡± Rabam raised his chin a bit. ¡°None.¡± The abbot raised his eyebrows and looked at Riena. ¡°True,¡± she said. ¡°He''s feeling indecently smug about it, though.¡± ¡°Then what''s your connection to Saia?¡± the abbot asked. Rabam hesitated. He couldn''t hide that he knew her. But she was far away, powerful and free of the monks¡¯ control, so there was no risk in pretending she was the mind behind his actions. Not if it meant protecting Aili, at least. ¡°She organized everything and told me to act as I did.¡± He hoped he''d put enough confidence in his voice, but Riena shook her head. ¡°Not quite. Saia''s involvement is clear, but I''m getting a feeling she''s not the only one he''s working with.¡± ¡°Who told you to come here?¡± Maris asked. ¡°Entering the village was my plan since the beginning.¡± Riena closed her eyes and frowned. ¡°Ask him about the details,¡± she said. ¡°Well, then... What about the cart?¡± ¡°My idea.¡± ¡°True. Keep going.¡± ¡°The tunnel?¡± ¡°My idea.¡± ¡°The books you''ve stolen?¡± ¡°My idea,¡± Rabam repeated, but he could feel his viss shifting with a new pang of anxiety. Riena opened her eyes. ¡°There. We should focus on this.¡± ¡°Who told you to steal them?¡± His mind was screaming Aili¡¯s name. The only alternative was to say it was Vizena¡¯s, but they would have known he was lying. They''d kept going and going, asking him that question for hours, until he''d give in. The same thing had happened the first time, when they''d asked him who he''d been meeting in Lausune, and he had put all of his efforts into not saying Milvia¡¯s name, for fear they would hurt her, or even spare some of their precious and scarce cloud water to wipe her memory. He needed to throw them off course before they started insisting on that point, and he could only do that by telling the truth. The most alarming truth he could think of. ¡°Vizena,¡± he let the name linger, hoping they would think it was the answer to their question, ¡°Is actually Zeles.¡± They looked at each other with confused expressions. Riena¡¯s grip on his hands tightened. ¡°Care to repeat? Slowly and clearly.¡± ¡°Vizena is actually Zeles,¡± he enunciated. Another secret given away. But it wasn''t important for Aili¡¯s plan, as far as he knew. The older sentinel prior was the first one to break the silence. ¡°I¡¯ve heard something similar from a boy who returned from a mission in Izgos. I didn¡¯t give much credit to these rumors.¡± ¡°That''s impossible,¡± Laius said, standing abruptly. ¡°He didn¡¯t have enough viss to fight two gods. He was dying years in advance compared to our calculations.¡± ¡°He''s saying the truth,¡± Riena said. ¡°I know it sounds impossible, but he''s saying the truth.¡± ¡°It would explain where he¡¯s been hiding this whole time,¡± the second prior mumbled, pointing at Rabam. ¡°Maybe Saia has given Zeles some viss,¡± Maris commented, arms crossed. ¡°Or maybe Dore and Lorin are involved too.¡± Laius inhaled sharply at that and started walking around the room, as if to put some distance between himself and that hypothesis. ¡°That would be a disaster. What is it, Rabam?¡± he suddenly asked, not even looking at him. ¡°How did he get that viss?¡± ¡°From Saia,¡± he answered. Riena nodded, looking defeated. ¡°Wait a second,¡± the second prior said, moving a strand of hair behind her shoulder. ¡°We were all there when Zeles was killed.¡± ¡°It wasn''t him,¡± the abbot said, staring at the door to the outside as a fugitive would. ¡°Saia was there too. She brought him to us. She¡¯s behind all this, and Zeles too. The plan we have in place might not be enough, if we don¡¯t know the full extent of his resources.¡± The three priors froze, as if it was something he shouldn¡¯t have said. They probably thought Rabam didn''t know about the plan. ¡°Why did you steal those books?¡± the second prior asked. ¡°We wanted information on the past of the mountain and the identities of the current gods.¡± She groaned in frustration. ¡°That was obvious, we know what kind of information they contained. But why did you need to know that specifically?¡± ¡°I don''t how.¡± And it was true. He didn''t know what Aili¡¯s plan for those books was, even if she trusted her completely. ¡°We have them now,¡± Laius said, leaning against the wall. ¡°We know who Zeles is, what he needs and what he''s done. Saia is far away for the moment, she can''t help him.¡± He stepped toward the chair and sat down. ¡°I think we know enough to stop him. We need more meetings to decide exactly how.¡± All the priors nodded except for Maris, who was deep in thought. ¡°I might have something in mind,¡± they said, staring at Rabam. ¡°And if he wants his family to be safe, he will do what we ask.¡± 5.6 - Ascension Saia looked at Filsun¡¯s raised hand. ¡°What?¡± ¡°We should start from here.¡± He seemed to notice her perplexity, so he lowered his hand and floated around her. ¡°You have a lot more viss than a human, you said,¡± he murmured. "And a heightened ability to use it. But the fact remains that I teach my students how to solidify themselves, not an external object.¡± ¡°So I have to... melt my body, first?¡± ¡°No, not at all. I''d have to teach how to do that too, and one impossible challenge is sufficient for now, especially since you can¡¯t really make any mistakes. So¡­¡± He suddenly stopped, opening his arms to the side. ¡°You''ll solidify me.¡± Serit''s worried expression resurfaced. It had never really gone away since they had met Filsun. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll become gaseous,¡± he said, and the contours of his body started to tremble as an immediate demonstration. ¡°And she''ll try her best to force me to become solid. I guarantee I''ll make it more difficult than putting together a bit of water.¡± ¡°Blood,¡± Serit specified, but they looked impressed. ¡°Let''s test it,¡± Filsun said. He returned mostly solid and held out a hand again. Only the tip of the little finger trembled. Saia buzzed with agitation. ¡°I don''t even know where to start.¡± ¡°You can perceive my viss, right?¡± he asked. Saia expanded her domain a bit. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Do you see that the pattern is different here,¡± he moved his little finger. ¡°Compared to the rest?¡± Saia focused on the movement of his viss: it did seem more erratic, with frequent changes of direction. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then here''s what you should do: memorize this pattern,¡± his finger turned solid, ¡°And try to force my viss to trace it again. Don''t worry about messing up, I have limited control on my viss: I''ll stop you before you make a big mistake and fix the smaller ones.¡± He paused. ¡°Do be careful, though.¡± Saia focused on the specks of her own viss that were floating inside her domain. She willed them to imitate the flow of viss in the spirit¡¯s solid finger, for reference, then told Filsun to change to an entirely gaseous form. Deviating an already existing flux of viss proved more difficult than creating a new one. If her attention faltered or if she focused too much on one portion of the pattern while excluding the rest, everything snapped back into place as if she hadn¡¯t touched anything. She managed to get the pattern almost right once, but Filsun sent a bigger stream of energies to erase her progress. ¡°It¡¯s not supposed to feel like it¡¯s burning. Try again.¡± Serit hovered near them, now observing the scene, now looking out of the platform for potential spies. They seemed impatient to discuss the payment with Filsun. Eventually, they seemed to accept that the first lesson had already started and sat down next to a vase. It took Saia a couple of hours to get an acceptable result. The finger wasn''t completely solid, but at least she could feel enough resistance when she pushed it with her own. ¡°That''s enough,¡± Filsun said, then smiled. ¡°There''s potential. And it''s an intriguing task, I''ll gladly take it on. How long will you stay here?¡± Serit stood and stretched. ¡°Three weeks. I can maybe get an extra one, but I need to prove we''re close to a result.¡± Filsun nodded. ¡°Three weeks might not be enough for what I''ll ask you to do, but I''m in a desperate position, so I''ll take any help I can get.¡± He put an intangible hand on Saia''s shoulder and beckoned Serit closer. They gave a last glance out of the platform before approaching him. Filsun grabbed their shoulder too, without actually touching it, and lowered his voice. ¡°The elders are planning the next ascension.¡± Serit recoiled a bit. ¡°What? So soon?¡± But their tone was uncertain, as if they were calculating all the years that had passed from the last one and realized it wasn''t a small amount, after all. ¡°I was born some years before the last one,¡± Filsun said. ¡°It''s been barely a heartbeat.¡± ¡°The last ascension?¡± Saia looked at Serit. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it when they left your flying cities?¡± They nodded. ¡°So they''ll leave this one too? Build another one?¡± Serit turned their finger in the air to indicate that they would explain later. ¡°This time, shilv¨¦ and humans won''t be able to follow us,¡± Filsun continued. ¡°A lot of us have people we don''t want to lose. My family is already scattered in two places, and my wife has lived here for most of her life. She can''t even stay here without spirits, because the city will be destroyed. There won''t be anyone to keep it afloat anymore.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Serit sighed. ¡°I agree that it''s a difficult situation, but acting against the elders is treason. I hope you don''t hate me so much to involve me.¡± ¡°I know, believe me. I was there when the rebels tried to secure a city for themselves. Our goal isn''t fighting the elders, but leading them to think that it¡¯s too soon for an ascension.¡± ¡°Little difference.¡± ¡°We have people and resources. It can be achieved without a single spirit dying.¡± ¡°On the contrary, the bigger this conspiracy is, the worse the consequences when they find out. Do you at least know what they''re planning?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not. The way Ifse is structured, it''s difficult to get to the higher districts without authorization, or at least a solid excuse. And the elders live at the very top.¡± He was looking at Saia now, sensing she was the one less familiar with the city. ¡°So you''re sure they''re about to start an ascension, but you have no idea of what it entails?¡± Serit¡¯s tone raised a bit, as if they wanted to yell but didn¡¯t have the strength to. ¡°How are you so sure they¡¯re even planning it in the first place?¡± ¡°Those of us who were there during the last ascension know the signs: more hunters sent out every day, more human and shilv¨¦ merchants admitted in the markets despite a general disliking from the higher strati. I personally received a letter from a lower elder saying that I should take in more students and accelerate their education.¡± Serit nodded, eyes on the floor and lost in thought. They suddenly flared with anger. ¡°If I had any choice, I wouldn¡¯t even consider touching this mess,¡± they said, stepping away from Filsun. ¡°But I really don''t. I need you to teach Saia, because the representatives are losing their patience. So I''ll help you, but don''t behave as if I was part of your family. You wouldn''t place a burden like this on Hilon.¡± ¡°This has nothing to do with how I feel about you. I¡¯m only asking because you¡¯re in a high enough position to do something, if there was someone else in your place I¡¯d still¡­¡± ¡°Let''s go, Saia,¡± Serit interrupted him. ¡°Please.¡± They started descending the ladder alone. Saia looked at Filsun. ¡°I¡¯ll send a message with the schedule of your training,¡± he said in a sad tone. She nodded and left too. Once she had reached the platform below, the birdguards approached to stand right behind her. She followed Serit, as they seemed to remember which way they needed to go. ¡°What is an ascension?¡± she asked straight into their ears. They stopped halfway through a platform and looked back. ¡°Sorry,¡± they said, then waited for her to reach them before resuming their march toward the lowest portion of the city. ¡°The ascension is... It''s a bit as you said, building a new place, but the reason they''re doing that is crucial.¡± A spirit flew past their group and Serit lowered their voice. ¡°They believe that they are almost gods.¡± Saia was glad she had full control of her body, because she''d have laughed so loud everyone in the market would have turned to look at them. ¡°What?¡± Serit nodded, no trace of hilarity on their face. ¡°The very first spirits lived near the earth with humans and were aware of their differences. They believed themselves to be better, because they didn''t need to drink or sleep, they didn''t tire out, they could fly and change their bodies the way they wanted. When solid they could interact with humans, when gaseous they couldn¡¯t be hurt by physical weapons.¡± ¡°But they eat, right?¡± ¡°Yes. They need to assimilate the viss of other living creatures. They saw this as the only thing that distinguished them from their gods.¡± ¡°They have gods?¡± Serit opened their mouth to answer, but let out a laugh instead. ¡°Coming from you, this is a trickier question than it should be. Yes, they believe there are entities who created them and this world. They believe they live somewhere beyond the sky, and that wind spirits can become exactly like them. The gods know this and they gave them hunger to test their worthiness. If they can reach the gods'' dwelling despite it, their prize is to fully become deities.¡± ¡°So the ascension is just moving up?¡± Serit laughed. ¡°Yes, you could put it that way. I''m sure they wouldn''t take offence in that.¡± They reached the outskirts of the market district. ¡°They have to plan each ascension carefully,¡± Serit said, weaving through the crowd of spirits as if they were all completely solid. ¡°Because they have to make sure they can get food easily. Their starting point was at earth level, which is full of creatures to get viss from. Then they created our cities, and could only have a limited amount of animals to choose from, plus birds. Here they only have birds. If they go higher, they won''t have that either, the sky''s conditions are unsuitable for any kind of life that requires to breathe.¡± ¡°What if someone refuses to leave?¡± ¡°They are unworthy and get killed,¡± Serit''s voice lowered to a whisper she could only hear with her powers. ¡°You see now how what he''s asked me to do might be dangerous.¡± They were now in the middle of the market. Serit descended toward a small platform that was used by humans and shilv¨¦ as a bridge. Wind spirits flew past, following a straight line right above it, which meant it was quiet enough to talk without anyone hearing. ¡°Filsun has mentioned merchants,¡± Serit murmured. ¡°So finding out what''s being bought by the elders would be a clue to guess what the next ascension will entail.¡± They looked at Saia, as if wanting to ask something. She crossed her arms. ¡°Say it. It''s time you admit that you only care about what I can do for you and all of your nice gestures are just for show.¡± They took a deep breath. ¡°I¡­ Could you please use your viss to check what''s being sold here?¡± ¡°Even if it''ll kill me faster?¡± Serit sighed. ¡°Answer,¡± Saia said. ¡°Even if it will kill me faster?¡± "Yes." Saia nodded. "Good. Remember this conversation the next time you get the urge to invite me to the gardens.¡± She expanded her domain to include as many platforms as she could before the flux of viss toward the mountain could become vertiginously high. "Cloth," she listed. "Wood, rope and materials for ropes. Dead birds, living birds¡­¡± ¡°That''s all expected,¡± Serit said. ¡°Look for bigger cargos, not for regular stalls.¡± ¡°I can see some on the landing platforms, but they¡¯re a bit too far.¡± There were crates, each either carried by a strong kind of wind sprite or positioned on their own small platforms while the guards examined the contents. Two well-dressed wind spirits talked to the merchants who had brought them, their cloth flowing well past the borders of their bodies, to the point the interlocutors had to step back to avoid them. She couldn''t hear the conversation without losing at least one year of life in an instant, but there was no need to: it was clear were haggling. She was reminded of the registers her dad and the other merchants of Suimer kept to track earnings. She waited for the transactions to be over. The two spirits flew away, surrounded by a flock of guards. She examined them as soon as they were close enough. The registers were being carried by one of the two high-ranking spirits and had evidently been compiled before negotiating the price. ¡°I know what¡¯s in there,¡± Saia said. ¡°And?¡± ¡°And I want to know what I¡¯ll obtain in exchange for this information.¡± Serit closed their eyes and sighed. ¡°What do you want? Besides returning home, getting your shard back, or other things that are impossible to do at the moment,¡± they quickly added. Saia thought about it. ¡°I don¡¯t know. But keep in mind that I saved you and used my viss to help you next time I¡¯ll need something.¡± Serit relaxed and nodded. ¡°There was a lot of iron,¡± Saia said. ¡°More than we have in all the nine villages, probably.¡± Serit frowned. ¡°What else?¡± ¡°Copper, also. Lower quantity but still significant. And glass containers, for some reason.¡± ¡°This actually makes more sense than the rest. You can store things in containers, like food or pieces of it. But the metals¡­¡± Saia shrank her domain and observed the crates. ¡°It can¡¯t all fit in there.¡± ¡°Exactly. The whole city would be collapsing. Which means they are storing them somewhere else.¡± They thought about it for a long time. ¡°I have no idea where it could be,¡± they concluded. ¡°Let''s go back to the hostel for now. Tomorrow we''ll ask Filsun which resources he was talking about.¡± 5.7 - History Zeles contemplated the dawn rising over the waves, thinking back at the monks¡¯ attack. It had started in the early morning, with Dore creating a wall of light at the edge of his domain, but without expanding it to attack. Lorin had reached out to tell him the monks were arriving, and then retracted for the rest of the day. As soon as there was enough light to attack, shadows had started to come out of the forest and approach the northern border. He was amused by how they stood just outside, extending a hand every once in a while to gauge whether his barrier was still there. They had left hours later, before the life in the village could become too animated. Part of them hadn¡¯t returned to the village, remaining hidden between the trees, probably waiting to take advantage of any distraction that might come his way. He failed to see how he could ever have feared them in the first place. Still, he couldn¡¯t help thinking about his old life in Lausune. People had started relying on him too much, taking unnecessary risks after they realized that nothing could actually hurt them. He doubted it would happen in the near future in Suimer, considering everything the inhabitants had lived through, but he still had to keep it in mind for the younger generations. There was also the question of his death. Sooner or later the monks would have replaced him, either because his energy ended, or because one of the other gods changed their minds and attacked him. He needed to teach them how the monks were supposed to control gods, how they could leverage their rules in case his successor decided to hurt them in any way or take decisions they didn¡¯t agree with. But they wouldn¡¯t have any leverage if the monks could make them fall asleep when they wanted. The only way he could make sure they would be safe even after his death was to teach them how to defend themselves from manipulations, and even how to use them against a god. Sure, that would have involved them in what was happening between him and the monks, but at least it was for their protection, not his own. He was trying to decide how exactly to organize something of that scale, when he saw someone approaching the border from the forest''s side. He immediately formed his wall of wind, then realized it was Rabam and let it dissolve. He looked past him, expecting an army of sentinels in pursuit, but he was sprinting from tree to tree, bush to bush, and surveillance seemed to be scarce enough in that particular spot that nobody had noticed. Still, Zeles cleared up a path for him inside his territory, wishing he could expand it more before the monks realized he was there. But Rabam slowed down before reaching the border. His eyes were wide, his movements cautious. ¡°What''s happening?¡± Zeles asked, letting the sound of his voice travel past the border. Rabam was startled, but kept going at the same speed, without slowing down nor accelerating. He was holding something to his chest with both hands. A book, as far as Zeles could tell. He stopped just in front of the line, kneeling instead of crossing it. He put the book on the ground, half of it on Zeles¡¯s side of the border, the rest outside. ¡°Rabam?¡± Zeles called again. He stood without answering, then turned and ran away as if someone was chasing him. Zeles couldn''t do anything to stop him, and he was already too far to hear his voice. He took the book inside his territory, leaving it on the ground. He read without opening the pages, wondering why Rabam had looked so scared. It didn''t take long for him to understand. Rabam had been missing for too long. Aili had begun counting the hours, then the minutes and finally the seconds, since it helped her not to freak out entirely. She had started pacing, then realized the monks could see her through the windows and stopped. It was the worst possible time to give signs of worry. Whether he was safe or not, she assumed the letter hadn''t been delivered to Zeles, and try not to think about the possibility that the monks had intercepted it instead. She suspected she wouldn''t still be awake, if that was the case. Until she knew what had happened, either through Rabam¡¯s return or the monks deactivating her, she needed to find a way to give Zeles a new letter. She started writing it with the pencil and letter on the table inside Rabam¡¯s cell, adding her worries about his disappearance. A part of her watched over the village, both looking out for dangers and wondering who she could ask for help. She was considering Dan and Mor¨¬c, when two people stepped over the border on Tilau''s side. She focused part of her attention on them, still thinking about what to write. ¡°Welcome to Lausune, I''m Koidan,¡± she said with her fake male voice. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ceila,¡± the woman said. ¡°And he''s Lassem. We come from Suimer.¡± Aili let the pencil fall on the table and observed them better. They corresponded to Saia''s description, and she could see a bit of her in her brother. Their rucksacks were filled to the top with tools and clothes. ¡°Why are you here?¡± she asked. ¡°We''re planning to explore Lausune for a few days.¡± Lassem''s eyes were shining with excitement while he looked around at the mundane life going on all around him. ¡°We''re doing a trip around the mountain.¡± ¡°And we need to give you something,¡± Ceila added. ¡°From Zeles.¡± She put down the backpack and opened it. Everything was pressed tight, with an efficiency Aili couldn''t help but admire. She moved a stack of folded clothes aside to extract a thick book. It was huge, the leather that encased it well-kept but clearly old. ¡°Wait,¡± Aili said, remembering the sentinels. ¡°Don''t take it out here.¡± Ceila stopped and put it back, looking confused. ¡°Would it be too much trouble to bring it to the temple? I can ask someone else if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she said, putting on the backpack again with Lassem¡¯s help. ¡°We planned to visit anyway.¡± They took one of the streets that converged toward the temple. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to tell you something else,¡± Ceila said, looking at Lassem. ¡°Right. That Rabam has given him the book.¡± ¡°Rabam?¡± Aili repeated. ¡°Are you sure the name was exactly ''Rabam¡¯?¡± He nodded. ¡°I repeated it a lot to make sure I wouldn''t forget it.¡± ¡°Not when we were in Tilau, though,¡± Ceila specified. ¡°Zeles has warned us that Dore shouldn''t hear it.¡± Aili realized at that moment that Dore had already seen the book, and depending on what was written there, he could be aware of her betrayal. The fact that Rabam had delivered it to Zeles and not her directly made everything a bit suspect. Or maybe she was overthinking and he was returning home, he was just being more cautious because of all the surveillance on the mountain. ¡°Has he told you about a letter, by chance?¡± she asked. They shook their heads. She decided to be careful anyway and send another one. She finished writing it while Ceila and Lassem reached the temple. ¡°Leave it there, please,¡± she told them, her statue pointing at the blind spot on one of the benches. She started reading the closed book while Ceila and Lassem explored the temple. She was mildly surprised to find out it talked about history. Her interest grew when she read the first lines, since the chapter started with the monks'' arrival at the mountain. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Her viss buzzed with excitement as she read from the beginning. She barely noticed Ceila and Lassem leaving to find a place for the night and kept going until the book was finished, in the late evening. Being a goddess meant being able to read quickly, but she had to stop every few pages to recall what the other books she''d read said about some of the events she was encountering again. She had no way to prove or disprove the facts described in the first five chapters. They talked in detail about the arrival of the first monks to the mountain, after fighting the guardian. Like Daira had said, the text mentioned that even its general shape was unknown. The book mentioned that the guardian had disappeared three times in the history of the villages: once during the excavation of the crater, the big chamber at the center of the mountain where the monks¡¯ viss was preserved, once during the rule of the sixteenth abbot, and once under the fiftieth. The anonymous authors hypothesized that the guardian left to find others of its species to breed, which suggested it was more similar to an animal than a divine presence. Other events recalled the ones described in the sacred texts: an army of ships approaching from the seas and a giant made of fire walking in Suimer''s bay. That last event was even more surprising: apparently the monks had gathered half of the spheres on one side of the mountain, taking care not to carry them too far from the shore, while placing the remaining ones halfway between the villages in order to offer the inhabitants partial protection during the fight. The villages had survived that way for three days straight, a risk she didn¡¯t expect the monks would ever be willing to take. The events were all narrated in great detail, with names and dates, but she struggled to imagine a hundred ships, or a humanoid fire several towerlengths tall. She couldn''t shake away the feeling that there was something in there she should be paying attention to, but as much as she thought about it, she couldn''t pinpoint exactly what it was. The rest of the book seemed to suggest that the events of the first part were true, since it presented names, facts and dates that were identical to the ones in all of the volumes she''d read about the most recent past of the mountain. Except for one glaring difference. She opened the book to the page in question to examine it better. There was a drawing on the right and a text on the left. Under the sixteenth abbot, the council of the priors decided to change the engravings on the lower side of the shield that covers the well, completing its pattern. A new shield was created, with the addition of lines that would limit the amount of viss flowing from the deity to the mountain, without losing the power to keep it whole. The new pattern is shown on the next page. Even after watching Rabam work and listening to his uncertain explanations about what he was doing, Aili didn''t know nearly enough about patterns. But the drawing on the next page suggested it was too similar to the one that produced warmth sewn on the inside of the monks¡¯ tunics. And the monks seemed to agree with her, because the next lines reported that: Two years later, a group of viss scholars demonstrated that the pattern was wrong, and the old shield was put back in place. Only one god was created at that time, but they established he didn''t pose an immediate danger. The lines that came next had taken Aili by surprise, since they looked exactly like the rest of the text, but the content had been written by someone else. It''s me. That god is me, and I had to study that pattern for my job of sewing tunics. We were warned to never use it, because it''s similar to the one that creates warmth, but it''s actually the one we use to make rocks explode. I''m hoping that it''s not true and all of this is an elaborate trick of the priors, but what if they actually did this? What if I''m a wrong pattern away from making everything explode? I would never forgive myself if I killed someone in Suimer. Aili appreciated how he hadn''t left any viss on the page behind despite being clearly distressed. Delivering her the book through Ceila and Lassem had been risky, but the chance Dore had seen the message in all of those pages was sufficiently low. Her first thought was that it was all a ruse of the monks to convince Zeles to surrender. They were too attached to traditions and slow to change to ever consider modifying the pattern they used to create gods. Not after it had worked perfectly for centuries, not when it was too similar to another one that they knew created explosions. Now that she thought about it, the choice of pattern was another thing that betrayed their ruse: they knew Zeles had been a tailor, so he had to know both the patterns for warmth and the one for explosions. Choosing a different pattern wouldn''t have alarmed him nearly as much. All of that explained why Rabam had delivered the book to Zeles, and not her. He''d been captured. She felt a surge of buzzing anxiety at that thought, and only managed to calm down a bit by repeating that she was still awake. Still, she needed to save him, and she had nobody to send up there. She would have gone herself, if the monks didn¡¯t have her shard. She set aside the problem for an instant and added a second part to the letter for Zeles. She explained the ruse in detail and begged him not to trust what was written in the book, nor Rabam''s future appearances. She still needed to solve the problem of how to get it delivered, since she couldn''t count on Rabam''s hidden paths anymore. She examined the book again, caught between two problems that were too big to solve. She wondered whether the rest of the book was false too. The attempt at deceiving Zeles had been clumsy enough it was a real possibility. Or maybe, she hoped, they had just taken an actual history book and added the pages that supported their lie. On one hand, it was weird they would sacrifice information they had kept secret for all of that time. On the other, it didn''t reveal anything too important, and it made the lie seem true. She was reading again the attack of the giant fire creature when the date gave her pause. She was sure she''d already seen it somewhere else in the book. The nagging feeling of something crucial hidden just out of sight followed her closely as she examined the pages from the beginning, until she finally found it: the attack corresponded to the second disappearance of the guardian. The third time it had left, instead, was when the army of ships had reached the mountain. She made a quick calculation: there was a window of about four hundred years between a disappearance and the next. And the next time would be, give or take a few years, the one they were in. Even without the calculations, she had proof of that happening: a ship had reached Lausune, after all. She closed the book with a thump. The regularity of the attacks suggested that whoever lived outside the mountain knew when the guardian would leave next. They could attack again, at any moment. And the book left out the crucial information about how long it took for the guardian to return. She resumed pacing, not caring anymore if the sentinels could see her through the windows at the light of the torches outside. She was getting ahead of herself, just like Zeles had. There was no proof that any of that was true. Finding the entirety of the mountain''s history inside a book after she and Rabam had spent so much time looking for it, after the monks possibly learning that it was just what he''d been looking for, was too suspect. Still, she couldn''t rule it out until she had proof it was all a lie. It did no one any good if she weakened the monks and the other gods to the point they couldn''t protect the mountain against an outside attack. And if it really happened, she and Zeles would have to collaborate, possibly throwing out any sort of control they had over the situation. Giving up the rebellion, even. She had to know more about the situation. Everything always came down to that, not knowing enough. And there was only one person she could ask. She reflected a bit on how to approach the conversation without giving out too much, then focused on the forest, where her territory and Dore''s barely touched. ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll be quick.¡± She remembered how their last conversation had ended and hoped he wouldn''t retract his domain, since she couldn''t expand her own further. ¡°What do you want?" he answered. ¡°A couple of visitors came here through your territory,¡± she explained. ¡°They wanted to cross to Izgos, but I stopped them because I found something weird in their backpack.¡± ¡°I think I know what you mean. I''ve seen it too.¡± ¡°It''s about the mountain''s history.¡± ¡°Part of it.¡± ¡°Part of it,¡± Aili repeated. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°That most of it is bullshit. They seemed to genuinely think it was a book of stories, so I let them go.¡± Aili tried to gauge his feelings through the specks of his viss that floated closer to her border, but couldn''t find enough of them to have a clear picture of his state of mind. ¡°You didn''t alert the monks?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t trust them. And what if they ordered me to kill them? Zeles could take revenge on me. Any of us gods can stop those two if they reveal too much or they start believing what''s written there, so I don''t know why I should be the one risking it.¡± Aili was glad to see her lies were still having an effect on him, even if he was clearly annoyed at her. There was also the possibility he''d been instructed by the monks to give her those answers. ¡°Which parts are false, exactly?¡± she asked, but his viss flared with annoyance and his domain shrunk to the point she couldn''t reach it anymore. She kept pacing. She wanted to believe he was talking about the parts of the book about the guardian. A dangerous hope, since without knowing if he''d talked to the monks or not she''d be better off distrusting him completely. As an alternative, she needed to know whether an attack was coming before anyone else would notice. She wished she could send someone out of Lausune¡¯s border, but even disregarding the sentinels, no inhabitant in their right mind would have accepted. She stopped, realizing she didn¡¯t need any of them. Saia was already on the other side of the border. She focused on her shard, buried inside her body. It was still pulsing with Saia''s viss. She only needed to push her message through the channel that connected it to Saia, and she would have received it. Her viss jumped around in excitement at the idea of talking to her again, then slowed down when she realized that they hadn''t agreed on a code beforehand. Luckily, she had established one to use with herself when she was planning to record the monks¡¯ trials by storing her viss on a rock. She still remembered most of it, and the rest was easy to invent again. Now she only needed to communicate it to Saia. It was early morning when she finally felt ready enough to try. 5.8 - A trail Saia and Serit left the hostel early in the morning, after refusing Atan¡¯s half-asleep offer to escort them. Only one of the birdguards followed them, plumage ruffled with irritation. The sky outside was still a light azure, punctuated by the spirits still working at that our. The activity was more intense in the higher parts of the city, where shilv¨¦ and humans couldn¡¯t go. Saia wondered how life could be for someone who never needed to sleep, then realized it wasn¡¯t much different than what she was experiencing. Whoever had her shard still deactivated her at night, which was terrifying now that she lived suspended in the sky. Without the crowd to obscure their view, they easily found the market district. Some platforms had been rearranged during the night to make space for new stands, and a few merchant assistants were already setting them up for the day. Filsun stood out as the only light at the entrance of the residential district. The schedule he had sent them consisted mostly of early morning or late evening lessons, since he spent most of the day and night training young spirits. ¡°Welcome,¡± he greeted them, smiling at Saia. ¡°Ready for a new challenge?¡± ¡°Let''s discuss something else, first,¡± Serit interjected, then glanced around. The only other presence in the area was their birdguard on the lower platform, and approaching spirits were easy to spot. ¡°Sure,¡± Filsun said. ¡°I didn''t expect you to accept, after yesterday.¡± ¡°I consider Hilon family, and you''re her father,¡± they explained quickly. ¡°Saia found out that the elders are buying iron and copper in huge quantities. And glass containers, probably to store food.¡± Filsun nodded, hovering a bit higher. ¡°I¡¯ve thought about it,¡± Serit continued. ¡°Copper is one of the best materials to trace efficient patterns on iron.¡± ¡°How much iron are we talking about?¡± ¡°Dozens of crates, and it was just one cargo. Too heavy to be stored in the city. It was bought by a lower elder and we don''t know where it is.¡± ¡°Thank you. I''ll talk to my contacts, I''m sure someone smarter than me can figure out their plans.¡± ¡°Who are your contacts?¡± Serit asked. ¡°You said you had resources, but they can''t be that good if you still need me.¡± Filsun produced a bitter smile. ¡°We all come from the lower strati of society, so we can''t get closer to the elders. You are not tied to the ascension and can express dissent without being labeled as a traitor. You have a high social standing and the approval of your representatives¡­¡± ¡°Only one,¡± Serit specified. ¡°And she''ll get impatient if she won''t get results.¡± Filsun smiled wider. ¡°Well, you¡¯re here with the approval of at least a representative, we don''t need to divulge the details. Point is, we''ll need someone to talk to the elders to convince them to postpone the ascension. You could request a meeting, if you can prove you have something important to say.¡± Serit¡¯s eyes flared, and for a moment Saia thought they were about to refuse and storm out. She couldn''t blame them: it was an extremely unfair request, asking them to take all the risks of a rebellion in exchange for some lessons. But what they requested of her was even more unfair, so she didn¡¯t mind seeing them struggle. Serit gradually calmed down, their eyes getting more calculating. ¡°I¡¯ll do it only if I''ll be in a position to ask them something else for myself. You''ll give me the arguments I¡¯ll have to present and help me integrate them with my own requests. I won''t do anything if the chance of me obtaining what I want won''t look good enough.¡± ¡°And what is it that you want?¡± ¡°You''ll know when it''s time. We''re too far from that point, we have no idea what the next step of ascension will be.¡± Filsun nodded, his hair an indistinct mass of luminous fog. ¡°In regards to that, I have a possible lead that you could follow.¡± Serit crossed their arms. ¡°Again, why me?¡± ¡°Because he won''t talk with spirits for fear of being kicked away, despises humans, and you''re the only shilv¨¦ interesting enough to catch his attention without having to pay a disproportionate amount of coin.¡± Serit retreated slightly, as if they already knew what to expect. ¡°Who is he?¡± ¡°A memory reader.¡± Serit shook their head. They looked at Saia, as if expecting the same dismay. ¡°Let''s get started with the lesson, shall we?¡± Filsun said before they could find the words to answer. ¡°Then I''ll give you the information you need, and you can freely decide whether you want to investigate or not.¡± ¡°Freely,¡± Serit repeated in a cold tone. They sat down between two vases and observed Saia practice for two hours, in complete silence and with a haunted expression on their face. They were back at the hostel district, two birdguard following their steps. Serit had been fuming since Filsun had completed his description of the man they''d been looking for: an old shilv¨¦ who officially worked as a healer, but in practice offered memory-reading services at exorbitant prices. Apparently, Filsun¡¯s contacts had spotted an elder visiting him for a total of three times, enough to think they had requested his other skills. ¡°Why would an elder ask for a memory reading?¡± Saia asked. ¡°That''s what I''m wondering too,¡± he murmured between their teeth. ¡°I wish they''d just gone to a brothel, to be honest. Much easier to deal with.¡± They gestured in the general direction of the platforms around them, all closed like the rooms of the hostel, displaying multi-colored cloths in a competition for the one that was the most noticeable and appealing. They were in the lowest area of the entertainment district, directly under the hostel one. There was almost no one around at that hour of the morning, except for the occasional eye observing the outside through the folds of their entrance. Human eyes, mostly. Serit sighed. ¡°But more seriously, some spirits don''t reject their human origins completely. At the very least, they are curious about the vague memories they had since birth. It''s rare for an elder to risk this much, though.¡± ¡°I didn''t know it was possible to read memories.¡± ¡°Don''t worry, tanhata are immune and I have the suspicion you are too.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because if you¡¯re not one of us you have to drink ¨¦shan first. Only humans and completely solid wind spirits can do that. Then the reader manipulates the ¨¦shan inside the body to access the data stored in the person''s viss.¡± Saia thought about the monks¡¯ trials. ¡°Can he remove memories too?¡± Serit¡¯s eyes flashed with curiosity. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Why this question?¡± Saia didn¡¯t answer, not wanting to give them precious details about the mountains. ¡°It¡¯s interesting that you would ask that,¡± Serit continued. ¡°There are also memory wipers and memory writers. Three separate sets of skills that require their own training and they¡¯re regulated by different laws.¡± ¡°How can one delete memories without reading them?¡± ¡°They can locate them temporarily. Say you want to forget every single thing that happened two days ago. A decent memory reader can wipe away your memory from today up to that point. A good memory reader will be able to locate the memories belonging to that exact date, give or take a few hours. An excellent one¡­ Well, they probably would know some techniques or memory reading and find exactly what they need.¡± They stopped in front of a ladder that led up to another platform. The walls of cloth were a dull dark green, completely unimpressive compared to the golden embroidery of the adjacent rooms. ¡°This looks sketchy, and trust me, I¡¯ve seen a lot of sketchy stuff,¡± Serit said. ¡°But we already knew he pretends to be a healer, so he''s probably not licensed as a memory reader. Please wait here,¡± they said to the birdguard. Saia expanded her domain to look inside the platform: it was dark, but she could still see the old shilv¨¦ crouched next to the entrance, looking at them through the folds of the cloth. ¡°He''s watching us,¡± she said in Serit''s ears. ¡°Healer Urnit,¡± they said out loud, startling the old man. ¡°We''re here for your services.¡± The flap of cloth was drawn aside. ¡°It''s early. Shop''s closed.¡± ¡°We can pay.¡± ¡°You''re not carrying any bags, so you probably don¡¯t have enough.¡± ¡°The representatives of Irim¨¦ze sent us here. Whatever payment you request, we can find an agreement. But we can¡¯t talk out here.¡± The old man looked at the guards. ¡°They stay out.¡± Their blue plumage raised like heckles, but Serit nodded. ¡°It was already our intention. I''m sorry,¡± they added, talking to the guards. ¡°We''re leaving you out in the cold twice today. I¡¯ll give you extra for your help when we go back.¡± Saia climbed the ladder after Serit. The inside of the room was divided in two by a cloth tied to the top of the wooden frame. The side they were standing on was almost completely empty, except for glass bottles wrapped in cloth, a soft carpet, and the sleeping bag on top of it. All the illumination in the room was given by a small wind sprite, moving around freely. ¡°You''re not here for my healing,¡± the old man commented, standing on the opposite side of what technically was his house, shop and room at once. ¡°No. We need information about one of your clients.¡± The man didn''t react to that, staring straight at Serit instead. ¡°What''s your name?¡± Serit tensed. Saia wondered what difference it could make to tell the man that information, why they didn''t just give him a fake name if they were so worried. Then she realized it wasn''t exactly their name the old man was looking for. ¡°Does it matter?¡± Serit asked. It sounded almost like they were begging. ¡°Yes. I want to know name and affiliation of anyone I work with.¡± Serit breathed deeply. ¡°I¡¯m Serit.¡± Urnit¡¯s eyes widened in hearing their god-particle. ¡°The lady of the light.¡± Serit looked to the side. ¡°What do you need?¡± the old man asked. ¡°The representatives have received news of an imminent ascension.¡± Serit''s eyes slowly drifted back to the man. ¡°They want to know which form it will take in order to adjust Irim¨¦ze¡¯s economic treaties with the elders.¡± Urnit¡¯s eyebrows raised with sudden interest. ¡°I¡¯m not an elder,¡± he said. ¡°No, but one of your customers is. We want to know what you saw in their memories.¡± Urnit¡¯s brows raised. He sighed, stepping closer to the sleeping bag. ¡°This will cost you a lot.¡± ¡°We have money.¡± ¡°I don''t mean that. Memories.¡± ¡°No,¡± Serit answered before Saia could even process what was being said. ¡°My daughter¡­¡± ¡°No. Anything but this.¡± ¡°Then I fear your informers were wrong. I haven''t met a single elder in years.¡± Serit closed their eyes as if in pain. When they opened them, they were looking at Saia. She had no idea of what was going on, nor whether she wanted to help, so she just stared back. ¡°I will tell you. By voice,¡± Serit said, reluctantly facing the old man again. ¡°No. I want to be sure, so I need to see her face.¡± ¡°What''s going on?¡± Saia snapped. ¡°Which memories are you talking about?¡± Serit stepped back toward the entrance, gesturing for her to follow them. ¡°He''s talking about the memories I had when I was... When I first appeared in this world.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Sometimes people seek us children of viss with a portrait and a memory reader in hope to find which one of us is their loved one.¡± ¡°And then what? It''s not like they can get them back.¡± ¡°That''s not how they see it.¡± ¡°And what happens if they find someone with the right memories?¡± ¡°It''s only happened once in my life: it was a well-off family that lived at the bottom. They took my friend in as if she was part of their family all along, just because she had a memory of their son. Her life improved, of course,¡± their tone became bitter, ¡°But she has to act like him as much as she can, answer when they call his name and pretend she enjoys what he did.¡± They sighed. ¡°At least she has a better life than what we could ever give her.¡± They turned to look at the old man. ¡°I have two guards outside,¡± they said. ¡°If I have an inkling that you read the wrong memories, I''ll have them slit your throat.¡± Urnit only laughed. ¡°Your threat is wasted. In a month I''ll rain for the last time. I can feel it in my bones, my viss isn''t moving like it used to.¡± Serit nodded, apparently believing him. They spoke to Saia again, their voice little more than a breath. ¡°Please check that he doesn''t change or delete anything.¡± She recoiled. ¡°What? How am I supposed to do that?¡± ¡°I don''t know, but please try. I can''t lose anything, I need all of my knowledge to accomplish what I have to do. And there are things he should never know.¡± ¡°That''s not my problem. I already wasted a lot of viss to help you and received nothing in exchange.¡± ¡°You keep asking for the only thing I can''t give you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll believe that you can''t when I''ll see you trying.¡± Serit dropped to their knees. Saia was so shocked that she stepped back, staring at their cupped hands. ¡°Please,¡± they said, tone still extremely low. ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you as soon as I can, to the best of my abilities. I can''t promise to let you go home, but my knowledge is at your service.¡± Saia would have refused, but she was close enough to see their viss buzz with fear and she couldn''t bring herself to ignore it. She hated the empathy she felt for their feelings, when they weren''t forced to feel her own. For an instant, she was tempted to flood Serit with her nostalgia for home, the uncertainty of not knowing whether her family and friends were safe, the resentment and anger toward them and their representatives. But that wasn''t the moment. ¡°Fine,¡± she said in their ears. Serit nodded and stood. ¡°Thank you.¡± They stepped toward the old man, who was now pointing at the sleeping bag. ¡°You can lay down here. Close your eyes and think about the memories from your birth.¡± Serit scoffed at the word, but did as instructed. Saia stepped forward until she stood over them. Urnit sat down next to Serit''s head and put his fingers on Serit''s temples. Saia expanded her domain just enough to see the flow of energies in both of their bodies. The old man''s viss flowed down from his fingers into Serit''s body. She saw it interacting with Serit''s ¨¦shan, absorbing the data. At that moment, Saia realized she had no idea how she was supposed to make sure that the old man was only reading the memories he was supposed to. The only data she could understand was the one stored in the ¨¦shan, since the rest appeared only as random intensities. She focused on the information Urnit was copying, and her vision was filled with a huge garden. She was on top of a flying city, similar in structure to Irim¨¦ze but different in a lot of other ways. The garden at the top in place of the barren ground, to begin with, and the thick walls of glass that surrounded it. She saw a man with slate skin at her side. He smiled, and she knew he was very important to her. She stopped, feeling extremely uncomfortable about seeing Serit''s past, or better, the past of the people who made up their body. Still, she realized, it was the only way to know whether the information Urnit was accessing were only the ones he''d gotten permission for. Before she could resume reading, she felt a sudden surge of viss coming from inside her statue. She immediately focused on Aili¡¯s shard, but she didn¡¯t notice any change: it was still covered with her viss. She waited, hoping she would send another message, panicking at the same time because she couldn''t read it. ¡°Done,¡± Urnit said, startling her. Serit opened their eyes, blinked a bit, then slowly sat up. ¡°What do you know about the next ascension?¡± they asked, in the tone of someone who wanted to be six towerlengths away from that room. ¡°You''re not interested to know whether I found what I was looking for?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± Serit answered. ¡°It''s clear from your face.¡± They stood, and Saia imitated them. ¡°So, Urnit?¡± ¡°I haven''t seen much,¡± he said. ¡°Whatever it is, it used a lot of iron.¡± Serit crossed their arms. ¡°You have to give me a bit more than that.¡± Saia expanded her domain, keeping part of her attention on the viss inside her sphere. She started to worry about the lack of activity. What if it wasn''t a message, but a request for help? But no, she had perceived a lot of enthusiastic energy, nothing that resembled fear. She wanted to answer with a signal of her own, but she wasn''t sure of how to do that without flooding the shard''s viss with her own, losing the only connection she had with Aili. ¡°I¡¯m not completely sure of what I''ve seen,¡± Urnit was saying. ¡°There were pieces and impressions. I clearly remember a huge chain.¡± ¡°A chain,¡± Serit repeated, unimpressed. ¡°Exactly. A bit like the ones we use to connect our cities to the earth.¡± Her sphere pulsed with new viss. Saia focused on it again, ignoring the old man¡¯s words: now Aili was sending signals with different intensities at regular intervals. ¡°They''ll use the chain to periodically send the hunters back,¡± she distractedly heard Urnit saying. ¡°And store the meat in glass containers.¡± There was a weird shift in the old man¡¯s viss while he was saying that, but Saia couldn''t investigate, because the messages suddenly stopped. She had received nineteen in total, and she had no idea of what any of them meant. ¡°That''s it,¡± Urnit concluded. Serit looked at Saia. ¡°Do you think he''s telling the truth?¡± they whispered. She quickly nodded, wishing they would just stop involving her completely. ¡°Well, then, we''re done here,¡± they said, turning to leave. ¡°And if you learn more, there¡¯s money waiting for you at our hostel.¡± They gave Urnit the directions to their room and left. Saia followed them outside, thinking that Aili wouldn''t send messages without establishing a way to read them, first. She counted them again, then realized: nineteen, like their alphabet''s letters. Aili had sent her a code. She started to compose the answer in her head as they returned to the hostel, to let her know that she had understood. She only needed to learn how to send it. 5.9 - The register The first time Aili tried to send Saia the code, she had to stop and double-check she hadn''t made any mistakes before she felt sure enough to try again. The expenditure of energy was huge, an entire month of her future life gone in an instant, which meant that Saia was extremely far from the mountain. At least the viss hadn''t remained on the shard, so she was still alive. She reviewed the code one last time, then started sending the alphabet letters one after the other, hoping she would understand what they meant. She added the code inside the letter, leaving viss of various intensities in little squares: it was best Zeles knew it too, in case something happened to her. Hours passed without a sign of acknowledgement, to the point she began worrying that Saia couldn¡¯t figure out how to answer. Or worse, that she found herself in such dire circumstances that she didn''t have the time to even think about that. Then again, maybe she was overreacting and she simply needed time to formulate an answer that wouldn¡¯t waste her viss. She reluctantly set the problem aside to face the biggest one: Rabam¡¯s absence. She needed to save him, and she could only do that by sending someone on the mountain. Someone capable to deal with the monks. There wasn''t anyone like that in Lausune; she couldn''t even think of a person brave enough to deliver the letter. The best she could come up with was the Lauhas brothers, especially Mor¨¬c. She''d been hesitant to contact him due to his apparent hatred toward Koidan, but there was no one else as involved as he already was. She found him sitting at the loom as usual, weaving a carpet with geometric figures that resembled birds flying over the sea. She waited for him to take a break, but he kept going for two hours straight without giving signs of slowing down. ¡°Can I have a moment of your time?¡± she asked softly with Zeles¡¯s voice. He tensed and stopped. ¡°We had an agreement not to talk to each other,¡± he said. ¡°I know,¡± she lied. ¡°But it''s a very important request. Crucial for the security of the village. I''d never break our pact if it wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°My request had been important too, but you have refused it, so I won''t help you.¡± ¡°Which request? I''ll see what I can do, but¡­¡± Mor¨¬c produced a bitter laugh. ¡°No, thank you. I think I can manage alone, my god.¡± He pronounced the last words in a derisive tone, as if he knew she wasn¡¯t a true deity, after all. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m making progress,¡± he continued. He resumed his weaving, albeit with slower movements. ¡°Soon we won''t be a problem anymore.¡± ¡®We¡¯ could only mean that Dan was involved in whatever had happened between Zeles and Mor¨¬c. That could explain his anger. ¡°I just need you to deliver a letter without Dore noticing. If you don¡¯t want me to help with your request, whatever it was, is there something else I can do for you in exchange for this favor?¡± ¡°The new letter carrier is Kadam,¡± Mor¨¬c said. ¡°And don''t you dare ask my brother. He won''t listen to you anyways.¡± Aili didn''t know what else to say, so she withdrew all of her attention back at the temple. She needed at least to know what had happened between Koidan and Mor¨¬c, what their pact entailed and why they had deemed it necessary. There was only one place where she could get that information. She focused on the library. It hadn¡¯t been her intention to look for it, but one day she had decided to check each of the books in the vain hope of finding information on the history of the mountain. She had found it in the middle of an ancient series of volumes about botanic species of the mountain. Zeles or one of his predecessors had bound it with a cover that made it as old and boring as the other twelve tomes it was pressed against, placed on top of a tall shelf. She probably wouldn''t have even glanced at it in her quest to find the truth about the mountain, when she was still an unsuspecting letter carrier and carelessly curious about everything. There wasn¡¯t anyone in any of the three small rooms of the library, so she locked the doors and made the book float down to one of the tables. She left it closed, as if that could prevent her from reading it. She wondered whether what she was about to do was the right thing. She had read dozens of letters in the past, telling herself that it wasn¡¯t out of morbid curiosity, but a vital need to know what was actually happening on the mountain. The truth was that she would have done the same even if she didn¡¯t suspect there was something hidden to find, uncaring of what the inhabitants would think of her spying. She still didn''t care as much as she should. Her curiosity pulled her toward the book, and also toward every single house of the village and the actions of their inhabitants. The only reason she''d been able to hold back up to that point was knowing that Saia would never forgive her if she knew. Not when keeping secrets was such an integral part of her upbringing, not after all the suffering Vizena had caused her and her family through her controlling tendencies. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. At the same time, keeping what she''d done a secret to Saia was another thing she couldn''t forgive herself for. But she couldn''t risk losing her, not when she was even more alone than ever. Her viss was flowing in waves of distress as she observed the book from above. She needed to establish ground rules for herself. Even if there was no one who could punish her or even hold her accountable. She rejected that thought, deciding that there wouldn''t be any need to, because she wasn¡¯t going to fail. She would only read Mor¨¬c¡¯s page and no one else''s, not even his brother''s, not Liraira¡¯s. She opened the book: there was an index organized by topic, with the names of every single inhabitant that had lived during Zeles''s godhood, most of them accompanied by the date of death in addition to the one of their birth. She easily found Dan and Mor¨¬c¡¯s names, since the date of their birth was left blank. She was about to open the book to their page, when she saw a session titled ¡®medical conditions¡¯. She immediately checked it, feeling her guilt increasing; in order to hold back her curiosity, she had potentially put people in danger of mortal conditions. She hadn¡¯t strengthened the weak hearts with an extra dose of viss, she hadn¡¯t made sure old people¡¯s bones wouldn¡¯t deteriorate with age. She decided she''d have read those pages and learned them by heart as soon as the problem of the letter was settled. She went back to Mor¨¬c¡¯s page. His entry, like the majority of the other ones, was short: Zeles had clearly wanted to respect the privacy of his village''s inhabitants. She read the text, and found it talked about Dan too: Dear successor, there are two very important things that you need to know about Dan and Mor¨¬c Lauhas. First, do not ask about their past: they lost their parents in tragic circumstances and lived in Izgos¡¯s orphanage until Mor¨¬c was old enough to take care of his brother alone. That''s all you need to know. Second, remove any trace of viss you find inside their house. Don''t let them leave viss on any surface for more than an instant. Don''t waste time wondering why: it was the abbot''s order, and we must obey. Aili turned the page, but that was it. No mention of Mor¨¬c¡¯s pact with Koidan, unless it had something to do with the second instruction: ¡®remove any trace of viss¡¯. She focused on the brothers'' house: the viss was on everything they''d touched, as expected. Every surface, table, notebook and carpet was covered with a thin layer of viss. But the same thing was happening in every other house, and it didn''t look like it was causing any problems. She decided to trust Zeles, at least for the moment, and removed the boys'' viss by flooding their house with her own. She hadn''t learned anything new that she could use to convince Mor¨¬c to help her. She considered telling him the truth, but he seemed to distrust Koidan enough that he might not believe her. She needed to find someone else to deliver the letter for her. She focused on the village as a whole, singling out the people who had the resources to leave it. The first candidate was Kadam, the new letter carrier. She tried not to compare him to herself as she observed him struggle to find the herbalist''s house, stopping in front of his shop instead. She didn''t judge him smart enough to deliver the letter without Dore finding out about it, nor he seemed brave enough to cross the forest between Lausune and Suimer without touching Tilau''s borders. To be fair, she knew there wasn¡¯t a single person in the village that would dare the forest just to deliver a letter. But there was another way to reach Suimer without stepping into Dore¡¯s territory: the sea. She focused on the fishers: they were mostly sleeping in the cozy afternoon or taking care of their equipment in anticipation of a night of work. She recognized the father of one of her childhood friends, sitting on a dock as he mended a net. ¡°Sorry to interrupt, can I ask you something?¡± He turned as if to search for whoever was calling him, then looked up and smiled. ¡°Of course, my god.¡± ¡°I need you to make me a favor. It''s extremely important, you¡¯re one of the few people I trust enough to fulfill it.¡± His viss beamed with the same pride she''d felt when Koidan had made her administrator of resources, back when she didn''t know about the monks. ¡°I¡¯ll do everything I can, my god.¡± ¡°I have to deliver a letter to Vizena. I need you to go to Suimer with your boat and hand it directly to her.¡± ¡°That''s easy. Even if it seems more like something Kadam would do.¡± ¡°There''s something else: I need you to navigate outside of the villages'' borders. You won''t enter Tilau¡¯s territory, you''ll have to go past the four white stones, cross the forest, and only get closer to the shore once you''ve reached Suimer. You won¡¯t go alone, of course, I trust you to find trustworthy companions for the trip.¡± He looked confused at first, then his viss started buzzing with worry the longer she elaborated on her request. By the end, it was clear he didn''t want to do what she asked, but couldn¡¯t find a way to refuse. ¡°Out of the borders? Through the external forest?¡± he said. ¡°But there are sea snakes in the water, and if something happens to me¡­¡± ¡°Nevermind,¡± Aili cut him off, feeling guilty for his distress. ¡°It was foolish of me, I''ll just ask Kadam. Thank you anyways.¡± He produced a relieved smile. She left him to his work, focusing again on the village. The inhabitants had been told through all of their lives, by sacred texts, sermons and old legends, that stepping out of the borders meant putting themselves in huge danger. The only way she could possibly convince them otherwise was by telling the truth, but that also meant explaining why the gods had been misleading them for all of that time. She didn¡¯t think any of the people she knew would be able to handle that truth, either because they would panic or straight up not believe her. In the end, she decided that not choosing anyone would be worse than risking an overreaction on their part. She might as well start with Kadam, since he must have gotten used to crossing the godless lands between one village and the next. ¡°Can you come to the temple, please?¡± she asked him. ¡°As soon as you finish with your turn.¡± He nodded quickly, mumbling a formal ¡®yes, mighty Koidan¡¯. He finished shortly after, despite still having some letters inside his bag. While she waited for him to arrive, Aili reflected on how to best approach the situation, and most importantly, how much to reveal. ¡°Have you ever noticed something weird about the mountain, Kadam?¡± she asked him as soon as he was inside the temple, doors closed. ¡°Nothing I can think of,¡± he mumbled. He was already tense, and it could only get worse from there. Aili fished for the vague memories she had of him: a few years older than her, working since a young age in his father¡¯s orchard, at least up to that point. She was tempted to check his page in the register, but managed to hold back. ¡°What if I told you that gods are actually common people?¡± His lips trembled. ¡°I¡­ Didn¡¯t understand the joke, I fear.¡± Aili masked her frustration with a reassuring smile. She could already feel the weight of the long day ahead. 5.10 - Strati They were back inside their room at the hotel, waiting for the merchants to choose what to sell at the market that day. Atan had been the first one awake, and Serit had immediately started asking him questions about wind spirits. ¡°Can you tell me more about the strati? I know the general idea, but not what they entail,¡± they were asking at that moment. Saia held Aili''s shard in her palm as Atan answered, trying to figure out how she was supposed to answer her message. ¡°That''s a very broad question. Is there something in particular you were looking for?¡± ¡°I was wondering who builds¡­ I don¡¯t know, big structures, buildings, stuff like that. Is there a specific stratus or is it something any spirit could potentially do?¡± ¡°Well, the first stratus is newborns, and they''re rarely involved in important work. Only things that require a lot of physical prowess but close to no reasoning skills. They''re still learning how to be spirits, they have to be kept under control by guards.¡± ¡°And there''s a list of them,¡± Serit added, glancing at Saia as if to remark how important that information was. She ignored them, certain they would explain at the first chance they''d get. ¡°Yes, and once they manage to get out of the list, they become part of the next stratus: subordinate workers. They can choose which job to do and for whom, they can get paid and have the right to build themselves a house, but they can''t have their own activity. That''s reserved for the next stratus, traders.¡± ¡°So they could do any job?¡± ¡°Yes, construction included. But not of their own initiative, they always work for someone else. Traders, usually. The person you met the other day is one of them.¡± ¡°Filsun?¡± Atan nodded. ¡°Then there''s the guards, who obviously take care of surveillance and land-scouting, judges, who are old enough to administer the law, and the elders, which are divided into lower elders and higher elders.¡± ¡°Based on age?¡± ¡°Technically yes, but a lot of spirits decide to stay in their current stratus, because rising higher would mean abandoning their job for a completely different one. They can''t avoid becoming lower elders though, after three thousand years of age. The higher elders are always twenty-four, they only get replaced when they die. Or better, when somebody kills them, usually because they have divisive opinions and few friends. But what do I know,¡± Atan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just a shilv¨¦ guide.¡± ¡°And what''s the difference between lower and higher elders?¡± ¡°They have the task of governing the city, but higher elders also decide ascensions. When they should happen, where the people will go, what¡­¡± M¨¦non, the merchant''s daughter, stuck her head inside the room from the adjacent storage platform. ¡°Atan? Mom needs your opinion on something.¡± He nodded and stood. ¡°Another quick question before I go?¡± he asked Serit. ¡°No, thank you. You told me everything I needed.¡± He left for the other room, leaving Saia and Serit alone with two regular guards and the three birdguards. Saia briefly wondered whether it was a bad idea to ask Serit about the shard in front of them, but she was too impatient to wait; if Aili had sent her the message that morning, it meant she needed something. And it wasn''t like the guards didn''t know what the shard was for, considering they were the ones hiding her own. ¡°I need your help,¡± she told Serit. They were clearly annoyed at that interruption of their thoughtful trance, but still raised their eyebrows with curiosity when Saia showed them the shard. ¡°This belongs to a friend,¡± she explained, talking in their ears to prevent the guards from listening. ¡°I want to communicate with her, but I don''t know how.¡± Serit reached out with a hand as if to take the shard, but Saia closed her fist and retracted it. ¡°No, it''s too important. I''m already trusting you more than you deserve.¡± The annoyance in their viss grew a bit, even if they didn''t let it show on their face. ¡°This friend of yours... Are they a god?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Serit nodded, thoughtful again. ¡°Where are they, now? Back at the mountain?¡± ¡°Why are you asking all of these questions?¡± Saia said, speaking louder. ¡°You promised you would ''make it up to me,'' right? Just a few hours ago. Or were you lying just to save your ass?¡± Her viss was buzzing so strongly that she struggled to hold it back, so she decided not to. She expanded her domain and let her emotions strike Serit, from her loneliness to her nostalgia for home, all the anger she felt toward them and the representatives, the frustration of not being able to take her shard and go home. Serit''s eyes narrowed as if they were looking at something far away, mouth bent in a grimace that seemed caused by pain. Saia was so focused on them she almost didn''t notice the three birdguards standing as one. Two stepped forward while one ran toward the room''s exit. Serit raised one hand to stop them. ¡°It''s fine.¡± Saia stopped, realizing she couldn''t afford to waste much more viss. She stared at Serit, and they nodded. ¡°I guess I deserved this.¡± ¡°You did.¡± Saia showed them the shard again. ¡°How do I send her a message?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°As you would when trying to influence someone''s emotions, but instead of focusing on the imprint, you need to control the intensity, or data. The problem in this case is to make it understandable even if it''s made of multiple words. You already know how to manipulate intensity, right?¡± Saia nodded. ¡°I learned during the matches with the Doves.¡± ¡°Then you need to do that, but sending an intensity after the other in quick succession.¡± ¡°I was hoping I could send a whole word at once.¡± ¡°That would be convenient, right? You would save a lot of viss. Alas, it doesn''t work like that.¡± Saia decided to try with a single word. She shut off her vision and recalled Aili''s code. ¡°What are you going to tell her?¡± Serit asked. ¡°Good try,¡± she replied, then sent the shortest message she could think of: listening. Her viss left through the invisible channel that connected the shard to Aili. Saia checked that it wasn''t contaminated with her own. She didn''t know how she would react if something happened to it, but throwing Serit out of the platform and into the depth of the sky wasn''t a far off possibility. Everything was in order, so she put the shard back into her shoulder. The merchant and her assistants finished their preparations shortly after, so they all left together, leaving only two regular guards and a birdguard back at the room. Aili''s answer arrived almost immediately: Did army attack mountain past. Did giant of fire appear near mountain. Saia was a bit worried in gauging the amount of viss she must have used to send her so many words. Which meant her message was important, even if she found it difficult to interpret. She seemed to be asking about events in the past of the mountain, except she had never heard of something like that, not even in the sacred texts of the monks'' village. She took Serit''s arm, forcing them to slow down. ¡°Do you know anything of an army attacking mount Ohat? Or a giant made of fire?¡± ¡°Giant made of fire in what sense? A person?¡± ¡°I don''t know.¡± Serit smirked. ¡°So it''s your friend asking.¡± Saia''s grip slightly tightened, which only made them smile wider. They slowly returned serious as they thought about her question. ¡°I don''t know much about it because it''s well outside Irim¨¦ze''s routes, but there''s a big perennial fire somewhere on earth. As far as I know it has never moved.¡± They thought a bit more. ¡°I don''t how about armies, sorry. I can do some research once we''re back home.¡± Saia nodded and let them go, wondering how to communicate that to Aili. She decided for a short: Nothing. Investigating. ¡°Why are we going to the market too?¡± she asked Serit. ¡°I need to ask some questions around. There was a reason why I asked Atan about the strati, you know?¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°If the elders are buying all of that material, they certainly want to build something, whether it''s the chain Urnit talked us about or something else entirely. It''s unlikely they''re working on that directly, especially since there aren''t many of them for such an ambitious project.¡± ¡°So you want to find who is building it?¡± ¡°Yes. And possibly ask them some details.¡± Run¨¬ and her daughter left to set up their stand. Serit reassured Atan that they and Saia would just be wandering around the market before leaving the main group. ¡°We''ll start from the second stratus: the workers,¡± Serit said as they trudged through the crowd, Saia and birdguards in tow. ¡°I bet we can find at least one of them here.¡± ¡°How do we recognize them?¡± Saia asked, looking through dozens of spirits at once. ¡°They''re probably helping out the merchants, moving crates around... There!¡± They stopped and pointed at a platform. It was positioned lower than the one they were walking on, empty of stalls and thus of people, exception made for a group of five spirits floating in a circle next to a pile of rolled-up carpets. ¡°They''re not doing anything,¡± Saia said. ¡°I think they''re waiting for someone to take the cargo. I bet the carpets are for one of our cities.¡± ¡°I didn''t see many sheep around.¡± Serit laughed. ¡°Some spirits have the elders'' permission to spend short amounts of time near the earth to work. Which makes our task even more complicated.¡± They told the two birdguards to wait and descended a ladder that was connected to the platform. Saia followed them, keeping a bit of distance in case those spirits were the kind who didn''t like humans. ¡°I was sent here by the representatives of Irim¨¦ze,¡± Serit was saying. ¡°Can I ask you some questions?¡± Saia realized she could understand them well because they were speaking in Shiliz¨¦, not in the spirits'' language. Despite that, the workers seemed to understand at least the gist of their question. They all glanced toward one element of their group. ¡°Ask,¡± they only said. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for a cargo of weapons from Irim¨¦ze that''s going to arrive soon. Where can I find someone to carry it to my storage platform?¡± ¡°You should ask a¡­¡± they hesitated, narrowing the golden slits of their eyes as if trying to remember a word. ¡°The higher stratus?¡± Serit suggested. ¡°A trader?¡± The spirit nodded. ¡°Yes, a trader. We can''t take jobs.¡± Serit frowned, showing a disappointment that Saia didn''t see in their viss. ¡°I really hoped to solve this quickly. I know a lower elder, maybe they could accept the crates and send some workers to help? Or do they need to ask a trader first?¡± ¡°Elders is different. They can ask workers to do what they want, if they pay.¡± Serit inclined their head. ¡°Really? That might work out, then. But I didn''t see many of you around, has something happened? Someone hiring you en-masse, perhaps?¡± They chuckled, as if to give the impression the question wasn''t entirely serious, then shot a side glance to Saia. She expanded her domain to include the spirits. ¡°No,¡± said the one who had been speaking up to that point, after a brief consultation with the others. They asked the rest of the group too, and everyone seemed to agree with that answer. One of them told something to Serit, and they pretended not to understand until the first spirit translated. ¡°We''re usual number around. No more and not less.¡± ¡°They''re telling the truth,¡± Saia said in Serit''s ear. They thanked the workers and left them to their tasks. ¡°The workers aren''t building the chain,¡± Serit said once they were on a platform far enough from the group of spirits. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°The amount of people needed to build a chain capable of connecting the earth to the higher skies would be huge, impossible not to notice. The elders have probably asked some other stratus.¡± ¡°The traders?¡± ¡°Maybe, even if I find it unlikely. Filsun would know, since he''s one of them. Unless he wanted to keep that a secret for some reason.¡± They reflected a bit. ¡°Let''s go back to his house and ask.¡± Serit climbed back to the higher platform, Saia went after them, and the birdguards followed. ¡°If it''s not the traders, who?¡± she asked. ¡°The guards?¡± Serit thought about it as the crowd of spirits flowed past them. ¡°It''s the most likely option. Guards follow turns anyway, so not seeing many of them around shouldn''t attract attention.¡± Saia observed the workers they''d left behind: two cargo sprites and two mounts with their shilv¨¦ owners had stopped at the platform''s level. The workers checked their documents, then fastened the crates on top of the animals. She couldn''t help but imagine what would happen if a crate fell, or a sprite couldn''t keep itself solid enough to hold it. It would go down, past Ifse and the flying cities, to the earth below. If there wasn''t a god to protect the people living there, someone could be hit and die. She couldn''t reflect on that further, because Serit was moving with resolve through the crowd of the market toward a path of platforms that were significantly lower than the others, and thus less travelled. She followed them, the birdguards once again close behind her. She hadn''t forgotten their reaction when she had invaded Serit''s emotions with her own. She hadn''t known what had set them off, whether the sudden silence, Serit''s pained expression or her intense stare. All the same, it was clear they weren''t there to protect the group from the eventual dangers of the trip; they were there to keep her under control. She searched them again, expanding her domain to look inside their clothes and examine their viss. Apart from the tied-up tridents and the satchels filled with blue feathers, portable lights and special containers to eat food with their beaks, she didn''t find anything unusual. She was still examining them, following Serit toward Filsun''s house, when her sphere shined again with new viss. She slowed down to better focus on the sequence of letters she was receiving: Don''t worry. Everything good. Miss you. She was about to answer when a birdguard screeched. She looked around in every direction, expanding her domain a bit to anticipate what was coming their way. But the guard wasn''t warning her of an attack: the platform in which Serit had just entered, a passage with the sides covered by billowing curtains, was rising with unexpected speed toward the top of the city. Before she could even think of what to do, it was out of her range and beyond the shifting veils of the marketplace. 5.11 - Process ¡°Washing room in twenty minutes,¡± the sentinel said, leaving Rabam¡¯s food on the table of his cell. He approached it once the man had left. It was weird to hear that, since bathing was something that usually happened in the morning, and as far as Rabam could tell it was afternoon. He reflected on that as he ate. It was unlikely they changed the schedule without reason, since it was the same as when he¡¯d been imprisoned the first time. Something important was about to happen. He wondered whether the reason they needed him to be perfect and shining was showing how well he had been treated before killing him. He knew it was a possibility, but the rules required the abbot to let him know of that decision at least one week in advance. He quickly finished the food and focused on the stool he¡¯d been sitting on. He had almost managed to loosen one of the screws that attached the legs to the top enough to extract it from the wood. An improvised instrument to carve, completely inadequate for statues, but more than enough to draw a pattern. He resumed his attempts, despite the burning sensation on the tips of his fingers. He had read about executions, but never seen one. They hadn''t happened in a long time, and they were usually reserved for dangerous criminals who had perpetrated violent crimes. Maybe that was the reason he didn''t feel more worried than usual: he didn''t actually believe they would kill him. He probably wouldn''t have believed it even as they thrust a sword in his midsection and left him to bleed on top of the well. It was too surreal. Still, he felt a tightening at the base of his throat when multiple series of steps started to resound from the end of the corridor. Two sentinels appeared on the other side of the door. He obediently followed them out. Prisoners didn¡¯t follow the same washing routine as regular monks, meaning a general rinsing with a basin followed by a swim inside the pool. They could use a bigger basin filled with water in a separate room that was right outside of the prisons. He entered alone into a room small enough that the vapors leaving the bath had filled it completely. He started taking away the tunic as soon as the door was closed behind him; he couldn¡¯t stay there indefinitely, they¡¯d call for him to get out soon, and he really wanted that bath. ¡°Don¡¯t scream,¡± said a calm voice at his left. He jumped, hitting the wall with his back. There was a person standing on the corner to the left of the door, facing away from him. ¡°Daira?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sorry for this intrusion, but they wouldn¡¯t let anyone visit you, let alone me.¡± She was turned toward the wall, but he could still imagine the bitter smile that shaped her lips. ¡°The abbot removed me from my role, but he couldn¡¯t remove the allies and connections I¡¯ve made in a decade of work as a prior,¡± she continued. ¡°I have a lot of things to say and not enough time. First of all, did they tell you what¡¯s going to happen today?¡± ¡°No. Are they going to kill me?¡± ¡°Not today. The abbot decided not to decide your fate personally, so he has indicted a process.¡± Rabam relaxed a bit. ¡®Process¡¯ sounded so much better than ¡®execution¡¯, even if it didn¡¯t exclude it completely. ¡°They¡¯ll still push to have you killed,¡± Daira said. ¡°The abbot wants to make an example of you. Things are less under his control than he lets on and he¡¯s scared the situation will get worse. Since you escaped from exile and confessed to having worked with the traitor, you¡¯re the perfect victim.¡± Rabam felt a shiver down his spine. Since Daira was turned away from him, he reached the bath and sunk into the warm water. ¡°Thank you for telling me,¡± he said. ¡°Is there a way I can avoid that?¡± ¡°Yes, but it won¡¯t be easy. There are some people who still trust me and want me back as a prior. Other scholars, mostly, and the ones who were bitten by the snakes when Saia became a goddess. They''ll be present during your process, among the crowd. They¡¯re on your side, so if you manage to rally the rest of the crowd in your favor, they''ll support you. But they won''t be the majority of the people there, so you need to be convincing." Rabam scrubbed his arm with a piece of rough soap he''d found next to the tub. ¡°Sounds difficult. What should I tell them?¡± "Try to be practical and distance yourself from the traitor''s actions as much as you can. You could point out the problems of the village, question the rules¡­¡± A fist banged against the door, startling them both. ¡°Ten minutes!¡± ¡°Nevermind,¡± Daira said in a whisper. ¡°The process could go in a thousand different directions and I can''t prepare you for everything. If you succeed, your punishment will be delayed and I''ll look for a way to have you punished that doesn''t resort to an execution.¡± ¡°Thank you for your help, but... Why are you doing this? I thought you were removed from the priors because of what Saia did.¡± ¡°And I want my place back, but I won''t gain anything if everybody is too scared to contradict the abbot. I was arguably in the wrong to save those people, but he''ll definitely be if he manages to kill you. I want to avoid that situation and be in a place where I can prevent it from happening again.¡± Rabam nodded, scrubbing his scalp. He touched the bald spot the sentinels had left before putting him in prison. ¡°They have my hair,¡± he said. ¡°They can control me. If I try to rally the crowd¡­¡± But Daira had raised a hand, holding something that looked like a short piece of rope. ¡°I¡¯ve replaced the viss on it with the one of a sheep. As a scholar of viss, it wasn''t difficult to gain access to it.¡± Rabam gave her a nervous smile, even if she couldn''t see him. ¡°Thank you.¡± He rinsed his body, thinking about what awaited him. He hated that his only way out of that situation relied on him giving a speech. ¡°You said you''ll try to help me if I succeed. But what if I fail?¡± Daira tensed. ¡°Then I fear you''d be on your own. I really wish I could do more, but my hands are tied.¡± ¡°Can I ask you to get something for me, then?¡± She almost turned toward him, but stopped halfway through. ¡°Rabam, you''re still a traitor. Twice, if I may add. I don''t want you to get killed, but I can''t let you go unpunished either.¡± Rabam put on the clean tunic with more strength than necessary. ¡°So all you can tell me is that I have to rally the people in some way,¡± he tried to keep his tone grateful, but bitterness started to seep in despite himself. ¡°And if I manage to do that you¡¯ll find a way to maybe not get me killed? And that¡¯s it?¡± Daira didn¡¯t answer. ¡°Can I at least make my request? Then you¡¯ll decide what to do with it.¡± She sighed. ¡°Ask.¡± ¡°A magnet. Small, if¡­¡± He stopped when Daira turned abruptly. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°A magnet?¡± She stepped closer and grabbed his arm. ¡°I want to create a device¡­¡± Daira touched his hand instead, and he knew she was checking his viss. ¡°What do you know about the magnet?¡± Rabam had the sensation she was talking about something else. ¡°I¡­ Nothing. I just need a piece.¡± She briefly closed her eyes. The guard knocked again. ¡°One minute and I¡¯m entering!¡± Daira let go of Rabam and returned to her corner. He fixed his tunic. ¡°Coming!¡± he answered, then stopped with a hand on the door. ¡°Can you get me one, then?¡± She didn¡¯t move or answer, so he had no other choice than to leave. The temple was ready to host the process. The platform at the end of the room was empty, the abbot and priors sitting behind a table to its right instead. There was another one near the opposite wall, where Rabam was made to sit alone, two sentinels standing a few steps behind him. The last table was perpendicular to both and positioned right in front of the platform, facing the small crowd that had gathered in the first half of the room. It wasn¡¯t an official event, so most of the monks were still working and couldn¡¯t assist. Rabam made the mistake to glance at the people sitting in the front, searching Daira¡¯s supporters, but only found stares of curiosity and blame. He looked ahead, deciding to ignore everyone from that moment on. Which wasn¡¯t easy, since right in front of him there was the abbot, sitting at the other table with five priors at his left and four at his right. Maris was particularly relentless with their fixed glare. Rabam still remembered the idea they had expressed after his interrogation. ¡°Let¡¯s threaten Zeles to kill him if he doesn¡¯t give us his shard,¡± they had suggested. ¡°Either way, we¡¯ll solve a problem.¡± Thankfully, the abbot had rejected their idea. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll give up his plans just to save one man,¡± he had said. ¡°And we¡¯d reveal that Rabam is in our hands. It¡¯s better if he thinks us completely clueless about what he¡¯s doing.¡± So they had escorted him back to prison, and eventually brought him out again to execute their new plan. He hadn¡¯t even tried to read the book while he was bringing it to Zeles, aware of all the sentinels ready to jump on him at the first mistake. Five monks entered in a line, escorted by two sentinels, and reached the empty table to Rabam¡¯s left. They were law scholars, the only ones who knew the village¡¯s rules just as well as the abbot did, sometimes better than the priors. The crowd''s chatter swelled when they sat down and dispersed as soon as one of them stood. ¡°We''re here to judge the behavior of our brother Rabam, who is accused of: one, escaping his exile in the village of Namuri. Two, admitting to having conjured with a declared enemy of our village. Three, eluding the sentinels'' surveillance to steal two library books for the purpose of favoring said enemy, causing chaos and panic inside the village. The abbot and the nine priors are accusing him of these actions on behalf of the monks and the population of the nine villages. What do you ask of us?" The abbot stood. "We ask you don¡¯t exile him, because he has already escaped once and could be capable of doing it again. We punished the god that let him go, but we have no guarantees it won''t happen again.¡± The standing scholar nodded, and two of his colleagues jotted down something onto the stack of papers they brought with them. ¡°We can''t have him out of our control,¡± Laius continued. ¡°So I''m not entirely sure the prisons are secure enough. We should keep in mind they''re a limited resource that we can''t avoid to waste.¡± The abbot sat down, leaving the scholars to transcribe his words. Rabam produced a bitter smile: of course the abbot wouldn''t outright suggest his execution, but only advise against the alternatives. If the scholars decided to execute him, it would look like it was their idea entirely. ¡°Rabam,¡± the scholar called him as the abbot sat down. ¡°You have heard the accusations moved against you, how do you respond?¡± Rabam hesitantly stood, risking a glance in the public''s direction. No one from his family was there, not even his mom and dads, who technically weren''t involved. Part of him knew it could be a trick of the monks to make him despair, and part of him despaired. ¡°There isn''t much to say. You already have proof that I escaped my exile. I admitted to stealing the books and conjuring with Zeles.¡± There was a murmur in the public. The abbot stood immediately, addressing them. ¡°The official communication will be given on fourthday, please don''t come to conclusions based on his declarations.¡± ¡°Vizena isn''t Menea anymore,¡± Rabam continued, hoping to elicit more reactions from the crowd. ¡°The priors killed her believing she was Zeles. Zeles is the current Vizena.¡± Some chatter broke out, but nothing serious enough that would make him think they would side with him if the scholars decided he should be executed. He wondered what Daira wanted him to say. ¡°So you admit you did all of it?¡± the scholar asked. ¡°You already know that, right? I would just worsen my position if I lied. But I haven''t killed anyone, so I don''t deserve to be executed.¡± ¡°Nobody has talked about execution,¡± the abbot commented. ¡°But it''s a possibility, right?¡± Rabam asked, moving his eyes from the abbot to the scholar. ¡°We all know it is.¡± The scholars ignored him. Rabam saw one of the sentinels behind him approach out of the corner of his eye and sat down before she could touch his shoulder. ¡°We know your family is involved,¡± the scholar continued, while one of his sitting colleagues made a gesture toward two of the sentinels scattered along the walls. ¡°Now we''ll hear what they have to say.¡± A sentinel ran out. After an instant, they returned with two more that were escorting a person between them: Cailes. He was led to the center of the room and left standing in the middle of the space between the desks. He glanced at Rabam with hesitation, as if scared to actually find him there, then quickly looked away. He was startled when the scholar addressed him. ¡°You, Cailes, have helped Rabam steal two books and concealed him inside the village with your husband''s complicity. What do you have to say about that?¡± ¡°Rabam coerced us. He threatened to involve us regardless of whether we involved him. We were reluctant to alert the sentinels because we didn''t want him to be hurt or thrown into prison, since he''s still my husband''s brother and part of the family. As I told you, he didn''t mention his plans to us, only the fact he wanted the books, so at the time it didn''t look like we were doing anything exceptionally wrong.¡± As much as his words hurt, Rabam was glad it was Cailes to testify against him: Ebus and his grandma would have never accepted to say those words during the process, even under the promise of being freed of all accusations. They would probably take full responsibility for the theft in the hope of saving him. Cailes was the only one with the necessary detachment to save the three of them. Still, it hurt. One of the sitting scholars, who up to that point had been writing and observing, whispered something to the one at the center. ¡°Do you think Rabam will try again something similar in the future, if given the chance?" he asked. Cailes hesitated. ¡°He looked intent on his mission. I think it''s a possibility that can''t be excluded.¡± The scholar sat down and talked with the others for some minutes. Rabam focused on the crowd as he waited for them to be done. He had no idea of how to bring them to his side as Daira had suggested. Maybe he needed to tell his story, why they put him in exile and he had chosen to help Saia. The monks finished speaking before he could choose what to do. The one at the center stood again. ¡°We have decided that the crimes of your family will be forgiven, and your punishment added to Rabam''s. You can go home.¡± Cailes nodded. Rabam tried to give him a small smile of reassurance, but he never looked his way as the sentinels escorted him across the room and past the exit. He stared at the scholar, hoping to be addressed again. When he saw him turning to the priors instead, he stood and raised his hand for good measure. The sentinels behind him were already moving to make him sit, but the scholar saw him in time and gestured for them to stand back. ¡°Is there something you wish to add, Rabam?¡± ¡°Yes. I would like to explain my reasons for doing what I did. I think they''re relevant.¡± The scholar briefly consulted with his colleagues. ¡°Go ahead, but we''ll stop you if it takes more than five minutes or if you say blatant lies.¡± ¡°I fell in love with a woman of the villages during a mission,¡± Rabam said, at first talking to the scholars, then slowly turning to address the public. ¡°I tried to spend as much time with her as I could, but I didn''t want to lose my family. I was found out and exiled¡­¡± It wasn''t going to work, he realized as he spoke. If he''d never met Mili and stayed in the village, those words would have just sounded like the empty excuses of a desperate prisoner. Nothing that was relevant to him personally. Being exiled had made him care because it was his life being influenced by the monks'' rules. If he wanted to convince other people that the way the monks lived had to change, he needed to convince them their lives were on the line. ¡°You all know what happened next. But what I want to express is that I didn''t decide to help Zeles out of a desire to destroy you, but because our rules are too rigid and need to be changed. Or at the very least we shouldn''t have to rely on these people,¡± he gestured at the abbot and priors, ¡°To know when will be the right moment to change them, because they never did, and soon we''ll desperately need to.¡± ¡°Can you back your claim?¡± the scholar asked. ¡°Yes. We live in caves. Large and well decorated, but still caves. And the space is getting smaller, to the point we''ve started building outside. But how much time will pass before we''ll need more food, or to build houses in places where we can''t hide?¡± ¡°We can''t consider hypotheses as truths.¡± ¡°How will our lives be like, if the rules will say that we have to stay hidden no matter what? Without ever being able to swim in the sea or see the outside for more than a few hours a week? Is this the life you''re giving your kids, for fear of breaking a rule?¡± The more he talked, the more he realized his words were true: his life in Namuri, despite being an exile, had been more vibrant and rich than anything the village could offer. Even if maybe it was only because he knew that Mili existed and loved him. ¡°Enough!¡± Both the abbot and the scholar screamed, at slightly different times. Despite that, the chatter had broken out all around the room. It didn''t stop despite their subsequent attempts to make it quiet down. ¡°That''s why they want to kill me,¡± Rabam yelled, pushing against the two sentinels'' hands trying to put him back onto the chair. ¡°They don''t want anyone to question their rules, but it''s what we need to do more than¡­¡± A hand managed to wrap around his mouth, muffling his words. He stopped struggling, for fear they would frame him as more dangerous than he actually was. At least, that scene had contributed to the chaos in the room. People were standing to directly argue with the priors about something he couldn¡¯t understand in the storm of words. ¡°Take him away!¡± the abbot ordered. The sentinels took Rabam by the arms and started leading him toward the door. He heard something break and instinctively ducked. Something hit his shoulder and bounced onto the floor. ¡°Who did that?¡± one of the sentinels shouted, turning around. Rabam pretended to stumble. He closed his hand onto the fragment of rock and slipped it into his shoes before being dragged away again. 5.12 - Chase Saia started running, keeping her domain expanded to better avoid the spirits on her path. Serit''s platform had disappeared somewhere above, too far for her to catch, but it was being hoisted straight upwards and it didn''t look like it could change direction. She climbed every ladder she could find, using her viss to propel herself. They became sparser the higher she went, as the market''s stalls gave way to communal platforms, then to a residential district. She stopped, looking all around her. There seemed to be a lot more guards in the area compared to Filsun''s residential district. The cylindrical buildings were mostly empty. She couldn''t find any other ladder that led to the platforms above her. From that point on, only flying spirits could access the higher parts of the city. The birdguards climbed the ladder behind her. One of them took off the blindfold from their eyes, showing two giant black pupils surrounded by bright orange irises. "I can see it," he said. "We need to climb." Not waiting for an answer from his colleague, he ran up to the nearest platform and jumped. His body seemed weightless as he descended toward one of the thick ropes and grabbed it with his arms. He started climbing it to the top, the trident strapped to his back and the pouches dangling from his waist. The other birdguard was about to follow him, but Saia stepped in her way. "What about the wind guards?" "They know we are here," she replied. "The policy is not to mess with each other." "What do I do then?" "Alert Atan and go back to the hostel. We''ll join you once we rescue engineer Serit." She walked around Saia and jumped right behind her colleague. She ripped away the blindfold before starting to climb upwards. Saia observed their ascent. She knew it was their job to protect Serit, and their words had already relieved her of any responsibility she had toward the engineer. Still, she doubted the representatives would consider it a good justification, if something actually happened to them. Even disregarding the possibility of being deactivated forever, she couldn''t ignore the fact that she was more powerful than those birdguards, and she already knew, or at least suspected, who they were up against. She couldn''t forgive herself if something happened after she left. She resumed running, gauging the distance which divided her from the nearby platform. She pushed her viss into her statue''s legs and jumped. She''d expected her stomach to clench and her heart to flutter, but found only the air''s resistance against the rock of her body. She touched the platform, stumbled without falling, and ran toward the next one, which was slightly higher. She kept going, expanding her domain a bit more to better evaluate how far she had to jump. She could feel the platforms lowering a bit every time she landed and couldn''t help but imagine the newborn spirits that were holding them up. She could only hope they were strong enough, the ropes resistant, the knots tight. She climbed upward, leaving behind a path of swaying platforms. She was almost past the houses and inside an industrial area, when three guards descended from above to block her way. Their commander yelled one of the first words she had learnt from Serit''s story-bottle: "Stop!". "My friend was kidnapped," she answered. mentally recoiling at the word ''friend'' used for Serit, but ''my captor was kidnapped¡¯ would have elicited more questions. Only one of them hesitated, while the other two tensed, gripping their needle-like weapons. The fact she was still running toward them didn''t seem to help their nerves. They became a blur, the only warning Saia got of their imminent attack. She created the strongest gust of wind she was capable of. Two needles appeared again, not even an armlength from her chest, the guards holding onto them with two barely tangible hands. The wind tore away pieces of luminous fog from their shapes. Saia created two more winds from the sides to smash them together, forcing the fogs to become one. They screamed and flew away in a confused vortex, trying to disentangle their bodies from each other. The third guard had been slow enough to avoid their fate. It flew away down the side of the platform, probably to call for help. Saia took a running jump onto the next platform. From there, she searched for one that was covered by curtains on all sides, quickly checked that there was no one inside and jumped again. She landed between piles of crates. She quieted the swinging of the platform with some strong winds going in the opposite direction. She had a sudden inspiration and made a nearby deposit swing, then another further ahead, as if she had gone in that direction instead. She''d gained a bit of time, but needed to be quick if she didn''t want to lose track of the birdguards. She focused on her statue: she couldn''t change the shape well enough, but she knew how to alter its color. She made the statue as transparent as she could, to the point it almost looked like glass, even if there was a lingering opacity she couldn''t remove. It didn''t matter, as long as the light of her sphere could shine through, similar to the golden light of spirits'' fog, even if a bit too intense. She changed her hair and eyes too, until it was impossible to consider her human or even shilv¨¦, at least from afar. She checked with her domain that there weren''t guards nearby, then jumped from the platform to the next. She resumed running, following an upward path from platform to platform. Soon she could see the distant shape of the second birdguard and adjust her ascent accordingly. The industrial area was full of closed platforms from which came various grating sounds. The passageways were few and far in between, which forced her to make longer jumps and waste more viss. At least there were more spirits around, each of them occupied enough with their tasks that they only paid marginal attention to what she was doing, without alerting the guards. She saw the birdguards deviate toward the outer parts of the city and followed suit, climbing the ropes at times when there weren''t open platforms around her. She was wondering how the kidnappers were even moving Serit''s platform horizontally when she saw it, still and hanging to the side, since it was being held up by two ropes instead of four. The birdguards were going in a completely different direction, so she called out for them. Only the closer one stopped, looking at her pointing finger. ¡°There¡¯s no one there. Go to the hostel.¡± ¡°You didn''t check,¡± Saia yelled back, but she kept going without acknowledging her. She climbed some more, expanding her domain until it included the platform. It only contained some crates labeled on the outside as ''clothes'' in Shiliz¨¦, but empty on the inside, and a disassembled merchant stall. Most likely a disguise. She had no idea how the birdguards knew, but there wasn''t anyone inside. She checked the curtains that covered the platform on all sides, wondering whether the guards'' sight was so good they could see through them. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. She resumed her pursuit without finding an answer. The platforms were becoming sparser as she approached the far end of the city. Most of them weren''t held up by ropes anymore, but were propped on top of the ones below through wooden beams. They didn''t seem stable, but they were also mostly empty. Large pieces of waving cloth moved in the empty space between them, trailing past the borders of the city and into the azure sky beyond. Soon she got close enough to notice something else that was obstructing her view, past the curtains and ribbons: a huge shape of dark metal, the surface covered with grooves that reminded her of the monks'' binoculars, with three round windows on one side. There was a short metal footbridge connecting the base of the structure to one of the most external platforms of the city, but it wasn''t held up by ropes or bolted to the wooden floor. The structure itself seemed heavy too, but it floated without anything holding it up. Saia didn''t have time to ponder the situation further because two people, a human and a shilv¨¦, were transporting Serit''s unconscious shape across the platforms and toward the footbridge. A hole opened in the large structure where the two connected, and she could see more people moving inside, inciting the other two kidnappers. They were almost three platforms away from their goal, but the birdguards were getting closer, closer than Saia was anyway. The human let his partner go on with Serit and turned around to face them. He had the same shaved head and arm tattoos as the ones that had tried to kidnap Serit at the arena. The birdguards extracted their tridents. Someone from inside the metal structure pointed at Saia''s distant shape: there was a quick exchange of words, but nothing else happened. It was her disguise, Saia realized. They thought she was a wind spirit, so they considered her less dangerous, at least as long as she didn''t turn gasseous. She could take control of them and the entire structure, if she was quick enough. She accelerated, injecting viss into her legs. Meanwhile, the birdguards were closing in on the human who had decided to stay behind. He didn''t look particularly worried as he slowly walked backward, glancing over his shoulder at his comrade¡¯s progress. Once the birdguards were close enough, he extracted a long knife from his pocket and a whistle from the other. Saia was about to jump past the platform where the guards were standing with the intention of reaching the metal structure, but she remembered in time that the birdguards were still shilv¨¦ under those plumes. ¡°Run!¡± she yelled at them, but even if they had understood what they needed to run from, the sound would have reached them first. She knew that gods could silence sounds since the night Vizena had trapped her in the temple, but there was no time to figure out how, because the man had already brought the whistle to his lips, raising the knife to strike at the birdguards as soon as they would fall. Saia sent a wind to tear away the instrument from his hand, letting it fall from the platform. His eyes widened, focusing first on his empty hand, then on Saia standing on the platform right behind the guards. ¡°Sphere!¡± he screamed as the metal of a trident bit deep into his shoulder. His legs gave way, but the birdguard managed to grab him before he could fall over the edge of the platform. The movement near the metal structure became frantic. One person descended onto the footbridge, and the whole structure seemed to lower a bit, tilting to the side. The person, another human, ran toward Serit and the kidnapper who was transporting them, then noticed Saia and stopped. The other looked over his shoulder, dropped Serit and scrambled to get inside the structure before she could get too close. The passage retracted without anyone touching it, leaving the structure suspended in the air. Saia expanded her domain, but before it could touch the metal, the structure lurched back and out of her range. It kept flying downward and away from the city until it disappeared from her sight. Saia grabbed Serit''s unconscious body and sent them a spark of buzzing viss. They slowly started to awaken. The first thing they did after opening their eyes was bringing a hand to their head. Saia thought they were concussed, then saw what had actually happened: a huge lock of hair had been cut away from the scalp. "They can control me," Serit said in a whiny tone. "No they can''t," Saia replied, irritated at the idea of having to comfort them. "I''ll check your viss and kick you out of it if they even try. Get up, we''re not supposed to be here." She helped them stand, then realized they couldn''t jump or climb the ropes in their conditions. Her viss flared with irritation, but she still picked them up and carried them over one shoulder. Serit was too occupied with touching their bald spot to comment on what was happening. Saia jumped over to the birdguards'' platform, where they were bandaging the human''s shoulder. They tried to awaken him, but he was completely unconscious. Saia checked his viss: even pushing a small quantity of buzzing energy into his body wasn''t enough to awaken him. A flux of extra viss was constantly replenishing his reserves, drowning out her inference. ¡°They''re keeping him asleep,¡± she said, impressed by the amount of viss they had at disposal. ¡°Let''s hide, we need to decide what to do.¡± The birdguards nodded. One of them gave all of their equipment to the other, who tied the man behind their back in turn. Saia guided the group toward an empty platform that had curtains on all sides, then put Serit down onto the floor. ¡°They used a knife," they said, still touching their head. ¡°I thought they wanted to kill me.¡± Saia was about to comment that they could have done it at the arena, but held back, not knowing what the birdguards knew. ¡°The spirits seem alarmed,¡± the birdguard that was carrying the equipment said, looking out. ¡°I¡¯ll reassure them that everything''s fine and alert the guards that we''re passing through.¡± They left the extra pouches on the floor and left. Saia sat down between Serit and the other birdguard. "What was that?" she asked, to no one in particular. "We''ll heal him and interrogate him," the birdguard replied, pointing at the man tied to his back. "Provided we manage to awaken him." "Whatever it was, I know who could have built something like that," Serit said. Saia waited for them to elaborate, but they stayed in silence. She checked their viss for external influences, but they were only trying to think while also feeling the shock of the kidnapping. "Who?" she asked. "One of the higher elders. She was the one to come up with the technology for our flying cities." "Is it really the same technology or you''re just saying that because it flew?¡± Serit stayed in silence for a bit. "We''ll ask her at the meeting. But even if it wasn''t her to create that thing, the elders are certainly involved." The birdguard had raised his head a bit when Serit had mentioned a meeting with the elders, which made Saia realize they were supposed to keep that a secret. "Why the elders?" Saia asked. "Your kidnappers were all humans and shilv¨¦." Serit looked straight at her for the first time. ¡°There''s absolutely zero chance a thing like that could approach the city without the guards noticing and the elders giving their approval.¡± The birdguard reached over to the pile of equipment his colleague had left on the wooden floor. Saia tensed, but he only took out a blindfold. They wrapped it over his eyes and around his head, letting out a sigh of relief. Saia realized the light shining through her body was still quite intense and made the rock completely opaque, of a faint gray color that only suggested the presence of light beneath it. Serit laughed. "You look like a cloud." Saia gave them an unimpressed look. "We seriously need to get you checked." "I''m not concussed." "You''re going to be if you keep behaving like that." Serit slowly returned serious, looking around as if following a sudden thought. "There''s another thing we need to investigate. How did they know we were going to Filsun''s house?" Saia frowned. Of course the kidnappers had to know where they were going in order to place the platform in the right position, but they''d been at Ifse for only two days. "Do you think it was already there before today?" she asked, failing to locate its general shape and the color of the curtains among all the platforms she''d seen in the market. Serit shrugged. "Maybe. They were already inside, though. They cut my hair while we were moving up." "Do you think Filsun is involved?" "We can''t exclude it. The only people who knew apart from him were the representatives and, well, the guide." "And the guards," Saia said in their ears. Serit nodded. "We can''t exclude they didn''t know anything and it was all a plan of the elders. Or maybe the kidnappers have been observing us and took this decision autonomously. You''re sure the memory reader hasn''t seen something he shouldn''t have?" Saia wanted to say she was sure, but couldn''t bring herself to lie. "No. He was fast and I couldn''t figure out what I needed to pay attention to." Serit nodded, their face hiding the turmoil that was taking hold of their viss. "Then he could be involved too." They sighed. "So many possibilities, and I''m pretty sure we''re not even considering them all." "What do we do with Filsun? Next lesson''s tomorrow." "We''ll behave as if nothing happened. Let''s not mention the attack and see if he reveals anything." Saia perceived the tent opening before the birdguard''s beak appeared inside the platform. "I clarified the situation, we can go now." Serit tried to stand up and failed. It took them a while to climb to their feet, enough for the birguard to put on the abandoned pouches again. "Can I ask you..." Serit started, looking at Saia. "Sure, I''ll carry you," she said in a flat tone. "Thank you." "Fuck off," she answered, then picked them up and jumped. 5.13 - Carpets The carpet was almost finished. Mor¨¬c cautiously raised his hands from the loom, as if a sudden movement could scare the woolen strings away, and checked his notes again. He had written them two weeks before, when one of the carpets had shown the promising signs of a breakthrough. He touched up the pattern, pushing his viss into the wool while he worked. His work was complicated by the fact he had to keep the pattern hidden, seamlessly integrated into the design he''d chosen. Not only it made the process slower, but it was difficult to gauge whether the carpet wasn''t working because the pattern was wrong or because he had messed it up while trying to hide it. It was all Koidan''s fault, as usual. He had disrupted the first patterns he''d made, tangling and cutting the strings together. ¡°Other people must not know about viss and magic,¡± he''d said. ¡°So don''t create visible patterns.¡± He had let his work alone once Mor¨¬c had learnt how to hide them, which wasn''t easy considering the string had to be a color not used in the rest of the carpet and not surrounded by other strings of the same color. Purple was ideal, but the die was difficult to find at a good price. He had adjusted by sewing the pattern mostly on the back of the carpet, which was then covered by a cheaper cloth of the same size attached to the bottom. After making sure the pattern was identical to the one he had planned, he detached the carpet from the loom and laid it down onto a cheaper rug, on top of a low pile on the floor. He passed his hands over its whole surface, seeking the viss he''d left at regular intervals in the strings while weaving. He knew he needed a bigger amount if he wanted it to last for a few days, but he could always add it in the following weeks if the carpet proved itself worthy of further work. The viss was still there, which was in itself promising: usually he added it just to discover it wouldn''t stick for more than a few minutes. But in the last few weeks it had never disappeared once. He took a few seconds to admire the shapes he''d weaved before looking for the small purple dot he''d sewn at one extremity of the carpet, at the center of a brown-red diamond shape. He touched it as delicately as possible, without pressing down, and pushed his viss out from his palm. He waited for a bit, until the viss had enveloped the entire pattern, then looked around for any sign of movement. The edges of the carpet trembled and raised a bit from the floor. It was just an instant, then it returned still. Mor¨¬c increased the flux of viss, but nothing changed. He passed his hands over the surface, looking again for the viss he''d stored in the strings. It was supposed to last for at least a couple of hours while the pattern was active. He had made sure there were enough holders for it to last that much, requiring a lower expense of viss on his part. But now the reserve of viss he''d carefully put together in hours of weaving was gone. He grabbed the wool with both hands as if to tear it apart. Instead, he bent forward until his face was buried into the carpet and screamed. ¡°Are you alright, Moric?¡± Koidan¡¯s voice asked from above. ¡°Fuck off,¡± he yelled. ¡°You do what I asked or you can fuck off.¡± He felt tears stinging his eyes. He knew that if he let the frustration take hold it would be the only thing he could think about for the rest of the day, so he focused on the carpet again to try and understand what went wrong. The only explanation was that the pattern had consumed all of that viss at once, a lot faster than he had anticipated. So he needed to change the pattern again, just a bit, just to fix that small mistake. Adding some more holders, maybe. ¡°It''s possible,¡± he murmured, reaching out for one of his handmade notebooks. ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± He knew it was, because he''d seen it. He remembered the sea flowing under the carpet for days and nights. He remembered Irdes sitting on his talons at the front, eyes focused on the horizon, while Mor¨¬c hugged Dan tight to prevent him from falling off. The man never rested, looking for the storm. ¡°I don''t see it,¡± he muttered every once in a while, as if to shut up someone too insistent. ¡°But it''s out there. We''ll find it.¡± Mor¨¬c never understood why the storm was so important. He was too young to ask, too focused on entertaining himself when there was nowhere he could go and nothing to do. He''d played for hours with the colored shapes of the carpets, imagining they were small houses and fields he could crush with the tip of his finger. There was a road enveloping it all, a purple path that curved in waves and spirals around the houses. Later, much later, he had cursed himself for staring at the pattern for days and not remembering even a single piece of it. But the more he thought about it, the more the dullness of those days was smashed together into an incoherent ball of boredom. Until, that is, they finally saw the storm. It appeared on the horizon like the shadow of a giant monster. Irdes sat a bit straighter after days and nights in the same position, letting out a yell of exultance. He flew the carpet straight toward it, despite the tendrils of rain extending from the monster. ¡°Hold on to your sister, Mor¨¬c,¡± he had said. ¡°We''ll reach it soon and pass straight through.¡± From that moment on, Mor¨¬c strained to see the mountain that Irdes and his parents had talked about so much before their departure. But its vague shape only became visible after another night, then they were inside the storm and nothing could be seen anymore. The water came up and down from both directions as the carpet flew high over the waves. Mor¨¬c held Dan and pressed himself down onto the carpet, face buried into the wet wool. At some point there had been a sudden swerve, Irdes yelling something. Dan''s own scream answered him, straight into Mor¨¬c¡¯s ears. Then his memories were full of rain and the monotonous reassurances of Irdes. ¡°The hard part is over. We''re almost there!¡± The mountain was on the other side of the curtain of rain. He remembered not being particularly impressed by it, but not exactly why, because any other feeling or thought was annihilated by the voice that started talking from the sky. ¡°Who are you? How did you come here and why?¡± Their life at Lausune had started with a lot of bargaining and talking to the air on Irdes¡¯s part. He''d quickly pushed Mor¨¬c and his brother inside an old house before the storm could pass completely. Then there had been even more waiting. Dan was constantly crying, Irdes always talking to the voice in the sky, and Mor¨¬c slept every time there was a moment of silence. He''d asked about his parents, of course, then saw the worry and pain on Irdes¡¯s face and learned not to mention them. He was always clutching the carpet, and now Mor¨¬c knew he was gathering the viss they needed to go back. Except he was going alone, this time. ¡°Another storm is coming up soon,¡± he told him one night, while Dan was asleep. ¡°Koidan will take care of you. There''s a family nearby who has accepted to check up on you every day, you can eat with them and ask them for help if you need something.¡± He didn''t seem to notice Mor¨¬c¡¯s tears, even as he delicately patted his head. ¡°You''ll be fine. Take care of Dan and keep the techniques we''ve taught you a secret.¡± ¡°When are you going to get us back?¡± he''d screamed then, unable to hold back anymore. ¡°I don''t know,¡± he answered. Not even a month later he was gone, and the carpet with him. Keys turning in the lock brought him back to reality. He bolted out of the living room and into the kitchen. ¡°Home!¡± Dan yelled, then both the entrance and his room''s door slammed in quick succession. Mor¨¬c surveyed the kitchen, then opened the pantry. He observed the ingredients, knowing he needed to use as little of them as possible, while also accounting for the few clean tools at disposal and his basic cooking skills. ¡°I¡¯m making eggs,¡± he yelled. Dan''s door opened. An instant later he appeared on the kitchen¡¯s threshold. ¡°Sorry, I''m eating at Nusam¡¯s today.¡± ¡°Again?¡± Mor¨¬c said, not entirely surprised. Dan shrugged. ¡°You know you can invite him for lunch too, sometimes?¡± Dan''s face filled with guilt. He sat down on a chair. ¡°Maybe someday.¡± Mor¨¬c sensed his reluctance and shrugged, not pressing the point. He probably didn''t want his weird brother around. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Any progress?¡± Dan asked in a tone that tried too hard to be cheerful. ¡°Yeah, some,¡± Mor¨¬c answered while breaking an egg. The silence that followed told him that Dan knew he was lying, and probably told Dan that Mor¨¬c was aware he knew, but neither of them could do anything about it. ¡°How was the date with Eita?¡± Dan asked. ¡°I didn''t know I had a date.¡± ¡°You did,¡± Dan¡¯s tone became a bit annoyed. ¡°Last night.¡± Mor¨¬c chuckled, without much humor behind it. ¡°Well, let''s hope she forgot too.¡± ¡°I thought you went out! You weren''t in your bed.¡± ¡°I wasn''t in anyone else''s, if you''re worried about that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± Dan stood. ¡°Were you really working on the carpet?¡± Mor¨¬c took a deep breath and found his chest weirdly heavy. ¡°I wasn''t feeling it.¡± ¡°You''re never feeling it. Even with your ex it was like this, you could at least have told him what you really felt instead of letting it all¡­¡± He moved his hands in front of him. ¡°Fizzle out?¡± Mor¨¬c offered, eyeing the bubbling surface of the eggs in the pan. ¡°Yeah. Fizzle out.¡± Dan dropped back onto the chair. ¡°You don''t care and I hate it.¡± He looked sincerely upset. Mor¨¬c wanted to comfort him, but knew he couldn¡¯t give him any explanation without making things worse. Because the truth was that any person who wasn''t Dan seemed ephemeral to the point it wasn''t worth it. Anything happening around the mountain felt fake, as if it was a break from his actual life and not part of it. Nothing he did there mattered. And at the same time, he was painfully aware that to Dan, that was his life. There wasn''t much he could remember before their arrival at Lausune. His brother tapped his fingers on the table and stood. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get ready, now.¡± Mor¨¬c nodded. He ate the eggs straight out of the pan, then left it on the side of the kitchen counter that was already occupied by the previous day¡¯s dirty tableware. He returned to the living room and eyed the carpets, considering which failed experiments he could bring to the market the next day. He grabbed two of the ones who were laying on the table and put them on top of the pile that he¡¯d been trying to sell. Money was tight as usual, even with the vissins Saia had gifted Dan. He''d felt guilty when his brother had given all of them to him of his own accord, because he knew Saia probably wanted him to keep them. Even guiltier when he''d used part of it to buy more wool. Maybe it was time for him to accept they would never return home. He''d have to sell all of his carpets, which was no easy task considering he could barely manage to do that even if it was his actual job. He would need to find another one that earned him more, make peace with Eita and eventually even Koidan. He picked up another notebook and flipped its pages. It was the one he''d been writing on four weeks before. He had started a new one after the carpet he was making at the time had floated a finger from the ground. He''d spent the following week filling its holders with more viss, but when he''d tried again the carpet hadn''t moved. He started to think the wool wasn¡¯t retaining viss for some reason. Maybe the sheep of the mountain were a different kind from the ones back home. He flipped some more pages, until the date caught his attention. He closed the notebook and got up, trying to remember when it was the last time that Koidan had talked to him. He''d broken an agreement they¡¯d made years before: he would not have talked to him again, and Mor¨¬c would have stopped begging him and the other gods to make him a flying carpet. That was when he had decided to learn weaving. He checked the dates of the most recent notebook: Koidan had asked for his help shortly after the breakthrough, then the carpet had stopped working, all the improvements he''d made in the past month suddenly useless. And it wasn¡¯t the first time he had tried that experiment anyway: he always repeated them multiple times before deciding they weren¡¯t bringing him anywhere. He went through the older notebooks, scattered in various piles all across the room, to find all of the instances when he¡¯d tried similar carpets to the one who had worked: one was five months prior, another was two weeks before then, and the first almost a year before. It had been Koidan''s fault the whole time. He had allowed the carpet to work only because he needed his help, then deactivated it again once he had refused. Which also meant that it wasn¡¯t his carpets that didn¡¯t work, it was Koidan who didn¡¯t allow them to fly. He¡¯d never respected their agreement, and only outwardly broke it when he needed help. The door of the bedroom opened and Dan stepped out. ¡°I''m going now, I''ll come back at¡­¡± he trailed off, looking at Mor¨¬c as if wondering what was going on. Mor¨¬c closed the notebook and sat down on the stool, his back to the loom. All of the work he''d done was for nothing; he could never have succeeded, not even if he''d kept trying for years. He''d spent mountains of vissins on wool when he could have taken better care of Dan, he''d spent all of that work on the carpets when he could have resigned himself to his fate and built another life where they would both be happy, or at least not struggling anymore. Koidan knew that, and still he had destroyed all of his efforts without telling him anything. Dan was crossing the room. Mor¨¬c didn''t know how to tell him any of that, nor if he should. But he couldn''t bring himself to reassure him, when it took so much of his strength just to hold himself together. ¡°Mor¨¬c?¡± Dan called him. He waved his fingers in front of his eyes, then put a hand on his forehead as if to check for a fever, first the palm and then the back. Mor¨¬c felt something scrape against his skin. He instinctively reached out to stop him and grabbed his hand. He felt something on the back with the tip of his thumb. Dan tried to retract his hand, but Mor¨¬c managed to have a look at it before he could: there were two small square-ish shapes on his tanned skin, one next to the other, white and red. Dan stepped back, hands hidden inside his sleeves. His eyes were wide with guilt, which made him look a few years younger. ¡°They¡¯re scales,¡± Mor¨¬c said. Dan nodded, lips tight, clearly fighting with himself on whether to tell the truth. Mor¨¬c looked at the ceiling, trying to piece it together. He knew what sea snakes looked like, and to whom Saia sold most of her catches. He looked at Dan again. ¡°So you¡¯re actually going to eat with Lihana and her family, now?" he asked. Dan lowered his eyes. ¡°They needed a babysitter and I asked them to stay for lunch. I kept going there for a while¡­¡± ¡°I know,¡± Mor¨¬c commented. ¡°Don''t be angry at them. I''ve told them that you agreed with that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry; I just don''t understand why you''re doing this. It could interfere with...¡± ¡°I know!" Dan almost yelled, then lowered his voice. ¡°I want to swim better.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°So I can cross the sea again. I''ll go home and find Irdes, so he''ll fly here and take you back.¡± Mor¨¬c looked at him, unable to say anything. Dan started twisting the cloth of his sleeves, looking uncertain. ¡°I thought, since the carpets aren''t working and you seem unhappy here¡­ If I find another way to go home, you won''t have to¡­¡± Mor¨¬c stared at him for some instants, then stood and walked toward the door, past Dan and the pile of carpets. He stopped halfway through, turned around and hugged his brother. ¡°Don''t eat sea snakes today, please.¡± He nodded, hugging him back. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°To talk with Koidan,¡± Mor¨¬c said. ¡°Ask him where''s Saia,¡± Dan yelled while he left the house. ¡°I don''t think she really went back to the mountain!¡± He''d hoped to find the temple empty at noon, but there was someone inside. He recognized the new letter carrier, sitting on a bench with his face in his hands. ¡°Do you need something, Mor¨¬c?¡± Koidan asked in his ears, voice tense. ¡°I need to talk to you.¡± ¡°You do realize we can talk anywhere, right?¡± Mor¨¬c put his back to the wall next to the door and crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯ll wait.¡± ¡°You know what? Just enter, maybe you''ll save me from this situation.¡± The doors creaked open. The letter carrier didn''t seem to register the sound, and Mor¨¬c entered softly not to startle him. ¡°So you''re telling me that the spheres¡­¡± Kadam mumbled. ¡°There''s a person,¡± Koidan said. ¡°Do you remember what we said? Go home and rest, tomorrow we''ll talk some more.¡± Kadam raised his eyes. He was startled to see Mor¨¬c standing at the center of the room. ¡°Hi,¡± he said, his voice sounding forcefully cheerful despite his cheeks being a bit wet. Mor¨¬c greeted him with a quick wave. He needed to hold onto his rage if he wanted to obtain what he wanted, and having a crying stranger to comfort didn¡¯t fit into that. Once the letter carrier was finally out of the temple and the doors closed behind his back, Mor¨¬c planted himself at the center of the room and looked up at Koidan¡¯s statue. ¡°The pact was not to talk or interfere with each other,¡± he said. ¡°But you broke it to undo my efforts of making the carpets fly.¡± ¡°I¡­ I''ve already listened a bit to what you were saying earlier. I''m sorry you had to find out that way, I should have been more open with you about my reasons.¡± ¡°You can tell me now.¡± ¡°Well, first of all you don''t know what''s waiting for you on the other side of the sea, right? If someone brought you here, it means something bad might happen if you go back.¡± ¡°That''s it?¡± Mor¨¬c said, raising his voice. ¡°I already knew that. We''ll disguise ourselves and be careful.¡± ¡°There''s also the possibility you might not find what you''re looking for.¡± Koidan''s voice was softer now. ¡°You don''t remember what happened to your parents, do you?¡± Mor¨¬c''s fists closed. ¡°Has Irdes told you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°But I need to try. You do understand that, right?¡± Mor¨¬c realized his tone was almost pleading and took a deep breath before going on. ¡°I need to know what happened.¡± ¡°I understand, trust me. Better than you imagine.¡± A few moments of silence passed before Koidan spoke again. ¡°There''s also a guardian out there that attacks anything passing through. You were lucky the first time, you might not be the second.¡± He was about to protest that he knew about the guardian, that he would fly high enough to avoid it, but stopped. It wasn''t enough, he realized at that moment. Irdes had waited for the storm because it was a way to pass through unseen. A chill ran through Mor¨¬c''s bones as he realized what might have been of him and Dan if they''d tried to cross without knowing that. ¡°You could have told us,¡± he spat out, trying to hold onto the rage, but it was rapidly evaporating the more he realized what a fool he¡¯d been. ¡°I thought it was safer that way. Especially since you were young.¡± ¡°Well, now Dan wants to become part sea snake and cross alone. At least promise me you''ll stop him if he tries.¡± ¡°I will, thank you for letting me know.¡± The statue kept staring at him. Mor¨¬c shook his head and walked over to where Kadam had been sitting. He leaned against the wall, one knee on the bench. ¡°Here¡¯s a new pact: I¡¯ll help deliver your letter, you''ll build me a working carpet. I won''t do anything until it¡¯s ready and outside of your territory. Then you''ll let me and Dan leave. I have a way to avoid the guardian.¡± ¡°Normally I''d be a lot more concerned about this, but I''m running out of time. I''ve tried to convince Kadam, but he needed some answers first and... Well, he won''t recover in time, I fear.¡± ¡°Why? What should I do?¡± ¡°You''ll have to go to Suimer, but without ever entering Dore or any other god¡¯s territory. You have a week, maybe even more, but try to be as quick as possible. Do you think you can handle that?¡± Mor¨¬c nodded. ¡°The letter is for... Well, there''s no point in hiding that, the locals call him by his actual name. It''s for Zeles, the new god of the village.¡± ¡°New god?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Koidan¡¯s voice became bitter. ¡°I¡¯m sure he''ll tell you about it all even if you won''t ask.¡± Mor¨¬c nodded, impatient to begin. ¡°Agreed. Now give me the carpet and the letter.¡± ¡°I don''t need to make a new carpet, the one you weaved two weeks ago should work perfectly, as far as I can tell. I didn''t mess with the pattern, I didn''t even know it existed to be honest. I''ve just removed your viss from it.¡± Mor¨¬c felt a wave of warm pride, despite everything: it took years of learning how to use the loom and studying magic all by himself from the basic rules he already knew, but he''d finally succeeded. ¡°About the letter,¡± Koidan said, lowering onto one knee and raising a bit one of his big fists. ¡°I have it right¡­¡± He stopped moving. His mouth was open and his eyes were still looking at Mor¨¬c, but his voice couldn''t be heard anymore. ¡°Koidan?¡± Mor¨¬c called out. The silence and the perfect stillness told him he was alone in the temple. He waited long enough to feel chills crawl up his back. He walked back toward the doors, then slipped out and ran home. 5.14 - The prisoner ¡°Sorry for missing yesterday evening¡¯s lesson,¡± Serit said as they entered with Saia into Filsun''s garden. He welcomed them in by opening his arms as if to hug them both from a distance. Saia noticed that his contours were trembling more than usual. She checked his viss, but it didn''t seem to be caused by anything more than apprehension. ¡°Don''t worry, I''m only glad you''re safe. There have been some commotions in the industrial districts, I hope you weren''t involved.¡± Serit stepped behind Filsun and gave Saia a sideway glance through his translucent body. ¡°Atan has made us stay inside for that very reason,¡± they said, as Saia observed Filsun''s reaction to their words. ¡°He was worried the situation would get worse. Sorry for not alerting you.¡± ¡°It wasn''t a problem, really. I don''t sleep and I didn''t have other plans,¡± he said, looking at the dark morning sky, the pink and orange slowly rising from the horizon. Saia didn''t find anything off in Filsun''s reaction. But she also wasn''t an expert like Riena, so there could be something she was missing. ¡°He seems sincere,¡± she still said in Serit''s ears, then to Filsun: ¡°What¡¯s the lesson about, today?¡± ¡°Legs,¡± he answered, voice as cheerful as usual. He proceeded to take a solid shape, allowing Saia to memorize the movement of his viss. ¡°Do you know what exactly happened yesterday?¡± Serit asked from their spot on the floor. ¡°No, but I''ve asked some friends to investigate. I''ve heard ten different versions so far, some talking about a flying ship.¡± He chuckled, unaware of Serit''s tense face. They crossed their legs and spread out some sheets of recycled paper in front of them, then took out a piece of graphite wrapped in cloth from a pocket. Filsun switched to his fog form, and Saia started with her first attempt to solidify his legs. ¡°We investigated,¡± Serit said. ¡°Asked your resource what the elders are planning.¡± Filsun turned the vague shape of his head, his interest evident both in voice and viss. ¡°And?¡± ¡°Don''t take what I''m about to say as the absolute truth, there''s a chance we''ve been lied to. Apparently, they want to build a chain.¡± They relayed the old man''s exact words, as well as the questions they had asked the workers at the market. Saia realized at that moment just how many details she had lost during the conversation with the old man: she didn¡¯t remember, for example, that the chain was meant to be anchored to the earth and built upward for the whole duration of the spirits¡¯ journey to their gods¡¯ abode. ¡°Do you know any traders who might be involved?¡± Serit asked. Filsun thought about it, staring at his own half-solid legs. ¡°There''s a lot of people the elders could have asked to, I''ll try to investigate as discreetly as I can. But I ensure you it''s the first time I hear anything about this.¡± Saia checked his viss, then nodded as if to herself to communicate that he was telling the truth. ¡°Now that we know what they''re planning,¡± Filsun added. ¡°Have you thought about that meeting with the elders?¡± ¡°I won''t meet them,¡± Serit said immediately. ¡°But I can tell you what to say if you find another way to contact them. I have experience with building long ladders, I know what the critical points are. Frankly, if that¡¯s actually their project, either they have found some amazing new patterns or it will fail badly.¡± Filsun returned solid enough that his expression became visible again. ¡°If we don''t get a meeting, we might need to sabotage them.¡± Serit sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll think a bit on how you could do that, just promise me you will act after we''ve left the city.¡± Filsun nodded. He looked a bit disappointed, but still smiled at Serit. ¡°I appreciate it.¡± ¡°But you hoped for more.¡± ¡°Yes. But I won''t ask anything else.¡± Serit gave him a sharp nod, as if to signal that the topic was closed. Filsun looked at Saia. ¡°I think you''re ready for a more difficult test. Solidify as much of my body as you can.¡± Saia tried, starting with the hands, which only came easy as long as he didn''t move them, then slowly added pieces of his legs. ¡°You''re wasting a bit of viss, there,¡± he pointed out. ¡°The movement should be tighter in the left palm.¡± She adjusted her control on his viss based on his suggestions. They kept practicing for little more than an hour, until Filsun''s trembling torso of fog stood on two perfectly solid legs. ¡°Excellent,¡± he said, ¡°You''re making a lot of progress. This evening we''ll work some more on the arms.¡± Serit finished writing down some notes, then gave him a stack of coins taken from one of their pouches. This time, Filsun didn''t protest. ¡°See you tomorrow,¡± he said as they left his platform. They walked through the market, only crossing platforms full of people. Saia surveyed each one before they entered: she preferred wasting a bit of viss that way than a lot to run behind Serit and their kidnappers. Once back at the hostel, they took a different corridor of platforms than the one leading to their room. Serit had booked a different one the day before without Atan''s knowledge, paying the owner extra coins for a bit of discretion. They entered, finding three people inside: the prisoner, tied and asleep on the floor, and two birdguards standing at opposite corners of the room. Saia had expected to find the same two who had helped her save Serit, but there was just one of them. The other was apparently their captain. Serit greeted him by raising their cupped hands. ¡°I imagine your subordinates have told you everything,¡± they said. ¡°Of course. We''ve tried to interrogate the prisoner, but we can''t awaken him.¡± Serit halted next to the sleeping man. ¡°The wound?¡± they asked. ¡°Stable. A healer should come here in the afternoon.¡± Serit nodded. They closed the palm of their hand around the prisoner''s sweaty arm. His pale skin had taken on a yellowish tinge of sickness. ¡°Let''s try again, I''ll help you.¡± The two guards approached the sleeping man. Their heads turned to look at Saia, who was still standing near the entrance. Serit didn''t ask her to help, so they knelt down and ignored her. The three of them touched the prisoner and closed their eyes. The room remained silent and still for a bit, so Saia stepped closer and expanded her domain to check what they were doing. She immediately saw that the prisoner''s viss had many different imprints, as if it belonged to a handful of different people. It was also increasing in quantity, both with the energies pouring in from Serit and the guards and with others appearing from apparently nowhere. The three shilv¨¦ gradually increased their outpour of viss, until it was almost stronger than the one coming from the outside. Almost. She was debating on whether to chime in with some viss of her own or let them struggle, when she felt something change within her statue. She had the feeling something was wrong, but her sphere wasn''t the problem. She examined her body until she found Aili¡¯s shard. The change was almost imperceptible, a human wouldn¡¯t have been able to detect it. Maybe not even a god, but she¡¯d been keeping the shard on herself for days, like a part of her. ¡°Aili,¡± she whispered. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. In the silence of the room it had the effect of a shout. Serit stood, looking around with a worried face. When no immediate danger appeared, they focused on Saia. ¡°What''s going on?¡± She ignored them, taking Aili''s shard out of her shoulder. The viss was not as lively as it had felt before and she had no idea whether it meant she was asleep or cracked. ¡°Saia? What''s going on?¡± Serit repeated under their breath. The guards were staring at them with their blindfolds on, but gave no sign of approaching. ¡°Her shard,¡± Saia said, shaking it in her palm. ¡°Your friend? What happened?¡± ¡°I don''t know! I wasn''t paying attention and know she''s like this.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± "I don''t know. She could be asleep, she could¡­ She could be dead, but I have no way to know¡­¡± ¡°You do,¡± Serit cut her off. ¡°Send her a bit of your viss. If she''s alive, it will reach her. If she''s not¡­¡± ¡°It will stay on the shard,¡± Saia said, immediately sending Aili a speck of her buzzing viss with full intention to wake her up. The viss didn''t stay on the shard, but Aili didn''t awaken either. ¡°She''s not dead,¡± Saia said. ¡°But I can''t activate her. I need to wake her up, she might be in danger.¡± ¡°I can try, if you want.¡± Saia hesitated. She remembered Zeles asking her to deactivate him in order not to waste his viss. Maybe that was part of Aili''s plan. Maybe she''d asked Dan, or Mor¨¬c, or someone else to deactivate her for some reason, and she would ruin everything by activating her. She could ruin everything just by trusting Serit too much. Besides, the monks didn¡¯t have Aili¡¯s shard anymore. ¡°No,¡± she said in the end. ¡°But something¡¯s happening and I need to go home. Now.¡± Serit tensed, as if expecting her to shower them with her feelings again. ¡°Unfortunately I can''t do anything on that front.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting really fucking tired of hearing that, especially after I''ve saved you for the second time.¡± ¡°To be fair, you''re doing what I''ve asked of you the day we met. But to be even more fair,¡± they added quickly, sensing her growing anger, ¡°I can see my people wanting to interact with mount Ohat and your monks at some point, so I don''t see why you couldn¡¯t be sent back in the company of a representative or something. You just need to be patient.¡± ¡°I don''t want anyone to send me back, I want to go home on my own terms. I thought you understood by now that I''m not here of my own choice.¡± ¡°And I thought you understood I don''t make decisions. The representatives do.¡± ¡°If you really wanted, you''d find a way out. You''d fake an incident or something and let me go.¡± Serit glanced at the guards, as if suggesting she shouldn''t be saying those words in front of them. She ignored them, since the only alternative was to yell straight into Serit''s ears. ¡°You''re so smart when it comes to building weapons or finding uses for my viss, and you''re telling me you wouldn''t find a way out if you thought about it?¡± She realized she was still holding Aili''s shard and put it away inside her shoulder. She didn''t want some of her viss staining it by mistake. ¡°You must really want that money the representatives are giving you,¡± she added. ¡°It''s not about money.¡± ¡°Then what? See the earth down there? Well, I know someone who would love to explore the world, but if she left then the mountain would tremble, so she stays. She''d never ruin someone''s life for her gain.¡± ¡°I¡­ I never wanted to go to earth myself. I think I would hate it, actually. I think it would feel like an entirely new world, and I kind of hate stuff that''s too unpredictable.¡± ¡°I really don''t care. This isn''t what I was talking about and you know it: you have some reasons why you''re doing this, but you like to act as if you''re totally innocent.¡± ¡°I can tell you why I''m working for the representatives, maybe it would clarify the situation.¡± ¡°I doubt it, but go ahead.¡± They stepped closer and lowered their voice to the point only Saia could hear it. ¡°I¡¯m doing it because if I succeed, the representatives will move the children of viss'' shelter from the fourth level to the second.¡± They emphasised the word, as if Saia should have been as excited about it as they sounded. She knew it was something important, but didn''t remember exactly why. ¡°Then they won''t need... Documents?¡± she tried, remembering pieces of the conversation they''d had on her first day above the clouds. Serit shook their head. ¡°The shelter takes in people like us, but it¡¯s not an official institution. It was built directly from the first children of viss that appeared on Irim¨¦ze. This would allow us to register it, make it official and take in even more people. And yes, they could go from one level to another without having to prove they''re citizens.¡± They suddenly smiled. ¡°I¡¯m impressed you remembered that, your people don''t even use documents.¡± Saia deliberately closed her eyes and sighed. ¡°Don''t do that. Let''s stay on topic. Isn''t there any other way you could achieve that without involving me?¡± They shrugged. ¡°It''s easy and fast compared to the alternatives. And it still allows me to be paid and receive funding for my research, but that''s secondary.¡± ¡°I would like to hear these alternatives.¡± Serit dared a tight-lipped smile. ¡°Nothing you could do anything about even with a lot more viss at disposal. Mostly talk to the other citizens, make them aware of what''s it like for us. Make them care, possibly without manipulating their viss. And I don''t know how to do any of that. It would make everyone hate me even more. I''ll eventually lose the representatives'' support and be unable to continue my research.¡± They looked to the side, seemingly thinking of something else. ¡°Which might also happen if I fail with this project, to be honest. I promised the representatives a lot of things and used a lot of their resources, so I don''t think failure is an option I should even consider.¡± So there was it, Saia realized: her demise or Serit''s. Except she was the one kept away from home and being considered a walking reservoir of viss. At least now she knew there was no convincing them to help her. She focused on the sleeping man. ¡°Let''s get this over with.¡± She approached him, pushing her viss into his body in the exact quantity needed to awaken him. He started to rise, but the guards extracted their tridents and pointed them at his throat, forcing him to stay down. ¡°I¡¯m on your side,¡± Saia said in the man''s ears, then to Serit: ¡°Ask away, but keep it short. I don''t want to waste too much viss.¡± They looked so pleasantly surprised it almost made her feel guilty. The man looked at her, blinking, then at Serit. She felt his fear grow in his viss, even if his face remained still. ¡°Who are you?¡± Serit asked. ¡°Why do you want to kidnap me?¡± He looked up at the two blindfolded guards. ¡°I¡­ We''re trying to make Irim¨¦ze a better society for everyone.¡± ¡°Which means?¡± ¡°We want the fourth level to become a part of the city like any other.¡± ¡°We?¡± Serit emphasised the word, leaning forward. ¡°I could understand it if you were just humans, but there are shilv¨¦ among you. Unless they all live on the fourth level, I don¡¯t see why they would care so much for the people who do.¡± Saia wondered how much of their belief that there wasn''t another way to achieve what they wanted was tied to that conviction. ¡°Most of them are related to us, and the ones who aren¡¯t want what we''re offering them: make it so that no shilv¨¦ will have to rain anymore.¡± All the three cloud people in the room tensed and looked at each other through the blindfolds, as if to check that they had actually heard their words right. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Serit cautiously asked. ¡°I can''t tell you the details.¡± The birdguards¡¯ captain raised his beak toward Serit, as if to ask for permission. They shook their head, then started pacing around the room, deep in thought. ¡°Listen to me,¡± Saia said in the man''s ears. ¡°You must know who I am, right? Scratch your head for ''yes'', your nose for ''no¡¯.¡± He hesitated, then did both in quick succession. He knew a little, Saia interpreted. ¡°Do you know that the representatives have my shard and can deactivate me through it?¡± He scratched his bald head for a slightly longer time. ¡°Good. Do you have a way to communicate with your people?¡± He raised a hand, but let it fall back onto his lap without scratching anything. The glance he gave Saia was full of distrust. ¡°You don''t want to tell me, understandable. Well, if you can communicate with them, tell them that I will help them once, at two conditions.¡± His head perked up, then he immediately looked somewhere else to hide the fact he was listening to her. ¡°First, I want to know where my shard is. Don''t take it yourselves,¡± she quickly added, realizing that would only worsen her situation. ¡°But look for it and tell me where they''re keeping it. Close your hands if you understood so far.¡± He closed his fists. Saia was about to go on with her second condition, when Serit stopped pacing and stepped in front of the man. ¡°I won''t order the guards to hurt you. But we''ll go back to Irim¨¦ze in three weeks, and then you''ll be delivered to the representatives. The guards are under their orders, not mine. It''s up to you if I''ll present you like a simple pawn of your organization or one of the leaders.¡± The man glanced at Saia as if to ask for her help. She felt something else taking hold of his viss besides the fear: a lot of external energies that moved in waves. The other rebels had redoubled their efforts to make him unconscious. She needed to tell him her second condition before she wasted too much viss, but Serit had resumed speaking. ¡°So, since you didn''t answer the first time: why did you want to kidnap me?¡± ¡°We need your knowledge.¡± ¡°About what? Why?¡± Saia realized Serit wanted to gauge whether they knew about the research, like the prisoner¡¯s sentence about the shilv¨¦ not raining anymore had suggested. ¡°I can''t say anything about that.¡± ¡°Second condition,¡± Saia began, taking advantage of the instant of silence. ¡°You won''t ask me to do something that will hurt or kill people. And I won''t mess with Serit, since they''ll permanently deactivate me if I do.¡± She noticed his fists were still closed tight from the tension. ¡°If you understood, open your hands.¡± He did, slowly as not to startle the guards. ¡°You''d better tell me something more,¡± Serit said in the end. ¡°Right now, I feel like you might be the leader of the organization and it would be worth it to lock you up forever. Why did you have my whistle? Who built that flying ship?¡± They had used the same term as Filsun had for describing it, even if Saia didn¡¯t recall the structure having the shape of a ship. She felt the man''s distress and realized she had no reason to keep him awake, so she stopped influencing him. He dropped backward, unconscious. Serit turned to glare at her. ¡°It was clear he wasn''t going to reveal anything,¡± she explained. ¡°And his friends were increasing the flux of viss a bit too much.¡± Serit nodded. ¡°We don''t know much, but at least we have an idea about who these people are. Some sort of rebels.¡± Saia nodded distractedly. She followed them out when they left the room. During the following three days, she kept exercising with Filsun. Serit took notes the whole time, interjecting every once in a while with a question about patterns and viss. The time outside the lessons was spent exercising inside the room or on the platforms around the hostel, provided there weren''t spirits around. Saia practiced the solidification patterns she was learning on the ¨¦shan that Serit had brought from Irim¨¦ze. Part of her mind was always focused on Aili''s shard, hoping for a change, part of it on her surroundings, awaiting a sign from the prisoner''s accomplices. He was being healed by a shilv¨¦ doctor that came in every once in a while to check up on his conditions, but he still slept. Whoever was keeping him asleep was probably taking turns to contrast the birdguards'' attempts to awaken him. On the afternoon of the third day, they heard a voice calling from outside their room. ¡°Engineer Serit?¡± Saia recognized the hostel''s owner. Serit quickly hid their notes in the bags they had brought. ¡°I¡¯m coming out, please don''t enter.¡± The only birdguard in the room gripped their trident, but didn''t move from their corner. Saia followed Serit outside, where the hostel''s owner was fluctuating in fog form. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to interrupt, but there are guards asking about you.¡± Serit''s hand tightened around the flap of cloth that closed the entrance. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They only mentioned the elders wanting to talk to you. And they said that if you don''t follow me out, they''ll enter the building themselves.¡± Their words suggested it was a scenario they really wanted to avoid. ¡°Sure,¡± Serit glanced at Saia. ¡°Sure, I''ll... I''ll follow you.¡± They walked down the corridor, viss buzzing with confusion and fear. Saia debated with herself for an instant, then followed them. 5.15 - The elders Two guards were hovering at the center of the hostel''s hall, weapons in hand. They flanked Serit as soon as they emerged from the corridor, then eyed Saia suspiciously when she followed them out. ¡°We only asked for engineer Serit,¡± one of them said. ¡°Leave.¡± If Saia had been on the fence about following them, those words consolidated the decision in her mind. ¡°I¡¯m coming too.¡± They raised their weapons, but she tore them away from their hands. She stopped next to Serit, irritated by the relief inside their viss. The guards were looking at her in a threatening way. She stared back until one of them flew away to deliver a message. ¡°Follow us,¡± they said after coming back. Saia walked in front of Serit as the spirits guided them through a series of platforms. ¡°What do they want?¡± she asked in Serit''s ears. They shrugged. ¡°If they are working with the kidnappers, me,¡± they explained, without bothering to lower their voice. ¡°But in case they¡¯ve found out who you are, probably you.¡± The spirits stopped at the center of a platform that was covered on all sides with heavy drapings. Saia and Serit had to cross a makeshift wooden bridge to reach it, promptly removed by one of the guards once they were inside. The platform trembled a bit, then started to rise, just like an elevator. From the spike of anxiety in Serit¡¯s viss, Saia imagined the feeling was quite similar to when they were kidnapped. She stepped closer to the walls of cloth and expanded her domain to look at what waited up ahead. They ascended past the living quarters where she''d fought the guards, then kept going past the industrial district. The platforms became even sparser, with some of them suspended only by the efforts of one newborn spirit. The empty space was filled by the waves and twists of long ribbons of cloth. They ascended further, to the point Saia started to think they would only stop at the very top of the city. Then, she saw the wooden floor of a giant round platform just above them, with a hole near the border that would fit the elevator perfectly. She could see wind spirits manoeuvering a pulley on the other side of the hole. ¡°We''re almost there,¡± she told Serit. They started breathing deeper, maybe to slow down their racing heart. The platform rose a bit more, then moved forward and descended. It stopped with a thud, making Saia and Serit stumble. One guard preceded them outside, the other gestured for them to move. Saia let Serit go first. The space outside was enormous and empty, except for the flags tied to long masts all around the distant borders of the platform. The cloth was long enough that it could touch the wooden floor and keep going for a bit, but the strong winds kept all of it floating. Saia noticed a flag with the same gray, blue and green triangles of the carpets exposed on the warehouse at Irim¨¦ze. Under the flags hovered distant lights, each one a guard ready to converge on them at the first sign of danger. There was a bigger light at the center composed of a cluster of multiple spirits. Serit was already heading toward them. As she followed them, Saia noticed that most of the platform was painted, leaving out only four corridors of bare wood, including the one they were walking on. They all converged to the center, to the bigger empty circle where the spirits were floating. The paintings were small round scenes of wind spirits building cities or talking to each other, each character identified by details in their shape, clothing, and by the flags floating in the background. Some of them were simple landscapes, delimited by a circle of silvery paint and connected to each other by a web of sinuous silver lines that reminded Saia of ivy shoots. Saia saw a scene that depicted two mountains, one right next to the other. She stopped in her tracks, the image so alien to her it demanded undivided attention. After an instant, she realized that she could still observe the painting while moving and resumed following Serit. Apart from a cloudy sky and an expanse of grass, there was nothing else in the scene. One mountain was slightly smaller than the other, and both had different shapes than the one of mount Ohat. Maybe that was what Serit had meant when they''d mentioned there were other mountains in the world. ¡°Welcome,¡± a voice said from somewhere in front of them, and Saia focused on the group of spirits. ¡°The elders?¡± she asked in Serit''s ears. They nodded imperceptibly. There was a line of chalk drawn at the end of the corridor, just before it could connect to the circle at the center. ¡°Stop there,¡± the distant voice of an elder said. ¡°We gave orders to kill you if you cross it.¡± Saia didn¡¯t find it surprising. If they knew what she was capable of, it made sense they wanted to protect themselves. She doubted those guards could actually hurt her, but they certainly could make her waste viss. She observed the elders on the other side of the circle of polished wood. Their clothes looked like gowns made of overlapping layers. They wore them around the shoulders to cover the whole body, arms included, rather than starting at the waist. Each of them had a personal color scheme and patterns which corresponded to one or more of the flags all around them. She recognized the one who had spoken because they were holding a device in front of their face identical to the amplifier the narrators used in the arena. A spirit descended from above toward Serit, holding the extremities of a red stripe of cloth in their hands. An identical device rested at its center. Serit took it and brought the amplifier to their lips, but didn''t say anything. Saia could see them trembling. ¡°They''re scared of me,¡± she reminded them. They only answered with a glance, then the elder spoke again. ¡°We''re glad the representatives of Irim¨¦ze have sent one of their closest collaborators, even if we expected to meet you much sooner.¡± Yellow and green half-moons alternated on their clothes. Saia just needed a glance around the arena to find the flag that corresponded to that pattern. ¡°I was sent here for private matters, as I''m sure the representatives have explained.¡± ¡°We asked for you alone,¡± said another elder wearing a beige dress with the giant shape of a red fish extending over multiple layers. ¡°Saia is tasked with protecting me. I''m sure one bodyguard won''t represent a danger when compared to all the ones you brought here.¡± ¡°A bodyguard?¡± said the first one in a mocking tone, then briefly turned to look at the others. ¡°Your daughter H¨¦she must think us stupid, Irid.¡± The wind brought their laughter forward as the elders turned to look at one of them. They were wearing a cloth with triangles in gray, blue and green. ¡°H¨¦she is that elder''s daughter?¡± Saia asked Serit. They covered the amplifier with the palm of their hand before answering. ¡°No. They brought up the ''daughter'' thing only to remark that they technically created us. Irid was the elder who founded Irim¨¦ze, back when the elders were still divided.¡± Saia tried to wrap her head around it: that spirit must have been at least two millennia old. Not even Zeles was that ancient. ¡°We know who she is,¡± the elder in beige said. ¡°Or what she is, rather. As a matter of fact, we called you here to talk about the spheres.¡± Serit clamped their hand around the amplifier. Saia remembered their words about wind spirits not finding out about her, and the representatives'' worries. ¡°We don''t know why you''ve brought her here,¡± the one in green added. ¡°But she''s been seen loose in the city and she attacked two guards. We noted that no excuse came from you, nor explanations.¡± ¡°Excuses?¡± Serit repeated, too breathy to sound indignant as they had probably intended. They seemed about to add something, then stopped, suddenly thoughtful. Saia was surprised too, wondering why they were asking for explanations, unless Serit was wrong about the rebels working for them. Or maybe they were just pretending not to know. She expanded her domain to gauge their reactions. Their viss was extremely difficult to read, still and unfazed. Probably the effect of having a couple of millennia at disposal to get used to sudden emotions. ¡°I hadn''t realized you knew who she was,¡± Serit said. ¡°For this reason, I thought the situation wouldn''t look particularly serious. Since you know, I can''t do anything else than apologize for the inconvenience I''ve caused you.¡± They raised their cupped hand, even if one of them was still holding the amplifier. ¡°That said,¡± they added after an instant of silence, ¡°May I ask why you summoned me here?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°We want the sphere, her shard, and your full-time expertise,¡± the elder in beige said. ¡°We''ll pay you, but you won''t be able to leave. If you won''t provide us with all of these things in a reasonable timeframe, we''ll attack and sink Irim¨¦ze.¡± Serit could only stare back at them, then glanced at Saia with a lost expression. ¡°When you say that you need my expertise,¡± they said slowly. ¡°What do you mean, exactly?¡± ¡°You''ll be at our disposal to work on what we ask you to provide.¡± They were clearly hinting at the ascension. Saia couldn''t imagine how they would bring Serit with them, if their idea was actually building a chain. But more worrisome was their request for her sphere. She was glad her shard was far away from there, and that their guards were basically useless against her. ¡°You''ll bring me with you,¡± Serit repeated. ¡°You want Saia to power your ship, right? And I''m the only one who knows how to force her to do that, thanks to my research.¡± The elders gave no sign of acknowledgement to their words. ¡°A ship?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Yes. The old man lied to us,¡± they said, without using the amplifier. ¡°You''ve seen what the rebel ship was made of, right? Iron, and I bet there are copper tubes inside shaped in the various patterns needed to pilot it. That''s the only way they can bring enough food with them.¡± The elders'' prolonged silence betrayed the fact they''d been taken by surprise by their words. ¡°How do you know about the ship?¡± The elder who had spoken was different from the first two. The cloth they were draped in flowed softer and more easily than the ones of their colleagues. It was embroidered with circles of gold having a smaller red dot at the center. Wavy lines made of silver connected every circle to all of the others, creating an irregular net-like pattern. Serit''s eyes widened when the elder floated to the front of the crowd. ¡°Elder Shuisura,¡± they breathed out, then looked at Saia as if they expected her to have some sort of reaction to that name. ¡°She''s the one who invented our cities,¡± they whispered, covering the amplifier. Then they focused on the elder again, with their usual calculating stare. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the answer in a moment, elder Shuisura, but I need to ask you something first. How is the ascension supposed to work, exactly?¡± Green cloth snickered, followed by a couple more elders. ¡°The fact you''re talking about an ascension when none was announced tells us a lot about the kind of company you''ve been keeping.¡± The corners of Serit''s mouth raised in an imperceptible smile. ¡°Walk me through the details, please. You''ll have to tell me the truth, eventually, if you want me to work for you.¡± They looked down at the line of chalk in front of them. ¡°Saia,¡± they whispered. ¡°I couldn''t see well, but... My kidnappers were disguised, right?¡± She thought about it. ¡°They had some empty crates for clothes and a merchant stall, if that''s what you mean.¡± When Serit spoke again, the words came slowly as if weighted down by just as many different thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m fairly sure you could survive on your own even after leaving this world, as long as you''ll have viss to eat. And you have tested that, I''m sure. So you likely won''t need a ship so big it could contain the entire spirit population. But to get viss you''ll need food, enough livestock that will reproduce in large enough quantities to sustain all of you. And these animals will need food too. But you already know that, right? That''s not the problem.¡± ¡°I asked you a question, engineer,¡± Shuisura said. ¡°I won''t repeat myself.¡± ¡°Another issue is having enough viss to power the ship, as you called it,¡± Serit continued, talking faster. ¡°And that''s Saia''s role. Once you have every piece and the ship has been built, you''ll announce everything to the population and tame any revolt that will arise. The losers will be killed or forced to follow you, right? Because you don''t want to let the undeserving walk away. It would undermine your power.¡± ¡°It would displease our gods,¡± beige specified with disdain. ¡°Right. The people move together, and anyone who can''t or won''t follow will die. Which raises the question of what you''ll do with newborn spirits.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to distract us from the negotiation,¡± green cloth said as Shuisura reiterated: ¡°The ship. Who told you about it?¡± They were uncoordinated, speaking out of order. Serit must have noticed that too, because they smiled wider, uncaring of whether the elders could see them. ¡°Right, the negotiation. The sphere, Saia, is right here. You can take her, if you want.¡± Saia tensed, expanding her domain a bit to anticipate eventual attacks. ¡°What?¡± she yelled in Serit ears. They winced, but laughed a bit. ¡°No one''s moving, see? You said it yourself: they''re scared.¡± ¡°We know of her power,¡± beige cloth said, talking over their whispered words. ¡°And we know of the shard needed to control her. It''s an insult that you would think us stupid enough to attack her.¡± ¡°Sorry, you''re right. We have the shard. Irim¨¦ze has it. So I guess you shouldn''t threaten us so lightly.¡± All of the elders made an imperceptible movement, some floating higher, some letting the contours of their fog fray a little more, the edge of their clothes moving in faster waves. Saia felt a smidge of respect for Serit for the way they stood up to the elders, even if now their smile had disappeared. Their viss was buzzing with fear as they realized what their words sounded like. ¡°Are you declaring war, then?¡± beige dress said. ¡°Is this what you want? Our army against Irim¨¦ze and your sphere?¡± Saia imagined how an attack on the city would play out. She could take advantage of the chaos to get her shard and run away, but there were people in the city that had nothing to do with her being captured. The ones to take the brunt of the attack would be the humans and children of viss at the fourth level, certainly not the representatives. So she''d have to stay and fight, maybe force them to give her the shard beforehand, since they''d be at her mercy either way. But then she''d have to use her viss to protect the city, and she didn''t think she could survive that. And if she couldn''t, there was little Irim¨¦ze alone could do against an assault of immortal, intangible and incredibly fast creatures. Serit spoke again, interrupting her thoughts. ¡°No, that''s absolutely not what I want,¡± their tone wasn''t taunting anymore. ¡°I only wanted to remark that we''re not entirely at your mercy as you seem to believe. And I want to propose you a deal: Irim¨¦ze will gather the newborns for you and bring them to you, no matter how far the ship will be from our world. In exchange, we''ll only need to borrow a smaller ship, and for you to give up on having me and Saia at your service.¡± ¡°We already have a solution to that, planned months ago,¡± green cloth said. ¡°You are underestimating us again.¡± Serit¡¯s smile returned. ¡°Oh, I know about your solution. They tried to kidnap me three days ago.¡± There was an instant of silence and stillness, then the elders'' group was traversed by a wave of hesitant chatter. ¡°That''s why I know about the ship,¡± Serit added softly, then lowered the amplifier and waited for a reaction. ¡°They didn''t know,¡± Saia commented. ¡°No. The rebels would have succeeded if the elders had agreed to help. And they certainly wouldn¡¯t have brought a disguise.¡± The spirits'' chatter died after Shuisura floated forward and started speaking. ¡°Explain yourself.¡± Serit brought the amplifier back to their lips. ¡°You needed someone to build the ships, right? But it¡¯s an enormous task that requires hundreds of workers, and you didn''t want to tip off the general population that an ascension is about to happen. It''s much easier to deal with a revolt once everything is ready, right?¡± They let an instant pass, but the elders didn¡¯t answer. ¡°In addition to that, your people will soon be too far away from this world to send back hunters and explorers without splitting up the population. The shilv¨¦ cities are underequipped to help you further and not entirely under your control. So who is going to find and bring you the newborns? This group of rebels, apparently. You found them, or they found you, and you made a pact to help each other.¡± They paused, as if considering their own words. ¡°I wish I knew the details of this pact, but it doesn''t matter now. What matters is that they know you need me, and they need me too for their own goals. So they took advantage of your permission to enter the city and kidnapped me before you could get at me in any other way. But they had to act in secret, otherwise the deal you have with them would have dissolved. Am I wrong?¡± The spirits hovered in silence. ¡°Well, the offer stands. You can break your pact with them and have Irim¨¦ze''s support instead. Far more reliable and easy to control, if not as secretive.¡± Shuisura looked back at the other elders. ¡°We''ll need to discuss this in private,¡± she said. ¡°We''ll return with our answer.¡± They floated away as an uncoordinated group: green cloth stalled a bit with the amplifier in front of their face as if they wanted to add something, but beige dress pulled them away before they could. ¡°I¡¯m confused,¡± Saia said in Serit''s ears. ¡°I thought you wanted to sabotage them, not help them.¡± ¡°It''s what Filsun wants. I just need to get out of this situation alive and without a war pending on my city. Besides, if they''ll accept I''ll have struck a sweet deal for the representatives.¡± ¡°I don''t see how. They didn¡¯t want the elders to be involved or even know that I exist, and yet here we are.¡± Serit returned serious. ¡°I¡¯m concerned too about how they knew of my research in the first place. Did the rebels find out and tell them?¡± They seemed to consider it for a bit, then shrugged and smiled. ¡°But the deal is good for us. We''ll need a smaller ship to reach them with the newborns once the wind spirits will be far enough from this world. Sure, it will only be borrowed, but we''ll have the chance to study it and build more of them, which is a huge advantage over the other cities.¡± ¡°When you say ''we'', you mean ''you'', right? You want to build more ships.¡± ¡°Me, Hilon, someone else, it doesn''t matter. As long as I get the recompense for striking this deal.¡± All the respect they''d earned from Saia evaporated. She hoped the wind spirits would refuse, then remembered the repercussions that might fall on her. She hated that once again her fate was tied to Serit''s in the worst of ways. If they lost, she''d have died not long after; if they won, she would still lose. Almost half an hour passed before the elders returned. Shuisura took the word once again. ¡°We ask to add one more condition to the pact. You will keep that sphere, but give us another one.¡± Saia focused on Serit''s face, expecting them to refuse, to negotiate further. ¡°Don''t even think about it,¡± she said once the silence had protracted for too long. ¡°Sure,¡± they answered, almost at the same time. ¡°We can arrange that.¡± The elders flew away with their small army of guards. The spirits that were waiting near the elevator gestured for them to enter it. ¡°Are you serious? Another sphere?¡± Saia said out loud as soon as they were inside, this time alone. The platform started its slow and uneven descent. ¡°Remember we still need to talk to the representatives about this and there will be further negotiations.¡± But they weren''t looking at her. Saia stepped forward. ¡°If it¡¯s a ruse and your plan is to convince the elders in some other way, this is the time to tell me about it.¡± Serit stared at her, their viss bubbling with many different emotions. She observed intently, ready to catch a lie. ¡°No,¡± they admitted in the end, and it was the truth. ¡°I don''t have another plan.¡± Saia felt her anger grow. She summoned a wind and pushed it toward Serit. It wasn''t enough to make them fall on its own, but the slight sideways movement of the platform helped in putting them out of balance. They dropped onto the floor, and Saia''s wind pinned them there. ¡°Stop messing with the mountain,¡± she shouted, amplifying her voice. ¡°There''s my family there, my friends, hundreds of innocent people. If you take another god away, the mountain will collapse and they will die. I''ll never allow you to do that.¡± She could feel their fear in the way their viss buzzed, but she didn¡¯t care. She needed not to care, now that there was so much more than just her life at stake. She realized at that moment that they were alone, no birdguards around, and she had a plausible reason to threaten Serit. She just needed to push them a bit more, enough to make them think they were in actual danger. With a bit of luck, they would have tried to contact the guards, revealing how they could communicate. But as much as the wind pressed them down, they just stared up at her, strands of hair whipping around in the wind, limbs paralyzed by fear. She needed to shake them out of their terror, so she started to form the pattern for slashing with the viss in her domain. She didn''t want to hurt them, just cut their tunic a bit. The platform jerked, startling Serit. Their eyes became more focused. ¡°We can discuss alternatives,¡± they started, while their hand reached down and entered one of their pockets. It contained a small lantern and nothing else. Their fingers were about to close around it, so Saia snatched it out with another wind and took it instead. She let her domain return to the usual size, turning the lantern in front of her with the help of a small wind, without touching the surface directly. She didn¡¯t notice anything weird about it, except maybe the sprite inside moving slower than the ones of the bigger lanterns. ¡°So this is it. How does it¡­?¡± But a wave of viss hit her out of nowhere. She collapsed on the floor, her light turning blue, everything else suddenly dark. 5.16 - Starlings ¡°Now I''ll make all of you feel in a specific way. Try to remember this feeling as best as you can.¡± The three rows of inhabitants closed their eyes as Zeles intensified the movement of their viss with his own to the point they could feel it clearly. Then he slowed down its buzzing until it moved in slow waves, enough to make them feel relaxed without dropping unconscious. Still, he had positioned a pile of big pillows behind the students to prevent them from getting hurt once they started the exercises. The dancers'' gym had been repurposed into a space anyone could use for various kinds of communal activities. The elders went there when it rained to teach the gestures to the kids, even if they still preferred the daisies pond to uphold traditions. One half of the building was a library, with tables for studying and tutoring. The dancers didn''t mind the reduced space for training, especially since three-quarters of their members had left and only a couple of other people had joined. Mostly, they were happy about not having to train as much as they did under Vizena. Explaining to the inhabitants what viss was and how it could be manipulated to elicit various feelings had been difficult, since they didn''t even suspect its existence. He''d had to demonstrate multiple times how they could drop unconscious in an instant, or get worked up about the littlest things without any reason. They had dismissed it as the powers of a god, so he''d been forced to mention the monks. ¡°They live on the mountain,¡± he had started, each word reminding him of a long-gone conversation with Saia. ¡°And will come here again after I die to give you a new god. They''ll manipulate you into trusting every word they say. Don''t let them. Teach your kids these techniques I''m about to share with you, prepare them.¡± There had been many questions afterwards, to which he had answered to the best of his abilities. By then, most of the village had gathered inside or around the temple, attracted by the initial crowd. That very evening and in the following days, most of them had accepted to be trained in recognizing and resisting manipulations, to the point he''d had to organize multiple turns of students. Silence fell on the gym while Zeles made the group aware of their viss for the first time in their lives. Even the sound of the door opening didn¡¯t distract them from the new feelings they were experiencing. Lada stepped inside, moving quietly. ¡°Do you need something?¡± Zeles asked in her ears. ¡°The weather''s boring these days, so I thought I could help some more with the exercises.¡± ¡°You already did a lot, I don''t want to ask more.¡± ¡°No, I enjoy this.¡± She smiled. ¡°And apparently I''m good at it, so I want to help.¡± She seemed sincere, even if Zeles suspected she was focusing on his lessons to not worry about Saia, or even Lassem now that he had left. ¡°Alright,¡± Zeles said to catch everyone''s attention, his voice booming in the empty half of the gym. ¡°Now form pairs and try to push that feeling onto each other. Don''t worry, it won''t be enough for making you unconscious, you''ll need a bit more experience for that. Take turns and tell each other if you feel any different. Ask me or Lada if you''re unsure.¡± The students divided into ten pairs and one triplet and stood in a circle right in front of the pillows. They started exercising, some touching their partner¡¯s arm and straining to push their viss forward, the others trying to catch any changes in their viss. Lada paced slowly in front of them, approaching every time someone called for help. Zeles distractedly listened to her explanations as he surveyed the village. A lot of the houses had emptied after the families'' decision to leave the village altogether. At the same time many foreigners, merchants most of all, had temporarily or permanently settled in. None of them were monks, he was pretty sure. He still paid them more attention than he normally would. Distinguishing the locals from the foreigners was surprisingly easy, since they didn''t move as much while they talked. Another group who didn''t use the gestures, despite being locals, were the pious. After Vizena''s death, they had become even more tight-knitted, only a few elements leaving to be gradually reabsorbed by the rest of the community. The remaining ones had built a small shrine in the strip of land between Zeles''s and Dore''s territories. It was a room, if it could be called so, with the walls made of heavy blue cloth tied to some branches and the roof weaved out of brushwood. He didn''t know what it contained, but he''d spotted parts of a human-sized statue when the wind was strong enough to move the cloth aside. The shrine was so close to Suimer''s border that he could see it, even if he couldn''t interact with it. Not that he wanted to. He found their rituals harmless at best, ridiculous at worst. He''d told them multiple times that Vizena was completely dead, but they insisted on praying to her and for her return. It was a waste of time and energy, and he hated that he was still spending viss to worry about them even after they''d tried to kill Saia. As if worrying about Rabam and Aili wasn''t enough. He had sent away the book a few days before, so he wasn''t surprised to feel something prod at the edge of his domain. He recognized Lorin¡¯s imprint from their past conversations. He had revealed her everything, from Vizena¡¯s abuse to Saia¡¯s successful plan, and she had agreed to withhold her attack until she had a clearer picture of the situation. ¡°The monks have contacted me again and I don''t know what to think,¡± she said. Zeles focused on her words, leaving the gym completely in Lada''s hands. ¡°What have they said?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t reveal all the details, but¡­ They said that you¡¯re keeping the people of Suimer hostage. That you refuse to let the monks enter your domain or get your shard. And that Saia is a dangerous rebel who will try to destitute them.¡± ¡°I guess from their point of view it¡¯s all true.¡± There was a bit of partial silence, since both of them could still hear the noises and chatter of the respective villages. ¡°You told me how the monks have wronged these people and that you¡¯re trying to protect them,¡± Lorin continued. ¡°But it¡¯s difficult not to see it just as an excuse to live longer. Longer than the two hundred years we were given, at least, and without anyone to control you. And I want to trust you, but... This is dangerous.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Zeles only said. He looked for something else to add, but there wasn¡¯t anything, really: she was right. He was aware of how dangerous it could be for everyone if someone like Vizena found herself in his position. ¡°I¡¯ve been selfish, and it has led to the death of someone I should have protected,¡± he added, addressing himself as much as Lorin. ¡°But I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the reason I¡¯m doing this, right now. The monks don¡¯t want to kill me just to protect them. They want complete control over this territory, for the sake of having it. I didn¡¯t hurt anyone, and yet they¡¯re ready to strike me down as if I did.¡± ¡°You could hurt Suimer¡¯s inhabitants if you decided to, and nobody would be able to do anything about it.¡± ¡°And yet when Vizena was hurting them, they didn¡¯t stop her, because not wasting viss was too important.¡± Lorin didn''t answer for a bit. Zeles guessed she could see the truth in his words, but it was difficult to tell with the small amount of her viss he could perceive. ¡°Maybe¡­¡± she started. ¡°Maybe it''s more important than we imagine. We don¡¯t have the whole picture, so we have to trust them.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s the crux of the problem, isn¡¯t it?¡± Zeles could feel his viss buzzing. He was getting worked up like it hadn¡¯t happened in a while. ¡°Should we keep trusting the monks or not? Would our people trust them, if they knew?¡± Lorin didn¡¯t answer, so he kept talking. ¡°The monks have started this lack of trust. By cutting off all the people of the villages from their decisions, by spreading fear about what would happen if they left the borders. They made it impossible for anyone to trust them in turn, unless it¡¯s through manipulation.¡± ¡°Too many people knowing about the gods would make the situation unstable,¡± she said. He had heard that sentence too, back when he was a young monk. So many times, in fact, that it had started to sound more like a rule than a general principle. ¡°Some kinds of stability are good,¡± he replied. ¡°Some are not. You keep forgetting Vizena. She kept going for a hundred and thirty years. It could happen again, it may have happened before. Only the people living through it would know.¡± She had returned silent again. Zeles didn¡¯t have anything to add, so he turned his mind to other concerns. She spoke before he could, capturing his attention again. ¡°So what¡¯s your plan? You know that they will throw everything at you until you become too weak to keep going, right? They will succeed, in the end.¡± Zeles calmed down the spike of anxiety that followed her words by focusing on the village again. ¡°I don¡¯t have a plan. Resisting as long as I can, maybe. Help my people withstand the aftermath of an attack. That¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll tell you this: I¡¯ll be deactivated soon. They¡¯ll try to enter from my village, but they didn¡¯t tell me the details. They might order me to attack you again, and I won¡¯t have the option to pretend, this time. Whatever you do, be careful.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. She retracted before he could answer. ¡°Thank you,¡± he still said, hoping the wind could bring her his words. Three days later, he perceived someone''s viss reaching the edge of his domain. He focused on the area before his nervousness could take hold. It was Mor¨¬c. Zeles immediately looked around, expecting to see Dan too, but he wasn''t there. ¡°Zeles?¡± he called out, leaning forward until his face was almost on the other side of the border. ¡°Mor¨¬c,¡± he answered. He was startled, maybe because his voice was identical to Koidan''s, maybe because he didn''t expect a god he''d never met to know his name. ¡°You can enter, if you want,¡± he said. Mor¨¬c reluctantly made a step forward, half of him past the border and half out of reach, hands grasping the strap of the worn-out bag he was wearing. ¡°Koidan wanted me to give you a message.¡± Zeles was so unaccustomed to talking to him that he didn''t know how to react. He remembered the pact they had made years before. He had broken it when Mor¨¬c was getting closer to the solution. He wondered if he was old enough to understand the reasons why he''d been preventing him and his brother to leave, or if he would just double down on his resolve. Maybe he was being too harsh again, letting their past arguments taint his opinion of Mor¨¬c, considering him still a child like the day he arrived at Lausune. ¡°Zeles?¡± Mor¨¬c called out. He realized he''d been silent for a while. ¡°Sorry, I was distracted. Tell me the message.¡± ¡°That''s the problem: I don''t know what it is.¡± Zeles set aside his reflections. ¡°Explain, please.¡± ¡°Koidan wanted to give me a letter, but then he stopped moving. I returned later to take it anyways, but it was stuck inside his hand and it was too high from the ground, and one of those monks entered the temple before I could decide what to do.¡± Zeles''s viss started buzzing. ¡°What did they do?¡± Mor¨¬c shrugged. ¡°Nothing special: they told me to leave, then they left too and closed the doors with a chain. The village was pretty angry about Koidan leaving again and the monks coming back. But it wasn''t like last time, they just left. Now in some parts of Lausune you can hear Mivion''s voice, so maybe she''s taking care of us now.¡± ¡°Dore didn''t stop you?¡± ¡°He didn''t say anything.¡± Zeles focused on the edges of his domain: he couldn''t feel Dore, nor Lorin. ¡°There were monks in Tilau too, but I avoided them. They seemed busy anyway,¡± Mor¨¬c added. Zeles thought about the situation. After Saia''s departure, the monks had deactivated all of the gods to find out who could be involved in her plans. Now that they knew he was the only one without a shard, there was no need for them to do that again. Maybe Aili had acted against them and they were responding to that. Maybe she had tried to explain her actions in the letter. ¡°Can I go now?¡± Mor¨¬c said. ¡°I¡¯ve told you everything I knew. I need to check if he''s awake.¡± He sounded apprehensive in a way that captured Zeles''s attention. He couldn''t believe it was attachment to Koidan, unless Aili had revealed her identity to him. ¡°Do you know where Aili is?¡± he asked, paying close attention to his reaction. He raised his eyebrows. ¡°No? I thought she left with the monks weeks ago.¡± ¡°Didn''t you hate Koidan?¡± Mor¨¬c recoiled a bit. ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°Gods talk to each other. Did he promise you something in exchange for your help?¡± This time, Mor¨¬c''s eyes narrowed. He retracted from him, and Zeles checked he didn''t leave his territory completely. ¡°What do you even know about that?¡± ¡°I know that the carpets you are making would allow you to fly away from the mountain. I know that Koidan has been preventing you from leaving, and for good reasons. I know you don''t talk to each other and you don''t want anything to do with him, so I can''t help but wonder why you accepted to bring here his message, even if he didn''t actually give it to you.¡± ¡°Has Koidan told that to every god?¡± ¡°Answer my question, first: why are you helping him?¡± He hesitated, but if he had trusted Koidan, he could trust anyone else. ¡°He promised me a working carpet. He told me that one of the last ones I made works, so I''ve put it aside and I''ll charge it with my viss over time, until I''m able to leave. The tests I''ve made yesterday told me that Koidan wasn''t lying, so I delivered the message.¡± ¡°Don''t do that, please. Don''t leave.¡± He tensed. ¡°What do you care? What''s with you gods and not letting people leave this place?¡± ¡°It''s more dangerous than you realize.¡± ¡°I know about the guardian and how to avoid it.¡± ¡°I find it hard to believe, but even if it was true, there are bigger dangers awaiting you on the other side.¡± Mor¨¬c''s frown was so deep he looked like he was squinting against the sun. ¡°How the fuck do you know any of that? Answer my question, I answered yours.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Koidan. Not the one who''s taking care of Lausune at the moment, but the one before him. Her, actually. The current Koidan of your village is Aili.¡± He sensed Mor¨¬c confusion grow as he spoke. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± he said after an instant of silence. ¡°I need to go.¡± He was about to step back and away from Zeles''s domain, when he raised a wall of air. Mor¨¬c tried to push past it, confused as to why walking away was so difficult, then seemed to realize and looked up again. ¡°You know, a moment ago I didn''t believe you,¡± he started, voice charged with anger. ¡°But now I recognize you, asshole.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I can''t let you go back if there isn''t a god to make sure you''re not risking your life.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not¡­¡± he began, struggling against the wall of air before giving up again. ¡°If you hate me so much, why do you want me to stay?¡± ¡°I don''t hate you. I want to protect you and Dan, since I know he would follow you anywhere.¡± ¡°Protect me from what? What are these dangers you''re talking about?¡± ¡°Irdes told me there are people looking for you. Killers, the kind that is sent by someone powerful with resources to spare. He said they would have followed you two anywhere, no matter how far, and that the mountain was the only place in the world where you''d be safe enough.¡± Mor¨¬c leaned back against the wall of air as if it was a real one, his hair floating in tendrils behind his head. He still looked angry, but his eyes were a bit wider, crossed by a sliver of fear. ¡°It''s been ten years.¡± ¡°They have a way to track you down and enough resources to do that indefinitely. And even if it wasn''t true, I have no intention of risking it.¡± ¡°Who are these people?¡± Zeles remembered clearly the day Irdes had told him about it all and begged him to keep it a secret, especially from Dan and Mor¨¬c. Maybe if they knew, they wouldn''t have tried to leave anymore. ¡°It''s two people. One of them is¡­¡± He reached for the words, but they weren''t there. ¡°What?¡± Zeles knew Irdes had given him their exact descriptions, to make sure he could fight them in case they reached the mountain against all odds. He remembered his stern face, his hands clutching the carpet while he talked. He just couldn''t recall the words, nor their content. ¡°I don''t remember,¡± he admitted, aware of how empty that sounded. Mor¨¬c scoffed, then the sound became a snicker, and at the end he was laughing so loud that some people stopped their tasks to look out of the windows, wondering what was going on. ¡°You fucking liar,¡± Mor¨¬c yelled. ¡°You''re toying with us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not. Please calm down.¡± ¡°Then you are a coward. Let me go home.¡± He yelled something else, but Zeles decided not to listen. He tried to recall other conversations, important ones, some of which had happened more than two hundred years before. He recalled the faces and voices of his mother, his dad, his sister. Suffered again through the pain of receiving news of their deaths, strangely glad he was remembering those moments. He looked for the closest friends he''d had as a human, then the first inhabitants of Lausune when he had first arrived, the village a tad bit smaller than what it was now. He remembered some other key ones, forgotten many others. He remembered Saia, of course, and the most recent events. After the initial relief was over, he did find the holes in his memory. ¡°Dan,¡± Mor¨¬c called out, and Zeles was startled out of his thoughts. He looked at the surroundings, expecting to see Mor¨¬c''s brother, but there was nobody around. ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°Dan will worry about me if I don''t come back,¡± Mor¨¬c said. He was sitting on the bare earth now, his back to the wall of air. ¡°You can write him a letter. I''ll make sure it''ll be delivered.¡± ¡°Or you could just let me go and forget about us entirely. Even if we die, you''ll never know about it.¡± ¡°I can''t, sorry. You''ll stay here until I have proof that Aili is awake again.¡± Mor¨¬c stood and started walking down the road, toward the series of stairs that led to the temple. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°If you want me to stay here that badly, you''ll have to deal with me the whole time. I''ll sleep in the temple.¡± ¡°There''s a tavern¡­¡± ¡°The temple,¡± Mor¨¬c yelled, startling some passersby. Zeles decided to ignore him again, returning to the tally of what he had lost when he had come too close to death, after defeating Vizena. Names and faces of people he''d known back at the village who were nothing more than acquaintances. Some of them had helped him with the gifts. He still remembered how it had started, as a joke meant for his sister. She''d been lamenting how a family of starlings had decided to nest near her outpost. She''d had to spend three days straight hearing them screech above her head before the priors had accepted to move the outpost a bit further down the mountain. So he''d sewn a rough starling plushie and slipped it inside the pocket of the tunic he''d planned to leave outside her door. Except there had been a misunderstanding and the tunic had gone to a woman living in the next room. When he''d gone to retrieve the gift, she''d seemed so happy he hadn''t dared to open his mouth. The warm feeling hadn''t left him, so he¡¯d kept creating small gifts, not imagining even for a second they would get him nominated as the next Koidan. He focused on the day of his transformation, on the moment when he had approached the well. He couldn''t remember the details, whether there was something different to the shield. He couldn''t exclude in good conscience that the monks had modified it. He focused on the village, pulling himself away from the nostalgia that had gripped him. He seemed to have been lucky, all things considered: the memories he had lost were marginal things he hadn''t thought about in a long time. He noticed a small crowd near the temple and moved most of his focus there. Mor¨¬c was standing outside, back against the wall to the right of the door. ¡°He doesn''t want me to go home,¡± he was saying to the bewildered family in front of him. ¡°He hates my guts. He won''t even let me see my brother. Are you sure you want a god like that?¡± They gave each other uncertain glances, thankfully seeming more intent on escaping the conversation politely than on debating whether to believe him. ¡°Mor¨¬c, please,¡± Zeles said in his ears. ¡°He''s not that different from Vizena, you know?¡± he added, raising his voice. That captured the audience''s attention more than anything else he''d said. ¡°Mor¨¬c, stop,¡± he said, more firmly. He looked up. ¡°Make me.¡± ¡°I have no intention to, and even if you turn the entire village against me, I won''t let you go. You''re just being annoying.¡± ¡°Good,¡± he replied, then resumed listing his supposedly evil actions. Zeles wondered how else to approach the situation. Maybe he could offer him something in exchange for his stay there. But there was nothing he seemed to want besides leaving, and now that he had the tools, that he was closer than ever to the solution, he feared he would take advantage of the first distraction to flee. It wasn''t an unlikely scenario, considering the monks lurking outside Suimer''s borders. He could only delay his departure, not prevent it completely. So maybe his energies were better spent trying to prepare him for the dangers he could face than on keeping him inside the village. ¡°If you stop, I''ll teach you how to make people fall asleep on touch.¡± Mor¨¬c stopped talking mid-sentence and looked up again. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really. See that big building down the road? It''s a gym. If you hurry you might get a bit of practice in before the lesson ends.¡± Mor¨¬c detached from the wall. He reluctantly walked down the path, ignoring the family that was still waiting for him to continue his monologue. He did all he could to seem uninterested and detached, but Zeles could see his curiosity grow in the buzzing of his viss. He allowed himself to relax a bit, still observing the borders and answering the students'' questions. Mor¨¬c was talented with magic, to the point he soon began helping the other inhabitants as much as learning himself. He seemed to mingle well, chatting with Lada about Saia and the weather. He distractedly heard him ask about a storm. He felt like there was something important about it, but he couldn''t remember what it was. 5.17 - Seeing further Saia woke up. She immediately expanded her domain to include the whole room she was in and recognized the hostel''s platform where the guards had been keeping the prisoner. She realized two days had passed since she was deactivated. A birdguard was standing next to her, trident pressed against her chest, where her sphere was. She was laying on her back, limbs a bit open as if she was still standing on a moving platform. She slowly lifted herself to a sitting position, the blue plumes on the birdguard''s neck tensing at her every movement. She looked at the weapon again: now that she had fought some wind spirits, she doubted it could actually be fast enough to hurt her. She''d still have to use all of her focus to stop it, though, which would give them enough time to deactivate her before she could do anything else. She''d pointedly avoided turning her eyes toward Serit, even if she''d seen them immediately, standing between her and the entrance with another birdguard by their side. They weren''t looking at her either, gaze lost in a corner of the room. She examined the area inside her domain in a half-hearted attempt to look for her shard. It wasn''t there, of course. And something else was missing. Her shoulder was broken. They¡¯d cut a hole in the stone of her body, scattering fragments on the floor of the room. Some had fallen inside the cavity that was now visible from the outside. The cavity that had contained Aili''s shard, now empty. ¡°Why?¡± she yelled, her voice exploding from every corner of the room at once. Serit flinched. The birdguard''s hands trembled around the trident, as if they''d been about to shoot. ¡°It was necessary,¡± Serit only said, finally looking at her. ¡°Necessary for what? Control me better? Or¡­¡± Her viss buzzed faster as she draw the connection between their words and the last memories she had. ¡°Or to get another sphere? Do you want to give her to the elders?¡± Serit sighed. ¡°We had a deal: you would protect me without harming me, or get deactivated. You tried to hurt me, you''ve been deactivated. I think I''ve been fair, since the representatives would just leave you asleep and harvest your viss with our machines.¡± Saia didn''t miss the fact they had avoided the question. It was an answer in itself. ¡°You love your deals and whatnot, but all the ones you''ve made were in your favor. I had no other choice but to accept. How''s that fair?¡± Serit looked to the side and didn''t answer. The direction of their gaze made Saia realize there was another person in the room, hidden under a bundle of cloth. She expanded her domain to look underneath. It was the rebel prisoner. Dead. ¡°Why did you kill him?¡± she asked, forceful enough that the guards tensed again. Serit shook their head. ¡°It was the healer. The hostel owner called Urnit, and I didn''t tell the guards he was untrustworthy. He disappeared after the last visit, but first he must have given the prisoner some kind of slow-acting poison.¡± Saia looked at the corpse. It was still full of viss, but it wasn''t flowing anymore, shining in small clots connected by broken strands. She noticed that one of them had a different imprint from the rest. It was small and inside the man''s stomach. She was glad the disgust she felt was only a thought that couldn¡¯t become a physical reaction when she pushed her view closer, into the prisoner''s body. There was a crumpled piece of paper inside the stomach. Saia looked closer and twisted her vision to follow its shape, until she had read the whole message: I heard your offer. We''ll let you know the answer. Saia retracted from that twisted space. She wasn''t sure anymore about collaborating with them, after they had killed one of their own. Serit paced up and down in front of the entrance, then stopped right beside it with cross arms, fingers nervously tapping on an elbow as they spied the outside. Saia observed them and the guards, wondering why she had been deactivated, what mistake she had made. Serit hadn''t touched the small light nor reached for any other object, she was sure of that. There weren''t guards inside the room or in the immediate surroundings. Her mind was going in circles, so she decided to start from the beginning, examining what had happened instant by instant. They had entered the platform alone. She had started the argument shortly after, but the platform had kept moving the entire time, so they were quite far from the place where they''d met the elders and not close enough to the bottom of the city, where the birdguards were. Then she''d pushed Serit to the floor. If someone had actually seen her doing that, they would have deactivated her immediately, but almost two minutes had passed from that moment to her deactivation. She observed the birdguard standing next to her. She knew they were tasked with protecting Serit. It wasn''t difficult to imagine one of them following the platform while it was hoisted toward the meeting. She''d seen how fast they could move while climbing, and Ifse''s guards knew not to disturb them. She also remembered how they had known that the platform used to kidnap Serit was empty without needing to check the inside. Maybe they could see through objects, like gods with their domains. But that didn''t explain how they had reacted when she''d poured her feelings onto Serit using her viss. And there was still the question of why they didn''t deactivate her immediately, the instant she pushed Serit down. A delay in communication, maybe, since she knew the birdguards didn''t have the shard, but plenty of small lights to communicate like the one in Serit''s pocket. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. On the other hand, she remembered the guards being lightning-quick in deactivating her after she escaped the warehouse at Irim¨¦ze, and it was too dark for them to see her. Which in turn made the communication at the arena even quicker, if they knew not to deactivate her when she¡¯d stepped away from Serit. She pondered those facts for a moment, then decided to go on with her reconstruction of what had happened. Once Serit was on the floor, she had decided to scare them to find out how they communicated with whoever had the shard. At that moment she had started to draw the pattern for slashing. Serit had panicked and tried to take out the sphere of light. Only some instants had passed between that gesture and her deactivation. So maybe her mistake, the trigger that had set off the guards, was closer to that moment. The memories of her days above the clouds were swimming in her head. She felt like she was turning in one direction and another to try and see the whole picture, but some details were always out of her grasp, leaving her to fumble for a firmer hold. She focused on the guards'' blindfolds again, the only thing besides the blue plumes that caught her attention. It was to protect their eyes, Serit had said, and yet they were always wearing them, even inside a dark room. The only time she''d seen them without it was while giving chase to Serit¡¯s kidnappers. They hadn''t seemed debilitated by the morning light. Then one of the birdguards had left to reassure the wind spirits, while the other had remained with them. Only at that point they had put the blindfold back on, even if their colleague hadn''t. Probably, Saia had guessed at the time, because the light of her viss shining through her body was too intense. She was hit by a realization, a cold wave plunging her into the water: the birdguards could see viss. The more she thought about it, the more obvious it became: they were part of the hunting division, which meant they could hunt birds or sprites in a sky covered in clouds because they could spot their viss no matter how many obstacles were in the way. They knew Serit and the rebels weren''t inside the tent because they didn''t see the viss moving inside their bodies. They could perceive the energy flowing from her to Serit during the argument. They had seen her viss forming the pattern for slashing, or at least a pattern they didn¡¯t know, and had deactivated her to save Serit. Not only that, but they were probably the ones tasked with surveilling her even at Irim¨¦ze. They could know where she was even from the top of the city, since the concentrated viss of her sphere was as bright as a small sun to them. She wouldn''t have been surprised to know that H¨¦she had kept one of them close enough to see whether she was cheating, during the match. Still, Serit had a way to communicate with them, probably the small light they always carried inside their pockets. Otherwise, they''d have stopped her during the first trial with the Doves, or in one of the training sessions that followed. Since Serit¡¯s viss wasn''t as bright as her own from afar, it probably didn''t matter whether she was next to them or not, as long as she moved in a prearranged area. Once she stepped outside of it without the guards being alerted beforehand, they would deactivate her without asking for anyone¡¯s permission. She imagined they could see the specks of viss floating free inside her domain if they were close enough, even if they weren''t so bright they could be spotted from a distance. That meant they could avoid her domain easily, making sure the shard was always out of her reach. They could have kept hidden forever, flying away with their sprites every time she approached too much. But as much as their eyesight was good, it couldn''t cover all the distance from Irim¨¦ze to Ifse, so three of them had to join the expedition. Since that moment, two had always followed her and Serit, while the third hung back. The first two to distract her and slow her down, in case she decided to attack, and send a quick message to the third, who then contacted whoever had the shard back at Irim¨¦ze. It made sense that they would follow her and Serit from afar when they''d been summoned by the elders, since they could see her from a distance and move freely inside the city. They¡¯d noticed what had happened and given the alert. She''d made a huge mistake, yet another huge mistake, and now they had Aili''s shard. ¡°Can I enter?¡± Filsun''s voice came from the outside. Serit gestured to the guard beside them to move the body aside and to the other to let Saia stand. The trident was retracted with reluctance. ¡°Yes, come in,¡± they said. Filsun floated inside. The simple white cloth that wrapped his body almost didn''t move, pressed down as it was by the two bags he was carrying. The straps hung diagonally, crossing over his chest. ¡°My wife and I are ready to depart.¡± ¡°Depart?¡± Saia asked, looking at Serit. ¡°I thought he was still a suspect,¡± she added in their ears. ¡°We''re going back home, Saia,¡± Serit replied. She raised her chin. ¡°Irim¨¦ze isn''t my home.¡± They didn''t answer, taking out a letter from their pocket instead and holding it open for her to read. Engineer Serit, I''m sorry to announce that your expedition will be cut short. You will return to Irim¨¦ze immediately and without further discussion. Representative Izha has returned, despite the odds wanting him to be gone for far longer, and has news that can''t be told by letter. Unrest has been brewing in the city, since many more people who should have returned from the rain-voyage didn''t, despite more than six months passing from their departure. We''re declaring them dead as it''s customary with such a big delay, but it''s causing upheavals. We need all of the citizens inside the city and the sphere secure in our hands. Representative H¨¦she Saia nodded, and Serit folded the letter. ¡°I¡¯m coming too,¡± Filsun said. ¡°Serit has told me about the elders'' plan. The resistance is under-equipped, so they''ll try a direct fight. They''ll most certainly lose and be torn apart, and I don''t want to share their fate.¡± They gave Serit a glance full of guilt. They stared back at him, impassible, but Saia could feel the tinge of contempt in their viss. And something else, more akin to pain. ¡°My wife will leave with you,¡± Filsun continued. ¡°I¡¯ll go by myself, and if the guards don''t capture me first, we''ll meet again at Irim¨¦ze. I''ll stay in Hilon''s house until she returns.¡± The last words were trembling, uncertain. Saia remembered that Hilon had rained recently. ¡°Let''s hope for the best,¡± Filsun concluded, forcefully cheerful. He squeezed Serit and Saia''s shoulders, then left the room. ¡°The other participants of the expedition don''t know anything about you,¡± Serit said quietly. ¡°I¡¯ve told them you''ve met an old friend and spent the last two nights at her house. Please play along.¡± Saia shook her head in disbelief. ¡°I don''t know how you can expect my help again.¡± ¡°I thought you were about to kill me!¡± they shouted while stepping forward. ¡°They told me you were preparing to attack while I was pinned to the ground.¡± ¡°It was just to scare you.¡± "Easy for you to say, now that I''m in control. How am I supposed to know what your intentions were? Dealing with you is terrifying, knowing you can easily kill me in an instant.¡± They stepped back and breathed deeply, keeping their gaze fixed on her. ¡°I just took extra precautions. Can you really blame me?¡± It was Saia''s turn to step forward, the guards immediately grabbing their tridents. ¡°Can you really blame me?¡± she hissed. They endured each other¡¯s stare for an instant. Then, Serit turned without a word and left the room. 6.1 - Suspension It took longer for them to reach Irim¨¦ze than to leave it behind, probably because the city had moved along its route in the days they had spent at Ifse. The group had gained another member: Hilon''s mother, a woman with a cloud of curly red hair and deep eyebags from worry and tiredness. In contrast, the merchant was animated enough to voice her disappointment for the entire duration of the trip, even if no one could hear her clearly over the wind. Only two birdguards had escorted the main group with the regular guards. The third was nowhere to be seen, even if Saia was sure they were following from afar. The instant her feet touched the ground of the fifth level, she was surrounded by eight guards with their tridents drawn. The rest of the group held their breath, looking at her as if expecting the same shock they felt, or an explanation. She said nothing. Serit''s lack of trust didn''t surprise her. At least now she knew where they were going. She adjusted the most external layer of clothing as a reflex, thinking about her shoulder. She''d repaired it by manipulating the pieces and fragments left behind by the guards'' crude extraction, but the outermost layer of the cavity was much thinner than before. And still empty. She expanded her domain as much as she could, observing the horizon in the meantime. She didn''t really expect to find her shard, but at least to see some birdguards running away to escape the clutches of her domain, revealing their hiding spot. She didn''t perceive any movements out of the ordinary, so she just followed Serit and the guards to the elevators. They descended in silence toward the bottom, then continued along the road that led to the representatives'' palace. They were immediately ushered inside, without anyone announcing them. The representatives'' position at the corners of the triangular table had changed: now H¨¦she was on the left, Enanit on the other side of the room, facing the door, and the man who probably was Izha sat to the right. "Welcome back, Serit," he said with a soft voice. He was tall, with orange reflexes in his hair, a curving nose that reminded her of the statue of the local god of wood. His tunic was blue with shining black plumes decorating the shoulders and torso, from the base of the neck to the beer belly. Saia was so focused on the third representative that she almost didn''t see Hilon, standing near the wall to her right, as if she''d just been summoned too. Serit stopped mid-greeting to gape at her. ¡°You''re already here?¡± They stepped closer, cutting through Saia''s ring of guards in their agitation. They stopped before reaching her, glancing at the representatives as if they''d just remembered about their presence. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re safe,¡± they added. ¡°But you should still be voyaging for at least two more months. How is it possible?¡± Hilon smiled, even if she seemed tense in a way that reminded Saia of her mother. She wondered whether they were aware of each other''s presence inside the city. ¡°I¡¯m one of the few lucky ones who returned. We don''t know why some did and some¡­¡± She left the sentence unfinished. ¡°She''s here because we wanted her testimony on what she''s seen," H¨¦she explained. ¡°We can trust our head engineer,¡± Izha added with a smile. Serit focused on him again. They repeated the greeting with cupped hands, holding it a bit longer, or so it seemed to Saia. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re back,¡± they said. ¡°I am as well. I was a bit worried when I learnt you weren''t inside the city.¡± Serit was about to add something, but Enanit cut through the conversation with her sharp voice. ¡°Your research is cancelled.¡± Serit stared at her, unable to speak. She nodded, crossing her arms as if to dare them to protest. H¨¦she sighed. ¡°The situation is already difficult, you could have been less harsh.¡± ¡°What?¡± Serit managed to blurt out. ¡°But I''m close to the end! Now it''s only a matter of refining the details, there won''t be other expenses.¡± H¨¦she nodded heavily, looking at Izha. ¡°Can you please repeat what you''ve told us?¡± He turned on the chair to face Serit, as if making it a conversation only between the two of them. ¡°I¡¯m extremely sorry about all of this. This research was the work of your life and the way to fulfill a dream for many of us. Even the birds we eat are allowed to walk the earth if they desire to.¡± Serit nodded, breathing in slowly as if it could cause them pain. ¡°Just tell me everything, please.¡± ¡°I have a lot of memories from the voyage. The more I think about it, the more surprised I am that I even survived.¡± His words were slow and measured. They reminded Saia of Zeles''s speeches at the temple, when he still pretended to be a millenary god. ¡°Humans... I wish I could be more precise, but there were no identifiers as to which city or culture they belonged. Some humans have created a weapon to destroy us. They can play it while facing the water, and from what I can gather by the conversations and thoughts I remember, it tears apart the viss we''ve made of.¡± ¡° ¡¯Play¡¯ it?¡± ¡°The weapon is a whistle,¡± Enanit said. ¡°Reminds you of something?¡± Serit blinked. ¡°So you think¡­¡± ¡°No, Serit,¡± Izha said. ¡°This situation is so unexpected we''re refraining from coming to any conclusion. This is the reason why these people haven''t returned, though. Their viss is too damaged. These humans are doing all they can to kill them.¡± ¡°But we should be careful and not make the news public,¡± H¨¦she added. ¡°At least until we''ve decided on a plan of action. Especially not so close to the Festival of Light.¡± ¡°The news is already spreading,¡± Enanit said. ¡°They''re not the only two who have returned. People are desperate to know.¡± ¡°We''re addressing that,¡± H¨¦she continued. ¡°For now, the temple is closed and no one can rain. Going down there is too dangerous.¡± Serit''s shoulders curved a bit. That sentence sealed shut any possibility to continue their research. Saia would have been happy about it, if her future hadn''t suddenly become so uncertain. ¡°I¡¯m in charge of sending the human settlements some messages with a rain of ¨¦shan to deter them from using the weapon,¡± H¨¦she added. ¡°Izha will make sure Irim¨¦ze¡¯s new route will avoid all the inhabited areas and settled in a deserted place where we can resume the rains. Enanit will alert the other cities and ask whether they¡¯re dealing with similar problems.¡± Enanit breathed in, hard, leaning forward until her crossed arms were resting on the corner of the table. ¡°So this is what we''re doing? Ignoring the obvious, ignoring the decisions we took together?¡± She gave Serit a brusque nod. ¡°To spare their feelings?¡± ¡°Is there something I should know?¡± they asked in a completely neutral tone, as if they weren''t expecting anything anymore. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Well, let''s say that it''s extremely suspicious that the humans down there started to prepare a weapon to destroy us just as your research was coming to its conclusion.¡± ¡°These insinuations are your own,¡± Izha interjected. ¡°Don''t present them as if we all agreed.¡± ¡°Agree on what?¡± Serit said, fist closed at their side and trembling. ¡°Can you be more specific, representative Enanit?¡± ¡°Sure, engineer Serit. Your research is about bringing our people down on earth for the first time in history. At the same time, humans invent a weapon that is very similar to one you created that can specifically hurt us, but it¡¯s innocuous to them. It''s almost as if you wanted us to go down there for a different reason than exploration and resource gathering.¡± ¡°You¡­,¡± Serit let the sentence fall, their eyebrows drawn together in an expression that started out as confusion, then slowly spilled over into hurt when they shifted their eyes to Izha. ¡°You think I did all of this to hurt Irim¨¦ze?¡± ¡°No,¡± the representative immediately answered. ¡°But we do think that someone has gotten access to your researches and might use them against us.¡± ¡°Regardless,¡± Enanit commented, ¡°You''ll stay in the warehouse for the foreseeable future.¡± ¡°Until we clarify what''s happened,¡± H¨¦she specified. ¡°Unless,¡± Enanit said, glaring at her. ¡°You accept to have your memories thoroughly read by one of our memory readers.¡± Serit made a half step back at that. They stared at the representatives in disbelief. ¡°You just want access to my researches without having to deal with me.¡± Their voice was barely a whisper. Enanit leaned back on the chair. ¡°You''ll stay in the warehouse, then. It''s decided.¡± ¡°And where will you stay?¡± Serit asked. The representatives stared in silence, not understanding. ¡°I mean,¡± Serit continued. ¡°I guarantee I haven''t revealed my research to anyone. But I wasn''t the only one in the room who could have done that. And you,¡± they nodded at Enanit in the same way she''d done when addressing them, ¡°Have always disagreed with me on everything. My research, my methods, my very presence here. Why?¡± Enanit''s eyes narrowed. She seemed on the verge of answering, but no sound came from her parted lips. ¡°I don''t trust you,¡± she said in the end. ¡°Why?¡± Serit pressed. ¡°I don''t have to justify anything.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be imprisoned and you can''t even bother to admit that you hate me!¡± ¡°Serit, please,¡± H¨¦she interjected. ¡°It''s a decision we took together. I don''t hate you, but I still think it''s the right choice.¡± Serit turned to look at Izha. His gaze didn''t waver while he slowly nodded. ¡°I agree, even if I don''t think any of this is your fault.¡± Serit lowered their head, shoulders high and tense. Hilon stepped forward until she was closer to them. ¡°I obtained permission to visit you and ask for your help with my researches,¡± she said. ¡°If you want, you can keep working for me.¡± Saia was a bit bewildered that she would immediately think of work in that situation. But Serit relaxed a bit and looked up with a bit less hopelessness in their eyes. ¡°Did you see the same things representative Izha did?¡± She hesitated, glancing to the side at the representatives, as if to ask for permission to reveal that information, then at Saia and her ring of guards. ¡°I¡­ Not exactly. I do remember humans and a place that might be similar to Izha''s, but they''re too confused. I can''t say with confidence that I saw the weapon or anything similar. But,¡± she added, seeing the sudden twinkle in Serit''s eyes, ¡°I rained in the middle of the sea, so it''s possible I avoided them this way.¡± ¡°So we''re not sure, then?¡± ¡°A lot of the people who returned have reported about the weapon,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°It''s happening, we just don''t know where. Which makes the situation much more delicate.¡± Serit nodded slowly, but they kept staring at Hilon, as if to remark that the topic wasn''t closed yet. Then, they turned toward the representatives. ¡°I have another question,¡± they said. Izha and H¨¦she nodded, while Enanit took a sheet of paper from a stack on her side of the table, clearly considering the conversation to be over. ¡°Will you at least move the children of viss¡¯ shelter from the fourth level to the second?¡± ¡°You didn''t complete your research, so no,¡± Enanit said, still reading the paper. Serit ignored her too, focusing on the other representatives. ¡°Our experts say that a lot of damaged viss will bring us more children of viss than usual,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°A lot of new people joining the lower levels in a moment where many more have rained to never return could cause instability in a difficult situation.¡± Serit tensed again. ¡°That sounds like an excuse, representative H¨¦she.¡± She grabbed the armrests of her chair, using them to prop herself straighter. ¡°Do you really want your people to join the citizens en masse when so many of them have disappeared? Reflect on it for a moment, and if you think that''s a good idea, I''ll give the order to transfer the shelter immediately.¡± Enanit raised her eyes from the sheets, frowning. ¡°We had agreed not to-¡° H¨¦she raised a hand and she stopped. Serit stared at her, their eyes calculating. ¡°No, let''s wait,¡± they said in the end. ¡°But once all of this is over, I''ll ask again.¡± H¨¦she nodded slowly, relaxing again against the back of her chair. ¡°Good. In your last letter you mentioned you had something extremely important to discuss with me. What is it?¡± Whatever it was, Saia thought there was a much more important question to answer, first. Serit spoke before she could decide whether it was a good idea to draw the representatives'' attention to herself right at that moment. ¡°My intention was to talk to you specifically about it.¡± H¨¦she produced a polite smile. ¡°I would share everything with my colleagues, so we might as well discuss it here.¡± Serit stared at her for a long moment. Saia wondered whether she was getting revenge for their earlier comment about making excuse not to move the shelter. ¡°I was summoned by the wind spirits'' elders,¡± Serit started speaking, slowly. The three representatives and Hilon went immediately still. ¡°They already knew about Saia,¡± Serit continued. Enanit put down the sheets. ¡°The sphere?¡± ¡°Yes. They know who she is and what she''s capable of. And that''s not all: they want me and her to work for them during the next ascension. They said they would attack Irim¨¦ze if we didn''t give them what they wanted.¡± H¨¦she, Izha and Enanit looked at each other, searching for guidance, clarification or an outlet for their rage. ¡°Why?¡± Izha asked. ¡°They want to build a... They called it ''a ship'', but it''s more similar to a closed container of metal that can fly around through some patterns. They¡¯re building a big one, apparently, and they need a lot of viss.¡± ¡°The sphere,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°And what about you?¡± ¡°To connect her to the ship, probably. It''s the only thing that comes to mind.¡± ¡°So they know about the research too?¡± Enanit asked, laying her hands flat on the table as if she was about to stand up. ¡°Yes. But I negotiated with them,¡± Serit added. They stood straighter, with a hint of a smile on their lips. ¡°They will leave, so I promised them Irim¨¦ze''s help with rounding up the newborn spirits and bringing them to the ship, wherever it''ll be. And another sphere.¡± Saia expanded her domain to cover the whole room. She didn''t like where the conversation was going; if Serit mentioned Aili, she''d have to act. She didn''t know how, but she only had one chance before she was deactivated forever. Her viss moved faster inside her sphere. ¡°Another?¡± Enanit said. ¡°Let''s just give them that one, why is she even still active? And you''re going to prison, not to the warehouse.¡± ¡°Enanit,¡± Izha called. ¡°No. They put the entire city in danger for their trip to Ifse! I knew this would happen.¡± They pointedly looked at H¨¦she, who lowered her eyes onto the table. ¡°They already knew,¡± Serit said slowly. ¡°Just like the humans seem to know about my whistle, just like my kidnappers seemed to know¡­¡± ¡°Your kidnappers?¡± Izha asked, then looked at the other representatives. ¡°No one mentioned anything about this.¡± ¡°I was attacked twice. Saia is awake because she''s the only one capable of protecting me.¡± They told the representatives about the first attack, at the arena, and then the second at Ifse, pointing out how Saia had saved them. ¡°They wanted me and seemed to know about my research and who Saia is, just like the elders did. As I told you, I think they''re working together. But they both want my collaboration, and maybe Saia or a sphere too, so they''re also in competition. The elders didn''t seem to know about that until I told them.¡± There was an instant of silence. Saia could feel H¨¦she''s worry, Izha and Hilon''s apprehension for Serit. ¡°You''re giving yourself too much importance,¡± Enanit said, voice low. ¡°I knew about the attack at the arena from the guards¡¯ accounts,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°Even if you withheld a lot of details.¡± Serit nodded. ¡°I was afraid one of you representatives had given them my research. I still am,¡± they added, pointedly looking at Enanit. ¡°Rebels,¡± Izha murmured. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a similar group. The fact we don''t know what they want is worrisome. And they can move around freely.¡± ¡°Soon we''ll be able to do that too,¡± Serit added. ¡°The elders promised us a small ship to carry the newborn wind spirits, once they start the ascension. This will be a huge advantage over the other cities.¡± ¡°And what about the viss?¡± H¨¦she asked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to say that, but we should just give them Saia.¡± She tensed. That topic again. ¡°That''s a bad idea,¡± Serit said. ¡°We don''t know how much viss is required to move a ship of that size. If she exhausts herself while it''s not that far from our world they''ll come back for revenge. So we shouldn''t give them Saia, nor any other sphere.¡± They glanced at Saia as they said that. She nodded slightly, shrinking her domain. ¡°Do we have alternatives?¡± H¨¦she asked. ¡°Sprites.¡± It had been Hilon to speak, after minutes of silent observation. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you''re the one to say that,¡± Enanit said. ¡°We need them. You know it better than anyone else.¡± ¡°For now,¡± Hilon specified, smiling a bit. ¡°I have a project in the works that aims to reduce the amount of sprites we use. We could obtain the rest by bartering with the other cities, or by organizing a new drowning.¡± Saia tried to not reflect too much on what that word suggested. She¡¯d always thought sprites were captured, not that they could be fabricated if needed. ¡°A project?¡± Izha asked. ¡°Yes. I''ll have the documentation delivered to you today.¡± Serit''s eyes were wide with surprise as they stared at their mentor. ¡°Do you mean¡­?¡± She nodded, and Serit smiled. ¡°I can testify to the validity of this project,¡± they said, looking at Izha specifically. ¡°I still don''t understand why the sphere is still awake,¡± Enanit said. ¡°To act as engineer Serit''s fancy bodyguard?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need her awake,¡± Hilon said. ¡°Everything will be clearer once you''ll have the project in front of you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve worked at it too, before starting my research,¡± Serit added. ¡°You won¡¯t be disappointed.¡± The representatives looked at each other. ¡°We¡¯ll have to discuss this new information you¡¯ve given us,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°I think you can go, for now.¡± Izha nodded, while Enanit murmured something that had a vague tone of approval. Serit and Hilon raised their cupped hands, then turned to leave the building. Saia couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of satisfaction when the guards surrounded Serit as well. 6.2 - Navigation Saia observed Serit''s every movement from her room, her domain expanded to include most of the building. She''d stayed inside the previous evening, then she¡¯d been deactivated as usual for the night. She only found out in the morning that the warehouse had filled with guards during the night. There were two for every entrance on the bottom floor, two in the kitchen, two for each segment of the corridor, and two inside the laboratory, where Serit''s research was still sprawled on top of the table. They had tried to enter, but the guards forbade it and made them return the key. So they''d spent most of the time in their room, jotting down their research on paper and story-bottles from memory. Saia could read both their original notes and the new version and notice the differences. She didn''t understand the content, but the original included a lot more details. Serit seemed to know that too, since they stood every few minutes to pace around the room, mumble with themselves, and sometimes cry. Halfway through the morning, someone knocked at the main entrance of the warehouse. Saia didn''t need to expand her domain further to see who it was, since the storage room of the warehouse was just under her own, and the floor that divided them was thin. Hilon showed her documents to the guards inside. ¡°I¡¯m here to take the sphere with me,¡± she explained. The guard pointed at the stairs. Saia stood from the bed and grabbed her bag. She didn''t know what else she could bring with her in addition to what it already contained. She reexamined the tunics and story-bottles in her cabinet while Hilon''s steps approached from the end of the corridor. She stopped before reaching Saia''s room, knocking at Serit''s instead. Saia leaned with her back against the door, domain expanded the minimum amount she needed to watch them and listen to their words. ¡°¡­ approved the project?¡± Serit was asking. ¡°Yes.¡± Hilon walked straight up to the window and opened it. ¡°Which is good, since we already have a prototype. I''d hate having to dismantle everything.¡± She sat down on the only chair while Serit plopped onto the bed. ¡°How is it going?¡± she asked. They shrugged. ¡°I received a letter this morning. The representatives are deciding what to do with my research, whether to destroy it or keep it somewhere else. The only certainty is that they''ll take it away from me.¡± ¡°Enanit wants to destroy it?¡± Serit shook their head. ¡°Izha. The others want to preserve it, but he was too scared by what he has seen. He thinks the existence of this research is a risk in itself, especially now that there are those rebels around.¡± Hilon nodded distractedly, looking out of the window. ¡°Have you thought about working from here?¡± ¡°I want to, but¡­¡± ¡°You don''t have your tools at disposal.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± They stayed in silence for a bit. ¡°I was thinking about this last night,¡± Hilon said. ¡°And I have an idea on how to free both you and your research.¡± Serit glanced at the door, as if expecting a guard to burst through at any moment. ¡°You mean... You have arguments to convince the representatives that it''s a good idea?¡± Hilon smiled and leaned forward, elbow propped against the desk. ¡°I mean faking another kidnapping.¡± Serit was sitting with hands over knees, eyes wide as they gripped the cloth of the tunic. ¡°You mean like the rebels did?¡± ¡°Exactly. After what you said yesterday, the representatives won¡¯t be too surprised if they make a third attempt while you¡¯re confined here.¡± ¡°And then?¡± ¡°And then I have a small house on the third level with all the equipment you might dream of. You''d have a lot more freedom than you''d have here, if you''re careful.¡± ¡°Let''s say I agree, who would actually be kidnapping me?¡± ¡°You have friends on the fourth level, right?¡± ¡°Yes, but I''d rather not involve them in something this dangerous.¡± Hilon relaxed with her back against the chair. ¡°Then I''ll find someone among my workers. It shouldn''t be difficult if I promise the right things. Knowing the placement of the guards and having you on the inside, it shouldn''t be too difficult.¡± Serit was growing more nervous by the second, now hugging their knees to their chest. ¡°What if they get captured, or the representatives find out you''re hiding me somewhere?¡± ¡°We''ll act at night and create a distraction. I''ll make my workers aware of the risks and recompensate them accordingly. I won''t deal with them personally, so they won''t know who sent them even if they accept to have their memories examined. And if they''ll find you in my house, I can always say I saved you and was protecting you after the attack.¡± ¡°I don''t like this, Hilon. I''d rather not do anything and just wait.¡± ¡°And lose your research?¡± That gave Serit pause. They looked at the floor with the expression of someone who was about to cry with frustration. Several seconds passed before Hilon spoke again. ¡°There''s no time, Serit. If you want my help, we''ll have to act tomorrow night.¡± They hesitantly nodded, then sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll write the schedule of the guards with our code.¡± Hilon put a hand in a pocket of her tunic. ¡°Actually, use this one.¡± Saia had to focus her view on the piece of paper she handed Serit to see what was written on it. It was a card with circles and letters similar to the ones she''d used with her herlamis team. Serit took it carefully by a corner, in order not to stain the viss on the card with their own. Hilon stood and gave them a pat on the shoulder, a tired smile on her lips. ¡°Be brave. You''ll be the victim whatever happens, the representatives won''t think any of this is your fault.¡± They breathed in deeply. ¡°I hope so.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to get Saia, now.¡± ¡°Have the representatives told you everything? About¡­¡± Saia listened intently, but they didn''t add anything else, because Hilon was already nodding. ¡°I know all the procedures. And I know she might be listening to us right now, so I won''t say more.¡± ¡°Be careful, she¡­¡± They trailed off, then shook their head. ¡°Just be careful. She''s more powerful than she seems.¡± Hilon''s smile became softer. ¡°Don''t worry. Get a bit of rest, if you can.¡± She left the room and walked down the corridor, toward Saia''s room. She checked the contents of her bag one last time: the diary in a bottle, her old clothes and some spare ones, two clean tunics of her size, Rabam''s wooden owlet and little else. She opened the door before Hilon could reach the end of the corridor. She stopped in her tracks, then smiled with her lips. ¡°Hi, Saia. I''m sorry we didn''t have a chance to talk, yesterday.¡± Saia stepped out of the room. ¡°What do you need me for?¡± she asked. ¡°I will explain everything once we''re at the factory.¡± She turned to leave, glancing over her shoulder as if to invite Saia to follow her. She did, letting her domain shrink to the size of her body. She¡¯d spent a few days of energy just by listening to the conversation in Serit¡¯s room, but after wasting a lot more to save Serit twice she¡¯d gotten used to smaller expenses of viss. Just as she was thinking about Serit, they opened the door of their room. She didn''t turn her head nor stopped, but still looked at them. They only raised a cupped hand in greeting and silently watched her and Hilon leave. Once outside, Hilon seemed to relax. Saia recognized the road they were taking as the one that led straight to the elevators. She hoped they would head to the fifth level, where she could at least inspect the area to find her shard. Then she realized it would be pointless: the birdguards could move away easily every time she approached them, and she couldn''t leave without taking Aili''s shard too. She could only hope they were both in the same spot, like in the monks'' village, but she doubted it: the space at Irim¨¦ze wasn''t limited like it was back at the mountain, they could even fly around the sky with their sprites. And once the elders of Ifse gave the representatives one of their ships, her shard could be literally anywhere. Her viss started buzzing as she realized the gravity of the situation. She needed to act quickly, before the deal between the elders and Irim¨¦ze could be finalized. ¡°What do you know about how the city moves?¡± Hilon asked, distracting her from her thoughts. ¡°Nothing. Serit didn''t explain and I guess I haven''t thought too much about it, with everything going on.¡± ¡°Guess.¡± ¡°Patterns? Sprites? The pipes that I saw the first day?¡± Hilon nodded. ¡°Four patterns, to be specific, traced exactly with those pipes you saw. One pattern is for generating heat, another for creating the clouds that hide the bottom of the city from the lands below. These two are fixed, we never change them. Then there are two bigger ones: one is for controlling height, the other direction, and both allow the city to fly. If one breaks the other will hopefully still work long enough for us to repair it.¡± ¡°And you power them with¡­¡± ¡°Sprites. A lot of them, running through the tunnels.¡± They had entered the elevators'' room, but instead of stepping behind one of the five passengers'' queues, Hilon went left toward the wall. Once she got closer Saia noticed the gray door hidden in plain sight, only its borders distinguishing it from the walls of stone. Hilon opened it with a key and gestured for her to enter first. There was a smaller elevator room on the other side, with just one cabin already waiting for them. A guard beside an empty desk lazily extended his hand toward them. Hilon closed the door behind herself and quickly showed him her documents. Saia entered the cabin after her, the guard actioned a mechanism, and the elevator started to descend. ¡°A private elevator?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Not exactly, even if so few people use this one it might as well be. No, these are for the workers and engineers that take care of the pipes. There''s one dedicated for each level, more or less identical to this one. The biggest one is at the fourth level, since most of the workers come from there.¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The descent didn''t last much. The cabin stopped at the beginning of a corridor. There was a door of metal to left, but Hilon ignore it, going on toward the staircase at the end of the corridor. After descending it, they found themselves in front of two guards at the side of a larger, wooden door. Both of them had their fingers inside a small bottle. Still, their eyes were vigilant as Hilon and Saia stepped closer, which meant the content of the bottles was of the acoustic kind. Saia realized it wasn''t just entertainment, but a necessity: from the other side of the door came a series of loud bangs, shouts that were alternatively alarmed or annoyed, and a screeching so loud that for an instant it covered all the other sounds. She expanded her domain a bit before stepping through the door, not knowing what to expect. The room on the other side was bigger than any she''d ever seen: bigger than the warehouse, even than the monks'' temple. It was probably as big as the field of the arena, except the walls were perfectly straight and levigated, not curving stands. There was so much movement of people and machines that she had to stop for a second to make sense of what she was seeing. What at first sight had looked like disorganized chaos was actually a working space divided into various areas, as if they were multiple rooms without walls. The center of each area was occupied by a piece of giant pipe, sometimes more than one. Depending on the area they were working on, the workers removed rust from the metal, cleaned the surface from bird feces, or joined multiple pipes together. A huge cauldron was hanging from a chain attached to the roof. The workers around it kept it in place with long poles, so that it could pour a continuous stream of red-hot melted metal into a vertical structure that looked like a cylinder. Saia couldn''t figure out what it was until she expanded her domain and saw the inside: a massive mold to create a new section of tube. Hilon expertly guided her through the various areas, following an invisible corridor that managed not to cross anyone''s path. She noticed there were some humans here and there, but most of the workers were shilv¨¦. Once they had finally crossed the room, Hilon led her through one of the multiple doors on the other side, noticeably smaller than the entrance. The staircase behind it was extremely narrow, pressed against the wall to the left. There wasn''t anything on the right side beside a handrail. The floor, made of carved stone as well, started half a towerlength below. It wasn''t a proper room as much as a chamber that was rectangular in shape, except for the wall to the right of the staircase. It curved to accommodate the shape of a tunnel identical to the ones that were being created and fixed in the previous room, the ones she''d seen while ascending from the mountain to Irim¨¦ze. The tunnel was longer than the room, continuing past two holes just big enough to contain it toward what she imagined was the external part of the city. A crowd of people was amassed next to the metal structure. She was surprised by those brown or black or blonde hair, to the point it took her a second to realize that nearly all of them were humans. A large window of thick glass opened in the section of pipe in front of them, bolted to the metal through a sturdy frame. Knobs of brass were jotting out of the glass at apparently irregular intervals. Each person was grabbing two of them, sometimes squatting or standing on tip-toes to reach them. On the other side of the glass, the knobs thinned until they became spikes. A movement captured Saia''s attention: four shilv¨¦ guards were standing next to the wall at the bottom of the stairs. They had straightened suddenly in seeing Hilon''s approach, and now they were greeting her with two cupped hands, the tridents tucked between arm and torso. ¡°How long until the next arrival?¡± Hilon asked them. ¡°You''re lucky engineer, it should only be¡­¡± A guard took out a pocket clock with a shiny quadrant, probably powered by a sprite. ¡°A couple of minutes at most.¡± Those words prompted the other guards to step away from the wall and approach the group of humans. They stood a few steps behind them, observing the scene. The fourth guard put away the clock and joined them. Saia used those two minutes to observe the room, wondering whether her new task had anything to do with that place. A faint light started to spread from the right side of the big window. It intensified and became fog, made of sparse tendrils at first, then a mass of light so intense Saia couldn''t figure out what kind of animal that sprite was supposed to resemble. Then the mass divided into smaller forms, vaguely independent but still attached to each other. They clustered around the knobs, at least ten for each if not more. ¡°Push,¡± the guards ordered almost as one. Saia expanded her domain until she could see the people''s viss flowing out of their bodies and into the knobs, where the sprites could absorb it. The guard with the clock kept checking it while her colleagues observed the scene. ¡°Stop!¡± she yelled at one point, the other ones repeating her order soon after. The workers left the knobs, standing normally when they''ve been squatting or straining. The sprites hovered in front of the window, extracting every speck of viss left on the spikes, then one of them started flying at full speed in the opposite direction from where they''d come. The rest immediately followed. ¡°These sprites are the ones that couldn''t be trained,¡± Hilon explained in the meantime. ¡°We keep them in separate groups to make sure that one of them is always running even if something happens to the others, like a change of direction or some sprites cannibalizing each other.¡± ¡°That can happen?¡± ¡°Yes, if we don''t feed them enough. Which is more complicated than it seems, because we never feed them fully, or they would stop running.¡± ¡°And what do you do if they change direction?¡± ¡°We have shutters that can be lowered to block their way and force them to go back. We also have several feeding stations like this one scattered all along the pattern, positioned in a way that ensures the closest one is always reachable by going in the direction we want. Sprites, especially if not trained, are simple creatures: they''ll always go toward the nearest cluster of viss they can eat, be it a trace somebody left on a surface or another sprite.¡± Saia thought they reminded her of sea snakes. After the sprites had left, the workers stretched and exchanged a few words with each other. The guard with the clock kept staring at it, and after another two minutes she yelled: ¡°In position!¡± The people grabbed the knobs again, changing place with each other. After a bit more time, another group of sprites arrived, ate, and left. The scene repeated three more times, to the point Saia was starting to fear it would keep going for the rest of the day. Fortunately, the workers stepped away from the tunnel after the fifth group of sprites had left. Most of them turned to observe the guards or talk to each other, and that allowed them to notice Saia. She could read the surprise on their faces even better than in their viss. They started murmuring among themselves, so she expanded her domain to listen. ¡°¡­ new woman? I thought our turns were full.¡± ¡°Maybe someone will be laid off.¡± They started whispering names, trying to figure out which one of their colleagues was most likely to be fired. Saia realized they thought she was going to join them. It was a possibility: maybe Hilon wanted her to feed the sprites, much as these people were doing. A short creaking sound accompanied the opening of a door in the wall, barely distinguishable from the rest much as the door to the private elevator was. The guards stood on either side of it, watching the prisoners file in front of them and down the tunnel on the other side. It was extremely narrow, to the point only a person could pass at a time, with walls so rough there were still traces of the digging. It was also completely dark, if not for a bright spot just over the entrance: four rows of lanterns were hanging from as many hooks in the wall. Each worker took one of them before walking on along the tunnel. Once they were all in, the guards followed, closing the door behind themselves. ¡°Where are they going?¡± Saia asked. ¡°To the next feeding station. That path,¡± Hilon pointed at the door. ¡°Is a lot shorter than the one the sprites take. They''ll be in place to feed them as soon as they arrive.¡± ¡°So they keep doing that the whole time? Back and forth between these windows?¡± ¡°Feeding stations. And yes, that''s their job.¡± Saia tried to imagine how it felt like: waiting for the sprites to arrive, feeding them with her own viss five times, going back through the tunnel, waiting again, feeding the sprites, entering the tunnel... ¡°The whole day?¡± she asked, letting her disbelief strain her voice. ¡°No, they follow two turns of four hours with one hour of break in between to eat. They have a room for that, maybe I''ll show you later. And they can rest while waiting for the sprites.¡± ¡°And the guards?¡± ¡°Well, they''re there to make sure they actually work. If they stopped, the whole city would start to fall down, we can''t afford that to happen.¡± Saia looked at the closed door. The room was so dull that she couldn''t imagine spending there more than a few minutes. ¡°Why are they doing... I mean, what do they get in exchange for that?¡± ¡°Five hundred breaths a month.¡± Saia recognized the colloquial name for Irim¨¦ze¡¯s currency, but she had no idea how much that actually was. She was about to ask the amount in vissins, but it was unlikely Hilon or anyone else in the world knew how to make that conversion. It didn''t matter anyways, since the lives of the people at Irim¨¦ze were completely different from the mountain''s inhabitants''. ¡°Is that a lot?¡± she asked. Hilon shrugged. ¡°It''s enough for such unskilled labour, considering there''s a crowd of people on the fourth level who could replace them in an instant.¡± Saia vaguely remembered Serit mentioning that the people living there were not citizens and could change their status by working. ¡°Can they become citizens by doing this?¡± Hilon produced a light smile. ¡°Of course. Usually we require twenty years of service before they and their immediate families can get the documents, but there are benefits that shorten that amount. Like multiple adults in a family working, for example.¡± Saia tried to imagine twenty years of doing that job. She couldn''t, but she knew exactly how twenty years looked in terms of viss expended. She''d spent more than that just by existing at Irim¨¦ze and helping Serit. Those workers would have spilt the same amount going back and forth and feeding the sprites, trapped down there much as she was. It had to be taxing on the body, since she hadn¡¯t seen nearly as many humans around the city as the ones that should have joined it in the centuries from its creation. ¡°Why am I here?¡± she asked, fearing the answer. ¡°I just need you to know how the whole system works, otherwise you won''t fully understand your role. Follow me, please.¡± She started climbing the stairs. Despite the chaos of the factory, Saia felt better when the door closed behind her back and she was again immersed in the noise. ¡°Right there,¡± Hilon said, pointing at a door opening on the wall to the right. Behind it there was a corridor similar to the one on the first floor of the warehouse, except for the fact the walls were of stone and painted in white. Each door on either side had a metal label on it, names engraved vertically with the Shiliz¨¦ alphabet. She was surprised to find Serit''s name. She expanded her domain to look at the other side, but it only contained a long table and a cabinet. Only some of the other rooms were occupied by other engineers, most of them reading some notes or sipping from a fuming cup. Their offices were full of story-bottles and notes scattered everywhere, and a couple of times even some strange machinery. Hilon stopped in front of the door at the very end of the corridor. The handle was wrapped by a bright red cloth and a paper nailed to the wood recited: ''private''. Hilon opened it with another key. The room on the other side was fairly big, at least half of the monks'' temple in length. The wall opposite the door wasn''t made of stone, but glass, not straight like the others but curving to form a half-dome. Pieces of sky were visible on the other side, the rest hidden by a curtain of thick clouds, their foggy tendrils covering the glass with droplets of water. ¡°Impressive, right?¡± Hilon said, pointing at it. ¡°But you can only see well if we deactivate the pattern that generates clouds. We¡¯ll need to rearrange it, eventually.¡± The room was mostly empty, except for a table and a cabinet in the farthest corner, a lantern bolted to the roof, and a series of half-circles of levers that jutted out from the floor. A chair was positioned inside each half-circle. Saia stopped in front of the closest one to examine them better. The handles were made of shining brass, with a label engraved at the top: ''shutter system A1'', ''shutter system B10'', ''30 tilt left''. She looked at Hilon, waiting for an explanation. ¡°Right now,¡± she began, ¡°The movement of the city is controlled through various groups of workers assigned to different mechanisms. For example, let''s say one group of sprites decides to change direction: we''d notify the closest group assigned to the shutters to close them, in order to force the sprites to turn around.¡± She put a hand on top of a lever, passing her fingers on the label. ¡°This requires a lot of communication and planning. If we want to change the route, for example, we have to study the charts and notify the various groups at least one day in advance, so that they''re ready to activate the mechanisms at the right time and in the right order. Which means that if a sudden problem arises, we can''t act quickly enough to move the city out of the way. Not to mention the waste of time, energy and manpower.¡± She paced between the groups of levers, approaching the half-dome of glass. ¡°So I, Serit and some of our colleagues started to work on a system to take all of the decisions and activate all of those mechanisms from the same room. This one.¡± ¡°And the representatives didn''t know about this?¡± Saia asked, thinking of how even leaving the city required their approval. Hilon smiled. ¡°We asked H¨¦she and she gave her approval. She only pretended not to know about this project yesterday.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Hilon shrugged. ¡°To take the merit once it was completed and working, probably. Or maybe she saw how important this project was and decided it was worth the risk of keeping it a secret until it was ready. It doesn''t matter, the important thing is that we could start the construction of this room. But we found a problem that we absolutely didn''t have the solution to, up to this day.¡± She looked at Saia with smiling eyes, as if she expected her to be happy in being called a ''solution'' for the problems of her kidnappers. ¡°Which problem?¡± she asked, voice low to make clear that she didn''t appreciate her attitude. ¡°Viss, as usual. This system requires an enormous amount of energy, and we can''t use the sprites for reasons that you''ll understand once I''ll enter into details on how it all works. We''ll test it by having you powering it, and once we''re sure it works, this will be your main occupation.¡± Again that cheerful expression, as if she wasn''t aware she was talking to a prisoner. Saia grabbed a pommel labeled ''100 lowering south-east'', which she imagined was a distance and a direction. ¡°So I''ll have to move these levers¡­¡± ¡°They''re not levers,¡± Hilon interjected. ¡°They''re rods, and you need to channel viss into them.¡± Saia applied a slight pressure, but the rod didn''t budge. She nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll power them, and the city will move in that direction, or the shutters will lower and so on?¡± Hilon nodded. ¡°That''s the idea, provided it works. We never had enough viss to test it on such a large scale. But if it does, we won¡¯t need to keep five groups of sprites anymore. We can lower them to three without fearing an incident for lack of communication.¡± ¡°I don''t understand why you trust me so much. The only thing I want is to go home, and you just gave me the power to do that.¡± Hilon sighed, as if Saia had just spoiled her fun by saying that. ¡°The old system will keep working along with the new one, of course. Even once this one will be used as our main way of controlling Irim¨¦ze''s movements, we''ll make sure the mechanisms can be always actioned manually. If you cause any change we didn''t approve, we''ll deactivate you permanently and go back to using the old system.¡± Saia let go of the rod. ¡°What happens if the city falls?¡± ¡°There''s no way you can achieve that without us noticing well in advance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just curious.¡± Hilon looked outside, propping a shoulder against the glass. "Well, it has happened in the past. Whole cities fell out of the sky, either because their pipes were badly damaged or because an internal conflict killed too many of the engineers who knew how to take care of the mechanisms. The inhabitants became ¨¦shan once their city fell past the rain threshold. Only about half of them reformed, scattered across the other cities.¡± ¡°The humans rained too?¡± Saia asked with as much sarcasm as she could muster. Hilon looked at her, slightly bewildered. Her expression was admission enough she hadn''t thought about that. ¡°No, of course. The ones living inside the cities died on impact, and in two cases the city fell on top of human settlements, destroying them too.¡± Saia thought of all the people living on the fourth level. Messing with the mechanisms that moved the city was not an option. She felt even more trapped than she''d been before. 6.3 - Affinity Saia forced herself to stop contemplating her situation and focus on the rods again. ¡°How do they work, exactly?¡± Hilon relaxed, probably glad to leave behind the idea of Irim¨¦ze falling from the sky. ¡°All the mechanisms can be activated both manually and through patterns, so we can use them even when we don''t have specialized staff at disposal. Normally they¡¯d have to be on the spot for this to work, as the pattern is carved on the machine. The alternative is to connect it to a wire, so injecting the opposite extremity with viss can activate the pattern.¡± She stepped away from the wall of glass and approached a circle of rods. ¡°Each of these is connected to the corresponding pattern and can in theory activate it. In practice, a person alone wouldn''t be able to do that, because they¡¯d need the additional viss to cover the distance that divides them from the pattern. We considered building more chambers like this one to reduce the length of the wires, but we can''t just dig everywhere without compromising the integrity of the city. And it would require having multiple teams of people focused on different chambers, which defeats the purpose of this project.¡± Saia expanded her domain to see by herself what she was talking about: a wire of some dark metal she couldn¡¯t identify was tightly wrapped around the end of the rod, half an armlength under the floor. The wire was contained by a barely fitting tube that proceeded downwards, then toward the door, together with dozens of identical tubes, each of them enveloping a wire, each attached to a different rod. She looked further, including the corridor and even a piece of the factory on the other side, but the tubes kept going beyond her reach. She shrunk her domain, guessing it would have been pointless to waste more viss: it was clear from Hilon''s words that the mechanisms were scattered all across the city. ¡°How do I know which rods to activate?¡± she asked. ¡°We''ll tell you. By ''we'' I mean me and my colleagues, once they get here. We were a bit early.¡± She opened a foldable chair and set it down next to the table, then took out a chart and some sheets from the cabinet. She spread them out in front of her, standing in front of the chair without sitting down. ¡°The representatives have tasked us with moving the city toward the closest empty lands,¡± she tapped a spot on the colorless chart, made only of gridlines, names and numbers, nothing else drawn on top of it. ¡°Which means that we''ll have to go back for a bit.¡± Saia barely paid attention to what she was saying, too busy looking for the mountain on the chart. The lack of drawings made it difficult, but she found a dot in the lower-right corner labelled ''mount Ohat'' in the flowy vertical script. Her viss buzzed with hope: if she could guess where Irim¨¦ze was on the chart... She still wouldn''t be able to steer the city in the right direction or even jump down without being deactivated. Someone knocked on the door and opened it soon after, without waiting for an answer. Three people barely older than Saia entered in a line and greeted both of them with cupped hands. ¡°Just in time,¡± Hilon said. ¡°I need your help to trace the new route.¡± She briefly explained where they had to go, leaving out the details of why they wanted to avoid the major human settlements. The three engineers took out more tools from the cabinet, mostly pencils, compasses and rulers, and sat down all around the table with the chart at the center. Two of them started jotting down calculations, measuring the distances between dots with the ruler. The third one asked Hilon whether she already had an idea of the direction to take. ¡°We''ll have to backtrack, of course,¡± she answered, tracing a line with her finger from one square of the grid to another. Saia noticed it was only a square away from the mountain, whatever that meant. But Hilon''s finger sharply moved left, getting away from that spot. ¡°And through here, then up again and we''re at the center of the forest, no human settlement in sight. What do you think?¡± The engineer suggested a new route. They discussed back and forth for a bit. Saia stood next to the glass wall, observing the exchange from above. The routes came close to the mountain, at most a square of distance, right before deviating toward the center of the external forest. If she wanted to escape, she needed to plan for the moment they entered that square. Even if she had no concrete idea on how to achieve that. She focused on the buzzing of her viss, trying to calm it down to waves. There was a time she had no idea of how to get rid of Vizena, and now she''d been dead for long enough she had stopped thinking about her entirely. Once the route was decided, it took a while for the engineers to ultimate the calculations. Saia spent it looking out the half-dome of glass. It was thick by human standards, which were nothing compared to her own. At least she had an easy way out, once her and Aili''s shards were securely in her hands. Hilon called out for her, distracting her from her thoughts. ¡°We''re ready, Saia.¡± She stepped away from the glass and stopped at the center of the room, where she could reach all the rods without expending too much power. Hilon was holding up a list on a scrap of paper. Each point corresponded to the label on a specific rod. The numbers next to them were probably the number of seconds she had to keep each pattern active. ¡°I know you could easily read the list and execute everything on your own, but we need to make sure it''s working correctly. We''ll go slowly and check on the various groups before moving on. So only activate a pattern when I tell you to.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Sibe?¡± Hilon called, and one of the engineers raised her head. ¡°Stop me if one of the groups alerts us.¡± The engineer nodded and took out a light from her pocket. It was small, portable, similar if not identical to Serit''s. Saia held back the need to ask what it was and observed instead: the woman pushed her viss into the small brass pin stuck inside the glass, the rounded top protruding on the outside while the tip was immersed in the luminous fog on the inside. The viss flowed on the surface, a string of different intensities that Saia couldn''t decipher without knowing the code. She expected the sprite on the inside to devour the viss in an instant, but instead it nibbled at it little by little. It was a huge contrast to how the sprites seemed to jump at any spark of energy that was offered to them as if they were always starving, but she''d already noticed how the light in those little lanterns moved slower than in the bigger ones. Once the woman had finished, she put the lantern back inside her pocket and reached for the cabinet again. She took out a mechanism shaped like a door¡¯s handle, with the shortest part attached to a flat base. The other extremity was suspended on top of the free half of the base, a tip of metal hanging vertically from it, close to the flat surface but not quite touching it. Saia perceived a sprite inside the metal structure, floating around in that space that was a little too big to contain it. There was a knob on the inside of the cavity, connected to the tip of metal through a small mechanism as tightly wound as the one of a clock. A sack of black liquid rested at the center of it, somehow unpierced. Sibe positioned the base of the machine on top of the table, then sat down in front of it. She adjusted an empty sheet of paper between the tip of metal and the flat surface beneath. Saia expected something to happen, but the engineer only stared at it, one hand placed at the base of the sheet, only glancing up every once in a while to look at what was going on in the room. ¡°First thing you should do¡­¡± Hilon started. ¡°What is that?¡± Saia interrupted her, pointing at the machine. She looked back at it, then smiled. ¡°Don''t worry about it. Let¡¯s start with thirty degrees west,¡± she added quickly, before Saia could reply. She didn¡¯t insist: it was better if the engineers thought she was completely unaware of how they communicated with each other. She could figure out the rest by herself. She found the right rod immediately, but activated the one on the opposite inside instead, with the label ''Thirty degrees east''. She pushed the bare minimum of viss needed into the wires, in order not to alarm the shilv¨¦ to the point they would deactivate her. A sudden tap made everyone turn toward the machine. ¡°Wait,¡± Sibe said, moving the sheet of paper slightly upward with her hand. The tip of metal kept tapping at irregular intervals, tracing lines interrupted by small portions of empty space and some dots. ¡°Seems like the tilt is right, but we''re going in the opposite direction,¡± she translated. Saia tried to gauge how she had read the message from those irregular lines. She guessed that each length corresponded to a letter, but one would need to be trained to read them, as well as know the code. She checked the inside of the machine: the sprite received a bit of viss from an outside source, which prompted it to become solid. In that tight space, it inevitably meant touching the knob on the inside of the chamber, thus activating the mechanism and moving the tip downward. The ink spillt down, staining the page. ¡°Saia?¡± Hilon called her. She nodded and activated the right rod, reflecting on how that machine could work: it had to be somewhat connected to a small lantern like the one Sibe had used to send the message, but she couldn''t figure out how. If the monks were the only ones who knew how to make the effect of a pattern happen far away from the source, but they were using the lamps to communicate before she arrived. Unless there was a connection: the sprites in the lanterns and the ones in the machines weren¡¯t different but two pieces of the same creature. She thought back at how they moved and shifted in the air. Serit had mentioned pieces of the sprites¡¯ bodies could temporarily detach when they moved in gaseous form. If she was right, the lantern worked a bit like a sphere¡¯s shard, containing a piece of the sprite trapped inside the glass. Not enough viss to power anything substantial, but it was sufficient to communicate. Hilon¡¯s voice cut through her thoughts. ¡°Twenty degrees right. Hold for twenty seconds.¡± They kept going until the list finished, almost an hour later. Then the engineers sat down to discuss again, a new list was produced, and the whole ordeal began again. Periodically, messages arrived through the machine on the table, and Hilon asked Saia to activate the rod that closed some shutters or increased the amount of fake clouds produced. Apart from Hilon¡¯s orders, the room was silent, each engineer counting the seconds on a clock while Saia got bored out of her mind. She realized she''d have to repeat the same thing the next day, and then the next, and forcibly stopped thinking about her future for fear of losing any hope she had left. Brief moments of relief came when the engineers gathered around the table to adjust the route. They communicated back and forth with someone else, sending their messages with a pocket light and receiving answers through the machine. Saia could guess the square of the map that they were traversing by Hilon''s gestures while pointing at the various areas. The distance from there to the mountain''s square didn''t look like much, but she didn''t know how big each square actually was, when converted into real measures. She''d need to compare that morning''s route planning to the next, to know how much they could move in a day. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The engineers left around noon to eat. Hilon lingered for a moment before following her colleagues. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you activated during this time as a sign of good faith. But wander around or cause any damage, and you won¡¯t have breaks anymore.¡± Saia nodded, feeling a flare of irritation. Once the door was closed again and she was alone in the room, she wondered whether Hilon''s concession was actually a gift or a way to make her hate the situation even more. There was nothing to do, except for witnessing her slow loss of viss caused by the mountain. She had the feeling it was slightly less intense. Hilon and the other engineers returned after little less than an hour and immediately resumed telling her which rods she needed to activate. She needed all of her fisher''s patience to not leave and face whatever consequences awaited her, but waiting in that room was not like waiting in the cave or in front of a lake at all. There was no sound of water to lull her mind, no physical fatigue that she could ease with a bit of rest, no spark of excitement when a fish or a snake appeared just under the water, no silent nature she could lose herself into. Just the tedious list of commands, and her always vigilant mind making her aware of the passing seconds. Her tense viss immediately relaxed when someone knocked, anticipating a distraction. One of the engineers approached the door, but didn''t open it. ¡°Who''s there?¡± they said, voice high enough to be heard through the thick wood. ¡°There¡¯s been an incident in the tunnels.¡± The engineer opened the door while the rest of Hilon''s team got closer, alarmed by the news. ¡°Incident?¡± Sibe repeated, glancing at the silent machine on the table. The woman on the other side put a forearm against the door and leaned a bit against it, breathing heavily. ¡°Two workers were performing maintenance in the main tunnels, but their ropes broke and there are sprites incoming in about ten minutes.¡± ¡°Which tunnels?¡± Hilon asked. ¡°Segment thirty-seven. They''re already past the closest shutters, so lowering them wouldn''t change anything.¡± ¡°Is there a tanhata in service?¡± ¡°One, yes, but he''s on break. My colleagues already went to call for him, but we thought we''d alert you too, just in case.¡± Hilon took out a small lantern from a pocket and closed her eyes. Once again, Saia saw the message being absorbed by the piece of sprite inside. Then Hilon put it away and gestured for her to approach. ¡°Come with me, I think we need your help with something.¡± She looked at the other engineers. ¡°Notify the groups to continue the maneuvers manually until we return.¡± Saia followed Hilon, hating that she was giving her orders, but glad she was leaving the dullness of that room. ¡°What''s going on?¡± she asked while they both followed the worker, always one instant away from breaking into a run. ¡°Some tunnels are used often enough that it''s risky to detach them for maintenance, so the workers have to go inside. It''s dangerous because a group of sprites running by can easily carry them away. If they push them against a wall with enough violence, they could seriously hurt or even kill them. It happened before.¡± They were inside the factory now, quieter than usual since most of the workers appeared to have left. ¡°There''s also the risk the sprites decide to kill them to eat their viss, since we keep them a bit hungry by design. Unlikely, but it could happen. Usually there are handles for the workers to hold and ropes that tie them to the entrance of the tunnels. This way they won''t be carried too far before we can hoist them back inside.¡± ¡°But they broke,¡± the worker added, turning her head a bit to look at them. ¡°Or were cut, we''re not sure. The maintenance¡¯s timing was also wrong.¡± They reached the line of doors on the other side of the room and went through the only one that was wide open. A loud chattering came up from a staircase that went sharply downward. ¡°And what do you need me for?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Getting them back?" ¡°Essentially, yes,¡± Hilon said. ¡°You won''t be alone, we have a tanhata on duty. You''re the only ones immune to the sprites'' arrival. We could call in more tanhata from the fourth level, but they wouldn''t arrive in time.¡± Hearing her words in the narrow tunnel that encased the staircase, the worker leading the way turned to glanc up at them, puzzled. Soon they were at the bottom of the stairs, inside another room that looked like a cave, both because it was made of rough stone and devoid of furniture. The workers were gathering around a hole in the floor, closed by a hatch made of metal and glass. There was a smaller hole inside it, through which dangled a piece of frayed rope. ¡°Stand back,¡± Hilon said. Some of the workers immediately obeyed, but the ones closest to the hole were still crouching and kneeling with their faces low to the ground, trying to look beyond the piece of tunnel that was visible through the glass. They scrambled away too once three guards stepped forward as if to remove them forcibly, even if none of them held a trident. ¡°We''ll lower you inside,¡± Hilon said, then in a higher tone: ¡°Someone find a new rope.¡± A creature approached, taller than the rest of the crowd, a vision in green that stopped Saia''s thoughts for an instant. ¡°I have the rope,¡± a voice said. It was breathy and melodious at the same time, changing in pitch at every word. ¡°Thank you, Muyut,¡± Hilon replied, stepping aside to make space for them. Saia realized she was looking at the tanhata the worker had mentioned. She had unconsciously expected a statue exactly like the ones of the gods, with human features and a smooth surface of stone. Instead, Muyut was completely made of emerald pieces pressed against each other to form a humanoid silhouette, with bumps and irregularities where the different shapes didn''t fit together. Golden light shined through the holes in his body that weren''t covered by the tunic he was wearing. The face was another striking difference with statues or humans. In the upper part, there were three perfectly round holes that Saia couldn''t help but consider eyes, similar to the golden ones of the wind spirits. The lower part was covered with a dark gray scarf that piled up onto the broad shoulders. The volume of the cloth couldn''t hide the fact that it was mostly flat, exception made for the irregularities of the emeralds. There was no movement when the tanhata spoke. ¡°Who is she?¡± ¡°Saia,¡± Hilon explained. "She''ll come with you to rescue your colleagues." The portion of Muyut''s viss visible through the holes trembled and dimmed slightly. ¡°What are you?¡± he asked. Saia hesitated, aware of the other workers in the room. The voices that could reach her domain were wondering why a human was tasked with saving anyone, since she was just as vulnerable as everyone else. Still, it comforted her to know that they considered her a human, despite Muyut understanding immediately that it was only part of the truth. ¡°You''ll make each other¡¯s acquaintance later,¡± Hilon interjected. ¡°Now please go down there and rescue them.¡± Muyut tied one end of the rope to a metal peg that protruded from the floor, then raised the hatch without apparent effort. She observed him while he worked, debating on whether to expand her domain to include him. If tanhata were similar enough to gods, he could perceive it and lose any trace of friendliness. He jumped down through the hole and landed heavily on the tunnel below, the opposite extremity of the rope still in hand. He looked up at her, as if expecting her to do the same, despite the roof of the tunnel being tall enough that a human falling down could hurt themselves. ¡°Return to your tasks,¡± Hilon said, then gestured for the guards to come closer. The crowd reluctantly stepped back. Saia took advantage of the chaos to jump down next to Muyut. The guards partially closed the hatch behind them, leaving the rope stuck between glass and rock. Saia looked in front and behind herself, at the tunnel stretching in both directions. She expanded her domain a bit, to check for traces of viss. She found them, but her domain touched the man of emerald. Muyut recoiled as if she had suddenly put a hand on his shoulder, stepping out of her reach, but not before she could sense his own domain: it was similar to her own, but compact against his body, like her own when she didn¡¯t expand it. There was a lot of viss inside, eighteen years of life for the standards of a sphere. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Sorry, I just wanted to check where we have to go. You can feel me?¡± ¡°I can feel anything inside my domain. What are you? Your domain wasn¡¯t this big before.¡± ¡°I¡¯m¡­ It''s difficult to explain.¡± A knock above their head notified them of how little time they had. She started walking forward, Muyut flanking her, keeping a few steps of distance. ¡°I¡¯m a bit of a tanhata, and something different at the same time. A mix between a human and a tanhata, let''s say.¡± Muyut recoiled again. ¡°That''s not possible. Either you are one of us or you''re not.¡± ¡°How did you know I was different?¡± she asked, eager to change the topic. ¡°I can feel it. You can¡¯t?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the first tanhata I meet, so it¡¯s difficult to tell for sure. But no, I don¡¯t feel any difference between our domains. But you knew I wasn¡¯t human even without extending yours, that''s why I''m asking.¡± The golden eyes shined at her. ¡°Extending it?¡± Saia was almost glad when a scream of help distracted him. They started running, stone feet clanking onto the metal floor. She pushed with as much strength she could, to gauge how well Muyut could keep up. There was no evident effort as he proceeded side by side with her. ¡°I can feel what you''re made of,¡± he said, his voice louder to cover the noise of both their steps. ¡°Glass, and some kind of stone as the vehicle. Your affinity is so muddled up I can''t make anything of it.¡± ¡°Affinity?¡± The tunnel bent to the left. There were two people crouched next to the wall, hands tightened around four handles jotting out of the metal. There were more that Saia hadn''t noticed, tracing a loose path all along the pipes. The workers were turning their heads one way and the other, as if undecided about what scared them most: whether the clangor of their rescuers¡¯ run, or the luminous fog approaching from the other side. The only sound the sprites emitted was the wooshing of strong winds, made eerier by the absence of any breeze. ¡°Cover the one on the left with your body,¡± Muyut said. ¡°I¡¯ll protect the other one.¡± Saia stood next to the workers and expanded her domain to include both of them, then generated a thick barrier of wind. Muyut stepped away from her domain, the revulsion evident in his viss, even if Saia couldn''t guess what had prompted it. The fog of sprites approached with a low rumbling. Saia tightened her barrier as much as she could, attracting Muyut''s curiosity. ¡°You can control wind, at least.¡± ¡°At least?¡± ¡°We don''t have speaking organs,¡± Muyut said, tapping the base of his throat. ¡°We don''t have organs. We can speak is by controlling the air a bit. Not to the level you do, though.¡± The sprites were upon them. The force of their combined winds was strong enough to make Muyut waver. Saia wasn''t hit thanks to the walls she''d erected to protect her from the brunt of the impact, even if two months of viss were pulverized in an instant. Given the impetus of their approach she''d assumed they would just keep running further, but most of the group clustered around her barrier. ¡°They want your viss,¡± Muyut commented with a resigned tone. He lowered his face to the ring of sprites fluttering around him. ¡°Our viss.¡± The two humans looked around, their posture gradually relaxing as they saw the tempest of golden light rage without being able to reach them. ¡°What did you mean by ¡®affinity¡¯?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Your imprint. Where your viss came from.¡± ¡°It came from a mountain.¡± Muyut¡¯s eyes flickered. ¡°Normally what you''re saying wouldn¡¯t make any sense, but it explains a lot of what I''m sensing right now.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Take humans, for example. Their viss irradiates flesh, blood and bones.¡± ¡°And that''s bad, right? You don''t like flesh and blood?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the dissonance of three different things together. And you''re a lot more, it¡¯s almost too much to bear. If I knew they were pairing you up with me, I would have left.¡± Saia observed him, not knowing how to react to that. She didn¡¯t perceive any enmity coming from him nor in the tone of his words, even if it was difficult to be sure without examining his viss. ¡°Why?¡± she could only ask. ¡°It''s the dissonance,¡± he repeated. ¡°I thought humans were difficult to get used to, but you''re so much worse.¡± Whatever intelligence hid behind the sprites'' fog seemed to finally realize there wasn''t anything to be gained and floated on, toward the next feeding station. Saia let her domain shrink to its usual size. The two workers were still attached to the wall like mussels, most likely due to shock. Muyut touched their shoulders and gently pulled them to their feet. ¡°We need to go.¡± Saia followed the three of them toward the hatch of glass, frustrated at the slow pace after the freeing run with someone who could keep up with her. Even if that someone was weirded out by her viss in a way she couldn''t fully understand. The workers climbed the dangling rope, then Muyut jumped, grabbing the border of the tunnel and hauling himself up without effort. Saia jumped too and did the same, pretending to struggle and prop herself up with the rope. Once she had both feet on the stone of the room, the guards closed the hatch. Hilon approached her, holding the old piece of rope. Saia wanted to ask more questions to Muyut, but he was already leaving, cutting through the ring of guards that were keeping away the few workers lingering on the staircase. ¡°I need your opinion,¡± Hilon said. ¡°It''s frayed, but some workers think it was cut instead. What do you think?¡± Saia took the rope to examine it with her powers. She had no idea whether the rope had been cut or not, but she immediately noticed it was stained with a huge quantity of viss. She expanded her domain, looking for more traces with the same or a similar imprint. She didn''t find them on the walls and floor, but on a person. One of the workers who had stayed behind. She was about to address him when he raised a hand, a piece of paper stuck between his index and middle finger. ¡°It was just old,¡± Saia said, focusing on the man. He slightly nodded, crumpled the piece of paper and let it fall to the ground before following his colleagues out of the room. ¡°Good, thank you,¡± Hilon said. ¡°At least we can rule out a saboteur.¡± Saia was too busy reading the message to give her any more attention: most of it was occupied by a rough drawing of the five levels of the city seen from above, little more than six circles one inside the other, from the bottom to the fifth level, which was the only one with highlighted by multiple layers of graphite. An entire section of it was highlighted with another circle, the borders thicker and darker than anything else in the drawing. This is the area where you can find your shard, a message recited. If you want the exact place, sabotage the weapon deposit at the entrance of the factory. This is the reference you need. Destroy the message. There was a smaller drawing underneath, much more detailed, depicting a tiny mechanism. An arrow pointed at the component she needed to remove, even if it lacked any sort of context. She made sure the map and drawing were memorized in her viss, then sliced the paper into a hundred small pieces. 6.4 - Concessions The following days were just as full of boredom as the first one. The engineers came in the morning, worked for four hours, then left for one, leaving Saia alone in the room. They returned to work for four more hours, at the end of which Saia was deactivated for about three hours, when she was awakened again to work with the next turn of engineers. The only pleasant part of the nocturnal turns was Hilon¡¯s absence. She tried to fight the boredom. She started to examine the engineers'' viss to hunt out the information hidden inside them, hoping a big enough amount would allow her to transform into one of them. It seemed like a useful skill to have, even if it wouldn''t save her from the birdguards. All her efforts ended in failure: she could change the shape and color of her statue well enough, but the only human face and body she could produce were her own. Anyone else looked too wrong to be a human, and she could imagine the guards giving the alarm as soon as they saw her, even if they didn''t know about the sphere or powers. After she¡¯d accepted there wasn¡¯t much else she could do in that direction, she started mulling over the rebels¡¯ request. If they had access to the factory, they probably know about her situation, how she couldn¡¯t move around freely or leave her room without permission. So the weapon deposit had to be somewhere nearby, in the maze of rock tunnels and doors, otherwise she could never reach it and the rebels wouldn''t obtain what they wanted. She periodically expanded her domain to look inside the closest rooms, but she couldn¡¯t reach far enough to cover half the corridor outside, let alone the factory. The only thing left to do was to press her face and body to the wall of glass, expand her domain as far as she could, and take in what little of the land below she could glimpse through the clouds, hoping every day to see the mountain despite knowing they were too far from it. One night, she saw a distant light twitching over the waves, but a cloud covered it before she could establish whether it was a ship or something else entirely. Her first instinct was to record the image for Aili, and with a double stab of pain she remembered she was asleep when Serit had taken away her shard. One morning in which she was mentally begging for a disaster of some sort to shake her routine, luminescent fog started to seep in through the door''s lock. The first to notice it was Sibe, the engineer sitting at the communication machine. She yelled something indistinct, prompting her colleagues to turn in alarm. At first Hilon was just as surprised, then she rolled her eyes and passed a hand over her face. ¡°What did I tell you?¡± she said to the fog, who was now becoming more compact and changing shape. ¡°I know, sparkle,¡± Filsun said, keeping his body gaseous to hide the lack of clothes. ¡°I was bored and wanted to visit you at work.¡± Hilon looked at her engineers with a forced smile. ¡°Please, take a break. I''ll call you when I need you again.¡± They left their notes on the table and scuttled out of the door, passing so chose to Filsun that his contours trembled. Hilon waited for the door to close before speaking again. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m working and the elders are probably hunting you right now. You should stay in my house, possibly in your room.¡± ¡°I miss my job, so I thought that I could keep teaching Saia. It was an interesting challenge.¡± ¡°It''s not needed anymore. The representatives have deemed Serit''s research too dangerous, so the experiment is over.¡± ¡°But you said they''re continuing to work on it.¡± ¡°I in secret! In hiding, not in plain sight. The representatives think they''ve been kidnapped.¡± Saia listened with interest: she hadn''t asked Hilon about Serit, and the engineer hadn¡¯t mentioned anything in their regard. Not that she cared about them specifically, but there was a chance they knew exactly where Aili¡¯s shard was, and since the rebels probably didn''t know about its existence, she''d have to ask Serit instead. Filsun floated toward her. ¡°What do you think? Do you want to continue with our lessons?¡± Saia was surprised to feel a glimmer of hope. ¡°Yes, please. I''m bored too.¡± Filsun crossed his arms, fog joining them until they became one, and looked at Hilon. ¡°Absolutely not.¡± ¡°Do you ever let her rest? Or you work her to the ground like you do with your employees?¡± ¡°I¡­ that''s not true. My workers signed a contract, they knew the hours and the pay before accepting.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Saia remembered Serit''s pact: her protection and help in exchange for simply being kept awake and not having her viss harvested. She suddenly understood why they could think it was a fair exchange, given that Hilon was their mentor and the person they admired the most. ¡°She gets one hour of break, as we do,¡± Hilon continued. ¡°Which is more than what I can afford, considering she''s a prisoner and could kill us all in an instant.¡± ¡°All the reason to thank her for not already doing that,¡± Filsun said, then looked at Saia. ¡°I don''t really need her permission. I''m a wind spirit, no guard will try to stop me if I decide to throw everyone out of the room and train you.¡± Saia smiled. ¡°They can stop me, though.¡± Hilon sat down rigidly on a chair. ¡°If I allow you to train her for one hour a day, will you promise me you''ll stay hidden from everyone who isn''t me or mom?¡± ¡°Of course. I know how to be secretive. Your workers thought my fog was a loose sprite.¡± ¡°Looking like a loose sprite in a facility that''s meant to contain them perfectly is not being secretive.¡± ¡°They were freaking out a bit,¡± Filsun admitted. ¡°Next time, I''ll come here from the outside. So?¡± ¡°Fine. Noon break is yours, hopefully you won''t be too visible flying around.¡± Filsun nodded. ¡°And you''ll let Saia out at least once a week.¡± Hilon''s eyes narrowed again. ¡°No. She has to remain strictly under control. This isn''t a game.¡± Filsun turned toward the door. ¡°Fine. I''ll take her out myself.¡± ¡°She''ll be deactivated.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll find who''s responsible and change their mind.¡± ¡°Then I''ll tell the elders about you.¡± Filsun looked at her, his light fading a bit as the movements of his fog became more confused. Hilon looked pained too, but her jaw was set. ¡°Yes, I will do it if you ruin this. This project is too important.¡± ¡°More important than your own father?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Hilon said too quickly. ¡°And for your information, I was already planning to let Saia visit the Festival of Light.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± Saia asked, more as a formality, before adding the question that really mattered: ¡°Where?¡± ¡°It''s an annual celebration for the goddess of death. It''ll start next week and last for ten days. The forest at the fifth level will be covered with lights, most of the sprites in the temple and the arena will be captured and brought there as decorations.¡± Saia could barely contain the excitement in her viss in hearing the words ''fifth level''. It was the chance she needed to get her shard, and maybe, with a bit of luck, she could hide among the lights of the sprites and not be recognized by the guards, then get closer to the building... And find nothing, most likely. Hilon would have warned the guards before she got any closer to the fifth level, and they''d have all the time they needed to move the shard away. If anything, accepting that invite would mean ruining her possibilities completely, right when she had just learned where the shard was. She considered preventing Hilon to alert them at all. She couldn''t see how, unless maybe breaking the little light she had in her pocket. That would mean not being brought to the festival at all, though, and kept under closer surveillance, but at least the shard wouldn''t move from the building. It was a last resort, but she needed to think of a better plan first. ¡°What about the zoologic garden?¡± she asked. Hilon sighed. ¡°What about it?¡± ¡°Serit has told me that my snakes are being kept there. I want to see them. And visit the place, if it''s not too much to ask.¡± She distractedly tapped the round handle of a rod to underline how what she was asking was nothing, compared to what they were asking of her. ¡°Your snakes?¡± Filsun asked, hovering a bit closer. ¡°I had some sea snakes in my bag when I came here. I couldn''t take care of them properly, so I asked Serit to put them somewhere safe. Ask them, if you don''t trust me.¡± ¡°I know about the snakes,¡± Hilon said. ¡°But why do you want to see them exactly?¡± ¡°Knowing for sure that they are being taken care of properly would help a lot.¡± Filsun became solid enough to look at Hilon with an air of expectation. ¡°That would be difficult to arrange,¡± Hilon said. ¡°The fifth level is well-guarded, the zoology garden is... Well, if you''re not an animal, there''s not much they can do about you.¡± ¡°And yet,¡± Filsun interjected. ¡°You keep her here. I don''t see many guards either, even if this project is apparently more important than your own father.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Hilon spat. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange for us to go tomorrow, and when I say ''us'' I mean Saia and me. And you know what? I''ll bring her to the festival too, if you stay hidden. Happy?¡± She was staring at him as she said that, and only once he had nodded she looked at Saia. She made herself nod, despite the urge to tear some of those precious rods from the floor and throw them out through the window. ¡°Now go, dad, please.¡± He seeped out of the lock, shining with satisfaction. The other three engineers returned shortly after. The route needed a bit of rearranging after that delay, but soon they were ready to work until evening. ¡°I haven''t thanked you properly for today,¡± Saia said at noon, after Filsun had come back for their first training session at Irim¨¦ze. ¡°There''s no need, really. I enjoy our lessons.¡± He held out both of his gaseous arms. ¡°Let''s start from the beginning, shall we?¡± Saia reproduced on him the patterns she had memorized, adjusting them almost instinctually every time he moved his fingers. She didn¡¯t need to focus as much as during the first lessons, so she had all of the time to mull over why Filsun had decided to reappear in her life right at that moment. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re enjoying the lessons,¡± she said once she had a good enough grip on his viss. ¡°Besides getting my protection for when the elders come to look for you. They¡¯ve sent someone, right?¡± He tensed to the point the rest of his body turned completely gaseous and started to float upwards. ¡°I¡­ How did you guess?¡± ¡°Since I came here, everyone wants me for my viss and my powers. And from what I''ve seen of you, you don''t seem particularly brave.¡± Filsun slowly regained his composure, as well as a more human shape, even if his viss still buzzed with fear against her domain. ¡°But I convinced Hilon to let you go outside! I ensure you I had no ulterior motives, it was just because I felt bad for how she treats you.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± she answered after a bit of silence. ¡°I know, and I thank you for that.¡± Even if it was another empty gesture. He''d felt bad, either for her situation or for exploiting it, but he had no real interest in helping her. With a family like that, she understood Serit''s own empty offers a little better. But understanding didn''t mean forgiveness, not after they had taken Aili''s shard. She just needed to free herself, then their hiding place was the second stop on her path. 6.5 - Cages The zoologic garden was situated at the very limit of the bottom level. The first time Saia had seen the structure from afar, she hadn¡¯t realized the various pieces that composed it belonged to the same building. Besides the long corridor of the entrance there were ten domes of glass of different sizes, the surface made of multiple panels that resembled the multi-faceted eyes of a fly. Some of those panels were covered on the outside by thick carpets of undyed wool, probably to prevent excessive heating. The line only started halfway through the entrance corridor. Hilon had chosen the morning because there were fewer visitors, mostly groups accompanied by guides. When one of the guards that were escorting her and Saia asked why she didn¡¯t ask the zoological garden to close for the day if she was so worried about security, she¡¯d explained it would mean letting both the representatives and the zoological garden know about that improvised visit, and also to shut up and do what they were paid for. Saia observed her while they waited in line: she seemed extremely nervous about the visit, to the point she couldn¡¯t figure out why she was going through with it at all. It didn¡¯t seem to be loyalty to her father, considering their last conversation. There had to be something else. Since she couldn¡¯t figure out what she was thinking, she focused on the three guards escorting them. They were all dressed like normal visitors, the tridents disassembled and strapped to their chests under the tunics. Two were always one step behind her, the third one followed from afar, exactly like the birdguards had at Ifse. ¡°Which dome is the aquarium?¡± she asked Hilon. ¡°None of them. It¡¯s inside.¡± She spoke through her teeth, as if to dissuade Saia from ever talking to her again. She derived a petty pleasure from her nervousness, but was also aware that it complicated the situation: there was a task she needed to fulfil, the whole reason why she had asked for a visit to the zoological garden in the first place. ¡°And the birds?¡± she asked. Hilon turned with an even more annoyed look, her eyebrows causing disappointed ripples all over her forehead. ¡°Why are you asking about the birds, now?¡± ¡°You shilv¨¦ like them a lot, so I thought I would enjoy seeing them.¡± Hilon spun to look at her, despite the queue advancing. ¡°Wasting my time is a really quick way to not come out of that room again, not having breaks, and not to train with my father ever again. If by being good and understanding this is what I get, I prefer trying the opposite route.¡± Saia felt a spike of bitter hilarity in hearing she actually considered her forced generosity being ''good'' or even ''understanding''. Her face didn''t show anything. ¡°Threatening me is a quick way to make sure I let everybody know who I am,¡± she answered. ¡°Also, I¡¯ll tell your dad.¡± Hilon¡¯s lips quivered, as if she was caught between threatening her more or letting out a small laugh. In the end, she sighed and covered the distance that divided their group from the rest of the queue. ¡°Work with me, Saia. I don¡¯t want this visit to last forever, and I guarantee you that three-quarters of this place¡¯s animals are birds. Let¡¯s compromise and visit one exhibit, then go straight to your snakes.¡± Saia nodded, even though Hilon¡¯s words poised a new problem: if it was true that most of the exhibits held birds, she needed to find the right one without letting Hilon know about her goal. She didn¡¯t have much time, as there were just two groups of visitors in front of them. One, since the first had finished the admission process. Their guide started talking immediately, a worn-out speech about the building¡¯s foundation. The second group had almost gotten all their tickets, made of cloth like the ones at the arena, when the speech ended. ¡°Any questions?¡± the guide asked. There was a lull in the conversation. Saia thought of how Aili had imitated Zeles¡¯s voice to perfection and wondered whether she could do the same. She expanded her domain until it included part of the first group of visitors. ¡°Where are the jacinth eagles?¡± The question came from the middle of the visitors. The closest ones looked at each other, failing to figure out who had spoken. Saia, for her part, was too alarmed by the sudden buzzing of her viss to rejoice at the success of her experiment. She did not expect that hearing Aili¡¯s voice again, even if it was just an exact copy, would have such a piercing effect on her. She almost missed the guide¡¯s answer. ¡°We¡¯ll see them, of course, but if you¡¯re impatient their exhibit is in that direction.¡± She pointed at the end of the corridor, where a branch turned sharply to the right. ¡°Turn left when you see the albatross sign. Now, follow me this way for the big herbivores.¡± The group left. Hilon quickly paid and retrieved tickets for the two of them and the guards. ¡°Have you decided where we¡¯re going?¡± she asked. ¡°The albatross exhibit,¡± Saia answered, still a bit shaken. She kept her domain expanded as they followed the main path. The corridor¡¯s wooden walls weren¡¯t particularly solid, propped directly against the glass domes, so she could see a bit of what was going on inside them. One on the left seemed like a huge forest, as if the fifth level of the city had all been shrunk to fit one place. It was divided into smaller areas by tall fences of metal, and paths between one fence and the other allowed the visitors to walk around and take a look at the creatures they contained. Saia saw one that looked like a cow, except for an elongated nose that seemed fused with its upper lip. A shilv¨¦ child passing in front of it kicked at the bars, and the animal became invisible. Saia could still perceive where it was due to the viss circulating inside its body, but the visitors cried out in delight, trying to guess where it could be based on foliage¡¯s movement. They soon reached the sign of a bird with a wide wingspan. The doorway led to another dome of glass. Saia was surprised by how big and sparse the trees were, making the cages look even bigger by comparison. The sloshing sound of water came from the shallow lake at the center, surrounded by sand and wooden tables on which the visitors could stop to eat. Saia walked along the path that traced the entire dome, feigning interest in the birds of each cage, despite seeing no trace of the blue eagles in any of them. She could still sense Hilon¡¯s irritation at her side, but for the moment she seemed to be enjoying the visit enough not to complain. A chilling presentiment attracted her toward the only empty cage in the area. Right under it, there was a plaque that recited ¡®jacinth eagles¡¯. She looked around for a member of staff and found an elderly man walking up and down the path between the cages, wearing a light blue tunic with the zoologic garden''s stylized building sewn on the chest. She pretended to look at other cages, approaching him slowly to not attract Hilon''s attention. ¡°What happened to the jacinth eagles?¡± she asked him in the lowest voice she could produce. ¡°They were taken away this morning for a routine medical check.¡± Saia wanted to ask him where they had been brought to, but Hilon had noticed her talking and was already approaching. She just thanked him and moved on, thinking it didn''t make that big of a difference: if the guards had understood she was looking for the eagles, they would be on the lookout for her approach. They probably were already far away from there. She read the plaque, thinking she might as well get as much information on those animals as possible. The text confirmed they were able to see viss as well, then specified that they only lived in captivity or on a small island on the earth, and as such were extremely rare to find above the clouds. All the ones that could be found inside the exhibit actually belonged to the hunting division of Irim¨¦ze¡¯s guards, there weren¡¯t other exemplars inside the city. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Have you seen what you were looking for?¡± Hilon asked. Saia nodded and let her guide their small group toward the exit. The rebels¡¯ request to sabotage the weapons had given her the idea of sabotaging the eagles instead, since the guards needed their plumes to keep their shape and still be able to track her. Now that her plan had been foiled, she needed to find another way to make that visit to the zoologic garden productive before Hilon closed her into a room again. They entered the portion of the building that was sculpted inside the wall of rock. Spherical lanterns bolted to the walls illuminated a long corridor, a diffuse blue light waiting for them at the end. ¡°This is the beginning of the aquarium,¡± Hilon said, smiling despite her annoyance, as the group stepped inside the bottom of the sea. For the first time since she became a goddess, Saia''s all-around vision felt more of an obstacle than anything. She felt frozen on the spot, trying and failing to take in everything at once. There was water at her sides and water above her, only a thick tunnel of glass keeping it at bay. Creatures moved in the semi-darkness beyond, scales shining when hit by the sparse rays of light that seemed to come from a towerlength away. There were two fish so big she could probably use her to tow a boat, the dark eyes to the sides of their heads lit with a murderous nothingness. Smaller fish moved in lightning-fast schools, shining of silver at every change of direction. The rocks and viscid vegetation at the bottom were traversed by small shadows, feeding with the mouth on the bottom and their caudal fin up in the water. She was marginally aware of the small crowd pressing behind her to enter, the guide trying to catch her attention, a child slipping past and finding she was impossible to nudge aside. ¡°Come on, there''s more further ahead,¡± Hilon said, and those words convinced her body to move, because ''more'' was just what her mind wanted. As they slowly stepped forward, letting the other visitors enter the gallery, Saia read the inscriptions that were engraved on plaques of metal bolted to the floor: along with the names of the species, there were details on their place of origin. ¡°Where''s the Viniya sea?¡± she asked. ¡°On the other side of the world from where we are now.¡± Saia observed her to make sure she wasn''t smiling or joking. There was no trace of hilarity on her face and viss, only a slight annoyance at how slow they were moving. On the other side of the tunnel there was a large room, perfectly round, immersed in the same azurine light of a group of lanterns with colored glass. The same hues came out from each of the five tanks around the room, big enough to fill the wall up to the ceiling and leave only three armlengths of bare rock between each other, filled with more plaques of metal. ¡°The aquarium needed a sturdy support structure,¡± she could hear the guide say, the tunnel''s walls amplifying his voice. ¡°It was impossible to build one entirely from nothing, since the weight of the water was already too much for our city to bear even without adding more heavy materials. So they decided to excavate the walls of the bottom level, removing rock instead of adding it.¡± The species contained inside each of the tanks were less varied in shape compared to the ones in the tunnel. The first one contained small fish with brown and red scales, even if there were some in the middle of the school with bright green colors, and even two iridescent ones with black dots. The inscription explained they were three possible variants of the same fish. The iridescent pigmentation depended on the kind of algae they consumed, while the fluorescent green ones could distract predators by projecting light. There were more details on how the staff managed to preserve those differences, but Saia was already distracted by the third tank. It was full of sea snakes. Hilon was already heading there, so she merely followed her, keeping all of her attention on the creatures behind the glass. The majority of the snakes was different from the ones she used to fish at the mountain: the vast majority had silvery scales and an elongated head with the shape of a sharp triangle. Some of them were a muddy green, a couple of others sand-colored. The remaining ones were her red, black and white snakes. She had to admit with a pang of jealousy that it seemed a better habitat than anywhere she could have put them, except maybe the sea. She reached out with her domain to include them, but they didn''t even seem to notice. Hilon traced with her finger the lines on the inscription next to the tank. "So your snakes are of the¡­ blood variant?¡± Saia stepped closer to read the inscription. The silver snakes were apparently the standard version of the species. The green ones ate frogs and lived in brackish water, but they could survive both inside lakes and seas. The yellow ones hunted near the sand bottom of the ocean, targetting the fish that camouflaged there. Her own snakes... The blood variant, so called because of its color and unusual level of aggression, is a new addition to our exhibit. We don''t know enough about its diet or habits, but we located the area of origins as the waters of the isolated mount Ohat. We''re glad to announce that next year''s research efforts will include this variant, as we''ll send our human staff to investigate its origin together with the one of dozens of other species. The text kept going about how the visitors could donate to the cause at the exit, but Saia was too busy reflecting on the implication of what came before to worry about that. They couldn¡¯t reach the mountain, of course. There was the guardian, and even in the case they could avoid it, the gods would be enough to keep them away. She kept staring at the snakes, perceiving the slow movement of visitors all around the room but too mesmerized by the snakes¡¯ gliding through water to observe it. She remembered how she¡¯d used those very snakes to fight against Vizena and the monks. She wished she could use them again, but they were all trapped in different cages. She was about to turn away from the tank and tell Hilon she was ready to go, when an inkling of a plan started to form in the back of her mind. She looked again for a staff member: the only person wearing the garden¡¯s tunic was a woman sitting on a wooden chair in a corner. She observed the visitors, standing every time someone banged a fist against the glass or the children started running and screaming. Saia approached her. ¡°What are you doing now?¡± Hilon asked, trying to stop her by touching her shoulder, but being dragged forward instead. ¡°Excuse me,¡± Saia said addressing the woman. ¡°I¡¯m the person who gave you the blood snakes.¡± The woman gave her an uncertain look. Saia realized she had no way to prove her claim. ¡°In that case, we thank you and hope you have a marvellous day,¡± the woman said quickly, then looked around as if to communicate that she considered the topic closed. ¡°How do I get them back?¡± ¡°Excuse us a second,¡± Hilon interjected, then stepped closer to Saia. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The woman smiled tighter and walked away, apparently to check the other side of the room. ¡°I gave my snakes to Serit because they reassured me they would be taken care of, not because I wanted them to permanently stay here. And now that my task is so boring, maybe having something to take care of would make me feel better.¡± As she said that, she realized it was probably true. Taking care of the snakes gave her days at Lausune the comfort of a routine. Hilon stared at her. Saia could recognize the calculating expressions she could sometimes see on Serit''s face. She didn¡¯t seem completely against the idea, not as much as going to visit the bird exhibit was. She guessed it was tied to the reason why she had accepted to bring her to the zoologic garden, despite everything. ¡°We could at least ask,¡± she added. ¡°But I''ll need your help for that, because she didn''t seem to believe me.¡± Hilon produced an imperceptible nod and marched up to the staff member, guards in tow. ¡°I¡¯m engineer Hilon,¡± she said. ¡°I can testify to the words of my colleague. Is there someone I can talk to about this matter?¡± The woman seemed to recognize her name. Saia imagined that being the person responsible for keeping a whole city afloat made Hilon famous enough. ¡°Give me a second.¡± It took no more than a couple of minutes for her to find someone to take her place. A second later, she was guiding the group out of the aquarium, with great disappointment of Saia, and up a set of stairs that was labeled as ''staff only''. The first floor was entirely comprised of administration offices. They stopped in front of the last door, marked as the director¡¯s office. ¡°The sea snakes,¡± he said once they had all sat down, guards outside, and Hilon had finished her explanation. ¡°They¡¯re a recent donation, if I¡¯m not mistaken.¡± ¡°Yes, by one of my engineers on behalf of Saia,¡± she specified. He briefly went through a stack of papers. ¡°It doesn''t matter, we can''t give back donations. We can ony sell the animals, but not all of them.¡± ¡°Sell for how much?¡± Saia interjected before Hilon could say anything. ¡°There isn''t a fixed price, we''re not talking about carpets.¡± He seemed weary, waiting for the day to be over while being aware that there was still a big part of it left. ¡°I¡¯d have to consult with my staff, but two thousand breaths each seems like a good starting point.¡± Saia didn''t know how much it was, but Hilon looked at her and shook her head. ¡°Not even one?¡± Saia asked directly in her ears. ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯s some way I can repay you.¡± Hilon looked at the wall behind the director, deep in thought. ¡°You did help my workers, after all,¡± she mumbled with a sigh. The director blinked. ¡°Did you say something?¡± ¡°Yes. We''ll buy one snake.¡± ¡°Do you have the proper facilities to take care of it?¡± Hilon frowned and opened her mouth to answer, but Saia anticipated her. ¡°We know what they need,¡± she said with a smile. They concluded a quick negotiation, Hilon and the director promising to contact each other again to refine the details of the deal. They returned to the navigation room shortly after, after one of the shortest descents in an elevator Saia had ever experienced. ¡°So, what will we need for your snake?¡± Hilon asked after they stepped out of the room. Saia was about to answer, then noticed the door she¡¯d seen the first day before the factory¡¯s entrance: staff-only, in an area surveilled by guards. She expanded her domain a bit to look on the inside: empty rakes were aligned all over the walls, while stacks of crates piled up at the center. A glance inside revealed rows and rows of weapons, too many to be deactivated all at once. ¡°Saia?¡± Hilon called. ¡°A tank,¡± she started. While she listed all that was needed to house the snake, she noticed that Hilon¡¯s irritation had turned into a constant smile, as if she was incredibly pleased to have bought Saia¡¯s gratefulness without any real effort or loss on her part. Saia smiled back, eager to keep her thinking that way. 6.6 - Half escape Rabam scraped the piece of wood slowly, letting the chips fall in the small space between wall and bed. Every time he heard a noise, he hid his work under the mattress and laid down pretending to sleep for a few instants, enough to make sure that nobody was approaching to bring him a meal. He then carefully picked up again the screw he was using in place of a knife and the piece of wood he¡¯d taken by breaking the divider between the sleeping area and the toilet and resumed his work. After practicing so many times at Lausune, he remembered the pattern almost by heart. Still, he considered every line carefully, as if he''d started carving for the first time a week prior; a mistake would have meant starting over with sturdier wood, like the stool¡¯s leg he had detached a few days prior. The fact he didn''t know exactly how much time he had left made everything worse. Daira¡¯s plan was working for the moment, nobody had come to bring him to his execution, but it could be just postponed. He was also worried the pattern wouldn¡¯t be enough to amplify the effect of the magnet for his plan to succeed. Which wasn''t much of a plan to begin with, more of an idea he could improvise on when the right moment arrived. He knew what kind of death the sentinels would have given him, he remembered how gruesome it seemed, even without witnessing it in person. But times had changed in many aspects; monks weren''t used to killing anymore, even the ones who trained for it. He could imagine the scene so easily his body tensed as if it was happening in front of his eyes. First, a group of sentinels, probably more than the usual two, would come to deliver him to the temple. Once there, the abbot and priors would have proclaimed the sentence, as well as the crimes he had committed. There would be a crowd of adults and a lot of sentinels, to the point many outposts would operate with half the personnel. Then, once each prior had taken their turn to condemn his actions and the abbot had concluded with a prayer to the gods, a sentinel would put a sword through his midsection and let him bleed on top of the shield. After that, they¡¯d carry him to the crater room, through a procession that crossed most of the village instead of taking the most direct route. Only there he''d receive the mercy of having his head cut off, then his blood would be drained from his body and poured into the crater, for his viss to join the mountain''s. That last part didn''t allow for an audience, since only a few people were allowed to enter the crater room. So he needed to act while he was still inside the temple. He checked that the small magnet Daira had brought was well lodged inside the cylinder of wood. He planned to hide it between his toes before the sentinels came to get him, so it would be in contact with his body, ready to be activated. He¡¯d feign calm, but not resignation. As soon as they addressed him and gave him a chance to talk, he''d invoke Zeles''s name and pray to him, saying he was under his protection. The immediate reaction of the audience would be to consider him insane and lose a bit of sympathy in his regard. But then, the moment would arrive when a sentinel approached him with their sword, ready to thrust. He could see the scene clearly, an idealized version of what would happen in a few days, or maybe a few hours. Him kneeling on the floor of the temple, likely with two or more sentinels keeping him down. The sword raising in the air, two hands clutching the hilt for a more powerful attack. The crowd watching in horror. Then a mysterious force pushes the blade away. He cries out again for Zeles, praising the god for his help, saying that his powers can reach inside the village and attack whoever opposes him. Chaos and fear ripple through the crowd, an upheaval starts. Or so he hoped. The sentinels could also decide to keep trying until he collapsed from fatigue, only to both receive a sword in his belly and reveal he''d been using a pattern all along. They could search him, or use their fists instead of weapons. It all hinged on the reaction of the crowd, on the chaos being enough to convince the priors to delay his execution again. Cold fear gripped him at the thought of those painted faces looking at him without a word. If they didn''t react, or even if they didn''t react with enough resolution, he would die. The sound of a door opening in the distance made his stomach drop, the chill becoming sweat on his palms. He quickly slipped the cylinder inside his shoe, even if the pattern wasn''t complete and still needed some lines to work. He waited for the steps to get closer with eyes wide open, facing the wall. Someone knocked on the vertical bars of the entrance. ¡°Food,¡± a bored voice said, dragging the vowels. Rabam slowly stood, legs trembling with relief. He stood in the corner of the cell while the guard opened the door and the helper accompanying her placed the tray on the small table next to the entrance. Rabam waited for them to leave, focused on his breathing. Once the steps were far enough from his cell, he approached the meal. It was different from the ones he was used to, more elaborated: cut tomatoes and salad leaves covered the borders of the plate, flanked by another circle of cheese slices. The grilled meat at the center had been covered in oil and a brown sauce with red hues, sprinkled with fragments of aromatic herbs. The food he had received up to that point had been simpler, like soup or bread and cheese. That abundance made him think of the last dish for a prisoner before their execution. That thought was enough to make him forget any cramp of hunger he was feeling. He took out the wooden cylinder from his shoe and started working on it again, testing it more often. He added more expansion lines like the ones around the lenses of the sentinels'' binoculars, even if that meant using more viss in exchange for a more powerful effect. He hated that he couldn''t measure time in any way and kicked himself for not asking whether they had brought him lunch or dinner. In the end, enough hours passed for the fear to transform into exhaustion. He half-heartedly tested his work one last time, pointing one open end of the cylinder toward the torch''s iron support. The pull was strong enough that he felt the wood scrape against his hand as the cylinder tried to slip out of his grip. He closed his fist tighter, without interrupting the flow of viss, and only obtained to lurch forward, out of the bed and onto the floor. He stopped feeding into the pattern, laying with his face down. At that point his stomach growled, and he decided it was pointless to keep ignoring it. Besides, it was easier to risk his life after a good last meal. He hid the cylinder inside his shoe, just in case they came to take him while he was eating, and gripped the wooden fork. He attacked the meat, but the first bite gave him pause. He could swear it tasted like fish. He was reminded of one of the first dishes Ebus had prepared him after starting his work as a cook. He had grilled a salmon and filled it with spices to the point it looked like a piece of meat, at least until he tasted it. He pierced another morsel with the fork and wondered whether Ebus had cooked that too. The guards never gave the prisoners knives, so he had to polish the screw he''d been using to carve and use it to cut the fish into small pieces. He wasn''t sure of what he needed to look for, so he touched the food to check whether Ebus had left some traces of his viss, and for what reason. He found a small piece of paper folded where the central bone of the fish had been. The paper was stained with oil and folded many times onto itself, no easy feat considering how rough and thick it was. But that was enough to keep the message scribbled in pencil inside legible. They won''t execute you. Delete your memories instead. Tomorrow morning in private, then ceremony at the temple. Send you to exile again. D. says people won''t help you. Considered honor. Rabam blinked, trying to make sense of the jumble of emotions those words had evoked. First, the sentence that he had hoped for, without daring to admit it even to himself: the execution had been called off. But of course the abbot still needed to make him into an example, so he had found another punishment: erasing his memories. That would also ensure he wouldn''t be able to collaborate with Zeles anymore, and by extension with Aili. He wondered how far they intended to go. There were only two people at a time trained in removing memories, since the knowledge was kept well hidden. Neither of them knew how to also read them, which meant they could only erase the ones formed between a point in the past and the present. He doubted the abbot had any intention to tell him how far, exactly, he wanted them to go. And maybe it was better that way, since the connection between him and Aili would be kept hidden. But he''d have forgotten his escape, meeting Saia, working for a purpose after two years of confinement away from his family. And if they touched Mili''s memories... He focused on the second part of the message: of course they wanted to present him to the people to show what happened to rebels. Deleting his memory in advance was a good move, since by that point he wouldn''t know he needed to escape, and why. In addition to that, the scholars who specialized in memory manipulation would need quiet, so it was easy to justify why the removal had to happen in secret. That also made his plan completely useless, if there was ever any use to it. He puzzled over Daira''s words. He couldn''t see how people would agree with his memory being removed, when they had protested for his execution. He laid down on the bed, thinking about it. He imagined himself as the monk he had been, maybe one of the sentinels that escorted a prisoner, a traitor, to his punishment. Even in that fantasy, he couldn''t muster much sympathy for himself. He was glad nobody was going to be executed, but also aware of the danger a traitor posed to the village. A new exile was the ideal punishment, in a different village from the one the prisoner had escaped from. They were even wasting cloud water on him, the bastard. That was the point, he realized, eyes closed. Cloud water was rare, now that the monks boiled every drop before drinking it and the gods purified the rest. Even in the rare instances when they had tried to resupply their stock, the water fallen from the sky was normal rain, without the properties they needed. The cloud people had realized their tricks had stopped working, especially since he had given them the sphere they sought. Which meant that the monks¡¯ reserves were smaller and smaller, while the requests to use it from the scholars grew at every new discovery, not to speak about the god trials. He could see how the people would consider it an honor, to both escape death and take a gulp of that precious substance. He couldn''t count on their help. He knew he needed to open his eyes and get to work on a new plan, but he was too tired, and any genuine attempt at getting up was drowned by exhaustion. Before he could realize he¡¯d been sleeping, a flicker of panic awakened him with a gulp. He looked around, confused thoughts of executions, sentinels and grilled salmon swirling in his brain. Then he saw Ebus¡¯s message on the floor and realized that not only he had slept, but he didn¡¯t know how much time he had before his memory was cancelled. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He gulped, trying to drown the panic that was threatening to crawl out of his throat. He put his feet on the ground and felt the misplaced shape of the cylinder against the sole of his foot. He moved it in position between his toes, ready to be used. Then, he grabbed the mostly full plate and started eating it furiously, to calm both the hunger and the need to do something with his hands. He didn¡¯t know what to do, his only plan had already been foiled, and it wasn¡¯t particularly solid to begin with. The only thing he was sure about was that he couldn¡¯t let the sentinels drag him in front of a scholar of memory. In that case, his best bet was to escape, or even just find a place to hide until they thought he had escaped. He had only a few more minutes to think before he heard a door open and close in the distance. He instinctively approached the wall, suspecting they were coming for him. He heard the voices approach and the tinkling of the keys. As soon as the first sentinel stepped into view, he activated the pattern. Nothing seemed to happen, but he focused on remaining still and impassible, on looking mildly curious and a bit scared like he did on any other day, instead of terrified of what he was about to do. The sentinel with the key turned it inside the lock, then pulled the door by casually gripping one of the vertical bars. Rabam had been expecting it, and the man wasn¡¯t using that much strength, but he still felt his foot slide forward. ¡°It¡¯s not opening,¡± the sentinel commented. The other one frowned and gave a firmer tug to the door. Rabam was about to slip forward and lose his balance, but he managed to stabilize himself by gripping the torch¡¯s holder that was bolted to the wall. Fortunately the sentinels were too focused on the lock to notice any movement. ¡°Try again,¡± the one who was gripping the bar said, but the new attempt didn¡¯t change the situation. Rabam observed them exchange places, the key being passed from one to the other as he set his spear aside and tried again. Rabam observed his attempts with a racing heart, wondering what to do next, but his mind was blank. ¡°How long has it been broken?¡± a sentinel asked, and it took him a few instants to realize he was addressing him. ¡°It was a bit tough yesterday,¡± he said, voice trembling. The sentinels looked at each other, each expecting the other to come out with a solution. Rabam just hoped they would both leave. ¡°I¡¯ll keep trying,¡± the one who was already gripping the door said, ¡°You look for a locksmith.¡± His colleague nodded and sprinted away. Rabam endured the increasingly violent tugs and grunts of the one who remained until the other¡¯s steps had disappeared again beyond the distant door that connected the prisons to the rest of the village. Then, he quickly turned until his heel was pointing at the door, without stopping the flow of viss. The door was pushed outward just as the sentinel yanked one last time. The metal bars hit his face, pushing him completely off balance. He hit the floor with his head, only partially stopping his fall with a forearm. Rabam sprinted forward, past the open entrance, and bent to touch the sentinel¡¯s face with his fingertips. He desperately pushed viss forward, hoping the confusion and concussion would make the usually difficult task of putting to sleep another person a bit easier. The man slumped onto the ground. Rabam looked around in the empty corridor, uncertain about what to do next. In the end, the fear that the other sentinel, could come back to find him standing there was enough to put him into motion. He grabbed the sentinel¡¯s feet and dragged him into his cell, then took his keys, the sword and the belt, that he expertly tied around his waist. He stepped out of the cell and made sure that the lock was well closed before walking down the corridors, his steps soft and hesitant. He flattened as much as he could against the wall and held his breath when he saw the warm light of the central room. He stopped and waited for a sound that would point at the presence of sentinels, hoping they couldn¡¯t hear his pounding heart or the suffocated breaths he was slowly taking. He was almost convinced there wasn¡¯t anyone waiting on the other side of the arc, when a murmured exchange of words crossed the room. He felt his heart sink, but waited until they talked again to creep a few steps forward. He couldn¡¯t see the sentinels, not without peeking out of the corner and risking being spotted, but he could see where they weren¡¯t: in front of the arcs that led to the other cells. They were probably standing by the door that led to the village, just outside of view. He needed a distraction to convince the guards to check one of those corridors instead of his cell. And if they saw him... He lowered his eyes onto the sword, wondering how much he remembered from his training. Not enough to win against two sentinels, nor the ones they would surely alert. Everything had to be over quickly, if he didn''t want the third sentinel to return with the locksmith while they were still fighting. He fixed his eyes on the furthermost torch, right next to an arch to the right. Compared to the other entrances, it looked like there was a lower chance for someone noticing him, especially if he crouched on the darker side of the corridor. He took out the cylinder from his shoe and laid down with his belly on the floor. He pointed the extremity with the pattern for pulling at the torch''s holder and activated it with caution, sending a trickle of his viss. The only sign that it had sorted any effect was a violent flickering of the light. He increased the flux of viss, propping his free hand firmly against the irregular rocks of the floor to avoid being dragged forward. The light trembled in a more visible way, to the point a sentinel made a sound of surprise. Rabam gave more violent tugs to the holder, hoping it would dislodge. He only obtained to bend it a bit, enough for the torch to tip forward and fall. Both sentinels exclaimed something as it rolled over the floor, only stopping at the base of the wall between two doors. Steps approached it. The male voice that accompanied them became clearer. ¡°¡­ happening here? Did someone touch this?¡± ¡°Not during any of my turns,¡± a woman''s voice answered. The man came into view, and Rabam froze. He recognized him as one of the sentinels that sometimes brought him food: he was at least forty, with twenty or so years of expertise at his back. He''d have recognized Rabam immediately, and he only needed to turn a bit to the right to see him. He stopped pulling and retracted into the corridor, thinking about the next step. Meanwhile, the sentinel was bending down to pick up the torch. ¡°The holder is bent,¡± he said with a hint of amusement in his voice. ¡°Maybe once the locksmith arrives he can get a look.¡± The sentinel nodded. Rabam realized that soon they would go back to their spots next to the door, taking away his chance of escaping. He panicked, looking for something else he could use. There was a sword at the man''s side, so he pointed the cylinder at it and activated the pattern for pushing. The sword moved forward in its scabbard, pressing against the wall. The sentinel let out a yelp of surprise, narrowly missing the metal holder just above his head. He tried to detach himself by pushing against the wall. Rabam gripped the cylinder tighter. ¡°What''s going on?¡± the other sentinel asked. ¡°I¡¯m stuck on something.¡± ¡°On what? There''s nothing in this room.¡± Rabam froze again when she came into view, but she was going straight for his colleague, pressed with the side against the wall. Only at that point Rabam dared to stand and shuffle forward and to the right, where the arc of his corridor ended and another one began, just one armlength away from him. He made sure to keep the cylinder pointed at the sentinel the entire time. ¡°Help me with the belt,¡± he said. As soon as they were too busy trying to detangle the sword from the rest to notice him, Rabam entered the closest archway in three tense steps and hid behind the corner. The door that led to the village opened, making him freeze again. He retracted into the shadows projected by the lanterns, where only a glimmer of the room was visible. His gaze was captured by the sentinels'' hall on the other side of the door. Rabam''s stomach dropped in seeing how many people were gathered around the turns'' grid. He remembered how chaotic that room could be, when there weren''t priors around. Sometimes they even participated in the chaos, except of course for Maris. People gathered there before each turn to group with the colleagues that shared the same hours. If even one of them recognized Rabam, which wasn''t unlikely after his most recent trial, they''d have captured him again in an instant. The doors mercifully closed, letting two people through. Rabam dragged himself away, through one of the arcs and down the corridor, hoping to find an empty cell at the very end. A conversation erupted between the sentinels in the room behind him. Rabam finally saw the cell. He approached it cautiously, scared to trigger a loud reaction from the prisoner inside. He saw a man sitting on the bed. He immediately stood in noticing someone approach. He was taller than Rabam, and broader, with the frame of a blacksmith. ¡°What do you want, now?¡± he growled. Rabam realized he thought he was a sentinel, since he had both belt and sword. He considered how to use it to his advantage: maybe he could take the prisoner out and pretend to lead him to the washing room, hiding behind him as much as he could. But he felt uneasy at the idea of releasing a prisoner he knew nothing about. Sure, he could be just a traitor, but he could also have done something worse. He didn¡¯t want to risk freeing someone else¡¯s Loriem. He considered going back and looking at the other cells, but the locksmith and the sentinel who had left to call him could give the alarm any second. ¡°I¡¯m not a sentinel,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m a prisoner. I need to hide in your cell.¡± He eyed his sword. ¡°I¡¯m going to call the guards.¡± Rabam took out the keys before he could say anything else. The man¡¯s eyes went wide in seeing them dangling from his fingers. ¡°Let me hide here and we¡¯ll escape together.¡± He looked at the sword again, then his eyes shot back to the key. Rabam imagined he was evaluating how much of a danger he posed, and whether he could take him out easily. The conversation in the main room had ended, so Rabam knelt to try and open the cell. As he took the first key in his hand, he realized it wasn''t an easy task: they were all similar to each other. Only the one for the door that led out of the prisons could be distinguished at first glance, since it was different from the others. He tried a couple of them, but the fact they didn''t enter made him panic. ¡°How do I know you''ll take me with you when you leave?¡± the man finally answered. Rabam reflected on that while he tried one more time. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the key to your cell. Provided I find it.¡± He tried two more. The third one finally entered, but a yell in the distance startled him. He turned the key in panic, grimacing at the loud screech of the door when he opened it. The voices of the sentinels in the distance became alarmed. Rabam closed the door behind him, remembering only at the last instant to turn the key again inside the lock and retrieve it. By then the sentinels must have known something was wrong, because there were fast steps going down the corridor. Rabam stepped around the other prisoner and looked for a place to hide. He considered the separ¨¦ for the toilet area, but it had a grid of wood that could betray his presence. He turned and saw the closet beside him. As the steps approached, he climbed inside between the clothes. The space was small enough he had to stand half-crouched. He left a shutter open, the one farthest from the door, and hid behind the other one, aware that a locked closet could attract more suspicion than one looking recently used. The steps were so close his skin prickled with the feeling of someone standing right behind him. ¡°What''s going on?¡± a sentinel asked. Rabam didn''t dare move nor breathe, for fear the keys in his pocket would rattle and betray him. ¡°Wondering the same,¡± the prisoner said. ¡°We heard the noise.¡± ¡°Must have been the guy who escaped.¡± Rabam lowered his hand on the sword, his breathing so fast in that small space that he thought he could suffocate. ¡°Elaborate, quick.¡± ¡°There was a guy wandering here, dressed like a sentinel. He waited here a bit until you were gone, then he left.¡± ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°I don''t know. He didn''t free me, so he can fuck off and die.¡± Rabam relaxed, despite the clear threat in his words. ¡°We need to find him,¡± the sentinel said in the end. He and the locksmith both ran away. Rabam waited with his heart thumping in his throat, welcoming the air in his lungs with gulps. The shutter he was hidden behind was opened so suddenly he had to grab a hanging tunic to keep his balance. The prisoner was looking at him from above. ¡°I accept.¡± Rabam produced a hesitant smile in front of those pointy eyes. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You have three days.¡± He turned before Rabam could process his words. ¡°What?¡± he said. The man sat down on the stool in front of the table and bent forward with his elbows on his knees. ¡°If I''m not free in three days, I''ll call the guards.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Rabam started, then lowered his voice, realizing the sentinels could potentially hear him. ¡°How am I supposed to know how much time has passed?¡± ¡°Nine meals. And I''m not sharing them.¡± Rabam looked down at his sword, almost by instinct. The man smirked. ¡°Do you want to fight? I''m not scared of dying, but I assure you it won''t happen in this hole.¡± Rabam shook his head. He lowered himself until he was sitting on the floor of the closet. ¡°Three days,¡± the man repeated, and that was the end of their conversation. 6.7 - Sabotage To Saia¡¯s surprise, taking care of the sea snake helped her survive the days of monotonous work. They had placed the tank in one corner of the room, next to the wall of glass but opposite the maps¡¯ table. She was amused at how carefully the engineers stepped around it, even when they were already standing quite far. The turns had changed a bit, since the sun settled a bit earlier each day, a consequence of the constant movement of the city. Each morning, the engineers¡¯ rulers and pencils came closer to the quadrant where the mountain was, even if the advance was frustratingly slow. She knew it was better to act as soon as possible, but she kept wondering what would happen if she was found out before the rebels realized she had sabotaged the weapons and given her the exact position of the shard. They could break the pact and not give her anything at all, and then she¡¯d have to decide whether to waste more time or act based on incomplete information. She waited for midday to come, when the engineers left and Filsun arrived to start their lesson. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the full body,¡± he said. ¡°Last time your control wasn¡¯t as stable as it should be.¡± She refrained from commenting and waited for him to become gaseous. She gave him a second to settle himself, then focused all of her power on keeping him solid. The more they trained, the more surprised she was at how easy it had become: she could instinctively feel which parts of his viss had to be nudged which way, as if the flow inside his body was a picture and she could tell which details didn¡¯t fit with the rest. ¡°Are you done?¡± Filsun asked, as if he couldn¡¯t feel it in his whole body. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well, then¡­¡± He moved his arms around, then suddenly spun on the spot, trying to break her control. Saia waited patiently as he jumped twice on place, then tried to bend each of his fingers backwards with the opposite hand. Her control didn¡¯t slip once. In the end, Filsun shook his arms in front of him. ¡°We should focus on the hands again, they¡¯re not as solid as they could be.¡± Saia felt a flash of irritation at that blatant lie, but didn¡¯t show anything other than calm. ¡°And here I thought I had it right,¡± she replied, doing her best to keep her tone light and uncaring. ¡°It looks like soon you won¡¯t have anything to teach me.¡± She felt his energy buzz. She was sure that if she let him free of her control, he would start levitating out of nervousness. ¡°If Serit¡¯s research ever gets approved again, you will need to be perfect. What would happen if you solidified an ambassador and their hands rained past the threshold?¡± Saia refrained to point out how little she cared about that. Besides, the kernel Serit was building would have forced her to keep someone whole no matter what. ¡°Have you seen other spirits around, recently?¡± she asked, instead. Another wave of buzzing, followed by a clear lie. ¡°No, of course.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Because I¡¯ve seen them fly past the window.¡± She pointed at the wall of glass, and at the same time loosened her control on his body. It started expanding toward the ceiling, the contours smudging. ¡°We should change room, or they could see you next time,¡± she concluded. ¡°You¡¯re lying. Hilon would have told me.¡± ¡°Hilon isn¡¯t always here, and she doesn¡¯t have my reach.¡± She held his gaze. Even if he decided her words were a lie, they both knew he couldn¡¯t risk having the elders know he was there. ¡°You can¡¯t leave this room,¡± Filsun said. ¡°Not without Hilon¡¯s permission, and I don¡¯t think I can ask her anything more.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need to go far. Some of the laboratories have no windows, and they¡¯re just down the corridor.¡± She knew exactly which one would be ideal for her plans, but she feared that being too specific would have revealed her true intentions. Filsun slowly returned to his normal shape, even if it trembled quite a lot. ¡°I¡¯ll ask,¡± he finally said, then flew out through the keyhole. Saia waited, looking out of the window and at her sea snake in the tank at the same time. Now that she could easily see the viss inside each creature in her domain, she appreciated the thousands of rivulets traversing its coiled body, resting on a mound of earth that was currently immersed in sunlight. The next day, right after the engineers had left, she heard the sounds of a muffled discussion outside the door. Filsun was late, so Saia imagined what it was about. In the end, the door opened again on his gaseous figure. ¡°I convinced her. She says to use whatever place we like, as long as we don¡¯t touch anything.¡± Saia reluctantly stepped out, expecting to be deactivated. ¡°She also said that if you hope to find some secret information lying around, you¡¯re wasting your time,¡± Filsun specified, floating beside her as she walked down the corridor. ¡°The engineers have been instructed a long time ago not to leave anything of importance around here.¡± Saia only half-listened to him, too busy calculating the position of the laboratories compared to the weapons¡¯ deposit. ¡°This one,¡± she said, pointing at the door right next to the room she actually wanted. ¡°Or maybe that one.¡± ¡°That one,¡± Filsun agreed immediately, entering exactly where she needed to be. Her plan would have worked with any other laboratory, since they were so close to each other, but she wanted to avoid any waste of energy, since she didn¡¯t know exactly how many weapons she needed to sabotage. Filsun had been given the keys to the laboratories too, so he opened the door with ease. That spoke volumes to how little Hilon actually cared about Saia wandering around. After all, she couldn¡¯t get a step further than the area assigned to her without being deactivated, key or no key. Filsun hovered over the table at the center of the room. ¡°Let¡¯s start again,¡± he said. ¡°And I¡¯ll be moving around before you start, so it won¡¯t be that easy.¡± Saia didn¡¯t find the exercise to be as difficult as he had anticipated, but she still made a good portion of mistakes, since the biggest part of her attention was focused somewhere else. Namely, the room right above her, inside her reach once she had expanded her domain past the thick ceiling of rock. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The crates were still there, and still filled with weapons. Each trident was divided into four parts: the higher portion of the pole, with the long blade at the end of it; the lower part that could be screwed to the other to reach the full length of the weapon; and the two smaller spikes that could be ejected separately once attached to the main body. She continued expanding her domain, even if it wasn¡¯t strictly necessary anymore, to check that there wasn¡¯t anyone in the room. The only guards were on the corridor outside; as long as she didn¡¯t cause any loud sounds, they wouldn¡¯t have noticed her tinkering. She shrunk her domain a bit, only including the crates. They were eight in total, containing twenty weapons each, every set of four pieces held together by a sturdy rope. She examined the central part, as it seemed to be the most important component, and looked for a mechanism that could resemble the drawing provided by the rebels. She found that the ejection was activated by a pattern of iron wire hidden in the tight space of the pole, of which only a tiny surface emerged, flat as if it was a button. The point of contact. Saia didn¡¯t understand why she couldn¡¯t just cut the wire. She didn¡¯t see how the guards could repair it without breaking the weapon in half, which would have made them ineffective all the same. The only explanation was that the rebels wanted the guards to use the weapon, only to have them misfire and, possibly, hurt whoever was holding them. Saia retracted, paying a bit more attention to Filsun¡¯s lesson as she reflected on what to do. She didn¡¯t know for sure whether sabotaging the weapons that way would have hurt anyone, but if it was true, it went against the pact she had made with the rebels. At the same time, there was no reason for the guards to fire their weapons if it wasn¡¯t to kill someone. Not that she had a choice, if she wanted her shard. She expanded her domain again and set out to work on the small mechanism at the base of each of the two ejectable points. It took the rest of the lesson for her to sabotage the crates, even if that convinced Filsun he had found a skill she still needed to practice. She spent the rest of the day in the navigation room waiting for a sign of the rebels, wondering how they could ever find out that she had sabotaged the weapons in the first place. She considered it weird for them not to give her any instructions in that sense, and that made her suspect again they had been lying, and the vague position of the shard was all she would get from them. Until one of the engineers of the second turn arrived in the late afternoon with a jar of cookies. ¡°They¡¯re for us,¡± he said, leaving it open on the table for his colleagues. ¡°It was someone¡¯s birthday at the kitchens and they gave one to each group.¡± Saia had been examining everything that had crossed the door since she¡¯d completed the sabotage. When she checked the sweets too, she found an already opened card tied to the jar. The content was a generic ¡®thank you¡¯ message, the background decorated in pencils with wiggly lines and geometric shapes that reminded her of the buildings and streets of the nine villages when seen from above through the binoculars. It was a more detailed map of the fifth level. One of the geometric shapes was noticeably darker than the others, and someone had left a drop of their viss on it for good measure. Another one had been marked, smaller and at the very edge of the drawing, and she realized it was the elevators¡¯ room. She waited until the engineers were focused on the maps, then slashed the string tying the message to the jar to make it fall between two rods. For the first time since she¡¯d been made to work in that room, she looked at the end of the turn with apprehension. There was no more postponing or hesitating. She couldn¡¯t get more ready than she was, and any delay was a waste of precious viss. Eventually, the engineers left for their one-hour break, leaving Saia alone. A part of her started counting the seconds the instant the lock turned. She approached the tank. The sun was setting a bit earlier than usual, and as a result the snake wasn¡¯t particularly active. Saia dropped some dried meat in the water, letting the splashes of the snake in pursuit catch her face. She waited for it to finish eating, then caught it by the head, careful not to squeeze too tight. She held it in front of her, sending a bit of viss to calm it down. She reflected on what she knew about spheres like herself. They could give their viss away as they pleased, even to other gods, but they couldn¡¯t absorb it in any case, not even if it was abandoned on an object and not belonging to a living creature. The monks wanted them to die exactly when expected. Which made sense, considering how Zeles had managed to escape them. Just like she was about to escape now, thanks to her own mistake at Ifse. She would never forgive herself for putting her future at risk, or Serit for taking Aili''s shard. But if it hadn¡¯t happened, there was a chance she¡¯d have never connected the birdguards to the ability to see viss, nor to the fact they needed her to be extremely bright to track her movements from afar. The less viss she had, the closer they had to be, the less precise her surveillance would become. Granted, having less viss also made her less powerful, less dangerous to them. But it also left her free to move. She knew that, and yet she kept holding the snake, frightened by what she was about to do. Her viss were years of her life, and she had already lost too many. The only reason why she didn''t know the exact day of her death was because she refused to make the calculations. Knowing the year was like feeling pressure around her mind, a grip that she only ever felt while facing Vizena. She had only maintained some peace of mind by thinking she still had decades before that moment, despite it getting closer and closer every time she used her energy. And if getting her shard required more time and viss than she had anticipated, if she was stuck at Irim¨¦ze for any reason while it got too far from the mountain again, she might die without even seeing her family again. She was acutely aware of the only hour she had at disposal flowing away from her. She had to get the shard before then, or the engineers could come back and give the alarm. She tried not to think of the possibility that they came back earlier than usual, or that someone else, like Hilon or Filsun, would enter that room while she wasn''t there. Her plan was meant to fool the birdguards, but it could do nothing against normal surveillance. That thought was the last nudge she needed to start pushing her viss into the snake. She increased the flux gradually, checking how much was left inside her sphere. She couldn''t get down to the quantity a human produced in a day, because it wouldn''t have lasted her half an hour. But she remembered Muyut, the tanhata, and his body that contained enough viss for her to survive for eighteen years. That number only took into account what was needed for a god that lived near the mountain, or for her if she kept her domain fairly small. Every time she expanded it, every step she made further away from the mountain, she eroded that reservoir a bit more. She kept slightly less viss than Muyut to avoid implying him in her escape. She paused for a moment, letting the sense of loss wash over her. It was a weird kind of grief, since it was directed mostly at herself, and she couldn''t express it in any outward way. The snake tried to slither off from her weakened grip, then turned its head to bite her arm. The teeth scraped against the rock. Saia peeled it away with minimal strength. ¡°I just gave you forty years of my life, you little shit,¡± she said, then dropped it back into the tank. She checked the animal''s viss: it was bright enough, almost like her sphere had been. Probably enough to fool the birdguards for an hour. She caught a glimpse of herself in the wall of glass. The birdguards might have not recognized her viss, but if she got close enough to one of them they would have known she was out of the designated area. She needed to change how she looked. The tanhata was once again a source of inspiration: she altered the material of her body until she looked like a statue of quartz, a deep red with orange hues. Just flashy enough for anyone to assume she was a tanhata with a glance, without lingering on her human facial traits. Serit hadn''t seemed to know much about those people despite living on the fourth level for part of their life, so she hoped the other shilv¨¦ wouldn¡¯t see through her disguise. She took the rebels¡¯ drawing from the floor, then checked the room one last time, as if all of her possessions weren''t contained inside the bag she was always wearing. On a whim, she opened the cabinet and took out the maps. She doubted they were useful without knowing the necessary calculations, but Aili would appreciate them. She approached the door. She resisted the urge to check whether there was someone in the corridor by expanding her domain: she could easily put any guard to sleep, there was no need to waste more viss. She kicked the lock with enough strength to detach a piece of wall as well. She caught it before it could touch the floor, holding the door at the same time to prevent it from hitting the painted stone of the corridor. She hesitantly put a foot on the other side, then stepped forward some more, aware that the birdguards looking in her direction at that moment were seeing the smaller aura of viss of a tanhata detaching from the bigger one of her sphere. She imagined them wondering why there was one of them in her room, and forced herself to walk away slowly not to arouse more suspicion. She only relaxed once on the other side. The factory was filled with the usual bustling and the noise of the machines. She walked faster, eyes fixed in front of her, to give the impression she was there for a purpose. The few workers who weren''t intent on operating tools or observing procedures noticed her and started talking with each other. She had to resist the urge to expand her domain and listen. She needed to believe her disguise was good enough, at least for the moment, and keep going. 6.8 - Attack Aili woke up. She''d never been as much aware of her godlike sense of time as at that moment, when it told her exactly how many days had passed since the last time she''d been awake. Even more so since she wasn''t in the temple, not even inside her statue. She instinctively expanded her domain, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the hands that were holding her sphere. They were squeezing the glass and trembling at once, which made the fear in their viss even more evident. The monk they were attached to wasn''t anyone Aili recognized: a sentinel, judging by her belt. She was standing on a boat manned by another sentinel a few years younger. The water all around shined with reflections that rivaled Aili''s own golden light. The sun was low over the sea, halfway toward sunset. Soon it would be late enough to make all of the monks standing in the presence of a god automatically exiled. There wasn''t just one god either. The flecks of viss in her domain registered the presence of four other spheres even before her senses could perceive the other boats: they were standing on a line parallel to the shore, with about twenty armlengths of distance between one and the next. Each was occupied by two sentinels, one holding a sphere, one the oars. Her boat was the second one to the left, between two gods whose viss she didn''t recognize. The shore wasn''t Lausune''s: it curved gently towards the mountain, forming a bay, and the climb to the temple was so steep the streets were essentially long staircases. She immediately recognized Suimer from her trips as a letter carrier. The other gods must have been awakened too, because she felt their domains expand and intersect with her own. She felt Dore''s imprint mixed in with all the rest. She tried to withdraw from that unwanted contact, but the gods were so close to each other that her domain would be inside someone else''s even if reduced to a speck. Besides, nobody else was retreating, so she endured the discomfort in order not to betray her ignorance of what was happening. A light flashed from the mountain, and the monks with the rows pushed to bring the boats forward. To her horror, Aili''s domain touched a sixth one: Zeles¡¯s. A barrier of light flickered for an instant halfway through the bay when one of the gods tried to push their domain past him. Aili noticed the tall merchant ship anchored in the harbor and understood: the monks were following her plan, but they had changed it. She had suggested they used three distractions: the first one was the arrival of a ship where at least half of the crew was composed of monks disguised as sailors. Some of them would remain in the taverns and docks area, trying to cause problems and stir up fights. The rest would head to the temple under the pretence of wanting to pray to Vizena, then feign surprise and request explanations once they saw she¡¯d been replaced by another god. The second distraction was the attack of the other monks from the forest on the north side and from the two nearby villages. That was probably the reason why Dore wasn¡¯t inside Tilau: they needed to set up the attack, which surely had required more than one day and night, and by the rules they couldn¡¯t do anything with a deity present. Which also meant that there was Lorin too, among the gods she didn¡¯t know. The third and final distraction, once everything else was in place, was a fake Saia approaching from the sea. It would have been the final signal, the moment for the true attack to happen. An attack that would be possible to foil, Aili hoped, even if Zeles didn¡¯t know about it. Except in place of Saia, the monks had brought four gods. Aili would have never thought them capable of taking such a huge risk. But their commitment was clear in the way they chose such a late hour for the attack, sending a message to both Zeles and the sentinels: nobody would return home until he was defeated. The boats stopped half a towerlength from the shore. ¡°Now!¡± a monk from the central boat yelled, and Aili felt the other gods push their collective energies forward, against Zeles¡¯s barrier. Lamps of light sparkled in the atmosphere. Aili was sure they could be seen even from the other villages. The monks surely had explanations ready to divulge everywhere, groups of sentinels that would have descended the mountain every day just to remove the evidence of what was happening. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you attacking?¡± a deep feminine voice said, and Aili understood she was talking to her because she was the only one that wasn¡¯t throwing viss at the barrier. Even Lorin, who apparently had been on Zeles¡¯s side, was pushing against him. Aili realized she needed to do the same. The whole point of her plan was regaining the monks¡¯ trust after she¡¯d almost lost it. She expanded her domain and started attacking too, using only the minimum amount of energy to make her efforts believable. She looked for a point where her domain was mostly outside of the other gods¡¯, but they were overlapping so much it was difficult to distinguish her own viss from the others¡¯. Still, she needed to alert him. What they were doing wasn¡¯t an attack, but only a distraction. ¡°Zeles,¡± she started, keeping her voice near the ground and as low as she could. ¡°What are you doing?¡± another voice interrupted her. She recognized him as one of the gods of the biggest villages, on the northern side of the mountain. ¡°Distract him?¡± she could only answer, hoping Zeles would understand. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your energy. Focus on the attack.¡± There was a flare of light in the temple. One of the sailor-monks who had reached it was waiving a torch, the signal for the attack. Aili tried to look at the dark flank of the mountain, to see what the monks were rolling into place. Or maybe the preparations were already complete and the ballistae had been aimed at Zeles for days. And he had no clue. She held back her connection to the mountain. She tried to resist as much as she could, despite the feeling of being about to burst, of burning and freezing at the same time, of her viss turning with a speed that threw her mind in confusion. The mountain started to tremble. A flash of silver light appeared in the air, then the top of Vizena''s temple exploded, ejecting debris in the air. Despite the destruction, Aili felt relieved: the original aim had been Zeles''s statue, with the goal of breaking it to allow the monks inside the temple access to the sphere it contained. There was the danger of destroying the sphere as well, but the monks were prepared: the next candidate to become a god was probably standing inside the well right at that moment, ready to be transformed as soon as Zeles was dead. That first dart shot by one of the monks'' huge ballistae was the crux of her plan. Once the attack had been foiled, Zeles would have pretended to be hurt enough for it to almost succeed, barely avoiding any subsequent attack. Then, he¡¯d have pushed the monks away with a show of strength, discouraging future attacks. But now that he was alone against five gods, the attack risked transforming into a siege with only one possible outcome. She could see one possibility to save Zeles, but she''d need to send someone... ¡°Deactivate her!¡± Aili had been too focused on the barrier of light and overwhelmed by the storm of feelings to notice the approaching boat. It was a sixth one that didn''t contain any god, only a very angry Riena and a monk rowing behind her. The sentinel holding Aili started trembling violently. ¡°But she might¡­¡± ¡°She''s the only one who knew about the ballistae!¡± Aili realized her mistake in an instant. Since the other gods seemed to know they needed to attack Zeles, she hadn''t considered even for a moment that they might not know about the ballistae too. She rolled away from the sentinel¡¯s hands, trying to plunge into the water of the bay to gain a few seconds before the monks used her shard. But a strong wind stopped her fall, and before she could even guess which god had evoked it, Riena''s hand closed onto her sphere. Zeles had not expected the dart. His barrier of wind had faltered when the combined power of five gods had pushed at once against his domain, and the projectile had been fast enough to pierce what was left without even being deviated. He was sure it would have done even more damage if the earth hadn''t trembled while it was being fired. Maybe it was just luck, or maybe he had to thank Aili for that: he had felt her presence clearly for a moment, and now could perceive specks of viss with her imprint, mixed with all the rest. He couldn''t focus enough on the damage to repair the temple, so he just held the debris in place, suspended above all of the people inside the room. He checked that nobody was hurt and put the sailors to sleep. They had been loudly wondering about Vizena the whole time, while more of them yelled at everyone they met back at the docks. He¡¯d been foolish to trust the ship, when almost everyone that came out of it had proven to be a monk. Above all, he was terrified at the monks'' willingness to hurt Suimer''s people. ¡°What happened?¡± a woman asked his statue, glancing up at the ceiling of debris. Zeles made sure the rest of his barriers were secure before answering. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Nothing you have to worry about. Please return to your houses and stay inside until all of this is over.¡± ¡°All of what?¡± someone else asked. As much as Zeles wanted to reassure them, he needed the viss and focus it would require. He looked for Aili''s imprint in the attackers¡¯ midst, trying to find a way to communicate. It was clear now that she had wanted to warn him about the attack, so she could have an idea about how to foil it. Short of somehow getting the envelope with her instructions from Lausune, asking her was the quickest way to get an answer. He waited to feel her viss against his barrier, but could only distinguish Dore''s, Lorin''s, and two other gods that he didn''t know. One boat was slowly turning to leave the bay, headed toward Tilau, and he realized they had deactivated her. The pressure had eased a bit on that side of the border, but the monks were trying to enter from the forest, Tilau and Kivari at once. Even if normally humans couldn''t pose an actual threat to him, there were so many sentinels pushing from so many directions he feared they could slip through a temporary breach. With so much effort being poured into defeating him, he wondered how many people were actually keeping an eye on the villages compared to all the forces that were deployed to Suimer. It reminded him of the events narrated in the book Rabam had brought, of the monks gathering most deities where the danger was and moving the rest halfway between two villages, so that they could offer at least a partial protection to both. That meant the book contained the truth, or at least not complete lies. He didn''t have the time to think about the implication of that discovery, because more people started to enter the temple than the ones who were leaving. Lada was the first one inside, followed by other students of magic. ¡°What''s happening?¡± She saw the debris suspended over her and stopped next to the wall. ¡°Who did that?¡± Zeles could feel their voices and distress grow, to the point it started to affect his focus more than answering them would. ¡°There''s nothing to worry about. They don''t want to hurt you.¡± ¡°Then why did they shoot the temple?¡± ¡°Who are these people?¡± someone else shouted. ¡°Calm down, please,¡± Zeles said. ¡°I¡¯ll explain in... A second.¡± His barrier on the gods'' side faltered. He gave up a dozen of armlengths, in order to use less viss and force the boats to advance before the gods could put on the same pressure. ¡°These people are the monks I warned you about. They want to kill me because I didn''t put myself and Suimer under their control. They only attacked the temple as a distraction, they knew I would protect you.¡± He hoped his words were true and not merely a projection of his own hopes. He didn¡¯t want to think of how brutal the attack could become, if the monks were willing to hurt the inhabitants. ¡°And if they succeed, what happens next?¡± Misia, Saia''s sister, asked. ¡°They''ll replace me with someone else.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Zeles knew they were all thinking of the same goddess, of the past they had left behind. ¡°I don''t know. Not Vizena, but someone else.¡± ¡°Did they give us Vizena?¡± an older woman asked. ¡°I¡­ Yes, but my successor won''t be as bad as she was. They will probably be a normal person.¡± The attack had resumed, so he went quiet before he could add something he would regret. ¡°A normal person?¡± Lada repeated. ¡°Yes. One of them, most likely.¡± The people in the temple looked at each other. ¡°So,¡± a man said. ¡°These people are attacking the temple, want to kill you, put Vizena in place, and one of them will become our new god?¡± ¡°Unacceptable,¡± someone else said, and Zeles realized at that moment just how many people had entered the temple. More were coming, probably after seeing from afar the small crowd that had gathered at the entrance. ¡°Please, return home,¡± he could only repeat. ¡°They don¡¯t want you, but me. They could attack again, and I can¡¯t save every one of you if I¡¯m focused elsewhere.¡± He felt bad about lying: of course he would have saved them and let the monks in if it came to that, but he wanted to do everything he could to avoid that scenario. ¡°You trained us to resist if they try to make us sleep,¡± Lada said. ¡°We can talk to them. If they don¡¯t want to hurt us as you say, we won¡¯t need your protection.¡± ¡°I appreciate the thought,¡± Zeles paused as the monks on the left border pushed all together in a moment where the gods were sending him a spike of intense viss. ¡°I appreciate it, but these people have been following the same rules for hundreds of years. They¡¯re past the point of convincing.¡± ¡°Then what should we do?¡± Heilam, Saia¡¯s older brother, said. ¡°Wait in our houses while they do whatever they want with our village?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Zeles only had the strength to answer. ¡°We¡¯ll at least try,¡± Lada said, then gestured for the people who had been training with her to follow her out. ¡°Wait,¡± Mor¨¬c yelled as the crowd started to disperse and split into groups. ¡°Has any of you bought a carpet from Lausune, by chance?¡± Only a few heads turned his way and shook from side to side. He walked deeper into the thick of people and asked again. ¡°Why do you need a carpet?¡± Zeles said in his ears. Mor¨¬c stopped, letting the crowd flow past him. ¡°Now I know how to make a carpet fly. I can fix one of the ones I¡¯ve sold and if you power it, I can go to Lausune to ask for help.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better if this situation doesn¡¯t spread further.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Mor¨¬c asked, stepping toward the statue. ¡°If I can convince them, they¡¯ll come here and argue with these people who want to attack you.¡± Zeles was about to reply that it would have been pointless, then noticed that the temple was almost empty. ¡°Can you please go outside?¡± Mor¨¬c reluctantly obeyed. As soon as he was past the door, Zeles pushed the unconscious monks out and let go of the debris that he¡¯d been holding up in place of the roof. He stopped the cloud of dust from travelling too far, then used the focus he had freed up to strengthen his barriers. ¡°If you¡¯re worried that I might escape with Dan¡­¡± Mor¨¬c started, fists closed at his sides. ¡°It¡¯s not that. If they see you fly using magic, they might target you.¡± ¡°They can¡¯t reach me if I fly high enough.¡± Zeles observed the determinate buzzing of his viss. Mor¨¬c believed his words completely, and he didn¡¯t have the strength to argue or stop him anyway. Plus, there was something else he could do to help. ¡°There¡¯s a carpet in the fifth house to the left on backers street,¡± he said. ¡°Tell me when you have fixed it, and I¡¯ll fill it with viss. But wait,¡± he added when Mor¨¬c started to run away, ¡°If they hurt you, I won¡¯t be there to save you.¡± ¡°I know,¡± he said, huffing from the run. ¡°I can live without a god acting as my nanny, you know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bring lights with you as you fly, or they¡¯ll detect you.¡± Mor¨¬c rolled his eyes. ¡°I know.¡± Despite his confidence, Zeles couldn¡¯t help but worry. The monks would have looked for him everywhere once they knew there was someone that could fly a carpet. And yet, having Mor¨¬c out of Suimer meant they couldn¡¯t capture him, finding out he came from the outside and kick him out of the mountain, or worse. And, he realized, there was something he could do to help. ¡°Don¡¯t waste time talking to people once you¡¯re there,¡± he said. ¡°There are seven pieces of glass hidden somewhere in Lausune. Try to put them to sleep as you would do with a person.¡± Mor¨¬c slowed down, breathing hard as he answered. ¡°How do I find them?¡± ¡°You could ask Rabam, if he¡¯s there.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Rabam?¡± Zeles gave him bits and pieces of his description in between the most intense moments of the monks¡¯ push against him. ¡°If you meet him, tell him that Aili is in danger,¡± he added. ¡°They want to break her.¡± ¡°I want to read her letter,¡± Mor¨¬c said, slowing down in front of the house with his carpet. ¡°It seemed important.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find a scalpel inside a cavity under the statue. There¡¯s a small pattern you have to activate to the side of the pedestal in order to access it.¡± Mor¨¬c nodded, taking out his sewing kit from the meager backpack he¡¯d brought from Lausune. ¡°Good luck,¡± Zeles said, then focused all of his energies on the attack. The boat that carried Aili was getting away from the range of the gods. He could imagine what would happen next: they would dock somewhere inside Tilau, have a brief consultation with the priors, communicated to the sentinels back home that they had found a rebel god, then promptly break her. He couldn¡¯t imagine anyone having the same discussion about preserving viss the priors apparently had for Vizena. She hadn¡¯t directly defied them, after all, but merely hurt the people in her care. Somehow, the monks thought it was a lesser evil. She needed to stop her, but couldn¡¯t move from his spot. Even in the remote chance he could create a breach in a barrier held up by four hostile gods, he couldn¡¯t get closer without leaving Suimer¡¯s inhabitants to face the monks alone. There was only one other person he could possibly count on, but only if he managed to convince her to help despite the others¡¯ presence. ¡°This is the moment to make a choice,¡± he started, making sure his voice was low enough it could reach the gods without alerting the monks. ¡°You know who you are. That boat right there contains my friend. She¡¯ll be killed only to protect me, without hurting anyone.¡± ¡°There¡¯s another one,¡± an unknown god said, addressing the monks. ¡°One of us is a traitor.¡± Zeles fought past the frustration. He didn¡¯t see any way forward but to keep talking. ¡°I know acting would put you in danger, but I beg you to consider this: the monks are ready to kill two gods, not three. Cracking you would require more time and planning. They don¡¯t know the extent of your involvement. And second, I have enough strength to keep the others at bay. I can push all of my power into keeping them distracted. But you have to act first.¡± He waited, taking in the four imprints of the viss that was being used against him. He could distinguish Lorin¡¯s, but she was too tangled up with the others to give him a clear view of what she was feeling. Fear, surely, for being put on the spot. The gods didn¡¯t know it was her he was addressing, but if she panicked they would find out. Unless she acted, throwing everyone into a panicked frenzy. He observed the boat approaching the white rocks that delimitated the border with Tilau¡¯s waters. Only the more distant half of the territory was currently guarded by a god, since the monks were occupying the rest. Once the boat was past those rocks, there would be nothing either he or Lorin could do to save Aili. ¡°If they win, everything will return as it always was,¡± he continued. ¡°These people don¡¯t change unless they¡¯re forced to. And who knows what the next crisis might be. Anything that requires quick adapting would destroy them, and everyone in the village as a consequence.¡± He stopped talking, since a wave had begun to form on the northwest side of the harbor. It became bigger as it approached the shore, moving diagonally. The monks at the rows inside each boat tried to push themselves out of range. Some winds broke the crest, trying to slow down the water. Zeles increased his push against the barrier of gods, capturing their attention again. In the end, the wave reached the boat that was carrying Aili. It was flipped upside down, everyone inside falling into the wave. The momentum carried them past the white rocks, outside of the gods¡¯ range. Which wasn¡¯t a bad thing, considering it meant the other gods couldn¡¯t fix the problem without moving away from Suimer first. ¡°Thank you,¡± Zeles said, sure his relief was evident to everyone in the way his viss moved. ¡°Who did this?¡± one of the monks yelled. The pressure decreased as the gods tried to disentangle their domains as much as that forced proximity would allow. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± one of them said. ¡°I do,¡± Dore¡¯s voice sounded clear on top of everyone else¡¯s. ¡°It was Lorin. See? I¡¯ve always been on the monks¡¯ side, even if you suspected me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a bit too quick to accuse me,¡± Lorin said. ¡°Maybe it was you, instead.¡± Suddenly, Zeles couldn¡¯t feel the pressure of their domains anymore. For an instant he thought they¡¯d been both deactivated. Then, a barrier of light cut the bay in half, splitting the four boats into two groups. ¡°It was you,¡± Dore screamed. ¡°Deactivate her!¡± ¡°He¡¯s wasting viss and attacking a fellow god. It¡¯s clearly him.¡± ¡°Riena!¡± One of the monks on the left side of the harbor yelled. ¡°We need her to read their emotions, I can¡¯t tell if Dore¡¯s lying.¡± But Riena was currently out of earshot, grasping the side of her boat¡¯s hull with the rest of her body submerged in water. ¡°Just deactivate him,¡± another monk said. ¡°Let¡¯s deactivate them both, then we¡¯ll see.¡± They kept bickering, calling for a prior or for someone to send a message to the sentinels left behind. Lorin and Dore kept pushing against each other, which only left Zeles with two gods to deal with. The monks would have sorted everything out, given enough time. He hoped it would be enough for Mor¨¬c to find the shards. 6.9 - Search Saia observed the waiting rooms of the elevators slowly trail past her, wishing the cabin would go up quicker. Putting to sleep the guards at the entrance of the factory had been easy, a quick expansion of her domain to reach them before they could give the alarm and they were out of the game. But she needed to be more careful from that moment on: she couldn¡¯t afford the same loss of viss as the previous weeks, and if she expanded her domain too much with birdguards nearby, they could notice it and deactivate her. As soon as the grid of the elevator slid aside and the guard asked for her documents, she stepped forward and gripped her wrist. A sprint and she touched her colleague too, leaving both slumped behind her. She left the room for the main elevator hall, where the guards looked at her with the same amount of suspicion they reserved for everyone else. After all, if their colleagues had let her go past them, it meant she was authorized to be there. She carefully stepped outside, not knowing what to expect. She remembered the place as a more or less homogeneous stretch of trees, with some sparse buildings and metal nets dividing the level into sectors. She expected to act in the half-darkness of the evening, where the guards couldn¡¯t see well, or, in the case of the birdguards, could only see the viss of someone approaching without seeing their face. Instead, she found the trees had been obscured by a ring of lights covering almost the entirety of the fifth level. It reminded her a bit of Ifse, if all of its wind spirits were standing still and close to each other. Not only anyone would have been able to see her approach, but her movements would have attracted unwanted attention if she didn¡¯t pretend to have a reason to be there. She put a hand inside the pocket of her tunic to touch the small map of the rebels, in order to read it without having to expand her domain. She needed to walk quite a bit and pass through another sector before she could find the building she was looking for. From where she stood, it seemed to be situated in an area that was a bit less illuminated than the rest, even if the light was slowly advancing to cover it. She stepped forward, never straying from the path that weaved through the trees, careful not to step onto the fertile soil at the sides and get her shoes dirty. Most of the trees were planted following parallel lines, while the ones that forced the path to bend in dozens of different directions were considerably older. She wondered why the shilv¨¦ hadn¡¯t cut them, then remembered their most important god was connected to wood and tradition. The trees were silent, devoid of life. After spending so many days closed inside a laboratory under the city, where workers were constantly pouring in and out with the flow of their turns, she had almost forgotten that the rest of the world followed a different rhythm. Her impression was wiped away by a distant sound of chatter, as if of a crowd wandering further down the path, the noise interrupted by indistinct shouts. She wanted to expand her domain and observe what awaited her before she found herself immersed in an unknown situation, but she was too aware of her few remaining years and of the mountain already stealing her viss. The trees finished abruptly, giving way to a large square bristling with activity. There were crates piled up on each other at spots that seemed random, forcing the workers to avoid them with their cargo of lights. They were all dressed with a gray tunic, except for one man wearing a short red cape on top of his clothes. ¡°I know you¡¯re tired,¡± he yelled. ¡°But we have to finish this area before the festival starts. Once it¡¯s approved you can go home and rest.¡± A couple of tired people cheered to that. Saia imagined they were working that late because the pattern of light was more clearly visible and close to the final effect they wanted to obtain once the festival started. She saw a couple of tanhata walking around the crowd of shilv¨¦ and humans, carrying double the cargo of light in their powerful arms. Saia waited for them to set off in separate directions before approaching an open crate. Her disguise couldn¡¯t fool them, so she had to avoid attracting their attention. And she couldn¡¯t expand her domain, she realized, because apparently her viss stood out in a way they found displeasing. She looked at the crate¡¯s contents: the lights were composed of a multitude of small spheres of glass, smaller even than the device Serit and Hilon used to communicate. Each one contained either a small sprite or a piece of a larger one. Even knowing they would be returned to the temple or arena where they came from after the festival¡¯s end and that technically they couldn¡¯t suffer, it pained her a little to see them restricted in such a small space. Luckily, she wouldn¡¯t have to hang the lights one by one, since they were connected by a long metal wire. She observed the workers setting them up around a tree while she untangled a wire from the rest and wound it around her arm. She repeated the operation a couple of times, then walked off once one of the tanhata started approaching her general area. ¡°Forgot your uniform?¡± the supervisor with the red cape called out after her. ¡°It was sweaty,¡± she answered, eliciting a laugh, and at the same time capturing more attention than she needed from the nearby workers. She marched across the square, headed toward the buildings on the opposite side. She didn¡¯t need to check inside to know they were only warehouses and factories for the production of jams and dried fruit. Still, she was glad to recognize their disposition as one of the shapes on the map drawn by the rebels. She walked with purpose, ignoring the calls of the workers for more lights after they had finished setting them up around windows and branches. Some of them had climbed to the roof of the warehouse with a metal ladder to hang the decorations around the gutter. Saia realized it was her chance to see what waited ahead and climbed up to the top. The map made much more sense when seeing the fifth level from above. The sector she needed to reach wasn¡¯t that far away, but the lights stopped at its edges. ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± she asked the worker that was carefully relieving her of a bundle of lights. ¡°You¡¯re new here, right? That¡¯s the military complex. They don¡¯t want us to go there.¡± Saia nodded and climbed down with the last bundle of lights still wrapped around her arm. She proceeded toward the very edge of the expanding curtain of light, then kept going. She felt too visible, the only light in the semi-darkness of the evening, and had to constantly repeat that having an alibi was more important than disguising herself to common guards. Birdguards could see her from afar regardless, and would only consider her harmless if they believed she was only a worker. She walked past another group of buildings that was drawn onto the map, the last one before her objective. She rounded the corner slowly, to get a better look at the building she would have to enter. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Her viss buzzed frenetically as she looked for the guard who had called out for her. It was a shilv¨¦ standing right next to the entrance with a colleague on the other side. Both of them were pointing their tridents at what they probably saw as a bundle of lights floating in the air. ¡°Setting up the decorations,¡± Saia answered. ¡°You alone?¡± Saia shrugged, then realized they couldn¡¯t see her gesture. ¡°I¡¯m faster than the others,¡± she said with a jovial voice, even if it didn¡¯t reflect her mood at all. The guards slowly put their tridents back in position, with the end of the pole on the ground and the spikes up in the air. She approached a tree right in front of the entrance. There was a net of metal between that spot and the building, running in both directions from the external wall to the border with the second level. She took her time wrapping the wire around one of the lower branches of the tree, observing both her actions and the building at once. There wasn¡¯t additional outside surveillance apart from those two regular guards. That didn¡¯t exclude the presence of one or more birdguards on the inside that could see her approach through the walls. She itched to expand her domain and check, but that would mean dooming herself. She needed to hope the lower amount of viss in her body would be enough for them not to think she was the one approaching the building. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. She finished setting up the lights and walked away until she was hidden between the trees. She moved around, pretending to do something else for the benefit of any birdguard in the area, then backtracked, keeping away from the lights she had set up. She walked up to the metallic net and jumped. She regretted not practicing how to silence sounds when she landed on the other side with an audible ¡®thump¡¯. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± the guards yelled almost at once. Saia looked at the windows of the second floor, thinking that any birdguard inside had surely heard their words. She needed to neutralize everyone in the building before they connected the attack to her presence. She sprinted toward the guards. One of them fired the trident at her indistinct shape. She slowed down, ready to deflect the projectiles toward the wall of the house, but a small explosion made the guard yelp and drop the trident. The other one wavered, looking at their partner holding their own hand. Saia reached them before they could decide whether to risk shooting. She reached out with her arms to touch their cheeks and put them to sleep without needing to expand her domain. She held onto their clothes, preventing them to slump on the ground. Anyone could have heard their yells even from the nearby buildings and decided to check what was happening. She couldn¡¯t let them find two unconscious guards on the ground. She held them by the back of their uniform with one hand, kicked down the door, and prevented it to touch the floor by holding it with the other. Still, the commotion had attracted a lot of attention. Two guards entered the room through another door. They hesitated in seeing her, probably not expecting a tanhata. She held their colleagues in front of herself to dissuade them from shooting, then sprinted ahead and touched them both. They dropped to the floor in an instant, but Saia wasn¡¯t quick enough to grab their weapons before they clattered onto the wooden boards. She left all of the unconscious guards in a heap and ran toward the room they had entered from. There wasn¡¯t anyone, just a staircase leading to the top floor, a desk with some documents and two chairs made of wood so rough she could see splinters protruding from their back. She ran past them, then slowed down on the stairs, aware of the creaking her steps produced. She emerged into a big room with walls covered in cloth. Hundreds of identical tunics, boots and belts covered the wooden boards. She almost didn¡¯t notice the thin doors hidden between them, two for each long side of the room, one for the short ones. She waisted a few seconds of indecisiveness, then opened the closest one. There was a small room on the other side, with a bench and a rack for clothes. As much as she looked around, she couldn¡¯t find anything of notice, nor a purpose for that place¡¯s existence. She left and entered the next door. The room was identical, and exactly as empty. She opened the next one, ignoring the dread mounting in her viss, but it was empty too. She started opening doors quicker and quicker, barely realizing that she leaving an imprint of desperate viss on the handles. When she opened the last one, she was so used to not seeing anything inside that she froze in seeing two guards sitting on the bench. One of them raised their glass as if to greet a friend, then stopped halfway through the movement when they realized she wasn¡¯t a guard. She sprinted forward before they could put down the bottle of wine they were holding or reach for the weapons abandoned on the floor. She let them collapse against the wall. They were both shilv¨¦ without animal traits. She checked their clothes before letting that thought settle in, hoping at least one of them was holding the shard in their pocket for inscrutable reasons. She found nothing. She returned to the main room, feeling like the biggest fool in the world. She had allied with people who had no qualms about killing one of their own to keep their secrets, she had to imagine they would only use her for their gain. She put her back against the wall, pressing the uniforms under her weight. In about twenty minutes, the engineers would have come back, found the navigation room empty, and given the alarm to whoever was actually tasked with protecting her shard. She sat on the floor, thinking she at least didn¡¯t want the statue to break when they deactivated her. She thought about the days spent in the room with Hilon and her crew, using her power to manoeuver the city. Maybe it was better to be deactivated that way than slowly disappearing over weeks, months or even years of boredom. She didn¡¯t regret taking that chance, she was only sorry about breaking the promise of returning to her family. About betraying Aili¡¯s trust by leaving her shard in enemy hands. A crash startled her. Something tumbled on the floor, stopping right in front of her. She reached out to take the object even before realizing what it was: a heavy stone, with a string looping around it, pressing a message to the surface. She stood with the stone in her hand, the shards of glass from the window creaking under her feet. She opened the message, almost tearing it with the strength she was unconsciously applying. We always keep our promises, there was written at the top. Just a bit more effort. Under the message, there was a drawing much like the one she had found attached to the cookie jar. This time, the marked building was right next to the one she was sitting in. She ran up to the window, but didn¡¯t see anyone outside. They were surely hiding nearby, observing her, but she couldn¡¯t expand her domain without the risk of alerting the birdguards. She put away the message and started running down the stairs, aware that the twenty minutes had become fifteen. She only stopped briefly to glance at the documents on the desk downstairs: forms for guards who wanted to request a new uniform after losing or ruining their old one. She had entered a military building, just not a relevant one. She reflected on the situation as she ran toward her new target, forced by the lack of time and the descending darkness to set aside all cautions. The rebels were clearly using her for their goals, but she couldn¡¯t for the life of her figure out what they were. They certainly had to know she couldn¡¯t afford to use her powers to their full extent to risk remaining so close to her. She reached the entrance of the new building at full speed, knocking out the guards partly with her viss, partly with the impetus with which she pushed them against the wall. There were various rooms filled with desks inside, all of them empty except for one, where three guards were bent each on an open book, a lantern next to it. They were so tired that putting them to sleep felt like mercy. As their heads hit the desks, she reflected that once again, she had only met shilv¨¦ without bird traits. That was the confirmation she needed to know that her shard was probably somewhere else, but she quickly checked each room anyways. The second floor was an auditorium, with a lectern on one side and rows of chairs displayed all in front of it. It was probably some sort of school for guards. She put her back to the wall, observing all three windows. Her mistake the first time was checking the message before looking outside at who had thrown it, but she wouldn¡¯t have committed it again. She heard a crash downstairs. She swore out loud and ran down the steps. She found the stone on the floor of one of the classrooms. You¡¯re almost there, keep going! The map pointed at another nearby building. She gripped the paper so tightly it wrinkled and tore on the edges. She was tired of these games. Nothing prevented them from toying with her undefinitely, until the engineers discovered her absence and had her deactivated. She could gain a lot more from that situation by catching a rebel and forcing them to reveal the actual position of her shard. She left the school, ran away for a bit, then quickly hid behind an empty structure that looked like a small warehouse. She peered around the corner, taking comfort in the fact she could easily see anyone approaching, but they couldn¡¯t see her. After a couple of precious minutes, a group of floating lights started approaching the entrance of the building. Each bundle was held by a person, each dressed with the gray tunic of the workers that had been hanging the decorations. Only two of them were shilv¨¦, the remaining three humans. Their hair was long and tied up on top of their head following the cloud people¡¯s fashion, but they also could be wigs. Much more interesting were their inked forearms. ¡°I¡¯ll go inside,¡± Saia heard one of them saying. ¡°Check that she has knocked out everyone.¡± The one at the head of the group nodded and stepped aside, letting them go in. Saia left her hiding spot and sprinted toward the rebels before any of them could have the chance to enter the building. They only noticed her when she was too close, and she managed to put two of them to sleep before the rest could recover. ¡°Alert the boss!¡± one of them shout-whispered, looking over their shoulder. Saia followed their gaze and saw a sixth rebel crouching behind a tree trunk a few armlengths away. The woman took out a small light from her pocket. Saia sprinted in her direction, but before she could reach her, the world disappeared. She awakened, her head on the ground, an arm outstretched in front of her. Only five minutes had passed, five more until the engineers found out about her disappearance. The rebels were nowhere in sight. She sat up, aware of the time running by, but doubting it mattered anymore. The rebels had her shard. She found a message tied with a string to her hand. Do it again and we¡¯ll leave you in their hands. The handwriting was too shacky for the threat to hold any weight. She wondered about their actions once more: if they could control her, why go to the length of organizing a treasure hunt for her shard? They could just tell her what to do, and she wouldn¡¯t have any choice but to obey. Unless¡­ Unless their control on her was only temporary, or very, very recent. Or both. She could see no other course of action than following their directions and seeing where they led her. 6.10 - The tenth god Something big was going on in the monks¡¯ village, Rabam could guess that even without leaving the cell he shared with Cuisan. The guards had changed, the old faces replaced by a smaller group of new sentinels. Usually it was rare to see the same person bringing the food two times in a row, but that day all of the meals had been delivered by one sentinel. One, not the usual two: even the amount of security had lowered. And they were young faces, or in one case old ones, a veteran that must have obtained some special permission from the abbot to keep working at her age. It took him a while to realize what was happening, mostly because of the hunger that fogged his thoughts. He¡¯d been on the brink of pointing his sword at Cuisan¡¯s neck and forcing him to surrender his meal, but the threat of him calling the sentinels had always held him back. It finally dawned on him that it was the day of the attack: that was why the monks needed all of the sentinels they could spare. Which meant that there wouldn¡¯t be a better time to attempt an escape, with all the reduced surveillance inside the village and on the mountain¡¯s flanks. Still, he couldn¡¯t push himself to act. He wondered how much damage he would cause by freeing his cellmate: what if he was a murderer, or worse, someone who had attempted a murder and could try again and succeed thanks to his help? What if, instead, he had only been imprisoned for breaking some stupid rule, like visiting someone he loved in one of the nine villages? The door to the prisons opened in the distance, followed by the rolling of a cart. Rabam climbed back into the closet, bracing against the familiar pain in his back and joints that the half-crouched position caused him. Shortly after, someone delivered the dish. Rabam only got a glimpse of the sentinel through the crack of the closet: he couldn¡¯t have more than three years of experience on his back. He left so quickly Rabam waited a minute before emerging, in case he had just forgotten something and was about to return. ¡°Only two meals left,¡± Cuisan announced while he sat down to eat. Rabam looked at the mashed potatoes on the plate. His stomach growled, his mouth watered. There was no harm in asking which crime Cuisan had committed, and making him talk would mean not seeing that beauty disappear into his mouth. ¡°What have you done for being here?¡± he asked, sitting in the closet with the legs distended outside of it. Cuisan¡¯s eyes narrowed, spoon suspended over the plate. ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± ¡°I need to know what you can do to plan the escape. What if I need you to kill someone, but you can¡¯t?¡± Cuisan visibly paled in hearing that. ¡°I¡¯m a good fighter,¡± he said, his voice uncertain since the first time Rabam had entered his cell. He wasn¡¯t a murderer, Rabam realized with relief. Still, there were worse things he could have done. ¡°Why were you imprisoned, then?¡± he insisted. ¡°You must have done something, if you¡¯re here. What if I ask you to pretend you¡¯re someone else and you fail?¡± Cuisan sighed, setting the food aside. Rabam made an effort to keep his eyes on him and ignore the meal. ¡°I¡¯m not good at hiding, as you can imagine,¡± he gestured at his own tall frame. ¡°I was caught investigating books I wasn¡¯t authorized to read.¡± Rabam inclined his head. He didn¡¯t know what he was expecting, but it wasn¡¯t that. ¡°Which books?¡± ¡°About religion. The old religions, cloud people¡¯s deities¡­ Stuff like that. Satisfied?¡± ¡°No. There are books about that?¡± He thought about Aili¡¯s plan of learning about the ancient history of the mountain. Maybe her approach had been wrong: he should have looked into other subjects besides history, maybe there was some truth to be found in other kinds of books. The man gave him an irritated glance. He reached out for the dish and the wooden spoon. ¡°We are monks. Of course we have a lot of books about religion.¡± ¡°Of course. Did you find anything interesting?¡± Rabam expected him to yell that he wanted to be left alone, but the man¡¯s irritation seemed to dissolve in an instant. He once again left the food aside. ¡°Yes. Cloud people believe in ten gods. Apparently because most of the humans they descended from believed the same.¡± Rabam nodded, pretending to be more interested than he actually was. But Cuisan hadn¡¯t finished yet. ¡°We have a tenth god too, you know?¡± Rabam frowned, mentally counting the spheres. ¡°Oh, you mean Saia? If you think about her as a goddess, it¡¯s no wonder why the monks have imprisoned y¡­¡± ¡°No, not the traitor,¡± Cuisan cut him off. ¡°And I don¡¯t mean our fake deities. I mean the true ones. The ones who created the mountain.¡± ¡°The nine gods?¡± ¡°The ten gods,¡± he immediately corrected Rabam. ¡°There was a scholar that theorized the existence of a tenth one. She wrote that we forgot to worship them for so long that now they¡¯re angry with us and will seek revenge. Of course the abbot at the time didn¡¯t like her ideas, so the original text was destroyed, but the books I sought mentioned her theories in an attempt to refute them.¡± Rabam blinked: none of that had anything to do with the escape or Aili¡¯s plans, but he had to admit that Cuisan had piqued his interest. ¡°But you already knew about the tenth god, right?¡± he asked. ¡°Otherwise why read those books in the first place?¡± Cuisan nodded, but his eyes lowered. He suddenly looked uncertain about continuing the conversation. ¡°I heard them,¡± he admitted in the end. Rabam leaned a bit forward. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I heard the tenth god,¡± Cuisan repeated, suddenly irritated again. ¡°And you won¡¯t believe me just like everyone else, so what¡¯s the point?¡± ¡°No, I¡­¡± Rabam hesitated. He couldn¡¯t say he believed him, but he wanted to know more. ¡°Tell me what you heard.¡± ¡°Not much, I¡¯ll admit. I was a sentinel before this.¡± He gestured at the cell. ¡°And a few months ago, I don¡¯t remember exactly when, I was guarding the mountain on Kivari¡¯s side when it trembled. The first time, I mean, it has happened more often when the traitor started acting against us.¡± He plunged the wooden spoon into the food, as if to stab it. ¡°One of my colleagues slipped, and in an attempt to save him we fell down together from a rock. The fall wasn¡¯t particularly high,¡± he quickly added, seeing Rabam¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°We fell into a sort of depression of the ground that was covered in moss, so it didn¡¯t hurt too much. We were down there when I heard a voice in my ears telling me¡­¡± His pupils moved to the side, lost in a distant memory. ¡°¡®Find me, my child,¡¯¡± he said in a low tone. Rabam waited for him to add something else, but nothing came for a bit. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°Yes, but it was the voice of a god. My colleague hadn¡¯t heard anything, so when I told everyone about it they didn¡¯t believe me. I returned on the spot multiple times, but I never heard anything else. The scholars of medicine said it was because I hit my head in the fall, gave me some herbs, and that was it.¡± ¡°You¡­ Did you really hit your head?¡± Cuisan stood, startling Rabam with his intense gaze. He retracted a bit more into the closet, hand on the sword. ¡°It was true. I looked for proof and I found it, and now the monks want to keep everything hidden by telling me that hitting my head gave me hallucinations and delusions. I tell them every visit that they¡¯re insane, if they hope to keep a god hidden from all of us, but¡­¡± ¡°Wait,¡± Rabam interrupted him. ¡°Visits? They visit you?¡± Cuisan glared at him. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s perfect. We can use it for the escape.¡± The man didn¡¯t reply. Instead, he slowly sat down, to Rabam¡¯s relief. He took a bite of the cold food, and Rabam¡¯s stomach growled again. ¡°Can I¡­?¡± ¡°No,¡± Cuisan answered, then ignored him for the rest of the meal. Rabam finished donning his appearance, stirred his wrinkled tunic as much as he could, adjusted belt and sword firmly around his waist. Cuisan was ready too, even if in his case all he needed to do was stand and wait by the door. The distant voices of the guards and the booming of the prison¡¯s entrance closing were the signals they needed. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Rabam said. ¡°Remember what I told you.¡± Cuisan grunted in irritation. He really didn¡¯t like the plan Rabam had come up with, but his grumpiness made the whole story he had prepared more believable. He opened the cell with the keys he¡¯d stolen from the guards during his fake escape. The screech of the metal made him grimace: it was loud enough that the whole prison had probably heard it. From that moment on, there was no turning back. He extracted the sword and brusquely motioned for Cuisan to step out in front of him. ¡°Come on,¡± Rabam said out loud. ¡°You don¡¯t want to make them wait.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll pay for this,¡± Cuisan replied, with a voice low and sharp enough Rabam wasn¡¯t sure it was entirely a pretence for the benefit of the guards. They walked down the corridor, Cuisan in front, Rabam standing behind his huge frame. It unnerved him that he didn¡¯t have long hair anymore nor make-up with which to disguise himself. He didn¡¯t doubt every single sentinel in the area knew his face, after his trial and subsequent escape. His only protection, apart from Cuisan¡¯s huge back, was that they probably thought him long gone from the village, not still trapped inside its prisons. His heart accelerated when they entered the central room. He gripped his weapon tighter to resist the urge to peek from behind Cuisan and see who they had to deal with. Especially after he heard the sharp sound of two swords being extracted. ¡°I need to bring the prisoner to his visit,¡± Rabam said, keeping his voice loud and deeper than it usually was. ¡°Oh, so the madman isn¡¯t alone,¡± one of the sentinels said. ¡°Good. I was scared it was another evasion.¡± Rabam saw Cuisan tensing in hearing that nickname. He gripped the back of his tunic, both to steady himself and calm him down. He waited for the sentinels¡¯ next words, remembering what Cuisan had told him: The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Your plan won¡¯t work. The scholars come here in the prisons, I don¡¯t go to them.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Rabam had answered. ¡°But the staff of the prisons changed almost entirely, and we can count on the new ones not to know this.¡± Or at least, he hoped so. The sentinel seemed to know who Cuisan was, which was not a good start. ¡°A visit at sunset?¡± the other sentinel asked. Rabam felt his heart skip a beat. There was no difference between day and night in the prisons, so he hadn¡¯t thought about the hour of the escape, only the change of the turns. He heard the sentinel step forward in the silence that had followed his question. ¡°Yes,¡± Rabam almost yelled, frantically looking for an explanation. ¡°He had a crisis. He needs an urgent visit.¡± He could almost feel their doubtful gazes scouring Cuisan¡¯s face. ¡°We didn¡¯t see you enter,¡± the other sentinel pointed out. Rabam was prepared. ¡°I entered during the previous turn, it took a while to calm him down. You aren¡¯t the same people who were guarding the door when they called me here for the emergency.¡± ¡°True,¡± the man answered, but the silence protracted a bit more. ¡°Who are you, anyway?¡± the other sentinel said. ¡°And why did they send you alone to escort a prisoner?¡± He approached, to the point Rabam could see his shadow on the floor and half of his face. Cuisan turned slightly to shield him, which exposed him to the other sentinel. Rabam turned his face, standing tall like a sentinel would, his grip tight around the sword. ¡°Calm down,¡± he ordered Cuisan, still holding his tunic with the other hand. ¡°There wasn¡¯t anyone else available. Don¡¯t approach, or he might have another crisis.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have crises,¡± the prisoner shouted, gaining the immediate attention of both sentinels. ¡°He talked to me, I swear. He wanted me to burn my bed.¡± He stepped forward, but Rabam immediately raised his sword to rest it against his neck. He had to stretch his arm up to reach him, hiding his face behind it in the process. ¡°Calm down,¡± he hissed to hide his ragged breath. ¡°Can you please let me through? I want this to be over with as soon as possible.¡± After a few more instants, the sentinel who had stepped forward retracted toward the door. Rabam heard his keys clatter, followed by a deep rumble. The slightly more intense light of the sentinels¡¯ common room on the other side filtered through the door, together with a voice that Rabam recognized immediately. ¡°And lastly, the attack will begin in a few minutes,¡± said Bades, the oldest sentinel prior. ¡°So be ready to join the ranks at a moment¡¯s notice. Remember to keep your eyes open, there¡¯s still a prisoner out there.¡± Rabam felt his stomach tighten, the hunger replaced by fear. Of course the meeting of the sentinels for the nightly turns had been anticipated to the hour of the attack, to make sure everyone was informed about what was going to happen. Of course they had left behind the most experienced prior, where he could both consult with the abbot and coordinate the actions of all the sentinel teams scattered around the mountain. From Cuisan''s hesitation, Rabam realized there were more sentinels than what both of them expected to find. He mentally cursed for not being able to check out how bad the situation was by himself without being discovered. ¡°Go on,¡± he said. It came out as a whisper, which he was glad for, since his voice was too fearful for a sentinel giving an order to a prisoner. Cuisan stepped forward, allowing the guards to close the door behind him. They moved as quickly as they could, but it was more difficult than expected, with Rabam being almost on his tiptoes to reach over the prisoner¡¯s shoulder and Cuisan almost having to drag him. Bades was still talking to the rest of the sentinels, even if some whispers were breaking out here and there. Nothing alarming, for the moment. As long as the prior didn¡¯t turn to investigate. ¡°What, now?¡± he suddenly yelled, right while they were stepping behind him. Rabam froze, eliciting a grunt from Cuisan, who had to bend back to avoid the blade. Rabam risked a glance over his shoulder: Bades was still looking at the sentinels, who were avoiding crossing their superior¡¯s gaze for fear of punishment. He briefly turned, making Rabam¡¯s heart stop for a second, then brought his attention back to the sentinels. ¡°Yes, a prisoner, what a surprise. Let your colleague do his job and focus on the task at hand.¡± But one of them had seen Rabam. She was raising a finger to point at him with wide eyes. She had recognized him. ¡°I think he¡¯s¡­¡± Rabam let go of Cuisan and jumped onto Bades, grabbing his neck with an arm and raising the sword to his chin. ¡°Don¡¯t move or I¡¯ll kill him.¡± He took the instant of stunned silence to observe the sentinels better. Usually only half of the ones keeping guard outside were armed, but the priors had probably deemed it necessary to increase security since the day he had escaped: at least one in three had at least a sword or spear, even if he could see some knives dangling from their belts. He tried to drag the prior back with him, toward the exit, but the man resisted his attempts. Rabam felt a hand against his shoulder and turned his head, expecting another sentinel. But it was Cuisan, gesturing for him to give him the sword. He complied. The prisoner managed to get a better hold on the prior, and actually force him to follow them in their retreat. The sentinels had extracted every blade in their possession, but they hesitated, looking from the prior to the man that was holding him and back. Rabam and Cuisan moved slowly toward the door, observing the sentinels: mostly young people and old veterans, just as the change of surveillance at the prison had suggested. They weren¡¯t that many either, for the evening meetings¡¯ standard, but more than enough to overwhelm the two of them. ¡°What are you waiting for, you idiots?¡± Bades screamed. ¡°I¡¯ve accepted to sacrifice for the village years ago, and you should have as well. Have you forgotten your training?¡± He struggled against Cuisan¡¯s tightened grip. ¡°Attack them!¡± Rabam watched in horror as a couple of sentinels awakened from their shocked hesitation and extracted their swords. The moment one of them made a step forward, he heard a wet gurgle coming from Cuisan. He turned, a chill along his spine preparing him for the worst. It wasn''t the prisoner that had emitted that sound, but the prior. He dropped to the ground, and at first Rabam thought he had slipped on the blood that was covering the floor. It took him too long to realize it was coming from the prior¡¯s throat. Cuisan raised his bloodied sword and pointed it at the nearest sentinel. It was a young boy, younger than Rabam at least, who immediately let his weapon fall and stepped back. Cuisan kicked the sword toward Rabam. ¡°We''re in a fight, wake up!¡± Rabam raised his head without moving his eyes from Bades. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± he asked in a whisper. ¡°What do you mean, ''why¡¯?¡± Cuisan grunted while he attacked a sentinel, slashing their arm and disarming them in the process. ¡°You said it: move and we kill him.¡± Rabam ignored the sentinels who had begun to approach him, sensing he was an easier target. ''I didn''t mean it,'' he wanted to reply. ''I said it to scare them.'' But it didn''t matter: he had made the threat, he had given Cuisan the sword. Most of all, he had judged the man wrong: the fact he hadn''t killed before didn''t mean he wasn''t able, or willing, to do it. He''d taken for granted he''d never cross that line, because Rabam wouldn¡¯t either. It was so obvious to him, that he hadn¡¯t even considered saying it out loud. He hadn''t thought twice about endangering Bades¡¯s life, because to him it was never actually in danger. Or do you live expecting things to start falling upward at any moment? A sword cutting the air too close to his neck made him jump back. He started raising his hands, about to declare his surrender, when the earth trembled. While the sentinels recoiled all around the room, he stood without moving. The attack on Suimer had begun, and if the earth was trembling, something had gone wrong. Maybe Zeles had been killed, maybe the monks had plotted something else. Aili needed him, at least until her plan was over. Then he could¡­ He tried to find some sort of future for himself, but there was nothing else to do except return to the monks¡¯ village and let them kill him for good. Nobody would have stood in the abbot''s way if he decided on an execution. He had just lost Daira''s support, his family''s even. He despised himself more than when Mili had been killed, more than he despised Loriem. He picked up the sword while the floor, walls and ceiling trembled all around him, the stone they were made of humming its threat. The earthquake stopped suddenly, giving space to the screams. Cuisan was keeping three sentinels at bay, after wounding two more. Rabam''s eyes widened: he risked being responsible for even more death, if he let him fight on his own. ¡°Please drop the swords and you won''t get hurt,¡± he yelled at the sentinels in front of him while stepping closer to the prisoner. When one of them raised her sword, he activated the magnet, pouring as much viss as he could spare into the pattern. The attack was deflected, and a couple of weapons escaped their owners'' grip and slid onto the floor. ¡°The tenth god is here,¡± Cuisan proclaimed, laughing as he kept swinging. ¡°I told you I was his chosen prophet.¡± Rabam saw another sentinel attack him and deflected his spear too, forcing him to bend forward and pass under Cuisan¡¯s next swing. ¡°Drop your weapons and nothing will happen to you,¡± Rabam said. He didn¡¯t have the strength anymore to worry about his voice sounding more pleading than threatening. He was still walking in Bades¡¯s blood. He couldn¡¯t save them forever: they were hesitant to attack together, which made them easy prey. Cuisan caught one of them in a swing while he was making a run for the door, and another when two of them attacked him. Rabam pushed some others away, and they let go of their swords screaming that they had felt the hand of a god blocking them. More sentinels started dropping their weapons afterwards, and Rabam pushed the swords away from the ones who were still holding them. ¡°That¡¯s right. On the floor!¡± Cuisan screamed, clearly enjoying himself. He was skilled enough with the sword Rabam could imagine he liked fighting a lot. ¡°The keys too,¡± he added, hating to be associated with him. Some sentinels dropped the keys in their pockets. Rabam suspected most of them were still hiding something, so he walked forward, activating the pattern again at every step. He felt some tugs as a couple of people lost their balance. He reached them before Cuisan could, demanding they emptied their pockets. Once the floor had been covered in weapons, he walked up to the door of the prisons. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Cuisan asked. His suspicious tone sent a chill down Rabam¡¯s spine. The sentinels weren¡¯t the only ones that had to be careful around him. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to have anyone give the alarm,¡± he said, opening the door. He punched a sentinel and pointed the sword at the neck of his colleague. They were too stunned to attack, looking at the people in the meeting room with wide eyes as if in search of an answer. ¡°All of you,¡± Rabam called out, regaining a bit of voice now that the worst part was coming to an end. ¡°Enter here.¡± The sentinels obeyed. Rabam took the two guards¡¯ keys before stepping back into the meeting room and locking the doors of the prison with all the sentinels inside. ¡°That was amazing!¡± Cuisan commented, throwing something at him. Rabam almost let the sword fall to catch it: another bundle of keys, slick with blood. He saw Cuisan standing next to Bades¡¯s corpse and realized he had searched the body and found the prior¡¯s keys. His hand twitched around them, but he couldn¡¯t bear to throw them away: they could be extremely useful. ¡°Now what?¡± Cuisan asked. Rabam walked past him without answering nor looking at his face. He felt as if he was moving in a dream while he entered the corridor outside the room and walked on as if he wasn¡¯t a fugitive, but a regular monk that still lived in the village. He felt Cuisan¡¯s heavy steps behind him and resisted the impulse to run away. ¡°Why this empty?¡± Cuisan asked. Rabam noticed it for the first time. ¡°They¡¯re probably in the temple,¡± he answered. ¡°In case they need to replace a god.¡± His words reminded him that going straight through the village probably wasn¡¯t a good idea, so he took a turn left that allowed them to make a wide circle around the area of the temple, which lowered their chances of meeting someone. Cuisan stopped him to make a detour. He broke down a door to access the room on the other side, mercifully empty. A series of hair locks were dangling from thick nails jutting out of the wall. Cuisan found the one with his name, blonde locks that emitted a reddish light when curled. He stuffed them into his pocket and signalled Rabam they could go on with a sharp nod. They walked on until they saw the cave of the main entrance. Rabam kept walking without thinking, despite Cuisan¡¯s attempts to stop him by tugging at his tunic. ¡°Stop!¡± one of the two sentinels beside the entrance yelled. Rabam obeyed, looking down at his shoes covered in blood. He realized he had left a trail behind him. Not that it would change anything, but the sentinels noticed and started to scream something. Rabam felt something run past him and realized they would have died too, if he didn¡¯t stop Cuisan. He used the magnet to push them against the wall and out of his first swings. ¡°Hit their head. Don¡¯t kill them.¡± Thankfully, he obeyed. Rabam dragged the sentinels away from the entrance, so that someone entering wouldn¡¯t trip over them. A voice in the back of his head wondered if he really was that bad a person, if he¡¯d saved them. But he knew the answer: nothing could have changed his opinion of Loriem, nothing would have erased what he¡¯d done. He realized he couldn¡¯t tell anymore whether his thoughts were talking about Loriem or himself and tried his best to focus on exiting the cave. Cuisan was already outside, but for some wretched reason he¡¯d waited for Rabam instead of disappearing into the forest like the beast he proved to be. ¡°So we¡¯re out,¡± Cuisan said, lingering one step out of the entrance. ¡°What will you do, now?¡± Rabam shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll try to escape through the external forest,¡± he said, thinking it was a plausible answer for a prisoner. ¡°Away from the territory of the gods? Bold. I¡¯m going to look for my god. After today, I have no doubt I¡¯ll find him soon. Or he¡¯ll find me, most likely.¡± He squeezed Rabam¡¯s shoulder, seemingly not noticing his startled step back. That was his greeting; a moment later, he had disappeared into the trees. Rabam moved too, in a different direction but with the same haste. He didn¡¯t have time to make his calculations, and even if he did, the sentinels had likely moved their outposts while he was in prison, if anything to account for the reduced personnel due to the attack. They would spot him soon, he was sure, so he only focused on not stumbling while he ran down the flank of the mountain as fast as he could. He was already starting to relax, thinking himself far enough from the village to have escaped the worst of the surveillance, when he heard a shout. ¡°There! Someone!¡± He didn¡¯t turn, but the panic caused him to stumble and slide down a gravelly stretch. He ignored his hurting knee, thankful he didn¡¯t sprain his ankle, and kept going in Lausune¡¯s general direction. He soon realized it was a mistake: the point of Aili¡¯s plan was to prove to the monks that she was on their side, while making them believe that Zeles was stronger than they could ever imagine. If he headed to her territory, she¡¯d have to either let him enter, betraying herself, or immediately turn him in. He deviated toward Suimer. At least he didn¡¯t have to worry about preserving Zeles¡¯s innocence, even if entering the village would be extremely difficult with all the monks around. He was already overwhelmed by all the rustling and shouting behind him, still far enough, but rapidly getting closer. He weaved through the trees, expecting to feel the end of a spear against his back at any moment. Something flew over the trees: too big to be a bird, too square to be a person. Still, it was coming from Suimer¡¯s direction, so Rabam raised his hands and yelled: ¡°Help!¡± The thing came back, appearing again over the top of the trees. He saw a carpet and a person sitting on top of it. He stopped running and retreated behind a tree, suddenly aware that if someone was using magic around the mountain they were probably a monk. Only once the carpet had gotten low enough to the ground he recognized the person on top: it was one of the two boys Saia had called her friends. The one he had hurt to steal Zeles. Judging by his expression, he seemed to remember too. He steered the carpet away, and Rabam ran behind him. ¡°Wait, please! I¡¯m on Saia¡¯s side too.¡± The boy looked over his shoulder. ¡°Are you Rabam?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± he could only pant. The boy sighed and lowered the carpet. 6.11 - Gratitude Saia entered two more buildings, only to knock out the guards and leave with a new map in her fist. She could see shapes entering each one of them after she had finished, but she truly didn''t have any more time to investigate what the rebels were doing. She felt the exact moment when her time ran out and panicked for a few instants, but still forced herself to advance: sure, the engineers had come back from their breaks and sure, they had probably alerted the guards multiple times already, but as far as she knew her shard was in rebel hands. It only unnerved her that she didn''t know for how long, or how they got it, or really anything else regarding its circumstances. She kicked open the door of the next building, expecting guards that were either too drunk or too busy pretending to work to notice her until it was too late. It took a while for her to register that she was staring at five birdguards. Thankfully, only two of them noticed her, since the rest was too busy yelling at each other and running around the room, clearly looking for something among the various clerk desks. There was a commotion going up upstairs, if the heavy thumps of running steps and bird-like screeches were of any indication. She lunged at the closest birdguard and put them to sleep, but the other yelled an incoherent string of vowels right before she could knock them out too. The other three birdguards extracted the tridents even before looking at her, as if that sound had triggered some instincts or deeply ingrained training. Saia hesitated, looking at them. Now there were booming sounds coming from upstairs, like a giant hammer banging on wood. ¡°Open the door,¡± someone yelled. Saia expanded her domain. The birdguards tried to retreat, but only one of them managed to escape through a window. Which wouldn''t matter, if the shard was actually inside the building. Otherwise... She didn''t let herself linger on the thought and ran upstairs instead. The booming sounds were accompanied by the creaking of wood. She followed the short corridor and peeked beyond the corner: four more birdguards, hopefully all the surveillance left in the building, were trying to demolish a heavy door. Even the walls had been reinforced, which hinted at some important content. The guards were too busy hitting the door with a trunk to notice her. It looked too rough and heavy to be stored in a place like that one, so they had probably taken it in from one of the nearby warehouses. She realized the guards downstairs had been looking for a key: if her shard was actually inside the room like she suspected, someone had closed themselves inside with it. She expanded her domain one more time to look inside the room, since the birdguards seemed distracted enough they might not notice its golden specks of viss. Before she could see the other side of the wall, she felt her conscience flicker, as if she was about to fall asleep. She stopped, and the feeling passed. When she tried to expand her domain again, it returned, even stronger. She realized it was a threat from whoever was waiting inside the room: they had her shard and could deactivate her completely if she tried to reach them. She let her domain shrink back to normal size. There was no way to put to sleep the guards from afar without including the room too, so she stepped around the corner and sprinted toward them. They noticed the movement, but part of them was too aware of how heavy the trunk they were holding was to risk dropping it onto a fragile floor. Saia easily touched the plumage of the closest two, then the remaining ones as they tried to position their suddenly heavier load so that it wouldn''t hurt their sleeping colleagues. In the end, she was the only one standing in front of the barely closed door. The wood was broken at the center and near the lock: two more hits, and it would have given way. She only needed one to dislodge it completely. After the chaos outside, the small room seemed to belong to a different building entirely. There was a table at the center with a small round surface and a long stem holding it up. Three chairs were positioned adjacent to the walls, only two occupied by sleeping birdguards. The only other piece of furniture in the room was another table, rough and with a rectangular surface, on which was placed the same machine for receiving messages that she''d seen in the navigation room. It was working under the expert care of a third birdguard. He moved his head to the side, pointing one orange eye at Saia. ¡°Just in time,¡± he commented. ¡°The engineers have been writing non-stop for the past few minutes.¡± Saia noticed at that moment that he was turning something in the palm of his feathered hand. It caught the light of a lantern bolted to the wall. ¡°I have your shard,¡± he said, standing. ¡°As you have certainly guessed, I will know if you try to use your powers on me, deactivate you and leave you here for the birdguards to find.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± Saia asked. ¡°My name''s Nuras. Thank you for going along with our plans. It might not look like it, but we¡¯re truly grateful for your help.¡± He stood. ¡°We don¡¯t have much time. Let¡¯s go.¡± He approached the window and raised a leg as if to jump over the border, despite the short drop to the ground on the other side. ¡°I have no intention of going anywhere with you,¡± Saia said. ¡°Just give me my shard.¡± ¡°I will, in time.¡± She crossed her arms and planted her feet a bit wider on the floor. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere without my shard.¡± He stepped back from the window and turned to face her. ¡°Then I can leave you here, you know? It wouldn¡¯t change anything to me, but your life will be over.¡± ¡°Really? Well, I¡¯m sure I can make the floor and ceiling collapse before you deactivate me.¡± She tried to project confidence, even if she wasn¡¯t sure she would have the time to actually do that. ¡°Then when your ¡®collaborators¡¯ come back they can take care of you.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He inclined his head. ¡°You¡¯re not the murderous type. You didn¡¯t kill my collaborators when they tried to kidnap your engineer.¡± ¡°My engineer? I was forced to protect them.¡± ¡°Sure, but you could have gone about it in so many ways that would have left us with¡­ Well, fewer collaborators.¡± He sighed. ¡°And that¡¯s why I¡¯ll help you. What¡¯s fair is fair, you were true to your words and an invaluable asset to our plans.¡± ¡°You claim you want to help me, but you won¡¯t give me the shard?¡± ¡°I will, but not here. If you¡¯d just follow me it would make everything easier.¡± Saia didn¡¯t trust him in the least. Not that she had a choice, as long as he had her shard. ¡°I have questions,¡± she said, partially to gain time to think, partially because she wanted to know who this person was before following him anywhere. He looked out of the window, made a quick gesture Saia couldn¡¯t interpret, then retreated again inside. ¡°My friends have caught the one who ran away. We have a bit of time.¡± ¡°How did you know I was escaping? The engineers haven¡¯t noticed until now.¡± She pointed at the tip of metal of the receiver, still lowering on the same spot of the paper now that there wasn¡¯t anyone to move it aside. ¡°We didn¡¯t entirely expect it. We had plans for you, sure, but they had to be enacted later this week, during the end of the festival. Thankfully you went off-plans a bit earlier than tonight, so we managed to tighten our intelligence inside the factory.¡± Later this week, he had said. Saia realized the Festival of Light would have ended at about that time. She remembered Hilon inviting her there, even if apparently it was just a way to show Filsun that she cared. Saia had asked to go to the zoological garden instead. The moment she went ¡®off-plans¡¯. ¡°We had to scramble,¡± Nuras kept explaining, unaware of the turmoil inside her head. ¡°Fortunately, I was in position. Years of cleaning their floors as an unassuming janitor, years of gathering their feathers and grinding them into dust.¡± He pointed at the shining blue plumage of his arm. ¡°In the end, I had enough to transform myself. Who would have thought that eating viss from animal people would turn you into an animal person yourself?¡± He made a pleased sound, halfway between a chuckle and the cooing call of a dove. ¡°They never even suspected I was human. One day I just walked in and they accepted I was one of them. I was ready with my falsified documents and fake background, but they didn¡¯t dig deeper than a passing glance. They were the only ones to own the eagles, I looked and acted like them, so why even suspect me?¡± ¡°So¡­ You stole the shard?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s the beauty of it: I was here in the building with them, ready to relieve one of my colleagues at a moment¡¯s notice. As soon as my collaborators signaled me that you had left the factory, I entered here and waited for your arrival. I didn¡¯t expect you to waste your precious time facing my collaborators, I¡¯ll admit. But I was ready: I incapacitated my colleagues and took the shard, deactivated you as a warning, and waited for you to complete all of our objectives. Alas,¡± he added, looking at the broken door, ¡°They noticed.¡± Saia nodded. She¡¯d been right, then: the rebels didn¡¯t always have control of her shard. ¡°Why did you even need my help to knock out the guards? And to do what?¡± ¡°I fear I can¡¯t reveal our plans. But we aren¡¯t many, keeping people asleep takes energies we don¡¯t have. We didn¡¯t even have the maps ready, the one that led you to this building was drawn a few minutes ago. But it all worked out perfectly. Do you want to go home?¡± The question took Saia by surprise. ¡°Of course. That¡¯s the whole reason why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll escort you out of the city. Unless you have other questions?¡± Saia stared at him. She couldn¡¯t leave without Aili¡¯s shard, she knew that much. She didn¡¯t trust the representatives to not kidnap her too, or use her as leverage to make Saia come back. But she had no intention of telling any of that to one of the same rebels who had killed one of their collaborators. ¡°Are there other shards here?¡± she asked instead. She¡¯d have checked herself, but that meant expanding her domain. ¡°No. You¡¯re the only god under our control, or at least, under the control of my group of guards. Other questions?¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°Good,¡± Nuras said. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡± He jumped out the window, opening his arms to the side to soften his fall. Saia ran after him and landed on the ground beside him. He stepped back. ¡°Go on, I¡¯ll tell you when to turn. Remember to keep your distance and not expand your domain, or I¡¯ll be forced to deactivate you.¡± Saia started moving between the buildings. The good thing about being escorted by a birdguard was that the few guards and clerks around didn¡¯t spare her a second glance. She observed her environment carefully, from the trees to the ground to the buildings, looking for a way to distract Nuras long enough to take her shard back. At least she had time: they had to reach the bottom of the city, then enter the government building where she¡¯d been welcomed to Irim¨¦ze, then wait for the giant chain to be extended. Plenty of chances to take Nuras by surprise. ¡°Turn right,¡± he said, some steps behind her. She hesitated. ¡°But the elevators are this way.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not going there.¡± She turned right. There was the wall there, the vertical bridge connecting the fifth level to the top of the city. Someone, probably the rebels, had placed a ladder against it that led straight up. Saia could see a rope handrail at the top, shaken left and right by strong winds. ¡°You really want me out of the city,¡± she commented. ¡°Yes. Ideally before tonight, when the celebrations will begin.¡± She reached the ladder and started climbing. ¡°Somehow I knew you weren¡¯t doing this just out of gratitude,¡± Saia added. ¡°I am grateful, but your presence here is a nuisance. We can¡¯t have you here while our plans go into motion. The representatives couldn¡¯t control you properly, and we don¡¯t have the same resources they do.¡± The wind at the top was strong enough to give Saia pause. She had to use more viss to move forward. Behind her, Nuras was bent over, gripping the handrail with one hand and the three fingers of the other that weren¡¯t holding the shard. ¡°Go on,¡± he said. Saia stepped forward until she reached the border of the city. She looked down, but in the semi-darkness and with the fake clouds billowing out of the city she couldn¡¯t see the ground below. ¡°Jump,¡± Nuras said. ¡°I¡¯ll drop the shard behind you once you¡¯re gone. A fall shouldn¡¯t kill you, right?¡± Saia shook her head, almost distractedly. She was sure she could slow down her fall, expending a lot of the precious viss that remained inside her sphere. If Serit hadn¡¯t stolen Aili¡¯s shard, she¡¯d have happily taken that chance to leave Irim¨¦ze. Nuras seemed sincere when he said he would drop the shard, but even if he wasn¡¯t, it wouldn¡¯t have been different than leaving it in the birdguards¡¯ hands. She observed the surroundings, trying to find a solution, but there was just barren earth and the intense wind that was trying to peel any intruder away from its surface. Nuras was fighting against the wind that tried to tear him away from the handrail, the tunic pushed flat against the front of his body. ¡°Go now, or I¡¯ll deactivate you,¡± he grunted. Saia jumped over the border. She let herself fall for a few armlengths, then expanded her domain and created the strongest wind she could manage. It took her one year of viss to stop her fall, one more to invert direction and gain speed. She only had seconds before Nuras realized what was happening. Once at the top, she propelled herself forward with another year-worth of wind, strong enough that Nuras¡¯s feet detached from the earth, forcing him to hold onto the rope with one hand and a half. He somehow managed to not let go of her shard even as he was yanked left and right, even as her wind slashed his skin. Saia reached out for his fist, closing her fingers around it in a way that only left a narrow gap. The darkness claimed her, followed by the distant feeling of falling back into emptiness. Then it was gone, along with any trace of consciousness. 6.12 - Family secret Zeles was forced to give up a bit more ground under the pressure of the remaining two gods. Dore and Lorin had been deactivated and brought away, probably to be questioned later. He needed to protect less territory in order not to waste viss, even if it meant surrendering the dock area to the monks pouring in from the sides. The boats advanced as one, bringing the spheres closer so that they didn¡¯t need to further expand their domains to reach him. He saw the monks enter the buildings and find them empty. Almost everyone had gathered around the temple, confused about what was happening. Even the groups who had gone away to talk to the monks came back. ¡°They took the baker,¡± someone said. That prompted an alarming list of people who had been grabbed by the monks and taken away into the nearby villages every time Zeles¡¯s barriers had faltered. ¡°What are their intentions?¡± Saia¡¯s father asked, trying to comfort a furious Lada. Zeles had suspicions, but he didn¡¯t voice them, certain that they would be confirmed only once the siege was over. The monks had gone all out, attacking with ballistae, temporarily removing gods from their villages, entering from Tilau and Kivari¡¯s borders, fighting past sunset. It wasn¡¯t difficult to imagine that they were ready to use their whole stock of cloud water to remove from the inhabitants¡¯ minds the memories of the attack and the brief period Zeles had been their god. It wasn¡¯t going well. Even setting aside his worry for Aili, that the monks were still trying to fish out of the water, he couldn¡¯t see himself resisting for a whole day, let alone all the time it would need for the monks to give up on the assault or the other gods to exhaust most of their viss. With all the people surrounding the temple, scared and confused just as if Vizena was still ruling over them, he was starting to wonder whether the monks¡¯ victory was preferable. They did care about keeping the inhabitants safe, at least, even if their methods relied on deceptiveness and obedience to their rules above everything else. Most importantly, he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the book Rabam had brought him. It had shown how a similar attack had played out in the past, so maybe the piece about the explosion was true too. Maybe the monks had made a change he wasn¡¯t aware of or didn¡¯t remember just before creating him. They were breaking so many rules only to rein him in that it didn¡¯t seem a far-off possibility. He wondered how far the explosion could reach. The temple was mostly covered in debris and chunks of ceiling, which could slow down the explosion, as well as make it more dangerous if it was strong enough to throw them around. He couldn¡¯t tell anymore whether the buzzing of his energies was just fear and apprehension or something more dangerous brewing under the surface. ¡°Is it true?¡± he asked impulsively to the monks that were entering from Tilau¡¯s border. They were startled by his voice. They looked back, focusing on one specific figure. ¡°Are you about to surrender, Zeles?¡± they asked. He could immediately tell they were a prior. They stood alone, surrounded by sentinels, overlooking the monks that tried to advance by pressing their spears against the barrier of wind. ¡°I could, if you promise me you won¡¯t hurt Ailima.¡± The prior tightened their crossed arms. ¡°She betrayed us. We will crack both of you.¡± ¡°Then at least don¡¯t hurt Suimer¡¯s people. Don¡¯t erase their memories, let them return to their houses as if nothing ever happened.¡± ¡°We only took them to interrogate them, but they fought back with magic, so we don¡¯t have any choice. You only have yourself to blame.¡± ¡°I could just keep fighting and make your gods waste all of their viss.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be necessary. We just need to wait.¡± ¡°Why?¡± They smiled a bit, but didn¡¯t answer. Zeles was used to not having a body. The chilling sensation he felt was probably just a distant memory of two hundred years prior, but it had an effect all the same. He looked at the people gathered around his temple. ¡°I¡¯m almost completely sure the explosion is just a bluff.¡± The prior kept staring at the spot of the barrier from which his voice was irradiating, without giving a sign of emotion or understanding. ¡°But it¡¯s a risk I can¡¯t take,¡± Zeles concluded. He retreated his attention from the conversation and made his statue step down from the pedestal. Suimer¡¯s inhabitants noticed the movement and crowded around the entrance to watch the giant of blue rock step over the rubble and toward the door. ¡°Don¡¯t stand so close to me, please.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not abandoning us, are you?¡± Lada asked. ¡°I won¡¯t leave you without protection,¡± he said. ¡°From the monks, at least. From the gods¡­ I can do something. I have faith my friends will do the rest. Don¡¯t follow me,¡± he warned them, seeing they were trailing behind him as he stepped down the road that led away from the temple. He could feel his domain moving with him, leaving some bits of land unprotected, inglobating others. He pushed away the monks as his barrier followed his movements. To his relief, the inhabitants stayed behind, clustered around the temple. He put as much distance as he could between them and himself, making sure his domain still included most of the village. He had ninety years of viss left, after the attack had drained a decade in just one hour. It was clear the siege would have dissipated the rest quickly enough, killing him and leaving Suimer¡¯s inhabitants without protection. Saia had given him half of her energy because she wanted him to keep them safe, and he wished the same. Any other use of his viss was a senseless waste. Above everything else, he could never forgive himself if he were to hurt them, no matter how flimsy the story of the explosion seemed. He stopped in the middle of the road and focused on the terrain. He¡¯d erected enough houses during his lifetime to know where to build and where to shore up the ground to avoid landslides. As its ancient buildings had suggested, Suimer¡¯s terrain was particularly solid. He let his powers bite deep into the rock and started gathering materials. ¡°Go to the temple,¡± Rabam said, kneeling on the carpet right beside Mor¨¬c. The boy gave him an irritated glance over his shoulder. ¡°I know. Don¡¯t give me orders or I¡¯ll drop you.¡± Rabam didn¡¯t answer, looking back at the monks who were running toward them with spears ready to be thrown. Mor¨¬c turned the carpet sharply to the right, leading it out of their range. Lausune¡¯s line of white stones started to get visible here and there, among the vegetation. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Wait, fly lower,¡± Rabam said. ¡°I said don¡¯t give me orders!¡± ¡°If they see us enter while Aili¡¯s there, they¡¯ll think she¡¯s on their side.¡± Mor¨¬c didn¡¯t answer for a few instants, then sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a bit too late for that.¡± Rabam listened in horror as he relayed Zeles¡¯s message. ¡°They want to break her?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And where is she now?¡± Mor¨¬c shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± They entered Koidan¡¯s territory. Rabam realized he was expecting to hear her voice, but they were only greeted by silence. He realized they were tracing a wider path than necessary. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°To the temple.¡± He could feel the eyeroll in Mor¨¬c¡¯s voice. ¡°I can¡¯t go straight ahead because half of the village is under Mivion now, and I don¡¯t want to explain anything.¡± They didn¡¯t speak anymore while the boy steered the carpet toward the temple. Mor¨¬c made it land between the trees at the back of the building. ¡°I¡¯ll dig up the shards,¡± Rabam said. ¡°Since I know where they are. You take care of the letter. Do you know where it is?¡± ¡°Zeles told me.¡± ¡°Good. Let me know what¡¯s written there as soon¡­¡± He saw his annoyed face and trailed off. ¡°Sorry. Thank you for saving me.¡± He ran toward the trees. He found the shovel he had hidden behind a trunk and the seven different symbols with which he had marked the plants that hid the shards. He removed the first layer of earth, taking care not to hit too deep, then set the shovel aside and dug out with bare hands the pouch that contained the first shard. He deactivated the first god, then reached the second one. Since Mor¨¬c didn¡¯t know which gods were involved in the attack and he didn¡¯t know their imprint, he¡¯d have to deactivate all of them. ¡°I¡¯ve found the letter,¡± Mor¨¬c yelled, running toward him. Rabam was digging out the third shard. ¡°What does it say?¡± Mor¨¬c read it out loud. The first part was a summary of how the attack on Suimer should have gone, if the monks had followed Aili¡¯s plan. Mor¨¬c looked at Rabam for reassurance before moving on. ¡°Yes, she planned it,¡± he explained, deactivating the god and moving on to the next tree. ¡°They would have tried something else on their own, at least this way we could have been prepared.¡± The second part of the letter was more interesting. ¡°Contact Saia in case you need to deactivate all of the gods,¡± Mor¨¬c read. ¡°She has my shard, so she can deactivate me too. It¡¯s better if I¡¯m not the only one awake, or the monks will immediately understand I betrayed them. She has my shard, and I have her shard too. It¡¯s hidden in a cavity under my sphere, in the belly of the statue. I made the outward layer thin so it can be broken easily.¡± Rabam let go of the shovel and stood to look at the letter. He saw the squares drawn at the bottom and touched their corners with the tip of a finger, to feel the viss they contained. ¡°An intensity code,¡± he hissed. ¡°I¡¯m not good with those. Do you know how to use them?¡± Mor¨¬c shook his head. ¡°We have to try before they break Aili,¡± Rabam added. He entered the temple and took the scalpel that Mor¨¬c had left on the statue¡¯s pedestal. He hesitated, seeing the hole the monks had torn in Aili¡¯s chest to take out the sphere. He checked it first, looking for a fragment of glass from either her sphere or Saia¡¯s, but only found rock debris. He positioned the point of the scalpel against the statue¡¯s belly and hit it gently with the small hammer that came with it. It broke easily, revealing a small round cavity. Saia¡¯s shard was resting at the bottom. He took it carefully, paying attention not to leave his own viss on it. When Mor¨¬c reached him, he took the letter too and laid it flat on the pedestal. He readied himself to send the message, balancing the shard on his palm. He sent a bit of viss out, buzzing with his own agitation, to both gauge how much energy it would take to reach Saia and alert her that there was a message arriving. His knees gave out and he found himself on the floor. ¡°Rabam?¡± Mor¨¬c called out. ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s just¡­ I didn¡¯t expect her to be that far.¡± He forced himself to breathe slowly to calm down his racing heart. He wasn¡¯t sure he could go through an entire word without passing out, after all the viss he¡¯d used during the escape and the hunger he had to endure. There were still four shards to deactivate. There was still Aili out there, surrounded by monks who wanted to kill her. ¡°How did you do that?¡± he asked as he climbed back to his feet. Mor¨¬c frowned. ¡°Do what?¡± ¡°Fly that carpet. It looks exhausting. I don¡¯t think anyone would have enough viss to do that for more than a few minutes.¡± Mor¨¬c shrugged. ¡°Guess I¡¯m a magic genius.¡± ¡°I need to send a message to Saia,¡± Rabam said, showing him the shard. Mor¨¬c looked at it. ¡°Saia,¡± he repeated. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± Rabam realized he was an inhabitant of the mountain, albeit one that was strangely proficient with magic. ¡°If you have a way to send this message without wasting too much viss, this is the moment to share.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t share it. I won¡¯t.¡± Rabam gestured to grab his shoulders, but stopped when Mor¨¬c stepped back. ¡°Then Aili will die,¡± he said, letting the arms fall at his sides. ¡°Zeles too, probably. Do you know them, at least?¡± Mor¨¬c held his gaze. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening in Suimer will happen to Lausune too after the monks finish there. They¡¯ll give you another god that doesn¡¯t know you at all.¡± For some reason, that had an effect on him, even if Rabam wasn¡¯t sure it was for the reasons he expected. ¡°Wait here.¡± Mor¨¬c ran out of the temple. He came back shortly after with the carpet rolled under his arm. He threw it down onto the floor and took out a pair of scissors from his backpack. Rabam gently put a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t destroy it completely, I¡¯ll need it.¡± Mor¨¬c glared at him, but nodded. ¡°It won¡¯t last that much, though,¡± he said, turning the carpet upside down. He started cutting away the rough cloth that was sewn at the bottom, where the carpet was supposed to rest against the floor, revealing the chaos of strings beneath. Rabam looked at it in fascination, wondering whether the underside of a carpet was supposed to be so different from the result that could be seen at the front. Mor¨¬c looked up sharply. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have some shards to dig up?¡± Rabam left him to his work. He resumed digging outside, gathering the pouches once he had finished. He knew deactivating the gods was just a temporary solution to slow down the attack, since the monks could just reactivate them as soon as they realized something was wrong. But it was the best he could do, so he kept the pouches inside the pockets of his tunic, hoping to find a better hiding spot later that would make them easier to use. He returned to the temple once he was finished. Mor¨¬c had cut away three circles of thread, knotting the end in a way that preserved their shapes. He started cutting some pieces, adding others with the help of a thick needle. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a pattern this intricate,¡± Rabam said, pointing at the strings crisscrossing at the center of each circle. ¡°What are they?¡± ¡°Holders,¡± Mor¨¬c answered, as if it explained everything. ¡°What pattern do you need to send a message?¡± ¡°Nothing. I have to send a bit of viss with different intensities, based on an established code. I don¡¯t understand, how can you do all of this,¡± he gestured at the carpet. ¡°And not know something this basic?¡± Mor¨¬c¡¯s hands faltered. ¡°If you only need to send viss, maybe it¡¯s easier than anticipated,¡± he mumbled. Rabam noticed that he had avoided the topic, but decided not to press it. Mor¨¬c detached a purple string from the tangle, created a flat circle on one extremity, then sew the middle to the three holders. He held up a hand. ¡°Give me the shard,¡± he said. Rabam hesitated. ¡°If you stain it with your viss, it¡¯s as good as a piece of glass from that window,¡± he said, nodding toward one of the decorated glass panels. Mor¨¬c seemed to reflect for a moment, then gave him the free extremity of the purple string. ¡°Tie it around it.¡± Rabam did. He brushed one of the holders while he worked, and he had to stop for an instant. ¡°They contain¡­ So much viss,¡± he commented. Mor¨¬c nodded, closing his eyes for a moment as if in defeat. ¡°Keep going.¡± Rabam finished the knot and put down the pattern onto the floor. He reached out to take the letter from the pedestal. With a hand on the code and one on the activation point, he sent the message to Saia. Awaken Aili now. Emergency. He felt the viss leave his body, but not nearly as much as before. If he had to guess what was happening, his viss had only activated the pattern, while the holders provided the energy needed to carry out the task. Only one of the three was completely depleted. ¡°Can I bring them with me?¡± he asked. Mor¨¬c visibly tensed. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I might need to send more messages. Or power other patterns,¡± he added, thinking about his improvised magnet amplifier. Mor¨¬c touched the holders, looking as if he wanted to snatch them and run away. ¡°Usually I never make them like this,¡± he said. ¡°The pattern changes based on what you need to do, on the material or object you need to power. These are a generalized version. The least efficient, but the most adaptable.¡± He grabbed Rabam¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Don¡¯t share them with the monks. Don¡¯t use them lightly. If someone asks about them, you don¡¯t know anything. They¡¯re my family¡¯s biggest secret.¡± The boy¡¯s gaze was so intense Rabam couldn¡¯t think of an answer that would reassure him. He only nodded. Mor¨¬c slowly let him go, the usual apathy falling back in place. ¡°Can I take your carpet too?¡± Rabam dared to ask. Mor¨¬c shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much flight it has left. It only has two holders now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be careful.¡± Rabam took the rolled-up carpet under his arm and stood. ¡°Hide somewhere,¡± he added,¡°I fear the next person to enter that door will be a monk.¡± He unfurled the carpet right out of the entrance and hopped on. 6.13 - Right arm Saia awakened. She saw grayness all around, the wind blowing past her as she fell. It took her a few precious seconds to piece together what had happened. She¡¯d grabbed Nuras¡¯s hand in an attempt to prevent him from deactivating her. If he had, the statue could have fallen over the border, carrying him with it, or at least blocked him in place until the guards found out where he was and recognized him as a traitor. She hadn¡¯t quite managed that, but her grip had been tight enough that he could only free himself by opening his hand. Or at least she hoped so. She peered inside her fist: she was clutching five blue feathers. No sign of her shard. She let herself fall a second longer, thinking that her plan had been useless. Forty years of life gone, and she hadn¡¯t achieved anything. But there was still Aili¡¯s shard up there. She created a wind to break her fall, gradually using more viss until she could propel herself upwards, trusting that the city was somewhere above her. The thick clouds came out from its patterns. She was keeping her domain as small as possible, so the pipe appeared above her as if from nothing. She changed the direction of her winds to avoid it, then dropped on top of it with a hollow thump. Two more years of life, gone. The metal screeched under the push of the winds, but didn¡¯t buckle when she stepped around, wondering in which direction to go. At that moment, she felt her viss tremble with a message from the outside. She focused on Aili¡¯s words, glad she could finally communicate again. Awaken Aili now. Emergency. She waited a bit, but didn¡¯t receive further explanations. The message wasn¡¯t from Aili, that much was clear. She could feel her viss buzz with panic while thousands of scenarios were going through her head. She had to reach Irim¨¦ze in any case, and from there decide where to go. She was tempted to expand her domain, but the recent expense of viss held her back. The way the pipes curved and jutted out from nothing made it clear the city was somewhere to her right. She needed a plan, unless she wanted to climb the entire city to reach the top. If what she needed was Aili¡¯s shard, she had to find Serit. And the only person who knew where they were was Hilon. She had to go back to the navigation room. At least the representatives and their guards couldn¡¯t control her anymore, and the person who had her shard thought she was gone, which let her free to roam as she pleased. If only she knew in which direction to go. The temptation to expand her domain was strong, but she held back, forcing herself to think as if she was a simple human again. She took out the last rebel map from her bag. The building where her shard had been was highlighted. There was also a symbol for the elevators, where one of the cabins went straight down to the factory and the navigation room. The spot from which Nuras had pushed her off wasn¡¯t that far, as long as she walked counterclockwise. She turned around and headed toward the end of the pipe, keeping the city to her left. She found another one to climb, and soon it crisscrossed with two more. It was encouraging: the pipes were closer right around the factory, after all. Soon enough she saw the wall of rock of the city emerge from the fog of fake clouds. She examined it attentively as she walked on, dispersing the fog with small winds when it was too thick. After a few minutes, she finally saw the wall of glass a few armlengths above her. She crouched to hide her presence, observing what was going on inside the room. She could see shapes of people moving, even if she couldn''t distinguish who they were through the layer of condensation. Engineers, she imagined. More numerous than the team she''d been working with that night, so she could hope that Hilon was among them. She climbed the pipes until she was in front of the room, then pushed as much viss into her legs as she could spare, readying a fist. She jumped and hit the glass in close succession. It gave way much more easily than she had anticipated. The sound of the winds was briefly covered by screams of fear and surprise. She expanded her domain and recomposed the glass without thinking, much as Vizena had done to repair her temple''s window. Then she made everyone sleep, except for one person. ¡°Hilon,¡± she called her. She stood with her back against the wall, looking around the room as if to find help. The eyes fell onto the snake, still swimming inside the tank, then shifted back to Saia. ¡°How did you know¡­?¡± She stopped, maybe sensing her irritation. ¡°Where''s Serit?¡± she asked. ¡°Hidden,¡± Hilon immediately answered. Saia created a wind to pin her against the wall. ¡°I know you work with the rebels. They have Serit, right? Your offer of help was just a ruse to kidnap them.¡± ¡°Yes, but they forced me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they did,¡± Saia said, letting the sarcasm shine through her voice. ¡°No, think... Think about it, please. I rained, you saw me become ¨¦shan. How could I get back so soon?¡± ¡°I want to know where''s Serit. Anything else is irrelevant.¡± ¡°They''re in the rebels'' hideout. I can bring you there, a ship should arrive in about five minutes.¡± Saia let her go. ¡°If you try to deceive me, you''re dead." Hilon shuddered. Saia hoped her words were convincing, because not even she knew how far she was willing to go. ¡°Follow me,¡± Hilon said. She stepped around her sleeping colleagues, heading toward the corridor outside. Saia considered whether to return to her human form, but decided against it. She changed the color of the statue instead, from red to a deep blue. She followed Hilon as she crossed the factory, heading toward one of the side rooms that connected with the tunnels. After a short staircase, Saia found herself standing in front of another section of pipe covered with the glass through which the workers fed the sprites. There was a door beside the window, another way to enter the tunnels. As they approached, a shining mass of sprites passed in front of the glass. After they were gone, Hilon waited a few seconds, then opened the door with one of her keys and stepped inside. ¡°Be careful,¡± she said. She looked like she was about to add something. In the end she didn''t, maybe remembering that Saia wasn''t in danger of being attacked by stray sprites. They proceeded in the opposite direction from where the sprites had come from. Saia was on the lookout for traps, like the walls of steel that could be lowered at a moment''s notice. Nothing she couldn''t take care of, but she had only fourteen years left, and the mountain was still taking its toll. They had just entered a new section of pipe, when Hilon stopped next to another door. While all the previous ones had looked seamlessly integrated with the rest, probably because they¡¯d been set up when the pipe was first created, that one had such irregular borders that it had been clearly added at a later moment. Hilon opened it with a key that was dangling from her neck, kept separate from the others. She held the door open, but Saia expanded her domain to look inside instead of entering. She saw an opening to the outside on the opposite end of a small circular room. She could see the clouds beyond, to the point a bit of fog even obscured part of the ceiling. ¡°There¡¯s someone inside,¡± she said. Hilon nodded. ¡°We''re not the only ones taking the ship. The rebels trust me, they''ll just think you''re a worker like the others that decided to join them.¡± Saia reluctantly entered. There were three people in total, all of them waiting along the wall. Each was carrying bags and baskets full of clothes or food. Hilon took a spot next to the only portion of the wall that was mostly empty. ¡°You can hear me if I speak quietly, right?¡± Saia stepped closer until her domain brushed against her shoulder. ¡°Now I can.¡± ¡°Their ships are hollow at the top. It¡¯s a sort of empty pool that they use to kidnap people when they rain. Then they bring them to their hideout, where one of their unlicensed memory readers examines them.¡± She had crossed her arms, not in anger, but as if she felt cold. ¡°That''s how they learnt about Serit, I think. And about my daughter: they kidnapped her to force me to obey. After they read people¡¯s memories and are ready to use them for their plans, they fill their ¨¦shan with viss and bring it down to the earth.¡± ¡°The humans?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. Only the human rebels can fly under the threshold to kidnap people. They bring them there, where they have a series of pools. They¡¯re making experiments to find out what makes shilv¨¦ evaporate. They haven''t discovered exactly what it is yet, but they managed to increase the rate at which we¡¯re ready to leave.¡± Saia took a moment to recall what Serit had explained about the end of the rain-voyage. ¡°And then you reappear¡­¡± ¡°Usually at the top of the city we come from, because it¡¯s the place we¡¯re most connected with. There was a birdguard waiting for me when I did. He said the rebels had my daughter, and if I didn¡¯t follow him, I would never see her again.¡± Her voice trembled. ¡°They''re keeping her in a bottle.¡± ¡°Where?¡± ¡°At their hideout. They keep everyone they don''t immediately need there. They told me to keep an eye on you, so I used the navigation room as an excuse. And I helped them kidnap Serit.¡± ¡°And this place?¡± Saia gestured to include the room, uncaring of the three sets of eyes glancing at her. ¡°Someone else built it. A lot of my workers joined the rebels.¡± ¡°I wonder why,¡± Saia commented. They couldn''t talk further, because the doorway to the sky was obscured by a hull of iron. Saia wanted to check the surface, to feel the viss that was running along the patterns that covered it, but held back. She needed to, in case there were other bird people among the rebels, ready to identify her. A portion of the hull started to detach, creating a gangway. One extremity passed through the room¡¯s external opening and clanked onto the stone floor, then the rest of the bridge shifted inside, perfectly connecting the opening to the ship''s entrance. A mixed group of humans and shilv¨¦ dressed and behaving as factory workers stepped out, carrying crates and heavy bags. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. The three other people in the room stood in a line, patiently waiting to be admitted into the ship. Hilon and Saia followed them. Even after seeing the inside, Saia didn''t know why everyone kept calling those things ''ships''. Only the porthole and the curving hull were slightly reminiscing of a vessel, the rest just looked like a sparsely furnished room. There were copper pipes jutting out of the wall, each connected to valves that were probably needed to redirect whatever sprites were moving on the inside. At least a dozen people were operating them, while five more pushed their viss onto the pattern that began inside the room and snaked out onto the surface of the ship. They detached their hands at regular intervals, so Saia suspected they only worked to redirect the vessel, not making it float. The center of the ship was remarkably useless for the maneuvers, which was probably the reason why it was occupied by six stools in two adjacent rows, bolted to the floor. The other three passengers showed a blank piece of green cloth to a member of the crew before being allowed to sit inside. There wasn''t anything sewn on it, but the crewmember touched each one of them, closing their eyes for a few instants before nodding and letting the person sit. Saia imagined they contained viss with a specific imprint or intensity. Hilon took out one as well. ¡°New recruit,¡± she said, pointing at Saia. The boy nodded without giving her a second glance. ¡°¡®I was forced to help them¡¯, you said,¡± Saia commented as they sat down. ¡°And yet they trust you blindly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a valuable asset close to the representatives. I succeeded with you, and they still have my daughter. They don¡¯t expect me to act against them.¡± Saia expected a long flight. She was surprised when the ship slowed down and stopped only a few minutes later, and the light of the bridge¡¯s opening flooded the small room. The rebels¡¯ hideout was a smaller imitation of Irim¨¦ze, except it only had the bottom level and a tall wall around it to keep out the strongest winds. The gray fog covered the outside world, hiding the sky completely. She imagined it was a mixture of the fake clouds created by Irim¨¦ze and some disguise produced by the rebels themselves, since they managed to fly that close to the city without the guards noticing. ¡°How did the birguards not see all of this?¡± Saia asked. ¡°The rebels fly close to the city, so from above it looks like it¡¯s just part of it. Nuras is an eagle person, so he made sure that the distribution of viss from the ships and people doesn¡¯t look suspicious. They can move it out of the way if someone ever gets sent to investigate. And when a ship needs to depart for a longer voyage, they free a cloud of sprites to hide it until it¡¯s far enough.¡± Hilon walked with purpose on the rock floor of the hideout. Saia followed her, looking around without moving her head. The walls and pavement had holes where the material wasn¡¯t enough to repair them. Nets and plaques of metal covered them, preventing people to fall down while still leaving some space for the flying ships to dock. There were two more identical to the one she¡¯d boarded on, attached to the city at different spots, maybe to preserve some sort of balance. She looked for the flying system in the midst of all the movement of crates and people: there was a pattern of pipes similar to Irim¨¦ze¡¯s, except for the fact they didn¡¯t just envelop the outside of the hideout, but were visible on the inside as well. She saw various panels of glass complete with brass handles for feeding the sprites. The small crowd that took care of them was composed of shilv¨¦ and humans combined. She focused on them as they fed a group of sprites, then crossed to the opposite side of the hideout, chatting among themselves. No guards to control them, no narrow tunnel of rock to cross. Hilon followed the round perimeter of the hideout, steering clear of the activity at the center of the rebel city. There was a tall stage of wood full of activity: some rebels were hanging lights on posts planted in the ground, others were carrying chairs. ¡°Do you celebrate the Festival of Light here too?¡± Saia asked. ¡°No. There¡¯s going to be an announcement later from Nuras and Vanan. Something about the plan and their deal with the wind spirits.¡± Saia felt her viss buzz faster in recognizing the name of the birdguard who had pushed her down from Irim¨¦ze. She needed to confront him and get back her shard. But first, Serit. ¡°Where are we going?¡± she asked Hilon. She pointed at a series of wooden buildings, clustered together much like the houses at the higher levels of Irim¨¦ze were, despite not occupying the entire space at disposal. ¡°The first building is the deposit in which they keep the shilv¨¦ they kidnapped. Then Vanan¡¯s laboratory, where Serit works, and the private quarters of the bosses.¡± She pointed at a structure that didn¡¯t seem larger than the rest, but was the only one with a carpet hanging from it. It showed decorations made with triangles that recalled Irim¨¦ze¡¯s symbol, but only in shades of gray. Saia examined the cluster of three buildings to look for an easy way in. The windows were close and far too conspicuous. Two doors opened in the front, where someone was bound to notice Saia enter, while a third one was behind the corner, but guarded by four people. She approached it. Hilon scrambled to get ahead of her. ¡°Let me talk, I¡¯m sure I can convince them to let us in.¡± Saia expanded her domain and put them all to sleep. She looked in all directions, making sure that no one was looking at her, then kicked the door open and dragged the four guards inside with the help of her winds. She found herself in a gloomy warehouse. Rows of bottles held in place on their shelves by metal supports projected spots of translucent light onto the floor. Hilon closed the door behind them, breathing so hard Saia couldn¡¯t focus on any other sound. Saia saw a door on the opposite side of the warehouse. She advanced among the bottles, trying to imagine each one as a person. The room felt just as crowded. They came across a couple of guards alarmed by the violent opening of the door, and a group of rebels moving around a cart of bottles. Saia put them all to sleep, accompanying their fall with some winds to make sure they didn¡¯t crash into something. They finally reached the door. Saia broke the lock, letting the noise reverberate in the dark warehouse. The room on the other side reminded her of Serit''s laboratory, except it was bigger and divided into multiple sections. One corner was entirely dedicated to a series of libraries that exposed a mix of books and story-bottles. Rows of tools in various shapes and sizes hung from hooks set into the wall. Some were scattered on the floor instead, with no apparent criteria. Crates full of, she guessed, materials occupied the rest of the space, leaving free a circular area at the center that was entirely occupied by a circle of thick wood, composed of various pieces glued together as if it was the section of a huge trunk. An intricate pattern was traced all along the border, not touching the innermost part. Right next to it she saw the kernel of iron that Serit had planned to use on her, still open and incomplete. It didn''t look like it was being worked on, abandoned as it was on the floor. Saia looked for Serit, but there was no one inside the building. A door led to the outside, another to what she presumed were the bosses¡¯ quarters, as Hilon had called them. ¡°Where are they?¡± she asked. ¡°I don''t know,¡± Hilon said, closing the door behind her. ¡°They''re always here, but I admit I didn¡¯t have time to check lately.¡± Saia touched her shoulder to feel her viss: judging by the growing panic, she was telling the truth. She let her go and approached a stack of crates in the corner, determined to open them one by one. She might as well look for Aili''s shard, while she waited for Serit to return. The door to the private quarters opened shortly after. Saia didn''t hide, even if she was aware that the crates piled up in front of her partially hid her from sight. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Serit yelled. The door slammed closed. Hilon stepped back to the point she almost stumbled onto the circle of wood. Serit brusquely nudged her aside. ¡°What now? Do you want to lie to me again? Tell me you''ll help me escape just to throw me into an even worse situation?¡± ¡°You know I had to. There was nothing else I could have done.¡± Hilon was repeatedly glancing in Saia''s direction, but Serit''s eyes remained fixed on her. ¡°She was right,¡± they said after a bit. ¡°It does sound stupid coming from someone like you. You invented an entire navigation system, but a way to alert the representatives about what was happening? Too difficult.¡± They knelt on the floor next to the circle of wood. They passed a hand over the engraved pattern, following the twists and turns of the lines. ¡°What do you want? Vanan just told me I have ten minutes to make sure this works and I''d like not to waste more time.¡± From that position Saia could see them well: their hair flowed free, looking like it hadn''t been brushed or cleaned for a few days. The tunic was stained of green near the bottom and presented visible creases. She was sure that if she was to expand her domain and touch their viss, she would find it entangled with fear and worry. But she wasn''t inclined to waste her energies, not so close to her goal. Finally, Hilon''s glances over her own shoulder captured Serit''s attention. They were startled in seeing someone staring at them from the corner. Saia shed off her disguise, returning completely human. She¡¯d expected Serit to panic, but they produced a hesitant smile. ¡°They didn''t deactivate you,¡± they said. Saia thought there was no reason for them to be so happy to see her. Maybe they thought she was there to save them. She almost laughed out loud. ¡°I want Aili''s shard,¡± she said. ¡°Now.¡± Serit stood, wiping their hands on their tunic. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± they started, but the door opened once again. Saia immediately disguised herself as a tanhata, fearing it could be Nuras. But a different man stepped through. ¡°Is it ready?¡± he asked, then hesitated for a moment in front of Hilon. ¡°Hello, engineer. Why are you here?¡± She didn''t answer, staring at the man with wide eyes. Saia had the impression he was someone important. ¡°She arrived for the announcement,¡± Serit said. ¡°And as far as I can tell, the pattern is ready.¡± They spoke without ever looking the man in the eyes. He bent down, examining the circle of wood. He was a shilv¨¦ as well, an orange hue in his dark gray hair, the limbs long and thin. He wore a cape over his tunic, with the same gray triangles of the rebels'' carpets. ¡°Perfect. I see you followed my last suggestions.¡± For some reason, that sentence made Serit flinch. ¡°Yes, it should work,¡± the man added after observing the pattern more closely. ¡°I¡¯ll send someone to carry it outside for the announcement.¡± He turned, and in doing that, saw Saia. His eyes narrowed a bit as he tried to recognize her. ¡°A new recruit petitioning as my assistant,¡± Serit explained. The man chuckled. ¡°My right arm wants an assistant. Sure, why not?¡± He walked away, a smile still attached to his face. The door closed behind him before Saia could fully process his words. ¡°His right arm? You''ve been a rebel this entire time?¡± But it didn''t matter, she realized even before finishing the sentence. She cut off Serit''s answer. ¡°Where''s the shard?¡± ¡°I don''t have it. I gave it to the representatives for safekeeping.¡± Saia stared at them, hearing the insisting buzz of her viss all over her statue. ¡°I know it doesn''t look like it, but I made you a favor,¡± they continued. ¡°If the rebels had taken it, it could have been everywhere in the world by now.¡± ¡°So where is it? Don''t tell me you don''t know, because I swear I will kill you.¡± The door opened again. Two people stepped inside, a shilv¨¦ and a human. They took the wooden circle from the floor and carried it through the door, not without a few difficulties. Serit caught the handle before they could close it behind them, then pointed at the hideout outside. ¡°Look.¡± Saia did. She was aware it was all a big waste of time, but she couldn''t shake off the dissonance between Serit¡¯s anger toward Hilon and the man calling them his ''right arm''. ¡°He''s Vanan,¡± Serit explained as she looked for him in the midst of the growing crowd outside. ¡°The second head of the rebels.¡± He moved from person to person, exchanging a few words with each. In a moment where he was facing the door, Saia saw that he missed one arm. She turned her head to fixate her eyes on Serit. ¡°I don''t understand.¡± ¡°Almost all of the memories I have since my first appearance in this world come from that man,¡± Serit explained, talking quickly as if fearing she could return to the topic of the shard. ¡°A few years ago, he delayed his rain-voyage for too long to work on a project. When he returned, he was missing an arm. Apparently, most of the viss and memories stored in the ¨¦shan he left behind are now in me.¡± Serit closed the door and gestured toward the abandoned kernel of iron. ¡°The whistle, this project to use your viss to keep us solid past the rain threshold... They were all his ideas. Losing an arm meant losing part of them, that''s why he wanted to capture me so badly. And he has worked on it in the meantime, so when we put our researches together he was actually able to create the link, not just modify it. He reproduced what the monks did in connecting you and the mountain. Do you understand?¡± They passed a hand between their hair. ¡°Now I¡¯m nothing more than an assistant, a glorified handyman to sculpt the patterns he wants with the right precision. He''s an absolute genius, and I''m just... A missing piece.¡± Saia grabbed them from the shoulders. ¡°Nice story. Now tell me where Aili''s shard is.¡± They grimaced. ¡°Stop talking and just kill me already.¡± Saia didn''t know what to answer to that, so she just let them go. Serit crouched, as if they had received a particularly strong punch to the stomach. ¡°I failed everything. I didn''t complete my research, I didn''t take the children of viss out of that dumpster of a house at the fourth level, I was betrayed,¡± they raised their voice into a scream, looking at Hilon, ¡°by one of the closest people I have, and now my ideas are not even mine? Fuck this world. I want to meet my goddess, maybe that''s where I''m meant to be.¡± Saia realized that threatening them wasn¡¯t going to work. ¡°Something bad is happening at mount Ohat,¡± she said. ¡°I need to find the shard because my friend is in danger. If I don¡¯t reactivate her, I don¡¯t know what could happen. Maybe helping me is what you¡¯re meant to do.¡± They looked up at her: their lost gaze became a bit more determined. They slowly stood, then turned to Hilon and said: ¡°Go away, please.¡± She quickly scrambled through the door. Once they were alone, Serit took a deep breath. Saia could see that their closed fists were trembling. ¡°Let¡¯s make one last deal,¡± they said. For an instant, Saia couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. ¡°You¡¯ll help me stop the rebels, I¡¯ll lead you where your shar¡­¡± They were cut off when Saia pressed them against the wall with one of her winds. ¡°Are you joking or what?¡± Serit laughed, even if she was close enough she could feel both their desperation and fear. ¡°We just need to alert the representatives to what¡¯s happening,¡± they said. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care how long it takes!¡± she roared. ¡°I want the shard now.¡± Serit shrugged, smiling with their lips, and tipped their head back against the wall. ¡°Then go ahead.¡± Saia felt the need to punch them, but knew she could actually kill them that way. She dismissed the wind, letting Serit fall to the ground. ¡°Why do you even want to stop them?¡± she asked. ¡°They want the same things you do: making your people stop raining, having humans and shilv¨¦ working together.¡± Serit stayed seated on the floor, their back to the wall, legs stretched out in front of them. ¡°It¡¯s more complicated than that. But tonight they¡¯re going to enact their plan and it will become close to impossible to stop them.¡± ¡°What¡¯s their plan?¡± Serit didn¡¯t answer, reaching out for the door¡¯s handle instead. Saia looked at them fumbling for a bit, then stepped forward and opened the door in their place. ¡°Watch the announcement,¡± they said. ¡°It won¡¯t last long and will explain everything better than I ever could.¡± Saia glared at them. ¡°If something happens to my friends while I¡¯m here wasting time, I¡¯ll consider you responsible.¡± Serit nodded, then slowly climbed to their feet. They stood beside her in the doorway, looking toward the stage at the center of the hideout. Two people paced on top of it. One was Vanan, the other the same bastard that had pushed Saia from the top of the city. 6.14 - Demonstration The crowd of rebels clustered around the stage. Saia could see there weren¡¯t many of them as she had initially thought. About the entire population of Suimer, which was one of the smallest villages of the mountain. Thinking about them reminded her of Zeles, and her worry spread like wildfire across her viss. The first one to speak was Nuras. ¡°This morning we clarified our position with the elders. They agreed to fulfill their side of the pact until all the twenty ships are ready.¡± By the cheer of the crowd, Saia realized it was a fairly debated point. She imagined it was a consequence of Serit¡¯s meeting with the elders, when their pact with the rebels had been questioned. ¡°As you know,¡± Vanan began talking, bringing an amplifier to his mouth, ¡°We¡¯re ready to act tonight, despite our plan being brought forward of a week. Not the end of the festival anymore, but the start.¡± ¡°But everything¡¯s in place,¡± Nuras continued. ¡°We¡¯ll activate the pattern and save Irim¨¦ze from its senseless divisions.¡± The crowd cheered. Nuras seemed better at rallying it than Vanan was. ¡°Aren¡¯t you curious, though?¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ve worked on it so long, we should test it, right?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s up for a demonstration?¡± Vanan added, earning another cheer. The same two people who had carried the disk of wood out of the door heaved it so that everyone could see it, then set it down at the center of the stage. Nuras and Vanan stepped on top of it, a few feet of distance from each other. Nuras¡¯s eagle eyes robbed him of any expressions, but Vanan¡¯s grin was enough for both. ¡°Activate the pattern,¡± he yelled. Five rebels stepped onto the platform and knelt down in a circle, placing their hands on a spot near the border. From that distance and without expanding her domain, Saia could only imagine the viss that was flowing out of them and into the pattern. The two men tensed, probably crossed by the same sensation, and almost immediately relaxed. The crowd, fallen into a surprised silence, exploded in cheers when Nuras raised his arms in a triumphant gesture. ¡°Let''s test it,¡± he repeated. Vanan jumped down among the rebels. It was probably a planned stunt, because six people grabbed him and walked toward the walls of the city. Toward a spot, Saia noticed after leaning forward to look past the door, that was covered in huge holes. ¡°What are they doing, now?¡± she asked. ¡°Dropping him down,¡± Serit said, their voice almost a sigh. The crowd lurched forward when it happened, everyone following the same instinct of grasping his body before he could fall, even if he had already disappeared beyond the border. An imperceptible trembling of the hideout followed that sudden gesture, reminding everyone of how high they were flying. The people approached the hole with caution, both to avoid new movements and not to fall in themselves. ¡°This place is almost as low as the threshold,¡± Serit explained. ¡°He should have rained by now.¡± A dark shape emerged from the top of the city: one of the smaller ships, with a figure standing on top. The crowd cheered when they recognized Vanan. ¡°Or maybe not,¡± Serit added with a bitter smile. Saia watched as the man jumped down, the rebels grabbing him again. ¡°As I told you, he found out how to create the link the same way your monks did. Or similar enough, anyway,¡± Serit added, retreating from the doorway into the room like a wounded animal. ¡°The pattern connects the people standing on it. Regardless of who they are, whether humans, tanhata or even spirits, their viss will flow toward the nearest shilv¨¦ to provide them with the viss they need. This way, they will never feel the urge to rain again, and will stay solid past the rain threshold.¡± ¡°This is exactly what you wanted to achieve,¡± Saia commented. ¡°So why do you want to stop them? You''re jealous he completed the research and you didn¡¯t?¡± Serit recoiled at that. ¡°No,¡± they said, even if it was clear Saia¡¯s guess wasn¡¯t far from their feelings. ¡°It''s because they want to activate a giant pattern like that with the entire population of Irim¨¦ze inside. Or most of it, at least.¡± ¡°That would solve your problems, though,¡± she pointed out. ¡°Your representatives said that raining is dangerous.¡± ¡°It was them,¡± Serit yelled, pointing at the cheering hideout outside. ¡°They captured Izha after he rained, filled his viss with fake memories and sent him back. There''s no secret weapon, they just wanted the population to greet them as their saviours once they publicly announced what they did. And for no one to fall to their death in the meantime.¡± Saia reflected on it. ¡°I still don''t see what the problem is.¡± Serit groaned in frustration and crouched next to the wall, hands grabbing their loose hair. ¡°Please, close your ears,¡± a loud voice came from the outside. Saia looked out: a human was speaking into an amplifier, while Nuras stood in front of Vanan again. The fake birdguard was holding something between his plumed fingers. Saia recognized the rain whistle. The shilv¨¦ in the crowd pressed their palms against their ears, and some humans did too, laughing. ¡°Serit¡­¡± Saia called them, but it was too late. Nuras brought the whistle to his beak and emitted a rasping sound. Saia realized it wasn¡¯t easy for him to blow out air, since he didn¡¯t have lips anymore. Still, the raspy wheezing became a squeal. She realized she¡¯d never heard that sound before. It was less annoying than a regular whistle. The crowd held its breath. Some shilv¨¦ in the first rows doubled over, momentarily destabilized by the sound despite it being aimed at Vanan only. He kept standing with a wide grin on his face, opening his arm to the side to signal that he was fine. Serit was startled by the sound, but if it had any effect on their body, they didn¡¯t show it. ¡°Altering someone¡¯s body forever is not a joke.¡± She emitted a laugh, even if she felt no hilarity. ¡°I know, believe me.¡± Serit stared at her for a bit. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Vanan has good intentions,¡± they said, lowering their eyes. ¡°But he¡¯s a bit idealistic. He thinks he¡¯s solving two problems at once: saving the shilv¨¦ from the urge to rain, and forcing them to consider the humans of the fourth level their peers. Nuras has a better grip on the consequences of their plans, but he¡¯s ruthless. He knows they can¡¯t achieve the peace between humans and shilv¨¦ without obtaining control of the city, and he¡¯s ready to do anything to achieve that.¡± Saia closed the door to cut out the cheers outside. ¡°Explain.¡± ¡°The link forces the shilv¨¦ to feel the strongest emotions of the human who feeds them viss. This forced empathy won¡¯t be accepted by everyone. At the same time, the humans won¡¯t be able to use magic again. Which wouldn¡¯t be a problem if the link was permanent, but it can be broken. If one of the two people it connects dies, they¡¯ll revert back to keeping their viss and having to rain. Sooner or later, people will figure it out. They might accept their new situation, but at least some of them will rebel to it. They¡¯ll try to murder each other, split into two factions. The city might collapse, and not just at the social level. You saw how delicate the flying system is.¡± Saia nodded, even if it wasn¡¯t a question. ¡°So they have to gain power too, and keep it long enough for the new situation to become normal. They¡¯ve deactivated most of the weapons and built or got their hands on some working ones. And they have the whistles.¡± Their voice broke a bit as they said the last words. They passed a hand through their hair. ¡°They will use it against the guards. Also, to identify the shilv¨¦ who escaped the pattern or killed their human. They can use it against the other cities, once they¡¯re done with Irim¨¦ze.¡± ¡°Do you know all of this for sure or you¡¯re just guessing?¡± Serit kept quiet for a bit. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen Nuras much, apart from the public speeches. When he comes here to talk to Vanan, he¡¯s very careful about the words he uses. But I¡¯ve picked up on things.¡± Saia reflected on their words. Since they¡¯d mentioned Irim¨¦ze¡¯s flying system, she couldn¡¯t shake off the images of the humans giving up their viss, how tired they looked, and all for the tiny hope of being welcomed by the city they¡¯ve lived in for their entire lives. ¡°Things need to change. You do realize that, right?¡± she said. ¡°Hilon was a bad person long before she betrayed you.¡± ¡°I know,¡± they said, a lot more forcefully than necessary. ¡°I think I always knew. But she chose me as her pupil, and I¡­ I guess I brushed it aside. Still, I don¡¯t think these rebels should be allowed to do as they please.¡± They were staring at the floor. Suddenly, their eyes widened and looked up at Saia. ¡°They¡¯re like your monks.¡± She was so taken aback she didn¡¯t know what to answer. ¡°I don¡¯t know the details of what happened between you and them,¡± Serit continued. ¡°But I know you killed a goddess, and they surely didn¡¯t transform you into one by their own volition. They never do, unless it¡¯s to replace someone.¡± Saia regained the use of her voice. Her viss was buzzing with indignation. ¡°What does any of this have to do with them?¡± ¡°You think the rebels are like you, right? You think whatever they¡¯re going to do will make the city better than it is now. But they¡¯re not. They¡¯re like your monks. They¡¯re going to take the power and make all of the decisions, and we¡¯ll be left to deal with them, for better or for worse.¡± ¡°The monks let a goddess torture my village for more than a century,¡± she yelled. ¡°That¡¯s not the same thing at all.¡± ¡°Well, I can not guarantee the rebels will do the same. Maybe they¡¯ll be better than the representatives ever were. But they¡¯ll certainly be in a position to do what they want undeterred, and even your monks understand that it¡¯s not a good idea.¡± Saia thought of how she¡¯d left Aili and Zeles to take care of her people, without shards to control them. She hoped they weren¡¯t in too much danger. ¡°You¡¯re making me waste time.¡± ¡°What about this, then,¡± Serit said, standing. ¡°The entire reason you¡¯re stuck here is that I wanted to change things for the children of viss. But you never showed me a speck of the understanding you¡¯re showing to the rebels. Why?¡± Saia felt her viss flare. ¡°Are you kidding¡­¡± ¡°Because,¡± they cut her off. ¡°I was trying to make it happen at your expense. I was literally using you to reach my goals. And I¡¯m sorry for that.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t care.¡± Serit almost smiled at that, but had the decency to hold back. ¡°I know. But the rebels are doing the same to all the people they¡¯re keeping stuck in bottles right now. They read their memories, in Izha¡¯s case they even altered them. They killed one of their own after they were captured. They are already showing signs of not stopping short of anything to reach their goals.¡± ¡°Like Hilon?¡± she pointed out. Serit sighed, but nodded. ¡°Like Hilon. Like me, and I guess like your monks too. But the decision is yours. You¡¯re the only one who could stop them. If you trust them to make a good job of changing Irim¨¦ze and all the other cities, then I¡¯ll tell you where to find your friend¡¯s shard right now and we can go our separate ways. I mean, I¡¯ll have to stay here, but you can leave.¡± Saia was tempted to accept, more because she wanted the position of Aili¡¯s shard than out of any desire of getting involved in the situation. She shook her head. ¡°This is not fair. I don¡¯t have anything to do with this.¡± ¡°That is not your choice anymore, I fear. You did help them after all, didn¡¯t you?¡± Saia thought about how she had damaged the weapons. ¡°That was your fault. If you hadn¡¯t refused to help me¡­¡± She stopped, realizing that dragging the discussion any longer was pointless.She couldn¡¯t let the rebels take Irim¨¦ze, regardless of whether it was her fault or Serit¡¯s or anyone else¡¯s. ¡°What do we need to do?¡± she said instead. She¡¯d expected Serit to smile in triumph, but they became extremely serious, as if they were working on their research again. ¡°The pattern was drawn with the festival¡¯s lights. Have you seen them?¡± Saia thought back at the heaps of lights inside the crates. She remembered the rebels carrying them while entering the buildings at the fifth level, even if at the time she had thought it was just a disguise. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The wire that connects all of those lights can be used to carry viss. It¡¯s a giant pattern sprawled across the fifth level, where people will gather tonight for the festival. It can reach down for two levels, to include most of the ones who won¡¯t attend.¡± ¡°So we just need to destroy it?¡± ¡°Not that simple. I¡¯ll explain while we go.¡± They opened the door and looked outside. ¡°They¡¯re celebrating. We can steal a ship while they¡¯re distracted.¡± Saia focused on Nuras, still on the stage that was surrounded by his followers. ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll reach you once I¡¯m finished.¡± She left before they could say anything else. She dived into the celebrating crowd and returned to her normal look, counting on the mass of people around her to keep her unusual amount of viss hidden. She needed to be careful, not to tip off Nuras about what was happening. But she was far too angry to be too careful. Once she was close enough to the stage, she started running, pushing people to the side. Nuras interrupted whatever speech he was making, noticing a movement in the crowd. Saia pushed more viss into her legs and jumped. Someone fired their weapon, but she deviated the darts without bothering to change trajectory. She landed just in front of Nuras and pushed him down before he could reach for the shard. She expanded her domain and found it inside one of his pockets, already forgotten after he got rid of her. She took it, and immediately felt calmer. Whatever happened from that moment on, nobody could have stopped her from afar. She stood, pulling Nuras to his feet. ¡°You come with me,¡± she told him among the panicked screams of the people and guards. His viss was buzzing with all the fear his birdlike face couldn¡¯t show. ¡°You¡¯ve got what you needed, right? I''m sorry for pushing you out of the city, but you are free, there¡¯s no need to¡­¡± She dragged him away. The guards all around the stage hesitated, afraid to hit their boss by mistake. ¡°Keep going,¡± Nuras yelled at them. ¡°Go on with the plan. Don''t wait for me.¡± Saia finally reached the ship beside which Serit was waiting. It wasn''t difficult to convince the crew to let them on board. Nuras¡¯s silent presence and a demonstration of Saia¡¯s powers was all it took. She was surprised to find a familiar face among them. ¡°M¨¦non,¡± she called out. The young woman ducked a bit, as if she could hide her head in her shoulders. ¡°That explains why the rebels knew we were going to Filsun¡¯s house,¡± Serit mused out loud. ¡°But why did you join them?¡± She fussed with the handles sticking out from the pipes, avoiding both of their gazes. ¡°I hated how mom was treated,¡± she said with the thinnest voice. ¡°And I wanted to visit her side of the family down on earth.¡± Saia sat down on one of the stools bolted to the center of the ship, mental exhaustion weighing down on her where the physical one couldn¡¯t anymore. She hoped she was doing the right thing. Serit¡¯s words about the rebels not stopping short of anything to reach their goals resounded deeply with her. She risked becoming like them, in the long run. She¡¯d never, ever regret her actions back at the mountain, but being right once didn¡¯t mean being right forever. She needed to set herself aside from the monks and the rebels. Her plan of stealing the energy stored inside the mountain and redistributing it among the villages people was incomplete. There was something else she needed to do first, as scary as it sounded. She couldn¡¯t wait to talk to Aili about it, once she was safe. 6.15 - Walls Rabam realized too late that pushing viss into the carpet wasn¡¯t enough to make it fly where he wanted. The pattern had two entry points, one at the top center to make it levitate and one slightly to the right to make it go forward. He had to incline one way or another to guide which way ¡®forward¡¯ was at any given moment, and it was difficult to do that with the wool shifting under him. He made a brief stop at Mili¡¯s house, avoiding Mivion¡¯s territory, to get a backpack and one of the fire wands he had prepared after using the last one at the lake. He ate a piece of cheese as he considered his meager equipment: a carpet with less than an hour of flight, a fire wand and a magnetic cylinder felt awfully little to go up against the monks and their gods on his own, but there was no time to gather anything else, nor he would know where to get more support. They were short on resources, while the monks could pull them out indefinitely. He surveyed Tilau before heading toward Suimer, to get an idea of which situation to expect. He flew low, just a few armlengths above the treetops, kept hidden by the advancing night. The monks had planted tents on the outskirts of the village and in the central square, but he couldn¡¯t lower enough to set them on fire due to the amount of surveillance. He saw light and movement on the border between the villages, a line of gray tunics pushing against a barrier of wind. And further than that¡­ His control on the carpet wavered when he saw what was happening in Suimer. Debris, stones and tree trunks were raining from above, a thick fog of sand and dust covering the area of impact. At first he thought it was an attack from the enemy gods, then realized they were still sleeping, since there wasn¡¯t a barrier of light dividing them from Suimer. So it had to be Zeles¡¯s work, even if he couldn¡¯t figure out why. The monks¡¯ shouts coming from the village shook him from his paralysis. He couldn¡¯t indulge. He made a wide circle around Tilau, looking for traces of Aili¡¯s presence. Her light, most importantly, but also a cluster of monks and priors that revealed an imminent execution. The thought that it could have already happened resurfaced multiple times to his mind, but he pushed it down with all the strength he could muster. He wouldn¡¯t stop looking until he knew for sure that she was gone. He saw movement at the northern harbor and headed there. At the very border between Tilau and Suimer, outside of the gods¡¯ influences, there was a cluster of boats surrounding abluish glow irradiating from the water. He felt a surge of hope and doubts: if Aili wasn¡¯t the deity lost at the bottom of the sea, he was not only wasting time, but awakening them would have helped the monks and spelled both of his and Aili¡¯s demise. Since there was no other sign of her presence, he had to hope some more, and act before they could notice him. Following a sudden inspiration, he steered the carpet toward the other side of the harbor, where the external forest lay undisturbed. He lowered onto the rocky beach, scanning the surroundings for the biggest stone he could find. He tried to lift some of them before settling on a smaller one that he could uncomfortably keep tucked under an arm while he manoeuvred the carpet. He flew away toward the boats as fast as he could, aiming to reach them before they could spot him. He saw some monks swimming inside the water, the rest waiting from the boats. He flew high and let the rock fall just as someone shouted to alert the others of his presence. The monks retracted as the stone hit the wood of a boat, detaching a piece of the stern. It wasn¡¯t enough to sink it, but the waves managed to bring in loads of seawater that kept the monks busy. Rabam¡¯s triumphant smile was wiped away by a spear flying past him. He took out the cylinder and pushed two more weapons away. They fell into the empty water, where no one could reach them. He dug in his pockets for something else to use and found the fire wand. Encouraged by his success with the stone, he flew low above the water, close enough to a boat whose monks had already thrown their spears. He let go of the carpet¡¯s entry point that kept it afloat and extended the hand holding the wand, pushing viss onto the pattern. The wood melted like butter under its tip, leaving behind a carved wound with flaming borders. The monks hurried to extinguish the flames, but clustering on one side of the boat put it out of balance to the point it overturned. Rabam couldn¡¯t rejoice for that small victory, since a wave hit the carpet. He let the wand fall into the water and slammed his hand down on the pattern¡¯s entry point that could take him up and away from the water. The carpet¡¯s movements had become sluggish, it required more of his viss just to keep a steady course. He realized that not only the heavy wool was doing all it could to drag him down into the sea, but the water had probably washed away a bit of the viss that Zeles had pushed onto the carpet¡¯s holders. He retreated back to the external forest as fast as he could, aware that turning away from the monks made him an easy target. He managed to land without being hit by a spear and immediately crouched to examine the damage. The water had washed away almost all the viss inside one of the holders. His time of flight had just become much shorter, and there was no way of telling by how much. He retreated behind a bigger rock and took a moment to rest. He couldn¡¯t keep attacking the boats as he¡¯d done, otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have enough viss left to escape once he saved Aili. If he even managed that, considering the two boats that had just detached from the main group to reach him. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Sudden flashes of light distracted him. The barrier between Suimer and the two boats that were still carrying spheres was up again. The monks had reactivated the gods Rabam had put to sleep. Whatever Zeles was doing with the debris, wood and stone he¡¯d been moving around inside his dust storm, he¡¯d have to hold off two gods as well. He took out the shards from the backpack. He needed a lot of viss if he wanted to deactivate them for long enough, but he had nothing of the sorts at his disposal. He rummaged inside his pockets in a desperate search for a solution. He touched another shard, wrapped in a string of wool. He took out Mor¨¬c¡¯s three holders, still tied to Saia¡¯s shard and to each other. He made sure they still contained enough viss to make a difference, and was pleased to realize they did. Mor¨¬c¡¯s work didn¡¯t look sophisticated, so he undid the knot with hands trembling from the tension. He deactivated the shards in quick succession, looking for the ones connected to the attacking gods. The barrier faltered twice, so he set aside the corresponding shards. The boats were still approaching from the other side of the harbor, but he was still well hidden by the dark. He still retreated a bit more behind the rocks, to hide what he was doing. He tied the two shards to the string, one right after the other. Then he held tight the activation point and sent forward what viss he could spare without getting too tired to activate the flying pattern. The barrier of wind and flickering lights disappeared. Zeles resumed his work with renowned strength. Rabam watched in awe, trying to guess what the end result could be. He was building something, that much was clear, but the yellowish dust was still too thick for him to distinguish anything beyond the beginning of a wall. He could see the shape of his statue slowly descending Suimer¡¯s staircase road as if it cost him a huge effort. Since the situation at Suimer seemed to be settled for the moment, Rabam brought back his attention to the monks fishing for Aili¡¯s sphere. He wondered what was holding them back. They seemed to be sending a lot of messages back and forth, maybe to request some sort of equipment. The two boats had almost reached the external forest, and the monks on board were shouting for him to abandon his hiding spot. He took the cylinder with the hand that wasn¡¯t clutched around the pattern of strings. Their weapons didn¡¯t worry him as much as his own lack of a plan. The viss inside the holders finished before he could decide on what to do. The battle between the gods started again with an impetus that sent strong winds in every direction. He hid his head behind the rock to avoid the dust that was being blown into his eyes. One of the monks yelled, grabbing the boat¡¯s border not to be put out of balance. Rabam kept an eye on the monks looking for a place to board on the beach of stones while he turned the carpet bottom-up. There were two more holders left, but he didn¡¯t have the tools to detach one, nor he knew if he should, considering they didn¡¯t have much viss left to fly. He looked at the chaotic and barely distinguishable purple pattern at the bottom, his hands hovering above the strings, tied in indecision. Before he could decide whether to risk ruining the carpet, the earth trembled. He expected it to be over almost immediately, as it had every single time the earth had trembled in the last months. But it kept going for several seconds, followed by the low rumbling of some rocks detaching from the flanks of the mountain and the rustling of the foliage. The dust settled down, revealing Zeles¡¯s work: a wall encircling most of Suimer, leaving out only the harbor and the strip of land next to the border of white stones. The first wall wasn¡¯t as tall as the second one, encircling the innermost part of the village. There was a bit of space between the two defenses, filled past the brim by a shapeless form that vaguely resembled the mountain behind it. When a god illuminated the area with a flash of their viss, he saw it was made of uncut rocks, sand and debris. Only the intense blue of Zeles¡¯s statue emerged from it all, hands abandoned to the sides and back slightly curved forward, as if a wave of tiredness had hit him from behind. Despite the earth trembling, despite the rocks tumbling all around him, he didn¡¯t move. When the trembling stopped, Rabam realized what had happened. He looked at the remaining boats, the ones still holding the gods, the ones clustered around Aili¡¯s light and even the two who had finally boarded the beach of the external forest. He needed to act, or their defeat would have been complete. His mind went back to when he¡¯d tried to cross the tunnel to infiltrate the monks¡¯ village. This time, there wasn¡¯t the option of trying again if he failed, nor someone waiting for him on the other side. He hid the pouch with the shards of the gods not involved in the fight under a layer of sand and placed a small reddish stone nearby to remind himself where to look. He laid down the carpet and jumped onto it, briefly stopping to repel one more spear and put a monk out of balance by pulling on their sword from afar. He flew away, again toward the cluster of boats where the monks were taking turns to dive down. He lowered himself right on top of the spot where Aili¡¯s light seemed to be most intense, at least when looking from above. He manoeuvred the carpet so that it would fall onto the monks once the pattern wasn¡¯t active anymore, then jumped down, head first into the water. He started kicking even while his brain was wrestling with the cold. He swam downwards like he had practiced many times in preparation for using the tunnel. His eyes didn¡¯t register anything besides the darkness around him and the light down below. He periodically extended one hand to feel for the bottom, but each time it came back without touching anything. His heart was pounding, scaring him more than the echoes of voices in the water and spears cutting it from above. At that moment he realized how deep he needed to go, why the monks hadn¡¯t reached Aili yet despite trying for so long. The instinct to reemerge kicked in. The pressure of the water that wanted him up and away from the bottom wasn¡¯t an obstacle anymore, but a gentle push that could guide him to safety. But he had nothing else to lose except for his life, whichever direction he went. He welcomed the burning pain as the punishment he deserved, and kept swimming. 6.16 - Glimpse of home As soon as the ship stopped at the rebel port in Irim¨¦ze¡¯s pipes, Saia threw Serit and an asleep Nuras over her shoulders and started running. She bumped into people as she crossed the factory, not even bothering to stop their falls. She activated the elevator before the guard in the room could even register the fact she had entered by pushing the door out of its hinges. The cabin seemed slower than usual, to the point she wondered if she should have climbed instead. Once they finally reached the bottom of the city, she bowled over some more guards, running steadily toward her goal: the representatives¡¯ building. She realized that Serit was limp, not holding onto her tunic anymore. They seemed asleep. She remembered that the rebels had a strand of their hair and could use it to put them to sleep, so she pushed some viss forward to contrast their action. Serit came to their senses with a surprised gulp. They emitted a short scream before remembering where they were and what they were doing. Saia couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit of satisfaction when the guards around the area tried to stop her but couldn¡¯t even slow her down. She opened the entrance of the building with a push. It wasn¡¯t locked, so it slammed against the wall, interrupting the meeting inside. The three people who had been talking to the representatives flattened against the wall while she advanced toward the table and put Serit and Nuras down beside her. She awakened the boss of the rebels with a bit of viss and watched as he raised his feathers in fear. Izha stood, surprised. Enanit almost did too, her outraged face crossed by fear, and by something else Saia couldn¡¯t recognize. H¨¦she clasped her hands around the armrests of her chair, then looked at the three guests she¡¯d been talking to a moment before. ¡°You can leave. We¡¯ll summon you again to resume this conversation.¡± They scurried out of the building and closed the door. ¡°What do you need, Saia?¡± H¨¦she asked, feigning a calm it was clear she wasn¡¯t feeling. ¡°Serit,¡± she replied, moving her eyes between the three representatives. ¡°Tell them about the rebels.¡± ¡°They kidnapped me after you closed me in the warehouse, together with my research,¡± they said, talking fast. ¡°They created a pattern that includes the entire fifth level and they¡¯re going to activate it tonight. They¡¯ve used part of my patterns to create a link of viss.¡± They paused, their voice almost not pronouncing that word, ¡®my¡¯. Enanit opened her mouth to speak, but they cut her off. ¡°It will join every human and shilv¨¦ that will participate in the festival. The humans¡¯ viss will go to their shilv¨¦ counterparts, and they won¡¯t need to rain anymore. The most recent cargo of weapons you distributed amongst your guards doesn¡¯t work anymore, and they forged multiple rain whistles, so they will take advantage of the general confusion to take the power. You need to stop them now.¡± ¡°Where is the proof that any of this is true?¡± Enanit said. Serit pointed at Nuras, who had retreated some steps toward the door. Saia pushed him forward with a gust of wind. ¡°He¡¯s the head of the organization. Question him and you¡¯ll find out the truth. But first, please, help us stop the rebels. They have some people mingling with the crowd and ready to activate the pattern as we speak.¡± Saia noticed they had left out Vanan¡¯s involvement. She didn¡¯t correct them. ¡°You¡¯re still asking us to trust you blindly. It won¡¯t¡­¡± Enanit shut up when Saia stepped forward. ¡°If you don¡¯t believe them, I¡¯ll make you. I¡¯m not under your control anymore.¡± ¡°We were informed,¡± H¨¦she said. ¡°Izh¡­ Representative Izha,¡± Serit added, turning toward him. ¡°They¡¯re still allied with the wind spirits and using their flying ships to capture the people who rained in the past months. They¡¯re keeping the ones they don¡¯t immediately need in closed bottles, that¡¯s why most of them didn¡¯t return in time. You were one of them.¡± He seemed completely confused. Serit pressed on. ¡°The humans down there don¡¯t have the weapon I created, so raining is not dangerous. Not for that reason, at least. Those were memories they put into you through their unlicensed memories manipulators.¡± Izha slowly sat down, eyes lost on the table. Serit approached him and put a hand on his arm. ¡°The people are already gathering at the fifth level, the rebels might act sooner since they know I escaped. We need to act now.¡± Izha looked up at them. ¡°I trust you, Serit.¡± He stood again. ¡°Where¡¯s the pattern? I¡¯ll tell my guards to destroy it.¡± ¡°It was traced with the celebrative lights, but altering it is too dangerous,¡± Serit explained. ¡°It has dozens of superfluous lines to mask the fact it¡¯s a pattern, and it could have unforeseen consequences if the rebels activate a modified version. It¡¯s better if you evacuate the fifth, fourth and third levels. Without people to act upon, it won¡¯t work.¡± Izha nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll handle this.¡± He squeezed Serit¡¯s shoulder, then headed out of the building. Shortly after, a group of guards entered to escort Nuras out. Serit took a deep breath, then turned toward H¨¦she, at the opposite corner of the table. ¡°The rebels¡¯ hideout is near the city, only marginally above the rain threshold. They¡¯re counting on the cloud system to keep them hidden, so if you temporarily deactivate the pattern you should see it easily.¡± H¨¦she was already pushing herself away from the table, the wheels of her chair rolling like thunder on the wooden floor. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it personally.¡± ¡°The bottles are full of prisoners,¡± Serit added quickly, before she could leave the building. ¡°And they have locks of hair from each person they managed to awake, so they can control them a bit. Don¡¯t trust Hilon!¡± H¨¦she turned her head to flash them a confident smile, then left the room. Serit stood in front of the table, breathing fast as if they had exhausted all of their energies. ¡°The shard, now,¡± Saia said. They nodded, but before they could say anything else, Enanit¡¯s chair scraped the floor while she stood up. ¡°What about me? Don¡¯t you have a task for me too, engineer? I don¡¯t want to miss the chance to run around like your lapdog.¡± Serit glared at her. ¡°We don¡¯t have time for this. Fifth level, Saia.¡± ¡°Saia, right, I keep forgetting your name,¡± Enanit said, smiling at her. ¡°I have something that might interest you. From mount Ohat.¡± Saia hesitated. Her mind was screaming for her to run toward the fifth level, but her viss buzzed with longing at the idea of knowing what was going on at the mountain, what had prompted whoever had Aili¡¯s shard to send her such a desperate message. ¡°You have ten seconds,¡± she said. Serit raised their hands as if to tell her to stop, but Enanit took a story-bottle from the ones clustered on the desk in front of her and raised it. ¡°I promised I would contact the other cities to know whether they were having the same problems as us, didn¡¯t I? This is from Talim¨¦ze, which right now is crossing the area right above your mountain. Unfortunately, I didn¡¯t have the time to discuss the contents with the other representatives, but I think you¡¯ll find them interesting.¡± Saia looked at the bottle, wondering whether it was a trap to make her waste time, and to what end. Enanit¡¯s fake smile didn¡¯t linger for long. She scoffed, then threw the bottle in the air. ¡°Ten seconds, was it? I believe they¡¯re over.¡± Saia was already jumping before she could fully register what was going on. She had to correct her trajectory a bit with gusts of winds, but in the end she grabbed the bottle one armlength from the floor. She put a hand against the wall to stop her impetus and steady herself. She started reading the story-bottle without bothering to stand upright, so strong was the thirst for news from home, the tiredness of asking herself over and over what was going on, how everyone was doing. She saw the mountain from above. The vision was perfectly circular and surrounded by darkness, as if she was staring at it through one half of a binocular. She immediately recognized Suimer¡¯s bay, saw the boats lined up in front of it. Lights periodically flashed from the top of the mountain, breaking the gloom of the sunset. The vision was moving so slowly it seemed stuck, so Saia started reading more quickly. A barrier of light exploded between the boats and the village. ¡°Saia,¡± Serit¡¯s voice called from somewhere, but she was too busy thinking of Zeles, left to fend off the monks alone. She read even faster. She saw one of the boats detach from the rest. A wave pushed it into Tilau¡¯s waters, turning it upside down. A second barrier of light exploded from nothing, perpendicular to the first, only to disappear soon after. She saw a blue light spread from the bottom of the sea, more monks converging to fish it out. The thread of viss that contained the vision ended too soon. She went back and read more carefully, but there was nothing else to see. She stayed in the darkness of the aftervision to reflect, viss buzzing with distress. There were two deities in danger, the one in the water and the one protecting Suimer. She didn¡¯t need further proof to know they were Aili and Zeles. She left the dark space of the story-bottle. ¡°We need to go now,¡± she was beginning to say, looking for Serit inside the room, but her words died out. Guards had entered while she¡¯d been focused on the vision. Only a handful of them were humans, amidst a dozen or more birdguards. Two had been carefully approaching her, tridents pointed to her back. They froze as soon as she moved. The rest was clustered around Serit: two pushing them down by their shoulders, one holding a foot against their back, two crossing the central blade of their tridents in front of their throat. The rest formed three defensive rings between them and Saia. Enanit had positioned herself on the opposite side of the room. ¡°Extend your domain and they die,¡± Enanit said. ¡°What do you want from me?¡± Saia replied. ¡°What was happening there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much more than you do, but if I had to guess¡­¡± Enanit paced in the corner of the room, so that half of the time she was hidden behind the guards who were clustering around Serit. They were looking down at the floor. By their resigned expression, it seemed they could peer past the cheap wood, through the rocks of the city and the surface of the world below, straight at the abode of their goddess under the earth. ¡°You desperately want the second shard. Serit told us it belongs to you, but when we used it to deactivate you after your escape, it didn¡¯t work. You didn¡¯t already take it, which means you don¡¯t know exactly where it is.¡± ¡°Fifth level,¡± Saia replied. ¡°Of course, but which building? I¡¯ve told the guards to be ready at my next command. It¡¯s your choice if they¡¯ll use it to awake your friend, or they¡¯ll throw it away. I just need to send a message.¡± The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. She opened the palm of her hand, revealing for an instant the small lantern she was holding. ¡°Serit knows, but they won¡¯t speak because it will get them killed.¡± ¡°Izha and H¨¦she won¡¯t allow you to¡­¡± they started, but the guard behind them pressed their foot harder against their back, while the ones holding them by the shoulder heaved back. Their face scrunched up in pain, a rivulet of blood running from their throat to the neckline of their tunic. ¡°I can just tell them the rebels managed to kill you. They can¡¯t do anything to me, and if you think representative Izha will miss you, you overestimate him.¡± ¡°Liar,¡± Serit managed to whisper despite the pain. ¡°What do you want?¡± Saia asked. Enanit smiled. ¡°Your shard, obviously. I¡¯ll deactivate you and get your viss harvested, and put an end to this madness once and for all.¡± Saia went through her possibilities in the back of her mind. The guards were enough to slow her down, enough for Enanit to give the order to throw out Aili¡¯s shard, and with it any chance Saia had to awaken her in time. On top of that, the birdguards were close enough to see her domain and any pattern she traced with her viss, so they could kill Serit the instant she tried to reach them. If she wanted to save them, she had to act without moving or expanding her domain. Enanit opened her mouth, probably to taunt her a bit more, but Serit spoke before she could. ¡°On the other side of the ring from your shard,¡± they said, talking quickly. ¡°Oranges orchard, red roof.¡± ¡°Kill them!¡± Enanit yelled. ¡°You¡¯re free from our deal,¡± they added with a whisper, then closed their eyes. The guards drew back their tridents a bit, coordinated like clockwork. In an instant of clarity, while her brain of glass buzzed in search of a solution, Saia wondered whether she could appeal to them, whether any of them were the same she¡¯d saved back at Ifse from being struck by the whistle. Under those feathers they were still shilv¨¦, after all. She produced the sound without even knowing if she could, trusting in the same ability that allowed her, Aili and the other deities to imitate any voice with ease. The sound was raspy at first, exactly as if a bird had been trying to emit it by blowing through its beak, just like the first and only time she had heard it at the rebel hideout. It intensified before anyone else in the room could realize what was happening. The guards, Enanit and Serit collapsed as one. The moans of pain started immediately after, as the bodies rolled over each other, begging everyone in earshot to let them rain. Saia crossed the room to reach Serit. They didn¡¯t emit a sound, even if their entire body was in convulsion. They were clutching at their throat, probably to stop the rivulet of blood that was still spilling out of it, but their grip had become so rigid it looked like they were trying to choke themselves. Saia touched their fingers, healing the superficial cut with her own viss. They didn¡¯t seem to have other wounds, even if their energies were moving in a weird way. She didn¡¯t know how to stop them, so she just forced their hands to open with her own, then heaved their trembling body across her shoulders, as if she was carrying water from a well with a pole and two buckets. Then, she ran away. Out of the building, across the bottom level, toward the nearest staircase. A river of people was descending it, threatened and encouraged by small groups of guards. She pushed in the opposite direction, bumping into everyone that stood in her way. Soon the yells of protest and the trail of people sitting on the stairs after colliding with her body of stone convinced the ones above to move out of her way well before reaching her. She accelerated. Once at the top of the staircase she moved toward the next, unfazed by the guards yelling her to stop. ¡°Why?¡± she heard whispering next to her head. ¡°What?¡± she asked. Serit¡¯s voice was groggy. They were still trembling, even if less strongly than before. Maybe trying the whistle with their friends had made them a bit more resistant to its effects. ¡°Why bring me with you? I thought you hated me.¡± ¡°Did you prefer to stay with Enanit and her murdery friends?¡± They didn¡¯t answer, so Saia kept talking. ¡°There was a person I hated more than anything in the entire world. When it finally came the moment for her to die, I still pleaded for her life.¡± She smiled at the memory, even if Serit couldn¡¯t see her expression. ¡°Besides, you might still be useful.¡± They didn¡¯t speak until she had reached the fifth level. The last staircase was empty, with only a group of guards lingering at the bottom, where the effect of the pattern could still catch them. They tried to warn Saia, but she bowled them over without even stopping. Serit pointed with a trembling hand, and she followed their directions up to the house next to an orchard of oranges and with the wooden roof painted in red. The guards inside had deserted along with everyone else, too occupied in saving themselves to worry about Enanit¡¯s plans. The shard was still there, inside a uselessly locked room. Saia put Serit down next to the wall, so that they could sit with their back upright, and handed them the shard. ¡°Awake my friend.¡± They hesitated, their fingertips trembling before reaching the glass. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time. I¡¯d do it myself, but I can¡¯t.¡± They took it delicately and shut their eyes tight. They reopened them after an instant and abandoned their head against the wall. ¡°Done.¡± Saia checked the shard: Aili¡¯s viss seemed more lively, but it was difficult to tell. She put it back inside her shoulder, then shut off her sight. The darkness was calm and welcoming, even if glimpses from Enanit¡¯s story-bottle flashed in front of her mind, reminding her that there was still a battle going on in her village. Still, she allowed herself a moment of rest. ¡°So now you¡¯ll leave?¡± Serit asked, voice a bit more firm than before. Saia activated her vision again. She smiled openly, with her statue as well as her viss. ¡°Yes, finally.¡± The corners of Serit¡¯s mouth raised with the hint of a smile, but they immediately returned serious. Their eyes moved away from her to look out of a nearby window. Saia could easily guess what they were thinking, because the same question was creeping up from the recess of her mind: what, now? She didn¡¯t know where she was, exactly. Her viss was still flowing toward the mountain in vertiginous quantities, even if it would supposedly slow down once she was back on land. Still, it was a scary feeling when she had so few years left inside her sphere. Thirteen. Only thirteen, and the monks still controlled the mountain. She couldn¡¯t afford to lose it looking for the way home. As soon as she knew where to go, she had to move steadily, without a single break along the way. But what if it wasn¡¯t enough? ¡°So what are your plans, now?¡± she asked Serit, as if aiming that question at someone else could eradicate it from her mind. They glanced at her before pointing their eyes at the window. They shook their head, then exploded in a bitter laugh. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about it, but I don¡¯t see a way out. I¡¯m implied with the rebels, and after you used the whistle against Enanit she¡¯ll use that notion to bring me down, whether in prison or shunned to the fourth level. I can¡¯t go back to Hilon, nor to the shelter, if I don¡¯t want people to think that the children of viss are connected to the rebels. Without Hilon¡¯s or the representatives¡¯ support, I don¡¯t know how I¡¯ll obtain the funds for another research. And if Vanan somehow escapes the guards, he¡¯ll resume looking for me. Every idea I have belongs to him, after all.¡± They laughed again, then hung their head. ¡°I¡¯ll have to leave Irim¨¦ze. I don¡¯t think I can stay inside the city after all of this.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Saia said. ¡°Because you¡¯re not staying.¡± She ignored Serit¡¯s confused gaze and approached the window to look out at the shining lights of the festival. ¡°Do you think the pattern would work on me?¡± Serit tried to stand, but their legs weren¡¯t steady enough and they fell back down. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Saia turned her head to stare at them with her statue¡¯s eyes. ¡°The link to the mountain is draining me. I need to replace it.¡± Serit¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You mean¡­ You want me to come with you?¡± They paused. ¡°To the land below?¡± Their voice cracked a bit at that last question. Saia was glad to see fear and confusion crossing their face. Their expression eventually settled on something similar to resolve. ¡°We need to activate the pattern, though,¡± they continued. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken the activation point should be¡­¡± Saia hoisted them over one shoulder before they could finish the sentence. ¡°Just point.¡± She ran through the deserted orchards, the lights of the pattern mixing with the ones that were used only as decoration. After weeks far from home and with time to appreciate her surroundings, she noticed how deeply comforting the simple presence of trees was. She was a bit surprised to recognize the buildings toward which Serit was guiding her: one of the administrative structures she had visited during her search for the shard. ¡°First floor of the uniform room,¡± Serit said. Saia kicked in the door of the empty building and let her memories of the place guide her toward the staircase and into the room. She stopped at the top of the stairs, looking for decorations, but she was only met with darkness. ¡°Under the floor,¡± Serit said. ¡°They couldn¡¯t just leave them around.¡± Saia expanded her domain a bit to look under the thin floorboards. She found pipes for running water, and wrapped around some of the innermost ones, the wires that held up the small lights. Except the bulbs had been broken off, probably to hide them better. ¡°How do I recognize the activation point?¡± she asked. ¡°Round surface of metal. A bit like the pommel of the rods in the navigation room.¡± Saia found it on one border of the floor, where lines of unassuming boots lay in pairs next to the wall. She tore off the plank that covered it and stared at the wire wrapping around the base of the pommel. Easy to replace if broken. ¡°How much viss will this cost me?¡± ¡°I can stand, you know?¡± Saia put Serit down. They straightened, keeping their balance with a hand against the wall. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be used by a shilv¨¦, so a bit more than what a human can produce in a day, considerably less than a tanhata¡¯s average reserve.¡± ¡°Even if the pattern is so big?¡± Saia wondered. Serit nodded. ¡°This is partially why they tied together the wires with the lights and didn¡¯t use, say, one long regular wire.¡± They put a shoulder against the wall and let themselves slide down against the wood until they were kneeling on the floor, right in front of the hole. They pointed at a broken light. ¡°Each of these contains either a sprite or a piece of a sprite. They can resist for the whole duration of the festival, but they have to be fed after that and brought back to the temple or arena, so the glass is fairly fragile. When viss is pushed along the wire, the sprites sense it and become so agitated that they escape their confinements. Then they perceive the nearby viss of the other sprites and run toward them, freeing them in turn.¡± They moved their finger further along the line. ¡°The mass of sprites follows the wires, gobbling up any speck of viss they can find. Then they break out at the end of the line, conveniently placed inside a bigger glass container.¡± They clapped their hands. ¡°Close the container, close the sprites inside. Then you can free them where they¡¯re needed.¡± ¡°So they¡¯ll activate the pattern by running?¡± Serit nodded. ¡°With absolute certainty.¡± ¡°What about the link with the mountain?¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to replace it, just as I planned in my¡­ Vanan¡¯s original research.¡± Saia touched the pommel and sent forward some days worth of viss, to be on the safe side. For an instant, nothing happened. Then, she heard a faint ¡®pop¡¯ from the outside, immediately followed by another, and another. Serit tugged at her sleeve, standing carefully. ¡°You can stop sending viss, now. Let¡¯s watch the show.¡± Saia raised her hand carefully, hesitant about letting go of a pattern without yet achieving the effect she wanted from it. Serit wobbled toward the window. Saia chose another one nearby and leaned forward with her elbows on the windowsill. The lights in the distance all around the ring of the fifth level stood out against the darkness, even if the effect was somewhat weakened by her ability to see well in the dark. The popping sound continued somewhere to her right, but her view of what was happening was obstructed by the trees of the orchard. She saw some lights disappear, tracing a path in mid-air. Then, a small sun emerged from the other side of the trees. ¡°The sprites!¡± Serit yelled, pointing like a child. Saia observed the movement of the evergrowing mass of sprites up and down buildings, around trees and benches, flying over the squares where the line was suspended over the cobblestone. The light was tracing the pattern right in front of her. It was running so fast that some pieces detached from the main body. They hovered as if stunned by a heavy meal. The bulk of the sprites kept going, faster and faster, until it was on the other side of the fifth level, so bright it could almost blind Saia too. It approached from the opposite direction, then entered a section of forest that was hidden by the wall of the building. ¡°Quick,¡± Serit said, but stumbled on their own legs as they tried to reach the staircase. Saia easily picked them up and carried them outside with her. She was surprised by how fast she was running, not wanting to lose even a second more of the show of light. They arrived at the entrance of the building just in time to see the sun approaching them. Saia stood in its way while Serit hid behind her. It sharply turned before it could get too close and spiraled around a trunk. The tree looked on fire while the light climbed higher and higher. Once it reached the top, the sphere of sprites exploded in the air. They ascended in the night sky, either alone or tangled together, as if they were stars waiting to join their sisters up above. As spectacular as the scene was, Saia almost didn¡¯t register it. The flux of viss that anchored her to the mountain, plaguing her days since the moment she had stepped inside Irim¨¦ze, had disappeared. She was so close to Serit that she almost didn¡¯t notice the thin stream that joined them. She smiled, then let out a laugh. ¡°It worked!¡± Serit clutched their hands to their chest, still looking up at the dispersing sprites. Their fingers weren¡¯t trembling anymore, as if the viss that was holding their body together had reassured their receptors that there was no need to rain. ¡°I won¡¯t need to make the voyage anymore,¡± they said, in a tone that was riddled with loss. ¡°I can withhold the link for a bit, if you want.¡± Serit turned to look at her with wide eyes. ¡°I¡­ I knew it could happen if you exerted yourself too much. You can do that at command?¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Not for much.¡± ¡°An instant is enough,¡± Serit looked up again. ¡°Once I become water, the link won¡¯t put me back until I evaporate. But at that point I¡¯ll be here again, and who knows what could happen to me.¡± Saia smiled.f ¡°Good to know.¡± Serit couldn¡¯t reply, because the sprites were shining light on something else approaching the city from above. Saia recognized the hulls of the ships: some of the rebels had probably escaped capture and were coming to the fifth level to salvage what they could of their broken plan. Short on their heels, more sprites appeared, this time ridden by just as many guards. Saia doubted they could actually hurt the hulls of iron, unless they tired out the crews. ¡°We could take some sprites to ride,¡± Serit said, pointing at the approaching guards. A spirit appeared from above, so quick they look like lightning. They pierced one of the sprites with their long needle, dispersing its body in a thousand little pieces. The rider fell down, into Irim¨¦ze¡¯s clouds. Serit stared with an open mouth as more guards were struck down in the same way. They stopped following the ships, and the group of spirits that was attacking them stopped as well, observing the small fleet as it landed between the buildings. Saia grabbed Serit and jumped up to the top of the city. Her way out was through the clouds below. There wasn¡¯t anything left to do at Irim¨¦ze. She thought of the humans working in the pipes. Of the crowd who had just been evacuated from the higher levels, all of those people flowing down the stairs. She jumped and propelled herself upwards, toward the waiting spirits. She expanded her domain until it included them all. She raised winds from every direction to squash their bodies together in a screaming ball of luminous fog. ¡°Go tell your elders,¡± she said, her voice coming out from every corner of her domain, ¡°That Irim¨¦ze can defend itself.¡± She glimpsed the guards converging onto the rebels as the spirits tried to untangle themselves, only obtaining to float away from the city. The battle wasn¡¯t over, but it looked much more in the city¡¯s favor. She was only certain of one thing: she wouldn¡¯t be there when it ended. Twelve years, she counted. She did nothing to stop her body from falling, still clutching a screaming Serit against her shoulder. A few seconds and they pierced the clouds, plunging down to the world below. 6.17 - Devastated Rabam felt the water press against his mouth, while something inside his lungs strived for release. Flashes were already exploding in front of his darkened view, while Aili¡¯s blue light expanded in the water in every direction, making it impossible to locate the sphere. Then the flashes became a golden light that engulfed his entire vision. For a foolish instant, he thought he¡¯d somehow died without even opening his mouth. Then his face felt dry. He couldn¡¯t resist that unexpected invite and opened his mouth, expecting to be killed by the convincing hallucination his brain had somehow come up with. He couldn¡¯t overcome the shock of tasting air before something hit him in the stomach. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to hurt, but he instinctively clutched at the thing that was propelling him upwards. He felt boundless relief in feeling glass under his fingers. ¡°Welcome back,¡± Aili said in his ears. ¡°Hold on and awake me if the monks try something.¡± She pushed him toward the surface, leaving a trail of air bubbles behind her. They broke the surface amidst confused faces of monks emerging from the seafoam. They kept going higher, tracing the first half of a parable aimed at Suimer. ¡°What happ-¡° Aili began, but didn¡¯t finish her sentence. The descending part of the parable started a bit sooner than Rabam had expected. He looked down at the approaching walls of wood and stone and the sea of jagged debris that divided them. Since it didn¡¯t look like Aili was slowing down, he risked a glance at the sphere between his fingers: the light was blue. His heart skipped a beat from panic and fatigue. He pushed forward as much as his viss as he could muster. It wasn¡¯t much more than a speck. ¡°Stop us!¡± he screamed. A strong wind came up from below to embrace him and slow down the fall. He still curled onto himself to protect Aili¡¯s golden light from the monks¡¯ binoculars. As soon as they were past the innermost walls that surrounded the temple and half of the village¡¯s houses, the half that wasn¡¯t covered by a hill of debris, the wind became considerably stronger. Rabam was slowly lowered on his back onto the stones of a square. ¡°You can let go, the monks can¡¯t see us through the walls,¡± Aili said. Rabam softened his grip. He looked at the rotating golden light and smiled. ¡°How in the world did you manage to escape?¡± Aili asked before he could say anything. Rabam chuckled. He sat with his legs crossed and told her everything, from the moment he met Ebus on his way to deliver the letter to his imprisonment, from the meeting with Daira to the process, and the two parts of his evasion. A deep fear gripped him before he could decide to reveal about the murder, so he just glossed over it, exaggerating Cuisan¡¯s fighting ability when he helped him escape. ¡°Impressive,¡± Aili said in the end. Rabam shrugged, mood completely soured. He had given the order to kill a man, his lungs and limbs were hurting, and Zeles¡­ He looked up at the tip of the mountain, the only portion of it that was visible over the wall. The earth wasn¡¯t trembling anymore, which meant the monks had created another sphere and were about to deliver it to Suimer. And there were still two gods on the boats, even if he doubted they had enough viss left to mount an attack against a goddess with the whole two hundred years at her disposal. ¡°Aili¡­¡± he started, then saw the people that were coming down from the elevated temple and out of the houses, a line of torches filling the streets. ¡°A monk!¡± someone shouted. Rabam looked down at the tunic that had betrayed him. The people¡¯s approach became more cautious, their expressions considerably more hostile. ¡°I¡¯m not with them,¡± Rabam said, standing despite the burning fatigue in his legs. He was holding out Aili¡¯s sphere with one hand, not realizing the inhabitants might not know what it was until someone shouted: ¡°The monks were holding those things! They¡¯re weapons!¡± That stopped the advance of the closest inhabitants, suddenly uncertain about what to do. The ones descending from the temple had evidently heard the shouts, but not their content, so they were rushing down the road to see what was going on. ¡°Calm down, please,¡± Aili said from above, using her own voice. ¡°We¡¯re Zeles¡¯s friends. And Saia¡¯s.¡± Most of them turned around toward a woman that was cutting through the crowd. ¡°Where¡¯s Saia?¡± she asked. Rabam looked at Aili, hoping she¡¯d have something more reassuring to say than anything that came to his mind. ¡°Aways from here. I know she¡¯s trying her best to come back, but I can¡¯t tell you when she will. Sorry.¡± She paused for an instant, then asked: ¡°You¡¯re Lada, right? Saia¡¯s mom.¡± The woman nodded, seemingly less tense since Aili had recognized her. By the way she was looking at the sphere, she seemed to be making the connection with Aili¡¯s presence. ¡°Aili?¡± Rabam called, determined to bring her attention to the most urgent task at hand. She didn¡¯t answer for several seconds, which prompted him to call her again, louder. He glanced at the sphere, expecting her to be deactivated again, but her light was still golden. ¡°Zeles,¡± she said in the end, in a voice deprived of emotion and intonation. ¡°I wanted to tell you,¡± Rabam said. ¡°He has used a lot of viss to create this place and fight off the other gods, then the earth trembled and I fear he¡¯s¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t finish. He felt a weird guilt for having thrust upon him the responsibility of Mili¡¯s death, especially now that he was a murderer just like Loriem. ¡°His sphere is empty,¡± Aili confirmed. Rabam looked up toward the mountain. He wanted to let her grieve in peace, but there was no time. ¡°They¡¯re coming here.¡± There was one more instant of silence. ¡°Right. I know what to tell them, but I''m sure they''ll deactivate me as soon as they hear my voice.¡± Rabam looked into his pockets: the holders he''d used to keep Aili awake were almost completely depleted. He held them out for her to see. ¡°If you fill these with viss, I can keep you awake.¡± "What are they?" "They can preserve energy and..." Rabam shook his head. "I''ll explain later." Lada stepped forward. ¡°Zeles has taught us how to use viss. If there''s something we can do, I''m sure everyone will be glad to help.¡± Before Rabam could answer, someone snatched the holders from his hand. He turned to see an old woman examining the pattern by keeping it close to her glazed-over eyes. ¡°I can knit more of these,¡± she said. ¡°My friends can help.¡± Rabam looked at the sphere on the ground, not knowing what to answer. ¡°Thank you, from the bottom of my heart,¡± Aili said. ¡°Zeles didn''t want to involve you, and I wish I could respect his will. But there will be more fights, and I''ll need every speck of viss I have.¡± They were quick to organize the work. The inhabitants that had viss to spare formed two lines, one for each of the holders, while the third one was being used by the knitting group as a reference. Rabam didn''t have viss to give and didn¡¯t know what else to do, so he sat back down, still holding Aili¡¯s sphere. He couldn''t really help, he didn''t have anything to fight with. He couldn''t stand the thought of fighting, after causing Bades¡¯s death. Amidst the chaos of children crying and families mourning their buried houses, he saw some of the people who had either already given away their viss or never learnt how to in the first place gathering knives and scissors, anything that could be used as a weapon. They knew as well as he did that they were useless unless the monks managed to enter the village, but if that happened it was already too late. ¡°We need weapons,¡± he said, mostly to himself. ¡°Good idea,¡± Aili immediately replied, then raised her voice: ¡°Anyone who wishes to defend the village, follow Rabam. He''ll teach you how to fight.¡± He felt everyone''s attention slowly turning toward him as they figured out who Aili was talking about. His mind went to the training sessions with the sentinels. The older ones taught the beginners, and Bades supervised most of the lessons, since he was the strongest prior. It was impossible to imagine how he could train the inhabitants without also thinking of him, in some capacity. Still, he couldn''t admit any of that to Aili. ¡°Of course,¡± he said, leaving her on the ground and slowly standing. ¡°Do you have spears?¡± Most of the available people looked at each other, some shook their heads. Rabam probed a stone with a foot. He remembered the survival lessons where they were taught how to build an improvised weapon. ¡°Look for long sticks and tool handles. We''ll also need a pickaxe to break some rocks and ropes to tie it all together.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. They slowly scattered. Rabam followed them, hoping the physical labor could distract him a bit. They had just started breaking the rocks, trying to figure out how to shape them into deadly points, when Aili gave the alarm. ¡°Monks approaching from the forest.¡± Rabam let go of the spear he was fabricating and started running toward the nearest staircase. They were made of sturdy wood, climbing the internal part of the wall at regular intervals. ¡°They¡¯re holding a god,¡± Aili added. Rabam was startled by the barrier of light that appeared for an instant in the air. He saw the night becoming slightly less dark, the shadow projected on the wall before him, and turned to see the same barrier behind him. The monks had resumed the attack. ¡°If you think you can deal with me as you did with Zeles, you¡¯re sorely mistaken,¡± Aili said, voice so loud it echoed from the walls and bounced past them. Rabam climbed faster. Once at the top, he squinted to look for the monks in the darkness, but he could only distinguish far away lights beyond the two sets of walls. One group was waiting in front of the shore, on the boats they had used to bring the five gods closer to Suimer. Two more were waiting at the limit of Aili¡¯s domain, on Tilau and Kivari¡¯s side respectively, hesitant about coming closer. The last group was small, two monks that stood close to each other, as if not expecting to find a god inside the fortress that had appeared at some point while they were descending the mountain. One of them was holding a sphere that shone of a blue light, even if Rabam had no doubt they¡¯d have awakened the new god as soon as they understood the situation. ¡°I have almost all of my power intact, while your gods depleted what they had left after decades of work to fight Zeles,¡± Aili continued. ¡°And I don¡¯t even need to fight back. The way these walls are built, if you touch their structure, the debris will collapse and submerge every single one of you and part of Tilau and Kivari. Your gods could try to save you, if they won¡¯t be too busy fighting me, but that requires viss. Zeles sacrificed a hundred years of life to build this place. Can you afford to do the same to destroy it? You have¡­¡± She stopped. Rabam looked up, then down, toward the far-away pavement. Aili¡¯s sphere had turned blue. ¡°The holders,¡± he yelled, and there was a bristling of activity as the inhabitants ran to fetch them. ¡°Tie an extremity to the sphere, then¡­¡± Lada followed the instructions and activated Aili before he could finish. ¡°And as you can see,¡± Aili continued, as if she was never interrupted. ¡°You can¡¯t put me to sleep anymore. We proved we can control your gods¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve left the backpack in the external forest,¡± Rabam quickly whispered. ¡°¡­ Albeit it requires more time than we¡¯d like. But do you trust them to be awake when you need them the most?¡± She let the silence linger for a moment. Rabam couldn¡¯t see the monks¡¯ expressions, couldn¡¯t even hear their words from the distance. ¡°What did they say?¡± he asked. ¡°Nothing,¡± Aili replied, then raised her voice again. ¡°As I was saying before you interrupted me, you have lost. Go home and inform your priors of what happened. I¡¯m open to negotiations, if they¡¯re fair.¡± The monks lingered a bit more, pacing with their torches along the borders like drunk ants. Rabam observed their movements, knowing Aili was doing the same. They started dispersing after a bit, flames scattered by the wind. Soon they had retreated into their tents in the nearby villages. ¡°It¡¯s over,¡± Rabam said. ¡°For now, I mean.¡± ¡°We really need to get those shards back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll work on it. I just need to rest a bit, first.¡± He expected her to be understanding, so he was surprised when she said: ¡°No. Right now. Every second we don¡¯t have them we¡¯re at the monks¡¯ mercy. And I need to talk to Saia about¡­ All this.¡± Rabam turned his head to look at the wall on the opposite side of the village. It was dark as the bottom of a well, and everyone knew the external forest was dangerous at night. ¡°Yes. I understand,¡± he said, even if it let a bitter taste in his mouth. There were times when he had wished for Aili to order him what to do without worrying about his feelings or wishes, but now he realized how much distance it put between them. ¡°There are no stairs on the outside,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you down with my winds and bring you back when you return.¡± He sighed and raised his arms above himself, like a child waiting to be picked up. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll be back in a moment.¡± Finding the backpack in the complete night of the forest¡¯s shore would¡¯ve been close to impossible if Rabam hadn¡¯t remembered the big rocks under which he¡¯d left it. He didn¡¯t dare light a torch, eyes wide open on the distant tents of the monks while he waded in the low water. Once he was near enough to Suimer¡¯s shore, he sprinted toward the walls. He felt someone shout behind him, a stray sentinel left to guard the fortress, but Aili¡¯s wind picked him up and carried him back on top of the second set of walls. ¡°Saia¡¯s speaking,¡± she said, startling him while he descended the staircase. ¡°She¡¯s sending messages through the shard.¡± He halted his descent and sat on a creaking step, realizing he didn¡¯t want the inhabitants to hear that conversation and ask questions. ¡°What is she saying?¡± Aili answered after a moment. ¡°That she¡¯s fine, she¡¯s coming back soon, and she¡¯s sorry she couldn¡¯t reactivate me sooner, but the escape was more complicated than expected.¡± Rabam thought about the cloud people. He felt foolish for thinking that he could make deals with them, when they had managed to trap a god for so long. He was once again aware of how much Saia had saved him. ¡°She wants us to tell people everything and ask whether they want to stay under the monks or join her side,¡± Aili said, her tone suddenly bitter. ¡°She¡¯s gone insane.¡± Even from far above, Rabam saw Aili¡¯s light becoming more intense. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I thought the same, at the beginning. That people deserved to know and decide for themselves. But the truth is they don¡¯t see any problems with the monks taking every decision for them, as long as the gods keep them safe and fed. And believe me, if I hadn¡¯t realized there was something missing from our history, I¡¯d still be thinking the same.¡± ¡°How can you be so sure about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried to tell someone about the gods¡¯ existence, while you were imprisoned. I failed terribly. He just didn¡¯t want to listen, he kept asking me if I was joking even after I reassured him a thousand times that I was not. I even showed him my sphere! He just didn¡¯t want to accept it, and the little he could accept destroyed him.¡± ¡°That was just one person. I¡¯m sure if we could spread the word, some people will hate the idea of being manipulated for so long.¡± ¡°Some people, sure. Saia wants everyone to know. She said: ¡®No more secrets. The monks thrive on secrets, we have to take them away from them. If the inhabitants want them to stay, they should at least be aware.¡¯¡± ¡°Her words or yours?¡± ¡°I¡¯m paraphrasing a bit because she¡¯s using as few words as possible, but yes, that¡¯s the meaning.¡± Rabam thought about it. The monks¡¯ control over the villages was based on the inhabitants thinking that the gods were actually deities. ¡°I think you¡¯re underestimating what impact knowing the truth would have.¡± ¡°And I think you¡¯re both overestimating it. Zeles tried, right? He used his actual name, word got around in the villages. Did they arrive en masse to investigate why there was a new god in the village and another had disappeared? Did they question why half of their villages was controlled by a neighbouring god, and their own disappeared overnight? Or they left him to die alone, because none of this actually changed anything in their lives?¡± Rabam didn¡¯t know what to answer, so he remained silent. ¡°Lausune was under the monks¡¯ control for a while,¡± Aili continued. ¡°Save for the first days, nobody inquired about them after they were gone. Koidan was back, they could keep living their lives. That¡¯s all that mattered.¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯re just used to trusting their deities without question?¡± ¡°Sure, as long as the deities tell them what they want to hear.¡± ¡°Did you tell this to Saia?¡± ¡°She knows. She says that if the majority decides to keep things as they are, we should gather the rest and leave. But I know her enough to tell she¡¯s scared. She¡¯d be devastated if after all of this the inhabitants would still choose the monks. She says she¡¯s prepared, but I don¡¯t want to see her crumble. She¡¯s already been through so much, and I don¡¯t even know the extent of it. I don¡¯t want her to hurt even more.¡± Rabam rested a cheek on the rough surface of the wall. ¡°What about finding the truth about the mountain?¡± ¡°That would be amazing, but how? I can¡¯t move from here, and every single monk out there knows your face by now. Even if we wanted to gather more information, or enact Saia¡¯s plan, we can¡¯t do that. We¡¯re trapped. My plan failed so spectacularly that Zeles is dead and the monks are absolutely sure that I¡¯m their enemy. We¡¯re better off holding onto what we have managed to save and waiting for Saia to come back.¡± Rabam wanted to point out that with the shards and the holders there was still a lot they could do, but he couldn¡¯t get enough thoughts in a row without sleeping first. He closed his eyes. ¡°Did you tell her about Zeles?¡± he asked. He wasn¡¯t sure whether Aili had been quiet for a long time, or if he¡¯d just nodded off from exhaustion. ¡°Of course,¡± she answered. ¡°She¡¯s devastated.¡± Dan looked up at the rumbling clouds. Still no sign of rain. He was glad for it, because it meant they had a bit more time to stay in Lausune before the storm started running away from them. The food he¡¯d been carrying from the market started to weigh on his arms. He entered the cave, hesitant, as if he was intruding into a stranger¡¯s room. Mor¨¬c was still filling the holders with his viss. After fixing the carpet, he¡¯s spent days bent like that on top of it, the torch planted on the sand an armlength away. Dan had to beg him to at least put on some leather boots, if he didn¡¯t want to use gloves. The snakes rarely left the pools, but when they did they were attracted by the movement of the flame, and Dan still remembered the sting of their bite. In the end, only pointing out that getting bitten would have meant asking for the gods or monks to heal him convinced Mor¨¬c to listen. ¡°I¡¯m here,¡± Dan said, immediately walking up to the backpack with the supplies for the voyage. They didn''t know how long it would take, even Mor¨¬c didn''t remember how many days the first trip had lasted. Nor they had a clear idea about which direction they needed to follow, except for ''forward''. ¡°Everything alright?¡± Dan was almost startled by Mor¨¬c''s answer. He''d been so focused on his work in the past few days that he had never returned his greetings. When he spoke, he used their old language, saying that Dan needed to learn it. Never mind Mor¨¬c himself only remembered half of the words and only a bit of grammar. ¡°A monk asked me why our house is always empty,¡± Dan said. ¡°And I said we were sleeping with some relatives in Tilau. She tried to grab my hand, but I managed to run away.¡± Mor¨¬c sat back on his talons and pinched the sides of his nose. ¡°They''re going to guess we''re here, sooner or later. Good thing we''re leaving today.¡± Dan nodded. He didn¡¯t want to leave. He was sure if he¡¯d expressed his wish to stay, Mor¨¬c would have just left by himself. But his brother was missing a piece, and he was willing to cross the sea to find it. If Dan stayed behind, he¡¯d have eventually missed him too and come back. He would always be hurting, always detached from reality, never whole again. So Dan had decided to follow him. The mountain would always be there, after all. At the moment, there was something else that worried him more. ¡°So Koidan was a guy named Zeles,¡± he said, recalling Mor¨¬c''s hasty explanations. ¡°Then he was replaced by Aili, and now it''s going to be someone else?¡± Mor¨¬c was looking at the carpet again. It took an instant for him to answer. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And where''s Aili?¡± Mor¨¬c shrugged. ¡°Zeles said the monks wanted to kill her. I don''t know much else.¡± ¡°Not even if she''s alive?¡± ¡°I think we''d have heard something by now if she wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°So we''re leaving without being sure?¡± Mor¨¬c looked at him. ¡°I don''t know when the next storm will be. It''s either this one or being captured by the monks.¡± Dan nodded. "And Saia?" he asked. "I don''t know where she is, sorry. I know it''s hard to leave without a goodbye..." "You didn''t tell goodbye to anyone," Dan interrupted him. Mor¨¬c lowered his eyes. "Not recently, at least." Dan thought about their parents. He could remember them a bit, their faces, an echo of their voices over a blurred background. He remembered the anticipation for the mysterious magic lessons they were giving his brother and that they''d promised to teach him too, once he was ten. Mor¨¬c had tried fulfilling their promise, but Dan had never really liked learning the rules for creating the patterns, nor practicing the practical sides of sewing and weaving. He¡¯d never understood how Mor¨¬c could stand to stay inside for hours in front of a loom, without talking to anyone or enjoying the sea breeze. Now he wished he had at least some idea of how it worked, enough to help Mor¨¬c get ready and sleep a bit more. Since he seemed focused on the carpet again, Dan sat at the cave¡¯s entrance, looking at the village. He could distinguish the houses despite the curtain of semi-darkness caused by the sunset and the rain clouds at once, even if the shadows looked a bit deeper and the lights too intense. Something shifted in the air. He knew with certainty the rain was about to start, and a minute later the first drops speared through the sand. Winds started stirring the surface of the sea. He wondered whether he was strong enough to carry both of them to safety if something happened to the carpet and they had to swim. He reached with one hand under his long shirt, where he had hidden a small pouch filled with desiccated sea snake meat. He swallowed a piece. The rain became intense, then started dwindling as the clouds that had generated it moved toward the open sea. Mor¨¬c approached the entrance of the cave. ¡°Time to go,¡± he said. Dan nodded and stood to help him set up the carpet. 7.1 - Viserite Saia clutched Serit¡¯s screaming shape against her shoulder. After the initial jump from the top of the flying city, they had somewhat calmed down, at least until they were past Irim¨¦ze¡¯s pipes. Once the clouds had started thinning out, showing the endless blue that awaited below, they had resumed screaming. ¡°Stop! We¡¯re going to die!¡± Saia was about to rebuke that they should have been used to jumping down from the clouds, but realized where the problem lay: the shilv¨¦ learned early on to jump down from their city without fearing for their lives, because a silent pact with the world reassured them that they would become rain before impacting with the ground. Now that they had fallen past the threshold and Serit¡¯s body had realized it didn¡¯t apply to them anymore, all the fear they had felt prior to their first jump had come back in full force. ¡°Slow down!¡± ¡°I know, I promise we¡¯ll land safely.¡± She took advantage of her position to check the world below: the sea expanded eastward, to the point there wasn¡¯t much to be seen in that direction, except for distant stripes of land. There was another shore, much closer, with walls of vertical rock instead of sand, jutting out from a huge forest. She immediately thought it was the external one, but as she fell closer, she realized that the trees weren¡¯t the tall giants she¡¯d seen the night of her victory against Vizena. She focused on the horizon, looking for the mountain. She found it, or better, she found many of them, with wildly different shapes, some isolated, some close to each other. She tried to remember the mountain¡¯s exact shape, but in their differences they were still too similar to each other to serve as a guide. Besides, she suspected mount Ohat was on the other side of the sea, beyond the horizon. She thought of checking the maps one second too late: the surface of the water was less than a towerlength below, and approaching fast. She slowed down Serit¡¯s fall enough it wouldn¡¯t hurt them, then let herself plunge into the water. The sea was dark, but the darkness couldn¡¯t faze her anymore, nor did the water pressing against her stone eyes. She could see everything around her, in every direction, crystal clear as if she was looking through the glass of her binoculars: the bottom was so far below it felt like her fall from the clouds had just started again. She saw rocks emerging from the sand, hiding a deeper darkness. The only sign of life was the occasional movement between the algae, or a fish emerging for an instant to catch its prey. Their camouflage was good enough it could fool her, even if she was sure she could see their viss if she expanded her domain wide enough. She took in the quiet as she sunk faster than anticipated, until it was interrupted by a wild splashing and distant screams. She looked up to see Serit flailing in the water. She realized that they might not know how to swim, since Irim¨¦ze didn''t have a river or lake. She pushed herself back up, creating a vortex in the water below her. She emerged next to Serit and immediately caught them by the back of their tunic. She kept them out of the water, propelling herself toward the nearest shore. Swimming was extremely difficult with that body, to the point she suspected it would be better to walk on the bottom of the sea. But that would mean drowning Serit, and besides, she wouldn''t know in which direction to go: the mountain was far enough to be invisible, the sea long enough that she could walk for weeks before finding the opposite shore. And she still didn''t know what the guardian was. With her reserves of viss running low, rushing straight toward it could be a mistake. She knew of only three entities who had managed to reach the mountain from the external world: a giant of fire, an enemy fleet, and a ship with a tanhata crew. Finding a ship was her best bet. She felt extremely lucky when, further down the shore they were approaching, she spotted a vessel floating next to a cliff. The sea bottom was finally high enough that she could walk on it and still keep Serit out of the water with a raised arm. She climbed the gentle incline until she reached the beach and let them down. Their legs buckled and they fell down on their knees. ¡°I hate land already.¡± Saia laughed. She left them there to explore a bit ahead, hoping to find a path that connected the beach to the tall ledge of rock at its end. She found a narrow trail of beaten earth snaking up between the rocks and a stretch of grass. Both soil and sand presented traces of human footprints, partially washed away by the waves and wind during the night. She walked back to Serit, still kneeling a few steps from the roaring waves. ¡°There''s a ship ahead,¡± she said. ¡°Maybe we can convince them to bring us¡­¡± They sneezed, hugging the soaked tunic closer to their body. They took out a portable light from their pocket and raised it to illuminate Saia''s face. ¡°It''s freezing. Can we rest and wait until tomorrow?¡± Saia looked back at the ledge of rock. The ship was still anchored in place, and she could keep guard for the rest of the night in case it decided to leave. ¡°I guess we can.¡± She helped Serit set up and light a fire, wondering whether bringing them with her had really been a good idea. Sure, her viss wasn''t being sucked away to the other side of the sea, but she needed to slow down because of their need for food, sleep and clean water, which was remarkably difficult to find in the area. She explored a bit the stretch of grass and the outskirts of the forest. When she came back empty-handed Serit was already asleep, so she just sat down next to the fire, observing the sea and the ship in the distance. If she didn''t look at the forest and the foreign shape of the shore, it almost felt like she was home, with the mountain at her back, her family nearby. After weeks of being told what to do and led around foreign landscapes, the quiet of the sea was a healing balm. She took out Aili¡¯s shard and began sending her first message. Dawn came surprisingly fast. Serit batted their eyes at the first ray of sun, and immediately started whining about their cracked lips. ¡°Let''s go to the ship,¡± Saia said. ¡°I¡¯m sure they have something to drink.¡± That was enough to convince them to stand and follow her toward on the path. She speeded ahead, impatient to know what was awaiting them. Once at the top of the cliff, she approached the very border and stopped to observe. The ship was right below her, traversed by movements and distant voices. It was longer and wider than any she''d ever seen, including the tanhata one that had intruded on the peace of the mountain. The hull was thick and heavy, with small portholes. Despite the length, the ship wasn''t proportionally tall. One end of it carried an irregular pyramid of what seemed like gray stone blocks stacked on top of each other. More were being transported onto the ship by some crewmembers through a precarious gangplank connecting ship to shore. The work was proceeding slowly, since the blocks had to be carried by rolling them on top of tree trunks and pushing them up toward the ship, while a long line of people heaved them with a rope on the other side. Saia wondered why they were working so early, when the sun was just barely rising, then realized it was cold enough to make the effort bearable. Someone climbed the tall central mast and Saia retracted, aware that they could see her standing on top of the cliff. She wasn''t scared to be spotted, but still didn''t want to alarm the crew before she had figured out how to best approach them. She focused on the rest of what she could see all around her. The shore was barely a stripe of sand that immediately gave way to a gauge on the flank of the cliff. The view gave her pause: some villages, mostly the western ones, excavated parts of the mountain to extract materials. The activity was always a source of controversy, since most people considered the mountain sacred. The compromise was to only extract what was necessary, not dig too deep, and cover up the abandoned excavation sites with soil and vegetation once they were depleted. Saia knew the mountain wasn''t sacred, that presenting it as such had been one of the many ruses of the monks, but she still felt like she shouldn''t be looking at that spot where the ancient irregularities of the stone were brusquely interrupted, as if cut like butter. The empty space was occupied by pieces of rock in various stages of refining, with people cutting away pieces with chisels and hammers bigger than her head, until they produced a perfect cubic shape. Piles of them waited around the end of the gangway, ready to be collected by the crew. ¡°A quarry,¡± Serit said, out of breath after the climb. ¡°What''s your plan?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask if they can bring me home.¡± ¡°They''ll probably refuse.¡± ¡°Then I''ll take the ship.¡± She started to descend before Serit could protest. She felt good, not having to listen to anyone. A ship would mean moving faster across the sea. She could try to cross, and if she met the guardian anywhere, she could at least take a good look at it before fighting or fleeing. Some people around the perimeter of the cave took notice of her. It wasn''t difficult, considering there was just one path leading from the top of the cliff to the quarry, and they had probably been the ones to create it. They yelled something at her, but she didn''t understand the words. ¡°I want to talk,¡± she replied in her native language, aware of how pointless it was. ¡°Wait,¡± Serit panted behind her. Saia was about to ignore them, but the alarm in their voice convinced her to stop. She saw Serit accelerate to reach her, causing a small landslide of gravel. She noticed they had raised the neckline of their tunic to cover their lower face, up to their eyes. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Do you have some cloth? Spare clothes, scarves, stuff like that.¡± Saia looked inside her bag: she had her old shirts and two spare tunics, but they were still moist. Serit took two of them and wrapped them around their head, hiding both the hair and the rest of the face. The only visible part was a slit around the eyes. ¡°If anyone asks, the gray is makeup. No one can know I''m a shilv¨¦," they explained, while a distant figure detached from the rest of the workers and started climbing the path to reach them. ¡°Apart from some merchants, most of them never saw one of us. It would be chaos if the voice got around that we can descend on earth. They think we''re evil." ¡°Really? And I guess the whole attacking from the clouds and stealing materials has nothing to do with it?¡± ¡°Most of our cities¡­¡± Serit started, but was mercifully interrupted by the man who had been climbing the path toward them. He said something else, hand on the sword at his side. The sounds of his tongue were surprisingly similar to Saia¡¯s own language, at least compared to Shiliz¨¦. Some words sounded familiar, but the man was speaking too fast to be certain. She looked at Serit. ¡°You''re the expert with languages. What is he saying?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s Arissian. I¡¯ve barely studied it, but¡­ Let me try.¡± They said something, hesitating between words, repeating themselves. The man frowned and barked something else. ¡°The quarry is off-limits,¡± Serit said, stepping back. ¡°Let''s go.¡± ¡°Tell him we want a passage on the ship.¡± Serit hesitantly repeated her words, or so she hoped. The man breathed in sharply from the nose, as if aggressively sniffing a flower. ¡°That means no. Definitely no. Let''s go, please.¡± Serit retreated a few steps, reaching out with a hand to drag Saia with them, but without actually touching her. She stepped forward. ¡°We''re going to sail on that ship, regardless of what you want,¡± she said in her own language, sure that the tone would come across where the words couldn''t. The man extracted his sword and pointed it at her chin. She grabbed the blade with a hand and squeezed. She quickly realized that crushing it would require more viss than expected. The man tried to dislodge the weapon from her clutch, but couldn¡¯t even move it. He stopped struggling. His forehead distended as his rage evaporated, revealing paler lines in the midst of his tan. Serit said something else in his foreign language. The man reluctantly nodded. ¡°I asked if there''s someone we can talk to,¡± Serit said. Saia let go of the sword. The man hid it inside its sheat and slowly turned around, eyes wide as if he couldn''t believe what was happening. Saia and Serit followed him down the path and between the piles of stone blocks of the quarry. The man was heading toward the only spot in perennial shadow, where a heavy wooden table had been set down onto the irregular pavement of rock. It was finely decorated, even if bleached by the sun. It looked out of place in a quarry in the middle of nowhere. A rough carpet covered the area below and around it, keeping the sandals of the man sitting behind it safe from the dust that seemed to cover everything else. He was dressed more heavily than everyone around him, in a blue cloth that wrapped around both shoulders, instead of just one like the shirts of the workers. He was the only one in the quarry with skin as dark as Saia¡¯s, and perhaps for the same reason he observed her the longer, maybe looking for signs she belonged to his own people. His eyes quickly moved away to follow a new cargo as it crossed the bridge. He jotted down something with his quill on the half-empty page of the book open in front of him. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. He suddenly said something, without looking at anyone in particular. The man that was leading Saia and Serit stopped, standing straighter, and answered in an agitated tone. ¡°He doesn''t like being interrupted,¡± Serit said. ¡°And finds his excuses lazy. But he''ll talk to us, as long as we don''t interrupt him while he counts.¡± ¡°Seems like you know their language well enough,¡± Saia commented. ¡°I understand more than I speak. And swearwords are universal.¡± The man behind the desk beckoned them forward, dismissing the guard with a gesture of the quill. Serit started a new attempt to speak in the foreign language, but the man cut it off by saying something in a different one, looking at Saia. When she didn''t answer, he changed it into something else. She shook her head, but didn''t know how to communicate that she most certainly didn''t speak any of the languages he knew. ¡°Not even this wretched idiom?¡± the man suddenly said in an accented Shiliz¨¦. Serit recoiled. ¡°We do understand that,¡± Saia said. ¡°Good.¡± The man looked away to follow the passage of two more stone blocks through the bridge. ¡°You''re merchants, then?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Serit answered before Saia could. ¡°Tares and Iliva.¡± The man narrowed his eyes on their face, but didn''t comment. Saia guessed that Serit¡¯s poor disguise was immensely helped by the fact that cloud people had never set foot on land before. ¡°I¡¯m Deoris, but I''m sure you knew that.¡± He wrote something down on his papers. ¡°What do you sell?¡± ¡°Right now, nothing,¡± Saia said. ¡°We need a passage on your ship. We can pay.¡± Deoris gave her a long look. ¡°To where?¡± ¡°Mount Ohat.¡± The man stared at her for one second longer, then burst into laughter. ¡°You two are strange,¡± he said, and for the first time he set down the quill. ¡°You don''t speak any of the major languages of the continent, except for some botched Arissian. But you know Shiliz¨¦. And after this request¡­ It almost looks like you just fell down from a cloud.¡± He laughed as if he¡¯d just told a joke, but Serit tensed. Saia managed to hide her agitation behind the statue¡¯s impassibility. ¡°The eastern part of the sea is dangerous. Deathly. Nobody has ever gone far enough to see the end of it, nevermind mount Ohat. No ship would ever try that route, regardless of price.¡± ¡°You''re lying,¡± Saia said. Deoris''s hilarity disappeared. He took the quill and wrote something else. ¡°If you think you can fight the guardian, go. But I won¡¯t drag my ship and crew into this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the guardian, exactly?¡± Serit interjected. ¡°Nobody returned to tell. And I won¡¯t be the one to find out.¡± ¡°Someone managed to cross the sea,¡± Saia continued. ¡°I saw¡­¡± Serit reached out to grab her arm. She stopped for an instant. ¡°I know for sure someone did. A crew of tanhata,¡± she concluded. ¡°Well, tell those people to show up at Aressea with some proof that what you¡¯re saying is true. The families will fight with each other for the opportunity to make them rich.¡± ¡°Aressea?¡± Serit repeated, suddenly beaming. The man raised his eyes from the paper, clearly annoyed. ¡°Yes, Aressea. Don''t tell me you don''t even know where you are.¡± ¡°I know it''s in the area,¡± Serit quickly added. ¡°But we didn¡¯t quite plan to cross into its territories.¡± ¡°Where do you even come from?¡± ¡°Minas,¡± Serit answered. ¡°We were attacked by... By some cloud people who wanted our wares, so we had to deviate from the main route to escape them.¡± ¡°What kind of wares?¡± Serit looked at Saia before answering. ¡°We''d rather not say.¡± The merchant set down the quill for a second time. ¡°I¡¯ll be frank. You two seem suspicious, if not a bit insane. You come from outside the republic, but you speak a local language and Shiliz¨¦. You''re merchants, but don''t have anything to sell. You want passage to the most dangerous place in the area, possibly in the entire world. You''re only here because you managed to fight off one of my guards, but I have many more at disposal, not to mention the protection of the entire Neydis family and of Mayvaru herself. Leave or I''ll be forced to invoke it.¡± Saia stepped forward and put both hands on the desk, staring down at Deoris. Sudden shouts reached her from every corner of the quarry. ¡°You will bring us to mount Ohat,¡± she said. She stepped away from the desk before the man could answer and walked toward the nearest block of stone. She put her hands against the rock, determined to raise it over her head to prove her strength. Then she¡¯d have asked Deoris if he felt so sure his guards and whoever the Neydis or Mayvaru were could fight her. As soon as she touched the stone, her anger dissolved: the material felt eerily familiar, even if she couldn''t quite place the sensation. She sent a sparkle of viss forward to examine it, and for an instant the block became part of her body. There was no distinction between her arms and the stone. She had to focus on her fingers to make sure they were still there. ¡°What do you think you''re doing?¡± Deoris yelled at her. ¡°That viserite belongs to the Neydis family.¡± He added something else in his own language, addressing the guards. Serit was backing away from them, toward Saia. ¡°What are you doing?¡± they asked in the language of the mountain. She didn''t answer, instead expanding her domain to inglobate the block. She tried to mold it in the shape of a hand. The fingers formed under her own, an exact copy of her right hand. She tried to make it bigger, to grow a sixth finger, but the hand lost details as it tried to expand to fulfill her vision. The end result was a botched monstrosity more similar to a dead spider with broken limbs. She remembered the lessons with Filsun and tried to imagine the rock as part of his body, and her viss flowing into it his viss when he was floating in fog form. She shaped the viserite again, this time obtaining a masculine hand. Then she added one finger by copying the pattern she''d used for the index. This time, the hand looked realistic, even if still creepy in the way it jutted out from the block of rock, one too many fingers protruding toward her. She noticed at that moment that all the movement around her had stopped, guards and merchant watching her creation with wide eyes. Deoris dropped the quill onto the paper and stood, ignoring the stain that immediately covered his writing. ¡°How... How did you do it?¡± Saia ignored him, knocking on the block of rock instead. ¡°What''s this material?¡± she asked. Deoris approached her and examined the hand. ¡°It''s the only mineral that reacts to magic with such eagerness. Even then, it''s extremely difficult to sculpt. How did you do it?¡± Saia looked down at her own statue: she''d given it the shape of her own body because somehow the information she needed had been preserved inside her viss when she''d become a goddess. She didn''t know the nature of those information, only that they allowed her to reshape herself as she willed. Apparently it had something to do with how her viss used to move inside her human body, even if she couldn''t experiment without revealing her nature to everyone watching. Filsun''s training was based on making his fog take and maintain a specific shape by moving his viss inside of it. The same technique worked for ¨¦shan. Apparently, she could do the same with that rock, as long as she memorized the pattern she needed to produce a specific shape, like a finger or a mouth. The difference with fog and ¨¦shan was that the rock maintained that shape, instead of losing it as soon as she relented control. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you how I did this if you bring me to mount Ohat.¡± The man retracted from her sculpture. ¡°I told the truth when I said that your request is impossible to fulfill. And even if you told me your techniques, I wouldn''t be able to appreciate them. But I know someone who could.¡± ¡°Someone who can bring me there?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Perhaps. They certainly can cover you with all the riches you can imagine, at which point I''m sure you''ll find someone foolish enough to attempt the voyage for a good pay.¡± Saia contemplated the block of stone in silence. ¡°And how much would that cost us?¡± she asked. Deoris smiled. ¡°Nothing. I''m sure the Neydis¡¯ will recompense me adequately for bringing them a sculptor of your caliber.¡± Saia looked at Serit. They gave her an encouraging nod. ¡°Why are you so happy about it?¡± she asked in her own language. ¡°I¡¯ve read a lot about Aressea. It''s an interesting place.¡± Saia looked at Deoris. ¡°We''re coming with you.¡± ¡°Excellent. I have to warn you though, we''ll only depart in a few hours, after the cargo has been loaded. In the meantime, you can wait on the ship.¡± He gestured toward the vessel. Saia left without a word, Serit immediately following her. She didn''t feel like waiting for a second longer. Having to meet someone else she didn''t care about, explaining in detail who she was and what she could do, all for a chance to receive enough money to buy a ship and crew herself, felt pointless when there was a functioning vessel right in front of her. She looked up at the lowered sails, wondering how much it would take to push the ship out of the cliff and through the sea. Zeles had managed to repel the tanhata by creating waves and winds, but she imagined it would require a lot of viss if she was to sustain a similar effort for days. ¡°How much energy do you think it takes to move that?¡± she asked Serit, speaking directly into their ears. Their eyes widened. ¡°Why this question?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to try regardless of your answer, so might as well tell the truth.¡± They looked at the hull, muttering numbers under their breath. ¡°In terms of months, I guess at least seven per day? But I thought we accepted his offer¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m tired of waiting, going slow, being cautious. I''ve done that for months at Irim¨¦ze, and look where it got me: far from home, with one-tenth of the viss I had before.¡± ¡°Did you hear what he said? There''s a guardian¡­¡± ¡°I know. I have to try. I don''t think there''s anyone else around more prepared to deal with it than me, and I have no intention of dying either. I''ll go back if it''s too dangerous.¡± ¡°Provided it allows you to leave. Or that you''ll have enough viss to go anywhere after you escape.¡± Saia accelerated, leaving Serit behind. Their doubts were legitimate, but she didn''t feel like entertaining them at the moment. She needed to take that ship, then she could think of how to go about the voyage. The sturdy wooden gangplank didn''t buckle as she climbed it toward the main bridge. She recognized the familiar rolling of the waves that she''d experienced many times when fishing with her dad. She would have liked to get on a ship, when she was a little girl. Except Vizena had so thoroughly prohibited it that she''d pushed that wish down, like most of the rest. Part of her still awaited the punishment for breaking that rule. She reached the center of the vessel, away from the pushing and dragging of the stone blocks. The screamed orders and swearwords gave her a clear picture of the manoeuvres even while she focused on something else. Namely, expanding her domain to include the sea beyond the ship. The anchor was still firmly in place, so instead of dislodging it, she cut the rope with a slash of wind. There would be time to look for another one once she''d left the actual crew behind. She approached the railing and rested her crossed arms on top of it, feigning innocence as she created a wind to stir the waves. To her satisfaction, the ship lurched forward. There was an instant of quiet while the crew looked around for an explanation of what was happening. The blocks of viserite that had been just brought on board were quickly secured with ropes. A woman dressed in precious-looking clothes stepped out of the captain''s cabin and asked what was wrong. Serit reached Saia. ¡°At least let them down,¡± they said. ¡°I know, I''m not a monster. I¡¯ll leave them and the cargo on the shore.¡± She pushed the ship once more, ready to give the announcement to the crew. Before she could, her winds disappeared. She focused on her domain: the particles of her viss suspended in the air were disappearing. She felt the lower portion of her domain slowly shrink, out of her control. She expanded it again, and the process began anew. This time, though, she felt something crawl just outside of her perception. ¡°Rats?¡± she asked out loud, startling Serit. The crew, meanwhile, had retrieved the cut rope and was trying to assign blame before the captain could. They were gaining control of the ship, tying it back to the shore, retrieving a spare anchor. Saia examined the rats that were pushing back against her domain from all the dark corners of the ship: they were different from the ones that lived around the mountain. Bigger, but it wasn''t what caught her attention: their whiskers were longer and thicker, and seemed to move independently, like tentacles. Every time they intercepted her viss, they seemed to suck it away. Saia realized at that moment that, despite the number of people moving around the ship, no surface was stained with viss. She focused on the sea: some of those creatures were in the water too, furiously paddling against the waves. They were the ones that had absorbed the patterns that created the winds. If she wanted to take the ship, she had to kill all of them. She felt a bit of discomfort in seeing how big their colony was, but she had no choice: even after stealing the ship, she couldn''t let them drain her viss right at the moment when she needed it the most. Despite her resolve, killing them proved to be next to impossible. She had to target the closest ones, otherwise she couldn''t push her domain past them. Even then, they were rarely isolated from the others, so they managed to absorb her viss before it could form the pattern for slashing. She only managed to push them around with winds, but it wasn''t enough to kill them. ¡°What''s going on?¡± Serit asked. ¡°I feel your... Disappointment?¡± Saia shrunk her domain. She turned around, leaning with her back against the railing, but still observing the animals paddling in the water to return to the ship. They moved in two orderly parallel lines. Something in that lineup felt too organized, too human, compared to how animals were supposed to behave. She expanded her domain again to observe them closely, as much as she could without their whiskers absorbing her viss. Instead of the pearly black of their peers inside the ship, their eyes showed a golden pupil at the center. Saia observed them as they circumnavigated the ship and climbed on board through the gangplank. The crew saw them but didn''t react, returning to their tasks as if the rats were a normal occurrence. The golden pupils disappeared from their eyes and they scattered at the corners of the ship. Saia realized at that moment that Serit was looking at her with a questioning look. She told them what she''d seen and endured their irritating smile. ¡°This means we''re not stealing the ship?¡± ¡°No. I can still make you swim all the way to Aressea, though.¡± Whatever retort they were about to give her was cut short by the opening of the door to the captain''s quarters. The creature that stepped through was unlike anything Saia had ever seen: covered by a long brown fur that drooped down toward the bridge of the ship, it moved on four legs like a sheep, but the muzzle was pointy, a square black nose at the end and a long pink tongue underneath. The ears were pointy as well. One eye was covered by the fur, the other had the same golden gloom of the rats. The creature was staring at Saia, its flanks moving with shallow breaths. Saia pointed at it. ¡°What''s that?¡± Serit looked from her to the animal with growing amusement. ¡°A dog. I forgot you''ve never seen one. Come on.¡± They started walking toward the animal, gesturing for Saia to follow them. She reluctantly stepped forward. ¡°Don''t be scared,¡± Serit said, kneeling next to the dog. Their heads were at the same level. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Saia protested. ¡°Remember I can feel your emotions, now.¡± They held out a hand. The dog pushed its muzzle forward, nose trembling. Serit laughed. ¡°Come on, let it smell you. That''s how they greet people.¡± ¡°I don''t have a smell,¡± Saia said, staying where she was. The dog stopped sniffing and approached her instead. It kept staring at her, up and down, with the only visible eye. Saia held out a hand. She could see the creature''s pointy teeth at the side of its mouth, and even if she was virtually invulnerable, having her fingers so close to something that could potentially shorten them made her nervous. All her fears were justified when the dog bit her. She didn''t flinch, looking at the creature instead: it wasn''t applying pressure, maybe sensing that there wasn''t flesh underneath, but stone. ¡°No,¡± Serit said, slightly panicked, pushing the dog''s head away. ¡°Let her go.¡± The animal did. It turned and entered the cabin without emitting a sound. Serit stood. ¡°Sorry. It seemed friendly.¡± ¡°His eye was glowing,¡± Saia said. ¡°Same as the rats.¡± ¡°I don''t know much about the animals of this area, but the population makes heavy use of magic. Maybe they were influenced more than in other places?¡± Saia peered into the darkness of the captain''s quarters. She could clearly see the dog walking in a circle before laying down. The fur moved away from its eyes, small and black. ¡°What are you two doing there?¡± someone yelled behind them. The captain was walking toward the door. ¡°Don¡¯t stand in the way and don''t snoop around.¡± Saia and Serit moved back toward the railing. After the initial scare of the ship moving of its own volition, the crew resumed its work. ¡°It''s weird,¡± Serit said after a while. ¡°At mount Ohat you have a lot of animals that can be found in other human cities or houses, but not dogs.¡± ¡°Why is it weird?¡± ¡°They''re extremely common. For guarding, managing sheep, companionship, hunting. Do you have cats?¡± Saia considered the Shiliz¨¦ word for a second, then shook her head. ¡°I don''t even know how to translate that in my language.¡± Serit''s eyes widened, as if they''d just had an illumination. They turned to look down at the water splashing against the side of the ship. ¡°You don''t have words for a lot of animals. I''ve never noticed.¡± They started muttering under their breath words that Saia didn''t know. ¡°Predators,¡± they exclaimed in the end. ¡°Most of them are predators. Animals that eat other animals.¡± They looked at Saia as if asking for an explanation. ¡°So what? We don''t have them, of course we don''t need to call them anything.¡± ¡°But it''s weird. The fauna in our cities is very limited, but we still know what those creatures are. And we have eagles and such, they eat other birds.¡± Saia remembered Rabam¡¯s statuette. She reached into the bag to take it out. ¡°We have owls,¡± she said, showing it to Serit. ¡°They eat¡­¡± She paused, looking down at the bridge of the ship, as if she could see past the wood boards at the rats crouching in the dark. ¡°And snakes,¡± Serit pointed out. ¡°And sea snakes,¡± she specified. 7.2 - Old Mentor Aili watched over the end of two different training sessions. One was led by Lada and focused on viss manipulation, the other on weapons, under Rabam''s guide. He didn''t seem happy to train the inhabitants, he was just doing it out of obligation: they had to be ready, in case the monks returned and Aili was incapacitated again, even if for a short time. They had deactivated her periodically in the past few hours, and that was the reason why she was never alone in the temple. Two women trained in using viss were chatting with each other on the only bench that remained. The holders were tied to her sphere, periodically replenished by the inhabitants that could, in order not to waste her viss. Suimer''s people knew how to collaborate against a common enemy. She missed having a body, even if it was a statue of stone. For the moment, she was housed on a cushion on the pedestal of the temple. The roof had caved in, showing the cloudy sky above. Zeles had used the debris of the attack and all the material he could dig up to build the walls and the land of rubble in between. The only statue around was his own, but she''d never use it. It was a monument to his sacrifice, as well as his tomb. It hurt her to think that if he had waited a few moments longer, he could have survived. But at the same time, she didn''t really know what would have happened afterwards: she¡¯d been forced to stay at Suimer in any case, since the monks knew she was Saia''s accomplice. They could attack again and again, wearing down their viss. Rabam left his students after some hollow encouragements and headed toward the temple. ¡°How is it going?¡± Aili asked long before he could reach it, impatient for a distraction. ¡°They''re getting better.¡± He sat on a stone to the side of the road. ¡°Have you thought again about Saia''s plan?¡± Aili felt herself flare with irritation. ¡°No, because we''re not doing it. I wouldn''t even call it a plan. We''ll keep the village safe and do nothing else. Zeles died, we almost did as well.¡± Rabam raised his hands in front of him as if to tell her to calm down. She realized she''d almost yelled in his ears. ¡°Understood. I was asking because I fear the monks might act again, and they could become even stronger.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°So far, they''ve only created gods when it was necessary, right? If they decide we''re dangerous enough, they could start making more of them.¡± Aili reflected on it: the monks seemed rightly reluctant to have too many gods to control. She was sure they''d have kept less than nine of them around, if they could. Especially now that Saia was free from their influence. ¡°I think it''s unlikely.¡± ¡°They broke a lot of rules last night. After you''ve told them that you''ve found a way to counteract their shards, I imagine they''re freaking out. They might come to the conclusion that something like that is better than letting you live here.¡± ¡°I don''t think they''ll find enough people that will accept to be transformed into gods for the duration of a siege in which they could die, and then deactivated until one of the other gods uses all of their viss.¡± ¡°I think you''d be surprised at how many people would sacrifice anything for a chance to become gods. It''s seen as the ultimate honor, every teacher stresses how it''s something we should aspire to, since we''re little. And the idea of living for two hundred years appeals to many, no matter the conditions.¡± Aili looked at the sea beyond the two barriers: the gulf was perfectly calm and strangely empty. The population wasn''t happy about not being able to fish or swim anymore, but she didn''t know how to dig a way out without destabilizing the entirety of Zeles''s work. She could set up a gangplank over the debris and a ladder long enough to descend the outer wall, but that meant being spotted every time they left Suimer. They could be attacked while she couldn¡¯t reach them. ¡°They could also decide that replacing the existing gods is the best thing to do,¡± Rabam continued. ¡°What if they create some new ones and replace the others to make our shards useless?¡± ¡°You mean by breaking them? They would never. They couldn¡¯t even accept to break Vizena, let alone eight gods.¡± Rabam nodded, even if she perceived that he wasn¡¯t satisfied with her words. ¡°What do you suggest we do, then?¡± she asked. ¡°If you don''t want to go along with Saia''s idea¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then we could just go up there and force them to listen. They don¡¯t have any defences in the village against a god they can¡¯t control. You could put an end to everything right there.¡± ¡°And leave Suimer without protection? Dore and Lorin aren¡¯t back yet, so their villages are under the monks¡¯ direct control. The instant they¡¯ll know I¡¯m not here, they will attack. And I¡¯m not so sure about them not having any protection. They could have moved the other gods.¡± ¡°We have the shards to keep them asleep.¡± ¡°But not the viss, not for so many gods at the same time. Or, well, I could fill the holders before leaving, but if I¡¯m late for any reason, they could finish it before I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Then¡­ Then I can go alone. I stole some keys.¡± He took them out of his backpack and showed them to Aili. ¡°They belonged to a sentinel prior. Bades,¡± he added at the end, his voice trembling. ¡°He''d stayed at the village during the attack. I imagine one of these opens the shard room.¡± ¡°You want to go back there?¡± Rabam retracted a bit. ¡°I think it would be worth it to try.¡± ¡°You barely escaped. They wanted to kill you.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Yes, but there are a lot of monks that aren''t satisfied with the abbot''s decisions. If we could offer them a better alternative to living in the village, they might join us.¡± ¡°Which alternative? Living inside a sieged village with two traitors?¡± ¡°Living under the protection of a god. Living outside, under the sky, without having to worry about keeping their existence a secret. Inhabiting a big house, not a room. You have no idea how many people became sentinels just because it''s the only job that guarantees to let them spend time outside every day.¡± ¡°And how do you plan to enter and convince them?¡± Rabam was about to answer, but the parts of Aili¡¯s conscience that were observing the internal forest saw someone approach. ¡°Monks,¡± she alerted the village before their group was completely visible. Rabam''s students took up their weapons and headed toward the stairs distributed at regular intervals along the walls. Rabam reluctantly picked up a spear from a nearby barrel and followed them. The two women inside the temple interrupted their conversation to stand at Aili¡¯s side, ready to activate her at the first sign of blue light. It was only three people, unless the rest was hidden among the trees. None of them was holding a sphere, even if they could still be hiding one somewhere. They stopped several steps short of Aili''s domain. Two were sentinels, standing a bit behind a third figure. Aili wasn''t prepared for the bittersweet nostalgia that enveloped her in seeing her mentor. ¡°Ailima,¡± Daira called out, in tone of reproach. ¡°I¡¯m here to negotiate your surrender. If I''ll manage to convince you to yield, I''ll be freed of any accuse of betrayal for helping Saia. If I fail, the priors will decide whether to jail me, execute me, or remove all the memories I have since the day I became a prior, thirteen years ago.¡± Aili listened with growing horror. She knew that the monks had likely planned every word Daira had just relayed, that the priors expected her to feel sorry and prone to collaborate. The sentinels weren''t escorting Daira as much as making sure she wasn''t betraying the monks. ¡°What about my family?¡± Rabam yelled from the top of the highest wall, where he was standing with the armed inhabitants. Daira''s looked up with a deep frown. She couldn''t see Rabam''s face from there, they hadn''t probably met often when he was a sentinel, but she still seemed to recognize his voice. Aili had to repeat Rabam¡¯s words for her to understand. ¡°They''ve been pardoned,¡± she said, each word quick and to the point. ¡°They''re safe for now, but if our talks don''t lead to anything they could be used for leverage again. It''s not for me to decide.¡± Aili repeated her words to Rabam. ¡°Why is she angry at you?¡± she asked. His viss was buzzing, not at all soothed by Daira''s words. ¡°She tried to help me during my trial.¡± Aili thought it wasn¡¯t an explanation, but there would be time to discuss it later. ¡°I¡¯m not going to give you Suimer,¡± she told Daira. ¡°But we can exchange prisoners. I have ten of your monks and you have some inhabitants.¡± Daira stayed in silence for a few instants, lips close tight as if she wanted to prevent herself from saying what she actually thought. ¡°They accepted to sacrifice for our cause when they became sentinels. You can keep them and treat them as you please.¡± Her hands were clutched as hard as possible. Aili knew she didn¡¯t want those people to get hurt, but she was forced to say what the priors wanted her to. ¡°Run,¡± she yelled. ¡°If you enter my domain, I can protect you.¡± The sentinels were startled by her words. They stepped closer to Daira, but she didn''t move. Her burning gaze was fixed on Rabam¡¯s distant shape. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in joining a group of unhinged murderers. I''m on the monks¡¯ side, as I''ll always be. Even when my actions seem to suggest the contrary.¡± Aili observed Rabam closely. He seemed to perceive her attention, because he lowered his head and murmured: ¡°I¡¯ll explain.¡± She''d never seen him so afraid. ¡°I don''t know what happened, but we''re not murderers,¡± Aili said. Daira smiled bitterly. ¡°Then stop coddling one. If you surrender Rabam to us we can make some concessions.¡± She stepped back until she was aligned with the two sentinels. ¡°I¡¯ll let you mull over this. I''ll return in a few days to hear the answer.¡± The monks left before she could think of what to say. Soon after, the armed inhabitants started their descent from the wall. Rabam didn''t follow them. Aili waited until he was alone before addressing him. ¡°Can you explain what just happened?¡± He started talking about his escape: his original plan, how he''d used the magnet to hide in someone else''s cell, how he waited there despite the hunger. Aili had heard it all, but she didn¡¯t want to interrupt him. He already looked on the verge of tears, contemplating the land of debris below with an intensity she didn''t like. ¡°I didn''t think he''d have killed Bades. If I had known it would happen, I''d have never given him the sword. I''d have never let him out of the cell, never escaped.¡± Aili stayed in silence. She didn''t know what to say. ¡°Don''t tell me it''s not my fault,¡± Rabam said, looking up. ¡°It is. Mine and Cuisan¡¯s, even if I doubt he cares.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Aili agreed in the end. ¡°But you''re still being hard on yourself for no good reason. The monks killed Zeles and would have done the same to us.¡± Rabam shook his head. ¡°I can''t justify it like this.¡± Aili thought of Mili, the only murder she''d seen in her entire life. They stayed in silence, until Rabam spoke again. ¡°What are you going to do about it?¡± ¡°What do you mean? I''m not going to surrender you to the monks, obviously. Or do you want me to punish you? Is that the kind of relationship you want to have with me?¡± ¡°It''s not what I want, it''s more... What I deserve.¡± ¡°Are you going to close yourself in prison again, Rabam? Are you going to hide something this important from me again?¡± He sighed, sitting down on top of the wall with his legs hanging out of the border. ¡°Sorry, it''s just... I felt so guilty I couldn''t even speak about it. I thought you could see it in my viss and already suspected something.¡± ¡°You''ve always felt guilty about one thing or another since the first day I''ve met you. I''ve learnt to just ignore it.¡± He nodded, lowering his head. Aili knew she had hurt him, but she felt on edge after the discussion with Daira. She wanted her on their side, she wanted her approval, she felt bad about dragging her into the situation and furious that she''d used her curiosity to convince her to become a goddess. The monks knew, she was sure, every single feeling that was crossing her sphere at the moment. They had planned it all, hoping to kill her just like they''d killed Zeles: instilling doubt, then reaping the results. She was playing right into their hands. Rabam was right, it was time to act. ¡°Aili?¡± she heard calling. She focused on Lada. A group of people stood behind her, half of them elders, the rest members of Suimer¡¯s families. ¡°We¡¯d like to talk to you, when you have time.¡± ¡°I always have time. Tell me everything.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve seen you and Rabam protect us and discuss our future. We¡¯re grateful, but we¡¯d like to be included in these discussions.¡± Aili thought back at Rabam¡¯s suggestions: entering the village or deactivating the gods. Both implied a huge risk for Suimer¡¯s people: either they¡¯d have to resist without her protection, or endure a long siege. She could never make that sort of choice without them. ¡°Go to the central square. I¡¯ll tell you every single detail about the situation. And about Saia.¡± Lada held her breath. ¡°Yes,¡± Aili continued. ¡°I don¡¯t know the details of what she¡¯s doing right now, apart from the fact that she¡¯ll return soon. But I can tell you everything she did to save you. You deserve to know.¡± She left Lada to her emotions and focused on Rabam again. He was still sitting on the border of the innermost wall. ¡°We¡¯re about to have a meeting with Suimer¡¯s inhabitants. I¡¯ll need you to illustrate your plans again.¡± He looked up. ¡°So you¡¯ll consider my ideas?¡± ¡°Yes. You¡¯re right, we need to act while we can. But we won¡¯t move a finger without Suimer¡¯s support. We can¡¯t act alone anymore.¡± He nodded and dragged himself to his feet to start the descent. Aili contemplated the sea until the preparations for the meeting had been completed. Tables had been brought outside and placed in a square. She found it oddly flattering when she saw that they had added an empty chair for her, even if her sphere was still inside the temple. She positioned her view on top of it, as if she was actually sitting. Lada and her family were waiting on the other side of the assembly. ¡°Tell us about her,¡± Silem, Saia¡¯s father, said before anyone else could speak. Aili gladly obliged. 7.3 - Aressea Saia and Serit spent the three days of navigation mingling with the crew in order to learn as much Arissian as possible. Saia made good progress, helped by the fact that it was a lot more similar to her mother tongue than anticipated. The sailors'' stories made her feel guilty about wanting to steal the ship and abandon them. Sure, eventually another vessel would have come looking for the cargo of viserite and brought them back, but the ship was all of their sustenance. Without it, they¡¯d have to look for another job that could include more dangerous navigation across the sea, further from their families, for months instead of weeks and for a lower pay. She''d been impatient. Just as when she''d told Vizena about the ''no¡¯ gesture, or attacked Serit at Ifse. She didn''t know how many of these mistakes she could afford to make, with her viss dwindling at every movement and thought. She needed Aili and Zeles by her side. What she got instead was another enormous city thousands of towerlengths away from home. ¡°Land!¡± someone yelled from the mast minutes before it was visible to the rest of the crew. Saia emerged from the cabin that she shared with Serit. If it was up to her, she''d have spent the entire voyage on the bridge, observing the sea and the activities around the ship, but a nauseous Serit had pointed out that everyone would have found it strange if she didn''t appear to rest at least at night. A hill emerged from the blue fog of the sky at the horizon. The city reminded Saia of the colorful windows of the temples, except the geometric shapes had been shattered into hundreds, maybe thousands, of little tiles. Dozens of vertical lines grew out from the sea toward the sky, and it took Saia a while to recognize them as the masts of just as many ships crowding the harbor. Each of them had a flag hanging from the top, and when the wind stirred them, they painted the air with bright symbols. The ships were different too, even if some of them recalled each other in shapes and decorations. She couldn''t help but expand her domain as the ship was admitted into the waters of the harbor, protected from the outside world by a barrier of rocks. Then the rats started stirring again at the edges of her consciousness and she was forced to wait and observe, along with everyone else. Each ship spoke a different language, shouted by the masts and wielded by stern-faced captains. She was surprised by how similar most sailors of each ship were to each other, in physical features as well as clothing, and at the same time so different from the other crews. She saw people dressed in leather and gold lower the sails with their light brown arms, pale faces reddened by the sun and long blond hair drenched in sweat, sailors in long tunics and curly hair decorated by wooden beads that resembled her more than everyone she could see. The cargos were just as varied as the people, even if she could only see what was being carried out of the holds and opened to be inspected by the port authorities. Clothes covered in delicate embroideries that sometimes traced imagines, sometimes patterns; heavy books and rolled-up documents called ¡®scrolls¡¯, as Serit informed her; a single brush with the handle covered in thousands of tiny lines, apparently so fragile that it required an entire chest upholstered in smooth cloth and protected by a heavy lock to be transported. Once the ship had managed to dock, the inspectors climbed the gangway to see the blocks of viserite up close. The whole operation required remarkably less time compared to the other ships, and the officials left as soon as Deoris produced a document signed by someone with three names too many. He then addressed Saia, ignoring Serit''s sweating presence right next to her. ¡°The captain will supervise the unloading. I¡¯m going to meet Ravisu to communicate that the ship has arrived, she''ll be delighted to meet you.¡± They followed him down the gangplank and into the chaos of the docks. Saia was glad she couldn''t smell the surroundings, with the barrels of fish being rolled around and the pools of suspicious yellowish liquid suspended between the cobblestones. The crowds mingled, any separation imposed by the ships disappearing completely. If it wasn''t for the different cuts of clothes and the cacophony of languages, Saia could have thought she was back at the mountain, maybe in the square of a populous northern village. They either came in and out of shops with closed windows that didn''t advertise their goods or headed toward the entrance of the city. It was nothing more than a guarded archway flanked by two huge garlands of leaves hanging from tall wooden poles. The leaves of the garlands were interspersed with smaller objects: a statuette hanging from the bottom, depicting a frog for the garland on the left, some other animal Saia couldn''t identify for the one on the right. Two thin golden and blue veils, flowing in the wind like little flags. The painting of a mountainous scene on the left, of the sea on the right, kept suspended by strings at the center of each garland. Other objects half-hidden by the leaves that she didn''t bother to identify. Deoris pointed at them, and Saia had to raise her head to hide the fact she could see without moving. ¡°The symbols of our city. Every garland is different, a work of art on its own account, but the placement of the objects is important to represent each of the governing families.¡± Saia nodded, hoping he would just move on. As she waded through the crowd, Serit following her closely, she noticed that most of the people around wore gloves and various kinds of head coverings. The ones who didn''t either didn''t have hair or tied them in elaborate braids kept in place by glass ornaments. She even saw some tanhata, generally taller than everyone around them. Each time she passed too close to them, they turned their iridescent heads in her direction. As eerie as it was, she could finally see what they had in place of the mouth: nothing. The only holes on their faces were the ones she''d exchanged for eyes. The road crossed a market, and instead of deviating toward a secondary one, Deoris cut right through the thick of the people. Even with her domain shrunk to the minimum, Saia felt the viss of every single person that brushed against her body. She longed for gloves as well, even if she knew they wouldn''t help. It''d have been easy for someone to cut a strand of hair or clasp someone''s hand to manipulate them. The houses to the sides of the road had blunt corners, to the point some of them were completely round, and painted in pastel colors. They often clustered, with multiple structures gathered around a covered yard, the thin roof attached to all the surrounding buildings. The doors were positioned high above the ground and only reachable through a short staircase. Ladders hung from the roofs, the steps sometimes carved straight into the wall. Saia understood their purpose when she saw three young people running in a line on one of the flat roofs. One of them was a bird person with red feathers that reminded her of a robin, the other two humans. All three of them wore what seemed the most common outfit of the city: a wrap of cloth around their chest and flowy trousers covered by embroideries. She realized some of them were patterns when they jumped down from the roof to one considerably lower, landing without damage and immediately running off. Paying more attention to the crowd, she could see other examples of patterns being used for everyday tasks: a man put the plucked body of a chicken into a wooden box without a lid with whirly carvings running around the borders, activated the pattern, then loudly proclaimed: ¡°One bottle and a half. It¡¯s ten vissins.¡± Saia stopped in her tracks. The transaction went on, nobody noticing her except for Deoris, Serit, and the people trying to wade through the crowd by following her. The woman who was buying the chicken only gave the butcher one coin. Despite the name, it was different from the mountain¡¯s vissins: it was made of two materials, an external circumference of copper and an inner part of gray stone, maybe viserite. The man took it and gave her back three apparently identical vissins, along with the food. ¡°Something¡¯s the matter?¡± Deoris asked, his good mood cracking a bit. Saia shook her head and resumed following him, still thinking about the exchange she¡¯d just witnessed. They entered a square with a tall fountain at the center depicting a pile of fish jumping in a confused heap toward the sky, while three fishermen of stone looked up in awe. Every fish was shooting a stream of water out of its mouth. The one at the top turned around every few instants as two groups of teens on opposite sides of the fountain activated the many patterns engraved along the border. The stream hit one of them, and the ones that seemed to belong to some sort of opposing team cheered. Two guards in white upper garments and blue trousers approached yelling, and the teens dispersed at every corner of the square, pushing themselves up the ladders with the patterns on their trousers. Everyone around Saia seemed to know what viss was and how to use it. She tried to imagine the same things happening back home, once the monks were defeated. Or somewhere else, if there weren''t enough people willing to live without gods and monks. Observing the roofs made her notice the top of some tall constructions appearing behind the houses and putting them in shadow. The central road passed right in front of one such building, allowing Saia to take a good look at it: it was a palace of glass, with a large circular base that covered three floors and a cone in the center raising toward the sky, big enough to contain more rooms. While the base and cone were transparent, abstract shapes of colored glass protruded through holes in the main structure, curving toward the outside and distorting what was visible on the inside. It wasn''t the tallest of the buildings Saia could spot, but it was certainly the shiniest. The palace of glass was surrounded by a mostly barren yard. She could see dozens of people walking around between long tables and furnaces, drenched in sweat, while carrying pieces of glass in various stages of melting at the end of metal sticks. A person was standing still in the midst of it all, with a mask of golden cloth covering the top of their head, observing the red-hot pieces of glass passing mere armlengths from them with complete detachment. They checked a pocket clock, then brought an amplifier to their mouth. ¡°One hour left.¡± Saia felt Serit push against her back and realized they were losing Deoris among the crowd. She covered the distance that divided her from him, leaving the palace of glass behind, until another one appeared further down the road. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. This one was made entirely of stone, or better, various kinds of stones. Two huge statues flanked the structure, half submerged in it, their bodies covered by the mass of stone of smaller animals. Only their heads of red marble emerged completely, similar to rats but with a larger muzzle, a square nose and small round ears. The one on the right had open jaws that showed sharp fangs, and a raised paw with even more menacing claws. The other statues filled the rest of the space, apparently holding together the entire structure, even if Saia could spot stretches of barren stone in between. They depicted more animals that she¡¯d never seen, and some that she already knew but in the wrong size, like a giant lizard and a miniature boar. The central structure ended with three towers standing close together. Their statues seemed to follow a theme: sea animals on the left, birds on the right, while the one at the front was made of human beings. Deoris entered the courtyard, without any of the staff that lingered around stopping him. Serit stepped carefully behind Saia, looking down to hide the exposed gray skin around their eyes. The entrance was a wide arc at ground level, then a staircase that became progressively narrower led to a second doorway high above, smaller than the first. The reddish rock veined of gray and purple gave the impression of being swallowed alive by some giant creature. The hall on the other side was all in tones of blue and black. The atmosphere reminded Saia of sinking to the bottom of the sea. A maze of archways and columns sectioned the hall, making it appear simultaneously bigger and smaller than it was. Deoris traced a curved path to the end of hall, where a long table had been set up on a raised platform. An old woman was sitting alone at an extremity, surrounded by papers and scrolls. Guards with swords were aligned along the walls behind and around her. She rubbed her eyes, took a sip of liquid from a dark cup, then focused again on the document she¡¯d been reading through a hand-held lens. She didn¡¯t seem to hear the echo of their approach, to the point a guard had to step forward and point to alert of their arrival. Despite being at least as old as Saia''s own grandmother, her hair was still mostly black and sleek, cut under the ears and held back by a headband of gold and emeralds. Her face wasn¡¯t crossed by as many wrinkles as she expected to see on a woman of her age, and her black eyes still gleamed with a quiet inquisitiveness. Deoris stopped and spread his arms in front of him, as if to invite her for a hug. ¡°Ravisu, how are you feeling? You¡¯re looking good today.¡± The woman smiled with the corners of her mouth. She fumbled with something in a pocket of her long trousers, decorated with diamond patterns and flowers in blue and bright purple bordered by white lines, then realized she was already holding the lens. When she raised it to her eye, her smile widened. ¡°Deoris, my dear. Does it mean that the viserite is already in the harbor?¡± The merchant lowered his arms and nodded. ¡°Of course. Sooner than expected, despite some complications. But I wouldn¡¯t have bothered you by coming here if I only had this to say.¡± He turned and gestured for Saia to come forward. Ravisu focused her glass on her. Serit stayed behind. ¡°She''s a master sculptor," Deoris said, shifting from Arissian to Shiliz¨¦. "She can shape viserite with her bare hands. I believe not even your descendants can yet achieve that.¡± Ravisu examined Saia for a long time. ¡°What do you have to say, dear?¡± she asked in the end. Saia hadn''t realized she was supposed to speak. She didn''t care for that conversation at all, unless it gave her the chance to get a ship. ¡°It''s true,¡± she said. ¡°But my skills come at a cost.¡± Deoris recoiled as if she''d just insulted his whole family. Ravisu started laughing instead. ¡°We''re speaking Shiliz¨¦, so I suppose you come from far enough that you don''t know much about our city. Let me assure you that the money you seek will come, once you¡¯re part of our family. If you''re such a fine sculptor as Deoris says, it won''t be difficult for you to win the contest.¡± Saia made a point of moving her eyes between Ravisu and Deoris. ¡°I¡¯m only here for one thing: a ship that will lead me to mount Ohat. Nothing else.¡± Ravisu frowned in concern and looked at the merchant as if asking whether she was mentally sound. "Maybe we can bring here a block for her to sculpt," he said. "So you can see why I introduced her to you despite her ignorance of our customs." Saia glared at him. ¡°Well, I need a break,¡± Ravisu said. ¡°Bring here some viserite.¡± One of the guards detached from the wall and disappeared beyond an archway. Deoris and Ravisu spoke in Arissian about other matters, like an incoming meeting of the families or the rising cost of provisions for the ship. A distant rolling sound approached, the echo amplified by the archways. The guard returned, pushing a cart barely big enough to support the piece of viserite it contained. The guard left it in front of Saia before returning to his post. She stepped forward under Ravisu¡¯s focused gaze, amplified by the lens. She touched the rock and started changing its shape into something humanoid. ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it,¡± Serit murmured. Saia ran her hands along the stone as she worked, even if she only really needed her memories of Filsun¡¯s viss. She imitated the patterns of his body until the top of the block had the shape of his head in solid form. Ravisu stood slowly and approached the sculpture. ¡°Impressive details, and in such a short time!¡± Deoris smiled wide at Saia, her blunder apparently forgotten. ¡°Can you sculpt a horse, now?¡± Ravisu asked. Saia complied. She remembered a bit how viss moved inside the sprites, after hours of riding them back and forth between Irim¨¦ze and Ifse. Still, she had not memorized their patterns and their possible variations to make the horse look realistic. She managed to reproduce the general shape of one, but little else. ¡°I admit I was expecting something more,¡± Ravisu commented, passing an index on the smooth surface of the muzzle, deprived of eyes and with only a crack in place of the mouth. ¡°She needs to study the subject accurately before reproducing it,¡± Serit explained. ¡°So does everyone,¡± Ravisu replied, returning to her chair. ¡°What about the technique itself?¡± Deoris asked. ¡°I believe nobody is as fast without using any tools.¡± ¡°True, but you know the nature of the contest. The subject is only revealed right before the start, and it¡¯s not always a simple request like mine. That said,¡± she faced Saia, ¡°I hope you¡¯ll still accept to participate. We can put to good use skills like yours.¡± Saia was about to protest, when someone interrupted her. "What''s going on here?" The voice was deep and soft at the same time. Saia spotted a person entering the area of the table from behind an archway. They looked extremely attractive, with large brown eyes that seemed to smile at her and pierce her soul at the same time. Their hair formed dark waves down to their middle back, kept completely free from ornaments, braids, or anything else that could constrain them. They were tall, wearing a green cloth around the chest and long trousers in the style of most people in Aressea. Their arms were all muscle and nerves, thin but strong-looking, hands free of gloves or any sort of protection. Deoris stepped closer to Saia. "Please don''t say anything, I don''t want any blunders with him,¡± he whispered, voice so quiet Saia didn''t think she''d have heard him without her enhanced perception. ¡°Thank you for the concern, merchant," the man said as he approached. "But I''ve already heard everything, and I''m intrigued. A sculptor that doesn''t need tools and..." He narrowed his eyes, looking at Serit. They retracted behind Saia, but it was too late. "And a cloud person. Incredible," the man said. "I was under the impression you were all stuck above the clouds." "We are," Serit said, looking at the floor, bent forward to the point the top of their head brushed against Saia''s back. "I''m a rare exception." The man smiled, eyes still narrowed. Ravisu peered through her lens at what was visible of Serit. "Who are you?" Saia asked the man. Deoris tensed, but he didn''t say anything. ¡°Beramas. You¡¯re going to hear a lot about me if you¡¯re staying in the city. I''ve heard you''re looking for a ship to mount Ohat?" Saia nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve tried multiple times to cross, and believe me, if I can''t then nobody can. Not by ship, of course, nor by jumping down from a cloud city. It''s like there''s an invisible wall built around it. You''d better off giving up and joining the Neydis family." "A ship reached it, I''ve seen it,¡± Saia said. Serit tugged at the back of her tunic. "Careful," they whispered, but they weren''t quiet enough. Beramas¡¯s head tilted to the side, as if he wanted to hear better. "I''ve talked to them," Saia amended. "And they didn''t tell you how to cross? Couldn''t you buy a passage from them?" "No," Saia admitted. Beramas smiled wider with his lips, chin raising in contempt. He turned to Ravisu. "I''ve selected the statue we need. I''ll send someone to pay and carry it to the weavers'' palace." Ravisu nodded. "Very well. Let us know if it satisfies your expectations.¡± ¡°I will. Deoris, right?" Beramas said while looking at him. "I need to talk to you about those blocks of viserite you have in the harbor.¡± The merchant nodded and finally left Saia''s side to walk out the door with him. She could see he wasn''t speaking much, only nodding and going along with what Beramas was saying. "So I can expect your presence at our contest, dear?" Ravisu said, addressing Saia. Serit stepped forward before she could say anything and raised their cupped hands, as if they were greeting a representative. "We''ll do our best to be present, madam." She adjusted the lens closer to her eye. "Are you another sculptor? We never had a sculptor from the cloud people before." They glanced at Saia. "No, I''m just an assistant." "I understand. You''re peculiar, both of you. I hope to see you again soon.¡± She put down the lens and picked up the same document she''d been reading when they''d first come in. Saia understood the discussion was over. She turned toward the door, a confused Serit trailing behind her. "I expected a more elaborate protocol of departure,¡± they said once they were out of the building. "Why did you say that?¡± Saia asked. ¡°You know I can''t wait around for a month, I need a ship now." "We don''t know how this city works, nor if you''ll find a ship without rats on board. It''s better if we don''t cut all ties with a powerful person just because you''re impatient." "I''m not just impatient. My village was attacked. My friends and family are still there, I have to help them." They crossed the courtyard and found themselves back on a secondary road. Saia could still see Deoris walking beside Beramas in the distance. She decided to follow the merchant: he''d have to go back to his ship at some point, leading them to the harbor. From there, she could ask around for a passage if not to mount Ohat, at least to a closer city than Aressea was. The road ended in a large square. The crowd was thicker along the borders, leaving a mostly empty space at the center. Saia was surprised by the quiet: everyone was either whispering or watching ahead in silence, creating an atmosphere that was more suited to a temple than a big city. She pushed forward with more decisiveness, not wanting to let Deoris out of her sight, but he had stopped too at the limit of the empty area, where the people were forming a barrier. Beramas kept walking, their discussion apparently forgotten. The crowd jumped out of his way as soon as they saw his face. Saia followed the empty trail he left behind, and immediately stopped. In front of her, at the center of the square, there was a dog extremely similar to the one on the ship, except for a few eerie details: it was walking on its hind legs, wearing a cloth and trousers, and it greeted Beramas with a perfectly human voice. A dog person, she realized. Behind them trailed an impressively varied group of animals: three dogs like the ones she¡¯d seen on the ship walked in front of a bull with horns pointing forward, covered in wiry gray fur. To its flanks, keeping a good distance from the powerful hooves, three smaller creatures advanced together. They were vaguely similar to rats, except for their soft tails of brown fur. They had a shape like a dark mask around the eyes. Their fangs escaped the confinement of their mouth and crisscrossed on the outside, to the point Saia wondered how they could even close their jaws. Cream-coloured rodents with flat tails and red eyes followed them, their clawed paws ticking on the cobblestones. The procession was closed by a normal-looking donkey pulling a cart, surrounded by rats like the ones on the ship. A boy was laying inside it, belly down, chains securing him to the pulling bar. He was resting his head on the wood, looking at the crowd as if it wasn''t there, an eye so swollen it was closed shut and a rivulet of blood caught between his lips. His eyes widened when he saw Saia, as they recognized each other. "Mor¨¬c," she whispered. Beramas turned with the expression of someone who had just heard an explosion. 7.4 - Servants Saia observed the scene, her viss buzzing so violently it was staining the clothes of the people pressed to her sides. ¡°What''s going on?¡± Serit asked. She could not answer, because Beramas was marching straight toward her. ¡°You know his name,¡± he said. ¡°Why?¡± Saia moved her eyes as if to look at him, but still observed Mor¨¬c. He lightly shook his head, then immediately winced from the pain. ¡°I said ''morid¡¯,¡± she answered. ¡°It means ''boy'' in my language.¡± Beramas¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°And what language is that?¡± Saia looked at the cart. "Why is he tied like that? Where are you bringing him?" Why is he here? she wanted to ask, but figured that particular explanation could wait. She needed to free Mor¨¬c, with words if possible, using her viss if necessary. ¡°Who do you think you are to question us?¡± ¡°Wait, Beramas,¡± the dog person interrupted him. ¡°Let me see her.¡± They stepped forward with their animals. They all had a golden glint in their eyes. ¡°She''s the one I was telling you about. The one made of stone who can control viss outside of her body.¡± Saia recoiled. She observed the people around her for their reactions and didn¡¯t find anyone, apart from Serit. The crowd had retreated. Beramas relaxed a bit, still looking at Saia. ¡°So you¡¯re interesting enough. Do you know this boy?¡± ¡°No,¡± Saia answered, keeping her voice steady. Her whole attention was focused on his companion: they resembled the dog on the ship to the point she probably couldn¡¯t have told the difference if they started walking on all fours. The only difference was that they were taller, and their eyes and hands had a human shape. ¡°Then why do you want to free him?¡± ¡°Because whatever he did, he''s too young to be held like this.¡± Beramas laughed. ¡°If you don''t like it now, imagine when he''ll be executed in front of the whole city.¡± Saia grabbed the top of the cloth around his chest and pulled until he was on his tiptoes. ¡°You''re going to do what?¡± she asked, face to his face. She saw Serit clutching the back of her tunic, but ignored them. Beramas¡¯s eyes narrowed again. ¡°Put me down.¡± ¡°We''re not going to execute him,¡± the other one said. Beramas looked back, eyes wide in disbelief. He violently tugged at the cloth to free it from Saia¡¯s grip. ¡°Let me go. I¡¯m not going to repeat myself.¡± Saia wanted to keep holding him to teach him a lesson, but she also needed to know what was going on. She let him go and expanded her domain to listen to his conversation with the dog person. The rats'' noses trembled, but they didn''t leave the cart. When her viss reached Beramas¡¯s, she saw every portion of his body shine. He had a lot more viss than a human or a shilv¨¦, the equivalent of two weeks for a sphere. It moved fast, faster than the one of a human, with extra turns and loops in the patterns it traced all across his body. It was mesmerizing to observe. ¡°What do you mean we won''t execute him?¡± Beramas hissed in Arissian. He started talking so fast Saia could only understand the general sense of his words, but it was enough. ¡°We''ve been waiting for ten years. This isn''t going to be a simple execution, but a month-long celebration. Think of the recompense.¡± ¡°We still have to find his sister. What if she remained at the mountain? We can use him to force her to come here.¡± Saia realized they wanted to find Dan. She hoped he was safe under some gods'' protection on the other side of the sea, as unlikely as it was that he wouldn¡¯t follow his brother. ¡°And I''m sure there is some other information we can squeeze out of him,¡± the dog person concluded. Beramas was about to answer something, but raised his head instead. He looked around, as if following an invisible insect that was tracing circles around him. Saia realized he could perceive her domain in some capacity, even if he couldn''t outwardly see it. She shrunk her domain, wondering once again what, exactly, he was. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It didn''t matter, she realized. Mor¨¬c was chained to a cart and she was the strongest person around. She stepped forward. Beramas whipped around as soon as he heard her first step on the cobblestones. ¡°You feel like you can do whatever you want just because you know some magic trick, I see?¡± He stepped between her and the cart. "Let me give you a demonstration of why you shouldn''t mess with us. Hit me." ¡°Beramas,¡± the dog person said in a tone of warning. ¡°Hit me,¡± he repeated, louder. ¡°Do you know how to throw a punch? Or do I need to teach y¡­¡± Saia punched his face. She held back a bit, knowing she could easily kill someone if she went too far. Even then, she was horrified in feeling the flesh and bones give way under her fist. Beramas¡¯s face crumbled up to the side, then it moved as if something was trying to crawl out of it. The skin pushed and stirred, repositioning itself exactly as it was. He looked back at her, no sign of damage on his face. ¡°Good. My turn, now.¡± He grabbed her wrist before she could register the movement. She put the other hand against his chest and pushed so hard she heard his ribs crack, but he didn''t budge nor seemed to notice. A trail of viss left his hand and snaked up her arm, forming whorls and waves. Once the pattern was completed, Saia''s arm exploded. The crowd ducked with surprised screams, then started running away. Luckily, most of them had been far enough not to be injured by the shards of rock, even if some drops of blood remained on the flooring once the square was clear. Saia immediately stepped back and away from Beramas, but stumbled on Serit, who had been crouching right behind her to avoid the fragments. Beramas laughed and stepped around, crushing pieces of viserite under his feet. ¡°I hope I explained myself well enough, but if you want another demonstration you only need to ask.¡± Saia didn¡¯t answer, clutching her empty shoulder with her other hand. She could feel the fragments if she expanded her domain a bit, but couldn¡¯t repair her arm without revealing too much about her powers. She¡¯d have to return at night, and hope that in the meantime most of the pieces would be still inside the square. ¡°Let¡¯s go, Beramas,¡± the dog person said, slightly annoyed. The animals started moving with her, the cart rolling away. Mor¨¬c was looking at Saia with wide eyes. She realized he didn¡¯t know about the spheres or her statue and felt guilty for not revealing anything to him and Dan. ¡°Wait,¡± she said, stepping forward. Beramas flexed his hand, but before he could reach for her again, Mor¨¬c spat at her. Saia barely registered something clinking against her statue. She looked at Mor¨¬c, trying to understand the reason for his gesture, while Beramas burst out laughing. Mor¨¬c¡¯s face wasn¡¯t angry or resentful. He mouthed something without emitting a sound: ¡®Please¡¯. Saia watched the cart roll away, Beramas and the dog person at the front, talking about something. She looked around for the object that had collided with her when Mor¨¬c had spat: a fragment of tooth stained with his viss. She held it in the palm of her hand, remembering the dog person¡¯s words: they wanted to keep Mor¨¬c alive to extract information from him, including how to find Dan. She couldn¡¯t imagine him revealing anything, unless they employed violence. She sent a bit of her viss into the fragment. Mor¨¬c¡¯s distant figure relaxed completely, an arm dangling from the border of the cart. Beramas had enough viss to awake him, sure, but she could nullify his influence, and maybe save Mor¨¬c from the worst of it. The main problem would be remembering about it often enough to matter. She showed Serit the fragment. ¡°That boy is my friend,¡± she said straight in their ears. ¡°I think they want to torture him. I can prevent it, but I need your help to check regularly.¡± ¡°So that¡¯s why you provoked someone that everybody fears without even bothering to check what they were capable of?¡± Their voice was trembling with barely restrained rage. Saia was too focused on the conversation she had just heard to answer. She needed to save Mor¨¬c and find Dan before those two monsters could. She didn''t know what was more urgent, nor where to start with either task. She saw a man watching the scene, half-hidden by a cart abandoned in front of a house. She turned as fast as she could and walked toward him. He was startled, moved as if to escape, but Saia cut him off. ¡°Who were those people? Where do they live?¡± He worriedly looked in the direction where Beramas, the dog person and the animals had disappeared. ¡°They''re illustrious servants of the weavers. I don''t know anything else.¡± He squeezed past her and broke into a run. Saia didn''t even try to follow him. With Beramas¡¯s ability to hear far-away conversations, nobody in the city would have risked angering him. She walked back to Serit. ¡°We need to find the weaver¡¯s palace.¡± ¡°Are you insane? What if there are more of them where they come from? That man made your arm explode without a pattern!¡± Saia put away the fragment of tooth in a cavity on the opposite shoulder from where Aili''s shard was. She thought about Beramas¡¯s viss snaking up her arm. ¡°He did use one. He traced it directly with his viss.¡± ¡°That''s impossible. It¡¯s completely insane. I''ve never read or heard of someone doing anything like that, and I''m an expert in my field.¡± Saia didn''t argue further: people were slowly entering the square again, looking for a commotion and finding the two of them standing at the center. ¡°Come on,¡± she said, walking toward a dark corner between two buildings. Serit''s face scrunched up once they reached it. Saia guessed the area was empty because of some sort of smell she wasn¡¯t able to perceive. ¡°What now?¡± they asked. ¡°Apart from entering their palace, which I hope you realize is a suicidal idea.¡± ¡°Now I need to talk to my friend back home,¡± Saia answered, taking out the shard. ¡°And ask her why in the world Dan and Mor¨¬c are here.¡± ¡°Maybe he came alone.¡± Saia shook her head, but didn''t elaborate. She sent the first message to Aili, hoping she would reply as soon as possible. The answer was almost immediate, and it kept going for a bit. Apparently, she''d talked with Mor¨¬c: his carpets could fly, and he wanted to use one of them to go home with Dan. She''d stopped him, but after the attack they''d been separated, and she couldn''t keep track of him or stop him anymore. Dan eating sea snakes, she added, Wanted to swim across sea. Saia felt her viss buzz faster. Where are you now? she asked. Suimer. Protecting inhabitants. And Zeles? The message was delayed for some instants. He lost a lot of viss. Lausune under new god. ¡°What is she saying?¡± Serit asked. ¡°They arrived with a flying carpet. If we find it, we might¡­¡± They pointed up, and Saia focused on her surroundings again. Two carpets flew over the roofs, occupied by two passengers each. They were all dressed in the white and blue uniform of the guards, the upper garments decorated with golden brooches at the top and the long trousers stuffed in high boots. They held weapons, even if they flew away so fast that Saia couldn''t distinguish anything besides blades and staffs of metal. Judging by the way most people in the square didn''t even look up when the shadows of their carpets flew over their head, Saia guessed it was a common occurrence. ¡°Sea snakes, then,¡± she said. ¡°There can''t be too many people with their traits, and the ones we have at the mountain are a variant.¡± ¡°If I remember correctly, there are a lot of animal people families inside the city, and some nearby villages are inhabited exclusively by them. It¡¯s a lot of people to weed through, though. I would guess sea snakes aren¡¯t that common here.¡± Saia looked toward the descending street. The sea was out there, mostly hidden between the houses. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m good at catching them.¡± 7.5 - Hospitality Dan had never seen lightning strike the water before, not from that close. At least now he could worry about something else besides drowning or being eaten alive by an unknown monster. He lay as flat as he could against the carpet, with the goal of not falling off and at the same time preventing as much wool as he could from getting too wet. Since Mor¨¬c had entered the heart of the storm instead of following it from afar, everything was soaked. But it was necessary, Mor¨¬c had explained, because there was a creature in the water that would attack them if it saw them, and the only way to stay hidden was to fly high inside the storm. He tried to spot the monster, but after a while all the shadows in the water looked like one, so he closed his eyes. He had to feed Mor¨¬c himself, otherwise he would probably forget, focused as he was on the horizon. When it was his turn to eat, Dan always mixed dried sea snake meat with the rest of the provisions. His skin itched where the scales were surfacing. He didn''t have a mirror at hand, but he could feel their roughness on the cheekbones and forehead, as well as admire the ones on the back of his hand. He wondered whether his eyes were changing too. After one more day, after the storm had lost a bit of strength and it only grumbled without rain, they saw a ship. Dan saw Mor¨¬c shudder with relief. ¡°We''re out of danger. Land shouldn''t be far.¡± Let''s just hope it''s the right one, Dan thought, but didn''t say it out loud. It wasn¡¯t time for doubts anymore. They steered clear of the ship, since they didn''t know what their reaction would be to seeing a flying carpet in the midst of the sea. They couldn''t risk being attacked or getting help from people that could deceive them. ¡°The outside world is not like the mountain,¡± Mor¨¬c had said in his hesitant Arissian. ¡°Don''t rely on anyone if you can help it.¡± Dan was a bit irritated by his words, as if he had ever truly relied on someone that wasn''t his brother, Koidan, or Saia in the last two years. He''d been about to point out that Mor¨¬c had been young too when he''d left Aressea and couldn''t know how dangerous it actually was, but he didn''t want to hurt him in a moment where he needed all the focus and the energy he could muster. They finally saw a strip of faraway land. The food had ended five hours prior, the carpet was flying lower above the waves. ¡°I think I recognize that hill,¡± Mor¨¬c said, slowing down for a moment to point. ¡°But it''s further than it seems. We don''t have enough viss to reach the city, so we¡¯ll land near that village.¡± Dan could see it clearly, clearer anyways than the distant spots at the foot of the hill that were supposed to be the buildings of the capital. He looked for the palace of his family, even if he didn''t remember it that well, apart from the inside of some rooms. Mor¨¬c flew close to the water, hoping not to be spotted by the village''s inhabitants. He didn''t fly straight toward the houses, but traced a large curve to enter the thick vegetation surrounding a nearby river. He gently lowered the carpet onto a bed of tall grass and dropped forward with a sigh. Dan let him rest for a bit, dragging the bags in the shadow and mounting guard. He heard voices of people walking nearby: there was probably a road hidden by the trees. He waited, too worried to fall asleep like Mor¨¬c had. Around late evening, he awakened his brother. ¡°We should look for a place to stay before it becomes night,¡± he replied to his groans of protest. In the end, they managed to roll up the carpet, gather their bags, and find the road that led to the village. Dan couldn''t help comparing it to Lausune as they approached. The houses were round and a bit taller, like stumps of towers, showing walls of irregular stones or naked clay. The roofs were connected by simple wooden passageways, forming a system of unstable roads. Despite the evening¡¯s approach, there were some people still around, little more than shadows walking on those wooden bridges or even stopping to talk halfway through them, blocking the passage for everybody else. The terrain between the houses at the center of the village lowered gently to form a bowl shape. There was a fire at the bottom, big enough to illuminate the whole area. From there came a smell of roasted meat, voices of dozens of people gathered together, and the intermittent sound of music. They approached carefully. Dan had to push Mor¨¬c this way or another to avoid the remains of older meals, rags, pieces of broken wood and excrements that covered the ground between the buildings in the areas that weren''t illuminated by the firepit. Dan paused before entering the central area: the shadows projected on the faces of the people around the fire revealed a multitude of different traits that he wasn''t able to place. Some of them had long pointy ears, others fur creeping around the outline of their faces. Even the ones that appeared to not have traits had some details out of place, like eyes that shone too brightly when crossed by the fire''s light. Multiple faces turned toward Dan and Mor¨¬c, so he pushed his brother behind a building. ¡°What?¡± he asked. Dan was about to attempt an answer in Arissian, but he was too scared someone could hear. ¡°They''re all animal people, but not the ones we have at the mountain. I don''t know which animals are these.¡± ¡°At least you''ll blend in,¡± Mor¨¬c commented, pointing at Dan''s face. His voice was so bitter Dan had to look away. ¡°I¡¯ll try talking to them, stay here,¡± he said, and slipped away before his brother could say anything else. He stuck his hands in his pockets and approached the firepit in what he hoped was a casual posture. He realized he was too dressed for the climate, and his clothes were too different from the upper garment and trousers almost everybody else was wearing. Since many more people were starting to notice him, he stopped before reaching the bottom of the pit. ¡°Hi,¡± he said to no one in particular, hoping they spoke Arissian. ¡°My brother and I just arrived. We need a place to sleep.¡± The music had stopped, and as a consequence everyone had heard his words and was now looking at him in silence. He stood there, clenching his hands inside his pockets from the tension. ¡°Well?¡± someone said with a gruff voice. ¡°What''s your name?¡± ¡°And animal,¡± a woman with long whiskers added. ¡°Some sort of lizard, maybe?¡± ¡°Dan,¡± he answered. ¡°And I eat sea snakes.¡± ¡°Ulres,¡± someone immediately called. A person looked out from the open window of a nearby house. They asked something that Dan couldn¡¯t catch, then raised their voice to address Dan. ¡°Come closer, cousin, let me see you. Of course we have a room for you in our house.¡± The music and meal reprised while Dan navigated the crowd toward the building. He immediately realized Ulres didn''t eat the same type of snake as him, and that his transformation was much more advanced: most of his face was covered in silver scales, to the point the ones on his forehead pushed back his brown hair. The man shared his surprise. He had the same yellow irises of a snake, even if the shape of his eyes was human. He quickly recovered and smiled at Dan. ¡°You must be some variant I don''t know, cousin. I hope our food isn''t too far from what you need.¡± Dan smiled back, happy and at the same time suspicious of the man''s friendliness. ¡°We have food, we just don''t want to sleep outside.¡± The man nodded as if Dan had just said some deep truth. ¡°Wise choice, this area isn''t as safe as it used to be. Go find your brother, then, we¡¯ll wait for you.¡± Dan nodded. He returned to the spot where he''d left Mor¨¬c. He found him curled up on the sparse grass, asleep, using the rolled-up carpet as a pillow. A big rat with whiskers that seemed to move of their own volition was observing him from too close. ¡°Go away,¡± Dan said out loud. The rat didn''t move, but Mor¨¬c sat up with an expression of confused alarm. ¡°Sorry,¡± Dan said. ¡°I¡¯ve found a place to sleep.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Mor¨¬c nodded and got up without a word. They dragged their bags toward the house, then hesitated on the entrance: the inside was completely dark, except for the distant light of the fire filtering through the windows. ¡°Lihana¡¯s house is like this too,¡± Dan said, trying to sound encouraging. Movement came from the inside. Two golden eyes flashed in the dark, followed by five more pairs. Dan could barely distinguish the people they belonged to despite his enhanced sight; he could only imagine how scared Mor¨¬c was. ¡°I know you said that you already have food,¡± Ulres said. "But we''re about to eat dinner anyway. Do you want to join us?" He was mostly looking at Mor¨¬c. A child with little more scales on their face than Dan pointed at his brother. ¡°What animal is he?¡± ¡°A mule,¡± Mor¨¬c said. Dan grimaced as the family regarded him for a long time, trying to judge whether he was joking or not. He knew Mor¨¬c had aimed for a humorous answer, but the inexpressive delivery and the lack of further elaboration made him look more like an asshole. He hoped he was just reading too much into things and stepped forward to gain back the host''s attention. ¡°We''re hungry, so we won¡¯t say no. We have some food to share, but it¡¯s not tasty¡­¡± ¡°Nonsense, you are guests. Come on, enter.¡± Ulres stepped aside and ushered his kids forward, toward the door from which the family had emerged. Dan led the way inside. He clutched three scaly hands on his way to the kitchen, belonging respectively to Ulres¡¯s wife, their older son and their middle daughter. The two small children had already started giggling and playing with each other, guests apparently forgotten. All in all, there wasn''t much difference with Ulres¡¯s house. A single candle had been lit in an adjacent room and covered by a sphere of opaque glass to provide the optimal penumbra for sea snake eyes. The dining room was long to accommodate the table. People were already sitting there, clustering at the end further from the door. Veylu, Ulres¡¯s wife, introduced them as her brother and his family. ¡°We¡¯re not used to having guests this early,¡± she explained as she directed Dan and Mor¨¬c toward their chairs. ¡°We work at night and the children are going to school in an hour. You can have their beds while they¡¯re not here.¡± One of the smaller kids started to protest, but his uncle immediately told him to shut up. ¡°Thank you,¡± Mor¨¬c said. ¡°We¡¯ll only stay here for the night, we don¡¯t want to cause too much trouble.¡± Dan observed his brother closely. After an initial hesitation, he seemed to adjust quickly to the darkness and the limited space. He even seemed to relax after the first bite of meat. It tasted very similar to Lausune''s traditional dishes. Dan felt a wave of nostalgia, and at the same time a bit of relief: maybe living away from mount Ohat wouldn¡¯t be too scary, if he could find the same food. "It''s delicious," he said. "Are there many sea snakes in this area?" Mor¨¬c asked. "Yes, but we don''t fish them, we buy them from a nearby village with mostly herbivore traits. We cultivate vegetables, they give us what they can hunt from the forest or fish from the sea." "The people outside are cooking meat too," Mor¨¬c said. "So you''re... The opposite of whatever herbivore means?" "Mostly, yes." "A common joke between our villages," Veylu interjected. "Is that we should all exchange houses with each other. We should give them our fertile land by the river, they should leave behind their hunting tools for us. Then we''d both be independent from each other." "And bored to death," Ulres smiled, even if it had a tinge of bitterness. "We''re in a peculiar situation. Other villages like ours are not divided in this way." "There are more villages like this one in the area?" Dan asked. Ulres and his son looked at each other as if in dismay. "Of course, all around Aressea. There are many of us in the capital too, but food is expensive. It''s much better for us to live in communities in the wilderness." "Where do you come from, if I can ask?" Veylu asked. "You speak Arissian with an accent, I can tell you are foreigners. And yet you don''t seem to come from too far. You''re difficult to place." "Also, your scales," the elder daughter said, pointing at Dan, "Do you paint them?" "Yes," Mor¨¬c said before Dan could open his mouth. He''d been about to tell the truth, that he ate another kind of sea snake, but recognized that his brother had had the right idea. "We come from the mountain," he said, figuring that with all the mountains on the horizon it wouldn''t seem a strange answer. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°We call it ''the mountain¡¯,¡± Dan said, shrugging. ¡°I don¡¯t know the name in Arissian.¡± ¡°You must have made a long voyage. Have you already been to Aressea?¡± she added, pointing at the carpet that Mor¨¬c had left in a corner with their bags. "Yes," he said, slowly, as if figuring out which was the best answer. "We hoped to return home by flying, but it takes much more viss than anticipated. That''s why we landed here. Tomorrow we''ll go back to the capital and find a passage on a ship.¡± Dan hoped his brother wasn''t as transparent to their hosts as he was to him. Ulres looked surprised. "I''m impressed they even let you buy one of those and take it out of the city. The guards have been using them more and more recently, and they tend to keep their artefacts secret. You must be friends of the Iraspes, or someone close to them." Dan glanced at Mor¨¬c and found him doing the same. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°Who are they?¡± Their hosts¡¯ disbelief grew. ¡°The most powerful family of Aressea. The weavers¡¯ family.¡± Mor¨¬c stood. From the way his face had scrunched up, he looked ready to hit someone. Dan grabbed his arm, desperately trying to find an explanation for his behavior without giving away too much about their past. He didn¡¯t have the chance, because someone knocked hard at the door. The whole family stiffened as if they already knew who the stranger was without even hearing their voice. Ulres stood and immediately picked up both of the smaller kids from the table. Veylu went to open, the older children in tow. Mor¨¬c slowly sat down, looking straight ahead as if not registering anything of what was happening. Veylu looked back from the window next to the door. ¡°It¡¯s Mayvaru,¡± she whispered, her eyes wide. She pushed aside her daughter to open the door in her place. ¡°Good evening, I¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t finish the sentence. A swarm of dark shapes entered the house, screeching and clawing at floor and windows. Dan stood, then felt them crawling around his feet and jumped on the chair instead. Mor¨¬c looked up, a bit more aware, but still didn¡¯t move when the rats surrounded him. Someone stepped in through the door. By the pointy ears and the fur covering every visible surface, he expected the new arrival to be another animal person. But the closer the creature got, the fewer human traits he could find. ¡°You have a guest,¡± the creature said, looking straight at the kitchen. Ulres reemerged from an adjacent room and stood by the table, eyes fixed on the stranger. The rest of the family backed up until they were near the wall. ¡°Welcome, lady Mayvaru,¡± Ulres said, voice surprisingly steady. ¡°We were eating, do you want to join us?¡± She marched straight ahead until she was right in front of Mor¨¬c. She observed him in the dark, and he held her gaze. ¡°Mor¨¬c Lauhas,¡± she said. ¡°I recognize your smell. To think we¡¯ve spent the last ten years looking for you, and you came here by yourself.¡± Mor¨¬c started standing, but she reached out with a hand, grabbing the neckline of his loose shirt. He clutched her hands, trying to pry her fingers open, but she pulled until he was standing. Dan wanted to help him, but Ulres¡¯s older son grabbed his shoulders with both hands, grip strong with fear. ¡°Where¡¯s Danveru?¡± the dog woman asked. Mor¨¬c started struggling harder. She punched him in the jaw. ¡°Stop,¡± Dan screamed, but a hand immediately covered his mouth. Mayvaru looked at him, eyes glinting at the distant light of the candle. Dan held his breath, pushing the back of his head against the man¡¯s stomach in an attempt to escape. Mayvaru¡¯s nose was trembling, sniffing so hard he could feel her warm breath. She turned her head toward Mor¨¬c. ¡°Where¡¯s your sister?¡± she enunciated. ¡°At the mountain. I came alone.¡± Mayvaru shook him, showing her fangs. She rummaged in a pocket of her dark green trousers and took something out with fingers closed in a fist. Something dropped to the ground and rolled away, reflecting the light of the candle on the walls: a tiny sphere of glass. ¡°Open your mouth,¡± Mayvaru growled. Mor¨¬c didn¡¯t. A rat crawled over her shoulder and down her arm, so close that the fear of what it could happen once it reached his face made him close his eyes and obey. Mayvaru pushed the content of her hand inside his mouth. Mor¨¬c was startled and closed his jaw. The crunch that followed made everyone wince as he yelled in pain. Still, Mayvaru didn¡¯t relent until he had swallowed the spheres. Once the operation was over, she turned and dragged him with her. The rats flowed out of the door before she could reach it. She stepped out, dragging Mor¨¬c with her. He didn¡¯t try to yell or struggle anymore, eyes fixed on Dan as if he wanted to commit his face to memory. Then he was gone. The voices and music outside disappeared with him. Dan looked at the open door until his eyes burned. Then he realized he was still being held in place and struggled against the hold on his mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll let you go if you promise you won¡¯t scream,¡± Ulres¡¯s son said. Dan yelled at him to let go, but the sound came out as a muffled screech. The hand stayed in place as he tried to get free, while the rest of the family looked around the furniture and under the tables, probably to catch any stray rat. Only Veylu was at the doorway, looking out. "She''s gone," she said in the end, locking the door. Dan was released. He jumped away from the table, glaring at the man who had kept him blocked. He hated them for stopping him, but he knew they just wanted to save him. In the end, he could only stand in a corner of the room, glaring at everyone. "Who are you really, cousin?" Ulres asked, his voice kind but demanding of an answer. "Why was lady Mayvaru looking for you?" Dan could only shake his head. "I don''t know." Then, since he felt like the silence was becoming too heavy and they deserved an answer, he added: "We escaped from Aressea when we were little. I don''t remember anything. Mor¨¬c does, but he would never have brought me here if he knew we were in danger. So I don''t think he knows either." "You escaped to where?" Ulres interjected. "Mount Ohat," Dan said, remembering how Mor¨¬c had started calling the mountain since the day they had left it. From the way they looked at each other, he knew they didn''t believe him. As if he could lie, when he only knew the names of two places in the world. "She''s going to figure out that you''re his brother, sooner or later," Ulres said, pacing a bit. "By protecting you, we put our lives at risk. Are you sure you can''t tell us anything more about this?" Dan shook his head. Ulres and his wife exchanged glances again, then looked at her brother and his family. "I''m sorry, but we can''t keep you here. The longer you stay, the less likely it is that Mayvaru will believe that we didn''t know you were involved." "I''ll pack you some things, so you won''t starve," Veylu said, and immediately started opening cabinets and taking out food in containers. "Go to Aressea, it''s easier to hide in the crowd. Some of our cousins live near the harbor, they''ll help you find a job." Ulres¡¯s son explained to him how to get from the village to the capital, but Dan could barely focus. He had lost his brother, and with him any trace of safety he might have felt. They finally gave him the bags, someone hugged him tight, then he was ushered out of the house. The door closed softly, as if scared to startle him. Nobody was sitting around the fire anymore, even if the flames were still raging. The instruments were abandoned on the ground, together with some cloths and wooden toys, as if the people had run into their houses. He sat on an empty stump, alone, draping Mor¨¬c''s carpet around his shoulders. He stared into the flames until morning. 7.6 - Beastforgers ¡°And you let him go alone?¡± Saia yelled. She was aware of Serit crouching in a corner, engulfed by her rage, of the children watching from the doorway with wide eyes, of the adults looking at each other as if to find someone else to blame. She didn''t care: her eyes were fixed on the man that seemed to be the head of the family, Ulres, unblinking and unmoving. ¡°He''s probably safe with our cousins at Aressea, by now,¡± he found the strength to murmur. ¡°We already asked them,¡± Saia replied. ¡°They told us to check here.¡± ¡°It was dangerous for us to hide him,¡± his wife, Veylu, said. ¡°Mayvaru does a lot for our village, but she expects complete loyalty in exchange.¡± ¡°You just needed to wait two days. Two! Or is it asking too much to host a boy for a few nights? His brother was kidnapped in front of his eyes, you could at least let him rest a bit.¡± There was no answer from anyone, just a lot of bracing for her next words. She stayed in silence too. There wasn''t anything else to add: she had missed Dan''s arrival and departure of two days, he was supposed to be at Aressea but he never arrived there. He was alone, at best lost in a land that to him was just as foreign as it was to her, at worst... ¡°Stop, please,¡± Serit said, holding their stomach as if their guts could spill out at any moment. ¡°We''ll find him. Let''s think of a plan.¡± Saia sat down, making clear to everyone in the room that she wasn¡¯t leaving any time soon. ¡°I want to know everything you can tell me about Mayvaru. What''s your relationship with her? Why is she even looking for Dan?¡± Veylu sat down in front of her, even if everyone else stayed next to the walls. ¡°She brings food to the village in times when we can''t get enough. We need a lot of sea snakes, as you can imagine. We''re lucky enough they''re numerous on this side of the sea, but other families aren''t as fortunate. Mayvaru is the only one who will get you the food you need in a day, no questions asked.¡± ¡°And if you don''t do what she wants?¡± There was an exchange of gazes around the room. The expressions they made when they thought that Saia couldn''t see them were very telling. ¡°Then you''ll never find the animal you need, no matter where you look. At that point, either you risk a reversion of your traits¡­¡± Almost everyone flinched at that suggestion. ¡°Or you take your family and leave,¡± she concluded. ¡°She could also punish us directly,¡± Ulres added. ¡°We don''t know why she was looking for your friend, but if it''s important enough she might make an example of us.¡± ¡°We''d die without sea snakes,¡± an elderly woman said. ¡°Only a few of us were completely human before joining the family, but they''ve changed years ago.¡± Saia remembered Aili''s explanation about animal people. She nodded. ¡°What can she do? Control animals?¡± The silence returned. They seemed reluctant to give her information about Mayvaru, even if she was probably famous enough that everyone knew what her powers were. Saia considered giving them a demonstration of her own abilities, even if they had to at least suspect something: when they had tried to close the door on her face after saying that they¡¯d never met anyone called ¡®Dan¡¯, she hadn¡¯t moved a step despite the pressure. ¡°We''re not leaving until you answer,¡± Serit said. Ulres looked at the other adults in the room, then sat down at the table, far from both Saia and his wife. ¡°She takes her traits from the Arissian sheepdog. If you''re not familiar with the breed, it can control nearby animals in a limited way, like preventing cattle from wandering too far or sending away predators without a fight.¡± ¡°Except she''s much more powerful than a simple dog,¡± Veylu continued. ¡°She comes from the Dulrir family¡­¡± ¡°We don''t know that,¡± the old woman interrupted her. ¡°Come on,¡± a young man who hadn''t spoken up to that point interjected, rolling his eyes. ¡°As if there was another explanation.¡± ¡°No, your grandma is right, we don''t know for sure. But it''s likely.¡± ¡°Who are the Dulrir?¡± Saia asked. ¡°The beastforgers,¡± Ulres answered. ¡°They all died because of an incident with their experiments. Nobody knows for sure what happened, even if the most likely explanation is that one of their monsters got loose and killed everyone.¡± ¡°Maybe it was Mayvaru,¡± his daughter whispered. ¡°Don¡¯t take it too far. It¡¯s one thing to speculate whether she comes from them, one to think she killed them.¡± ¡°The beastforgers,¡± Serit repeated the word. ¡°I can guess what they did. When you say she¡¯s one of them, do you mean she was part of the family or an experiment?¡± Veylu shrugged. ¡°Nobody knows, but she could be both. Most of the beastforgers were animal people themselves, experimenting on their own bodies as well as breeding animals to get some specific characteristics or powers.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s not a human, though,¡± the daughter added. The adults looked unimpressed. ¡°You¡¯re committed to saying things that might get you killed, today,¡± Ulres commented. ¡°Not a human?¡± Saia interjected, staring at the girl. ¡°There are rumours that she¡¯s a dog that ate too much human meat. That¡¯s why she¡¯s so¡­ Animal-like.¡± Saia thought back at her first impression of Mayvaru. The first thing she had thought in seeing her was that she looked exactly like a walking dog. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was possible.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Veylu said. ¡°And it¡¯s a plague for our communities, especially ones like ours that are made mostly of predators. People without traits are distrusting of us because they don¡¯t know whether we¡¯re people who eat animals or animals who eat people. We try to distance ourselves as much as possible from them, of course. We kick them away if they try to enter our villages. But the prejudices stuck anyway.¡± Saia nodded. She thought back at Dan and Mor¨¬c, at what could happen once Mayvaru got the information she needed. She sent another spark of viss into Mor¨¬c¡¯s tooth, one of many since their meeting at the square, to make absolutely sure he was still sleeping. ¡°So she can control animals,¡± she repeated, mostly to divert her thoughts from the idea of her friends being hurt. ¡°But she¡¯s more powerful than a simple dog?¡± ¡°Exactly. People say there¡¯s a limit on what she can do, otherwise she would control the entire world by now. But nobody knows what the limit actually is.¡± ¡°More than you think, most likely,¡± Ulres added. ¡°I don¡¯t suggest you try to find out.¡± Saia took a moment to reflect on their words. Mayvaru hadn''t captured Dan only because she hadn''t recognized him. To think she''d been so close to him made her viss buzz with worry. ¡°Why would she need to capture two kids?¡± she asked. Their hosts looked at each other. ¡°We wondered the same thing. She said that she''s been looking for them for ten years,¡± Ulres answered. ¡°Apart from Mayvaru, we don¡¯t know much about the city. We came here only five years ago, so we don¡¯t know of anything that might have happened before.¡± Saia checked his viss: he seemed honest, even if scared. ¡°Anything else we should know?¡± she asked, passing her eyes from one member of the family to another. ¡°Yes,¡± Veylu said. ¡°I want to tranquilize you: Mayvaru leaves often for the Golden Lands. They¡¯re in constant unrest and she¡¯s been given the duty from the families to take care of it. She doesn¡¯t have much time to waste looking for a kid.¡± ¡°And Beramas?¡± She lowered her eyes. ¡°He protects the city. We didn¡¯t know he was involved. We¡¯d never have sent Dan there if we knew he was looking for him as well.¡± ¡°And where would have you sent him instead?¡± Saia asked. There was no answer to that, so she turned her head toward Serit. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Do you have other questions?¡± They thought about it for a bit. ¡°Not for them.¡± ¡°We''re leaving, then.¡± She could see the family visibly relax. The adults followed them to the door, as if to prevent them from making even just one step back into the house. ¡°If you find Dan, tell him we''re sorry and we hope the best for him,¡± Ulres whispered while he closed the door. Saia walked around the village with Serit, even if it was small enough that soon they were back at the road that connected it to Aressea. ¡°What do¡­?¡± Serit began, but Saia silenced them with a gesture. She pointed at a rat digging in a pile of trash. ¡°There are animals everywhere,¡± she said in their ears. She immediately shrunk her domain, but the animal didn¡¯t seem to notice that she had expanded it in the first place, just like Mayvaru hadn''t perceived her spying on her conversation with Beramas despite controlling the rats. Her guess was that they could feel her domain if they were too close, but not outright see it. Still, nothing prevented Mayvaru to keep a flock of jacinth eagles somewhere, ready to deploy at her command. Or other animals with similar powers. ¡°I need to teach you the gestures of my village,¡± she told Serit once they were far enough from the buildings. ¡°We used them to communicate when Vizena was controlling us.¡± ¡°Isn''t your language enough?¡± Saia shook her head. ¡°Too similar to Arissian.¡± Serit nodded. They looked around at the bushes and trees. ¡°Is it safe to speak now?¡± Saia briefly expanded her domain: she saw traces of viss everywhere, but none of them moving inside an animal or person. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do now?¡± ¡°Find Dan. It''s the priority.¡± ¡°Do you have an idea on where to begin?¡± ¡°No. He''ll probably want to find his brother, so I think he followed the directions for Aressea. Maybe he decided not to contact the sea snakes family after the welcome he received here and he¡¯s hidden somewhere inside the city.¡± Serit approached a tall stone emerging from the ground and sat down. They lowered the cloth around their mouth, revealing the shine of sweat all over their skin. ¡°I don''t know how to put this in a way that doesn''t feel insensitive, but I think it''s a matter of time before they find him.¡± ¡°That''s very useful,¡± Saia said. ¡°Do you have a solution or do you just enjoy seeing me suffer?¡± ¡°I just wanted to make sure that you knew.¡± Saia could hear the distant rush of a river. She hiked in that direction, but didn''t have to go far before seeing the running water beyond the trees. It was larger and more intimidating than any other stream around the mountain. She wasn''t sure all of her viss would be enough to cross it without being whisked away by the current. ¡°If we can''t find Dan or free Mor¨¬c, we can at least make sure those two monsters will be focused on something else,¡± she said to an approaching Serit. ¡°So you want to create a distraction?¡± they asked in a careful tone. ¡°I will be their distraction.¡± Serit sighed. ¡°I should have imagined you''d want to fight them.¡± ¡°If I can take out one of them, the other will probably want to fight me as well, so less chance they''ll find Dan or torture Mor¨¬c.¡± ¡°You''ve seen how powerful they are.¡± ¡°Beramas is powerful. Mayvaru is nothing special, not without her animals.¡± Serit circled around her statue until they were looking straight at her stone eyes. ¡°If you assume she''s weak, you''ll die. You can''t really discount her animals, if she can call them from anywhere. She was controlling that dog at the quarry, remember? Three days of navigation from here. And how many rats were on the ship?¡± Saia looked away, irritated that it did nothing to cut Serit out of her view. ¡°I don''t know, I didn''t count them.¡± ¡°So we don''t have the vaguest idea of how many animals she can control at once. I''ve visited Irim¨¦ze''s zoological garden multiple times, but her rats weren''t there. She might have some unique species at disposal with powers we don''t even imagine. The rats alone would be enough to defeat you.¡± ¡°That''s not true. I might have less viss than before, but it''s still enough to kill those rats. If I can''t do it directly, I can throw rocks at them or something. They took me by surprise on the ship, but I''ll prepare this time.¡± ¡°Are you sure? Because you need viss to move that statue of yours. If they swarm you, they''ll eat your viss right out of your sphere.¡± Saia imagined herself trapped, unable to move, while a wave of rats tore at her glass with their claws, detaching years of her life, eating her memories. She stepped away, consuming a bit of nervous energy with that movement. Serit was smiling, even if they looked tired as well. ¡°And that''s taking for granted that the rats are the worst weapon she has,¡± they concluded. ¡°Stop it, I understood. So what do you suggest I do, then? You''re good at inventing stuff, maybe you can create a weapon?" Serit winced in hearing the word ''inventing''. ¡°I don''t have the materials, the tools or the blueprints to even attempt something like that.¡± ¡°If I get you one of the weapons of the city guards, would you be able to use it?¡± ¡°If you mean wielding it, probably not. I can study them, sure, and maybe copy them with the right pieces. Do some tinkering here and there. Nothing powerful enough to kill her from a distance, probably. The cloud cities are careful about sharing their technology for projectiles, I don''t think there¡¯s anything readily available here.¡± Saia nodded. It was something they could do, but not hinge a whole plan on. ¡°We need to take her by surprise,¡± she said. ¡°Now I can transform. Maybe I could become one of her animals and get as close as I can, then attack her?¡± Serit rested their back against a tree trunk. ¡°If she tries to control you and fails, she''ll know you¡¯re not an animal. You might be in an extremely vulnerable position, if she has rats around. And Beramas¡­¡± ¡°Right,¡± Saia cut them off. ¡°I have to make sure he can''t interfere, so I can''t just follow her and hope he won''t be around.¡± ¡°We need to study her movements, or find someone who knows about them.¡± Saia turned her head toward them. ¡°So you want to help me, now?¡± ¡°As if I had a choice. Besides, with all your worrying about those kids I''m starting to care too. I still think fighting Mayvaru is too risky, though.¡± ¡°I can attract her out of the city,¡± Saia said. ¡°I can transform into an animal that doesn''t exist. Maybe I can mix multiple ones, if I study them well enough. Then I''ll destroy some empty building, so she''ll know about me and will seek me out.¡± Serit sat at the base of the tree. ¡°We don¡¯t know whether she¡¯d be interested in a creature she doesn¡¯t know. We shouldn¡¯t assume she does just because she can control animals, maybe she already has everything she needs. And if you appear to be too dangerous, Beramas might get involved.¡± Saia crossed her arms and narrowed her vision until she could only see the river. The moving water helped her focus. ¡°I do think it''s better to attract her away from the city, though,¡± Serit''s disembodied voice added from the borders of her current reality. ¡°Maybe wait until she leaves for the Golden Lands, then push her even further.¡± Saia nodded distractedly. She didn¡¯t know what could interest Mayvaru, but Veylu¡¯s words had depicted her as a unique creature, the first and last of her kind. A bit like her, a rogue goddess from a mountain isolated from the world. And she knew what could pick her own interest in an irresistible way. ¡°I have an idea,¡± she told Serit. ¡°But we''ll need some viserite.¡± The blue hall hadn¡¯t changed from their last visit. Saia waited impatiently as the guard explained how he had tried to stop her, but couldn''t even make her budge. Ravisu picked up her lens and shooed her servants away. ¡°I gather you''re quite powerful in areas other than sculpting, my dear¡­¡± ¡°Saia,¡± she replied, and Serit winced when she didn''t use the fake name they had come up with. ¡°Do I have to worry? Beramas is coming here soon, it''s better if he doesn''t find you pushing my guards around.¡± ¡°No, I only have an announcement and a request.¡± Ravisu visibly relaxed. Saia wondered to which extent her family collaborated with Beramas, and how much she knew of her powers as a consequence. She¡¯d wanted to ask why he and Mayvaru wanted to capture Dan and Mor¨¬c, but she couldn¡¯t risk making him aware that she knew them personally. ¡°I will participate in your contest,¡± she said. Ravisu smiled. ¡°Good, we do need people like you in our family.¡± ¡°But as you said,¡± Saia continued, ¡°I will need to practice. I didn''t think of bringing my own viserite from home because I thought I would find it here readily enough, but it turns out your family is the only one that extracts it. So I came here to ask if I could loan a block until the day of the contest.¡± Ravisu emitted a tiny sigh and sat up straighter. ¡°You''re right in saying that we have an exclusive on this material. It''s very precious, and I can''t afford to give it away to just whoever.¡± ¡°Name your price,¡± Saia said. ¡°You''re starting to learn the workings of our city, I see. Well, dear, I want fifty-eight vissins for every day you''re going to keep the viserite. The term of payment is a week after the contest. I''ll make you a discount if you win, of course. Take it as motivation to work harder.¡± Saia nodded, but Ravisu peered at her through her lens, as if not considering the matter closed yet. ¡°You can pay, right?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Saia lied, thinking that with her powers it wouldn''t be too difficult to procure the money. ¡°Good, I''m glad to hear it. Beramas is the one that takes care of collecting in case of insolvency. I don''t want to be the cause of your death.¡± Her words gave Saia pause. But the deal was sealed and Ravisu was already writing something on a piece of paper. ¡°Come here and sign, dear, while my guards bring here the viserite.¡± The second she spoke the words, two of the guards left their posts. Saia read the contract with Serit, even if they were nervous about making Ravisu wait. ¡°Seems good,¡± they whispered. Saia thought the same, so she signed. They left with a small cart holding a block of viserite. More than enough for their plans. As soon as they were out of the palace, Serit covered it with a long cloth. ¡°No animals?¡± they asked, half with words, half with gestures. ¡°You need to make smaller movements, or everyone will know we''re communicating,¡± Saia said in their ears. ¡°But no, I didn''t spot anything.¡± They left the central quarters of the city and headed toward the outskirts, where they¡¯d spent the previous night in an abandoned house. Further from that point there were only fields and isolated villages, covering the distance from Aressea and the Golden Lands. Once inside the house, Serit laid down on a rough cloth on the floor. It had been covered in debris until Saia had swept everything away with her winds. ¡°Fifty-eight vissins a day means we¡¯ll finally steal some coin and live in an inn?¡± Serit asked. ¡°I have no intention of paying, so no,¡± Saia answered, detaching a piece of viserite from the block. ¡°Stealing food is stressful enough.¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want to fight Beramas,¡± Serit added with a wily half-smile that made them appear drunk, even if Saia had categorically refused to get them any wine. ¡°You¡¯re enjoying yourself too much for someone who was so scared to leave the sky.¡± They returned serious. Saia worked on the block of stones, trying to recall the birds and little rodents she¡¯d seen on the trees during their hike from Aressea to the nearby villages. She¡¯d tried to memorize the movement of their viss, even if they never remained still enough. For all his talk of giving her a challenge, Filsun had been remarkably still while she¡¯d been figuring out the patterns all around his body. It did give her an edge when it came to learning the patterns of other creatures, she had to admit that. ¡°I miss Irim¨¦ze,¡± Serit said. ¡°And I¡¯m worried. I don¡¯t think you repelled the spirits. They¡¯ll attack again, maybe they already did.¡± ¡°Just like the monks have attacked the village where my family and friends live, while I couldn¡¯t help them because someone has basically kidnapped me. We have something in common, it seems.¡± Serit turned their head toward the wall and didn¡¯t answer. Saia ignored them, focusing on making the animals as realistic as possible, filling the gaps in her memory with what she¡¯d learnt about the viss¡¯s movement from weeks of practice and observation. ¡°Look,¡± she said, tossing the statue of a small bird next to Serit. They glared at her, but their expression softened once they had taken the creature of stone in their hands. ¡°Nice,¡± they said. ¡°It lacks details, but it¡¯s convincing.¡± The bird opened its wings, startling them. ¡°I want to get the movements right first,¡± Saia commented. ¡°And to study some bigger beast. We need to find one.¡± Serit nodded. They opened their hands as if to let the bird free, and Saia obliged making it fly away with the help of her winds. ¡°Convincing enough?¡± she asked. Serit didn¡¯t answer, deep in thought. ¡°If she can perceive the surroundings through her animals, we need to fool them too. I might have an idea.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± They yawned and laid back down. ¡°I¡¯ll sleep on it and let you know in the morning.¡± She made a point of rolling her eyes, but they had already turned their back to her. She kept working on the viserite until morning, hoping Dan was somewhere safe. 7.7 - Strays Dan quickly learned to only move in the morning or early evening. The climate was hotter than back at the mountain: even wearing the upper garment and trousers that Veylu had packed for him didn¡¯t help. He was wary of people traveling along the road and kept out of it, expecting to see Mayvaru at every turn. He¡¯d already spent two days on the road by himself since leaving the village. He¡¯d tried waiting around, knocking again at Ulres¡¯s door, but nobody had answered. The people in the village avoided him, and eventually it dawned on him that he was putting the sea snakes family in danger. So he left, following the directions he remembered. Only one thing was on his mind: finding Mor¨¬c. Aressea was the only big city in the area, it made sense to start his search from there. Not that he could think of any other alternative. The next evening, while he was looking for a place to sleep in the sparse wood at the side of the road, he saw something move at the edge of his vision. He turned and gazed at the semi-darkness until he was sure he was alone, then sat down and didn¡¯t fall asleep until the night had completely fallen. The feeling of being watched remained with him for the rest of the following day, even if he was constantly looking around without ever finding anyone. He saw animals similar to donkeys, but with a sleeker shape, pulling carts. He also saw smaller creatures running up trees when he approached, and little birds with blue and red plumage constantly chirping in the foliage. The second night, the feeling of being followed by someone resurfaced. He tried to climb a tree with the intention of sleeping on a branch, but he couldn¡¯t find one solid enough that was also within his reach. He hid among the bushes, covering himself with the filthy carpet, the soft portion of it against the body, the rough bottom part disguised with fallen leaves and twigs. At some point, he stopped worrying about his surroundings and fell asleep. When he opened his eyes, he saw a dark shape looking down at him. He screamed, scrambling backward and stumbling on the carpet. He saw the shadow¡¯s pointy ears and the silhouette that suggested the presence of fur and almost screamed again. ¡°You¡¯re scared!¡± a high-pitched voice said, delighted. It was very different from Mayvaru¡¯s, even if that didn¡¯t tranquilize him at all. ¡°Who are you?¡± he asked. ¡°Tagu. Are you a snake person? I saw you at the village.¡± The idea of someone following him since he¡¯d left the village made Dan¡¯s hackles rise. ¡°Do you have a torch?¡± he asked. ¡°I can¡¯t see you well.¡± ¡°I can. I thought you could too.¡± ¡°Only a bit.¡± A light sparkled in mid-air, startling him. It became a minuscule flame trembling at the top of a short stick, held up by clawed fingers. He saw two enormous yellow eyes on the other side of it, the pupils reduced to slits. They were surrounded by brown fur and some patches of pale human skin that looked like someone had torn away portions of hair. The nose was elongated, with a flat and triangular point, the mouth completely human, even if the smile revealed pointy fangs. Something about that face-muzzle looked very unnatural, as if it was a result of sickness. But it was just an animal person, even if he couldn¡¯t tell which animal they took their traits from. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± they asked. It took him a bit to register their words. ¡°Dan.¡± ¡°I saw them kick you out. Is it because your scales are different?¡± Something touched his forehead. The stranger¡¯s hand retracted before he could step back. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why,¡± he said, aiming to indulge them until they left him alone. ¡°They did that with me too, you know? The cats, I mean. Because I¡¯m too different. They didn¡¯t want me to live with them, even if I asked very nicely. I heard them tell people: ¡®That girl is trouble¡¯, and everyone stopped talking to me.¡± ¡°That¡­ That¡¯s cruel,¡± Dan could only think to comment. Even if he was too absorbed by his brother¡¯s disappearance, he actually felt a bit sorry for her. ¡°They¡¯re always like this! The cats, the snakes, the boars, they¡¯re all the same.¡± Dan didn¡¯t know what to comment in the silence that followed. ¡°What¡¯s a cat?¡± he asked in the end. The girl¡¯s eyes became wider. She extinguished the flame with a blow that sounded like a hiss. Dan blinked as his eyes got used to the darkness again. He saw her shape running away, then disappearing in the midst of the trees. He waited, thinking for some reason that she would come back. Soon tiredness had the best of him and he laid back down on the ground, puzzling over that strange interaction. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve found one!¡± Dan jumped on the spot. He¡¯d been walking in the midday sun, trying not to think of the sloshing water remaining in his canteen or the fact that he was probably lost. He turned: even if he was sure he had checked he was alone mere seconds before, there was the girl, Tagu, standing between the trees. She was dressed like most animal people in the village, with a cloth around her upper body and embroidered trousers, even if one leg had been torn in half. She was holding another creature in her arms. Dan looked from the animal to the girl and vice versa. There was a sort of similarity, even if the creature¡¯s fur was even and sleek. ¡°It¡¯s a cat,¡± Tagu explained. ¡°You can pet it.¡± He stepped closer, admiring the creature¡¯s pointy muzzle and striped fur. When he reached out with a hand, it started wriggling in Tagu¡¯s arms until she let it go. It ran away and disappeared beneath the bushes. Dan dropped his hand. He was a bit disappointed, then realized how absurd that feeling was in his situation and laughed. ¡°It was scared,¡± Tagu commented. Dan looked ahead, at the road tracing a slight incline. ¡°Are you going to Aressea too?¡± he asked. ¡°No, I was just following you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± She shrugged. It was a very exaggerated movement, as if she didn¡¯t control her shoulders completely. ¡°My family is camping in the area. I like to explore.¡± ¡°So¡­ Other cat people?¡± Her ears lowered. ¡°No, I¡¯ve told you. The local cats didn¡¯t want me. They think I¡¯m an actual cat that became human after eating corpses.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Dan did his best not to stare too much at the patches of skin all over her face and body. ¡°Are you?¡± he asked, trying to sound casual. ¡°No! Why would you ask that question, it¡¯s rude!¡± He saw something move behind her. A tail, similar to what the cat had, even if it lacked fur in places. ¡°I thought about introducing you to the other strays,¡± she continued. ¡°But I can¡¯t let you meet them if you¡¯re going to ask this kind of question.¡± ¡°Who are the strays?¡± ¡°My family. They¡¯re like you and me, without an animal-bound clan. They¡¯ll probably give you food and a place to stay, if you don¡¯t say anything weird.¡± Dan weighed the canteen in his palm. ¡°I¡¯ll take the water, if they have it. I have some sea snake meat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the food, we have ours.¡± Dan was reminded of Ulres¡¯s words upon meeting him. Accepting his invitation had led to Mor¨¬c being kidnapped, so he decided to take the water and leave those ¡®strays¡¯ as soon as possible. Even if the promise of sleeping in a safe place for the first time in two nights felt comforting. Besides, he was almost sure he was lost. Not as many people were walking the road anymore, which meant he¡¯d left the capital somewhere behind himself. He followed the girl deeper into the woods. They soon found a trail and walked on it until it became too hot to continue. They rested in the shade, Dan fell asleep, and when Tagu awakened him it was evening. ¡°We¡¯re close,¡± she said. Soon enough, Dan saw light filtering through the trees. There was a fire ahead, with bags strewn some armlengths from it and creatures sitting in a circle. Their shapes reminded him of the firepit at the village, except they were more similar to Tagu in the way the animal traits seemed to engulf the human ones. He stopped and hid behind a tree. Tagu didn¡¯t seem to notice as she approached the group. ¡°I¡¯m back,¡± she yelled as a way of greeting. The nearest animal person, a mountain of red-brown fur that resembled a boar, was startled enough to let a piece of food fall. Tagu laughed, and with her another individual who seemed to be covered half in feathers, half in an orange fur. They mostly looked like a person who was wearing a coat made of two different animals stitched together. The asymmetry was enhanced by the fact it had a pointy black beak in place of the mouth, and only one triangular ear, while the other seemed human and was hidden by the feathers. ¡°Have you found some good garbage?¡± they asked Tagu. ¡°I¡¯ve found something, but he''s not garbage. He¡¯s¡­¡± She turned and noticed that Dan wasn''t right behind her. He retracted behind the tree, but the movement didn''t escape her eyes. ¡°Come on, they won''t hurt you! They''re my family.¡± ¡°You brought someone here?¡± a deep voice said. ¡°Yes. They kicked him away because he''s like us. Dan, come on!¡± He realized there was no point in hiding if everyone knew he was there. He stepped out of his hiding spot and greeted them with a faint voice. ¡°He''s young,¡± the boar person commented. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Fourteen,¡± Dan replied. ¡°Come sit with us, we don''t bite.¡± Dan advanced as if in a dream. He sat down on the ground next to the half-bird half-something individual, hugging his legs to his chest. There were two more people around the fire, but Tagu covered his view by standing in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ll introduce everyone. This is Dan, a sea snake. They kicked him out because his scales are more fashionable than everyone else¡¯s.¡± She gestured at the red boar person. ¡°She''s Autur, and she came to Aressea because it was too hot where she lived.¡± ¡°That''s exactly the opposite,¡± Autur grumbled. ¡°I¡¯ve never sweated this much in my life.¡± ¡°I don''t sweat,¡± Tagu said, shrugging, then stepped closer to the half-bird individual. ¡°She''s Kaspuru, but we call her Kasp. She left her family because they were jealous that she gets to be two animals instead of one. I''m jealous too, but I would never kick her out.¡± Dan saw that Kaspuru¡¯s eyes were still very human, and of two different colors: blue on the bird part, brown on the other side. Lines and whirls had been carved on her beak. ¡°Woodpecker and fox,¡± she answered his silent question. ¡°And I don''t know why I can take my traits from two animals. When I was born, my fox side was completely human. My best friend was a fox, so I got to eat often at his house, and over time the human side started changing into this.¡± She grabbed a tuft of orange fur. ¡°Cool,¡± Dan commented, earning a chuckle from her. ¡°I was speaking,¡± Tagu commented, moving on to the next person. ¡°He''s Merekis. I don''t know much about him but he''s nice.¡± He waved at Dan with a kind smile on his lips. After seeing Tagu, Autur and Kaspuru, he expected to find more exaggerated animal traits, but Merekis seemed completely human. He had a bald head and light eyes of a color Dan couldn''t identify over the fireplace. ¡°And he''s our boss, Sibras,¡± Tagu said, pointing at the last person. ¡°Don''t say anything else for now, please,¡± he interrupted her. Dan recognized the deep voice he''d heard while hiding behind a tree. He held his breath when he saw Sibras¡¯s face. He had the muzzle of a rat, pointed and covered in coarse fur, with small black eyes like pearls. The ears were round and had a vaguely human shape at the base. The rest of his body wasn¡¯t as covered in fur as Tagu¡¯s, even if he had visible spiky hair. The hands in particular were mostly human, with bony articulations and claws. He wore a cape clasped at the front over the traditional upper garment and trousers, with a hood long enough to hide most of his face when raised. His long whiskers moved in the air as if they were touching some invisible object. ¡°Tell us more about you, Dan,¡± Sibras said. ¡°Where do you come from? Your accent is not from here.¡± Dan was glad he didn''t comment on his lack of proficiency with the language. ¡°The mountain,¡± he said. ¡°I don''t know how it''s called in Arissian. It''s on the other side of the sea.¡± ¡°And why did you come here from so far?¡± Dan held his breath for a moment, then realized he didn¡¯t need to lie. ¡°My village was controlled by bad people. I was looking for a better life here.¡± Sibras nodded. ¡°Many do. They think Aressea is the solution to their problems. Especially animal people, they come here to find more of our kind. They don¡¯t know about the bigotry until it¡¯s too late.¡± He looked around at the others in the group. ¡°What do you think?¡± Autur observed Dan from her enormous height. ¡°What can you do?¡± ¡°Do you mean¡­ My animal traits?¡± She snorted. ¡°Your human ones too. Anything that could be useful.¡± ¡°I can swim well. I can also see in the dark better than a human. I know how to cook. I¡¯m adaptable.¡± Autur nodded. Sibras¡¯s gaze shifted to Kaspuru. ¡°He¡¯s alright to me. If we¡¯re keeping Tagu, might as well take him in too.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Sibras¡¯s eyes questioned Merekis. He smiled wider. ¡°He¡¯s already a stray, whether we accept him or not.¡± Sibras nodded. ¡°Tagu?¡± he called. ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Very well. Do you want to join us, Dan?¡± He was taken completely by surprise. ¡°What do you do?¡± he asked. ¡°Tagu didn¡¯t¡­? Nevermind. We offer you protection, food, shelter and even friendship, but this is up to you. We¡¯re under Mayvaru¡¯s protection. She gives us missions, we fulfill them, and in exchange we get the food we need and resources to live decently.¡± Dan¡¯s felt a cold chill wash over his body in recognizing Mayvaru¡¯s name, remembering the scared tone with which she¡¯d been announced at the door back at the village. His first reaction was to run away from the strays. He regretted telling them his name. Then he realized he couldn¡¯t have found a better place. Mayvaru had kidnapped Mor¨¬c, so he¡¯d have more chances to find him by staying near people who were in contact with her. ¡°Yes. I accept. I want to join you.¡± It was difficult to tell, but Sibras¡¯s lips seemed to be stretching into a smile, while a small holler of victory came from Tagu and Kaspuru. ¡°So it¡¯s decided, then. Give him something to eat, please.¡± Tagu was the first to reach a closed bag abandoned on a stump, but Autur stood and moved her aside by lifting her from the scruff of her neck. ¡°No extras for you.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want them!¡± Autur ignored her and rummaged in the bag. ¡°We don¡¯t have sea snake meat,¡± she commented. ¡°Is generic sheep alright?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll ask Mayvaru to bring us some next time,¡± Sibras commented. Dan froze at the idea of Mayvaru knowing about his presence. He took out a stripe of jerky from his hidden pouch. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I have enough for now. I want to finish this one, first.¡± Sibras considered his words for a second, then shrugged. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want. But let us know when you finish it. Mayvaru can find anything you might need.¡± Autur brought Dan a piece of soft cheese and a round red fruit he¡¯d never seen before. Tagu sat down next to him, pushing Kaspuru to the side, and taught him how to peal away the thick peel, stealing two slices in the process with the excuse of giving a demonstration. When Dan tasted it himself, he was surprised to find out he already knew the flavor. A memory was pressing to the forefront of his mind, trying to emerge, but couldn¡¯t form anything concrete besides that vague impression. ¡°Who¡¯s Mayvaru, exactly?¡± Dan asked Tagu once the rest of the group had started another conversation around the fire. She snickered. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you don¡¯t know her.¡± ¡°I come from the other side of the sea!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an excuse.¡± She still explained to him what Mayvaru could do. Dan felt his mouth become dry at the thought of having faced someone that powerful. Of having to face her again in the future, to free his brother. ¡°Let¡¯s go to bed,¡± Sibras said at the end. ¡°We have a mission in two days, I want you to be rested by then.¡± Dan regretted not asking what a mission entailed. Not that the answer would have changed his decision of joining the strays: he needed to find his brother, and if to succeed he needed to work for the person who had kidnapped him with strangers he¡¯d barely met, he would have done it without hesitation. So he ate the meat in silence, even if he had planned to let the scales disappear once he and Mor¨¬c were safely on the other side of the sea. Neither of them was safe, he thought while biting down on the jerky, so his plans could wait a bit more. 7.8 - Demands Aili was awakened for the third time in eight hours. It took her a while to individuate Rabam among the people standing on top of the inner wall. ¡°False alarm?¡± she asked with false hope, but she could feel in the air that it was different this time. Rabam confirmed her suspicion by shaking his head and pointing at the internal forest. There was movement under the foliage. In the end, the inhabitants had decided to keep her in the village and deactivate the gods instead. She had helped them fill the holders, even if there was a constant line in front of them to keep them full, and a mix of elders and younger people constantly producing new ones. It had become necessary when, after less than two days, they had discovered to everyone¡¯s dismay that full holders tended to deteriorate fast. ¡°I swear Mor¨¬c didn¡¯t say anything about this,¡± Rabam had said, holding the frayed remains of strings that had been full of viss just an instant before, viss that was now dispersed in the atmosphere and completely impossible to recover. ¡°Of course,¡± Aili had said. ¡°It was a secret. Maybe he hoped you wouldn¡¯t think of copying them before they were completely destroyed.¡± At first it had been a problem, considering the amount of viss they needed to constantly keep seven of the nine gods asleep, to the point she had accepted to be deactivated and only awakened in case of either an attack or an emergency replenishing of the holders, when the viss of the community wasn¡¯t enough. She had taken that chance to experiment a bit. The first thing she wanted to clarify was whether there was a limit to the amount of viss the holders could contain. Then she realized they were patterns created to hold a lot of it and she couldn¡¯t afford to waste even one year, so she decided to test a small object instead. The choice fell on a tiny splinter of wood. The result surprised her: a month of viss, on something that could be held on the tip of a finger. Any additional sparkle immediately dispersed. Unfortunately, she didn¡¯t have the resources to test whether the result would change using different materials, but she suspected it would be the case. She also tried to deactivate herself through the holders. The ones tied to her shard were filled with her own viss, and yet they still worked when a human pushed viss through them to deactivate her. She tried to do the same, letting her viss snake around the holders and then onto the shard, but nothing happened. Apparently only the imprint of the initial spark counted, and one belonging to a sphere wasn¡¯t acceptable. She wasn''t surprised to see that the person at the head of the group of monks was once again Daira. Something about her face seemed different, but Aili could only see what it was once she stepped closer: a bruise covering her left cheekbone. She felt her own viss flare with rage, and at the same time realized it could still be a manipulation of the monks: they could have used makeup to let her think Daira had been hit, to induce her to capitulate to their requests. ¡°I was forced to come here sooner than expected,¡± Daira said. "Since you''ve deactivated the gods, the villages have been attacked by the cloud people, not to mention the various illnesses that have started to spread. Some already died, and much more will follow if they don''t receive medical attention. For this reason, the abbot asks you to reactivate the gods." If she''d been the one making all of the decisions, Aili might have accepted to activate the spheres for a short time, enough to guarantee cures to everyone. But the council of the inhabitants had decided not to relent until their demands had been met, and that eased her conscience a bit. Besides, the monks could take care of those people themselves. They only didn¡¯t because it would have made their presence manifest to everyone at the same time, putting a dent in their secrecy that wouldn''t have been easy to fix. ¡°We will, but we have demands,¡± she said. ¡°I can''t promise you they will be fulfilled, but I can refer them to the abbot.¡± ¡°One,¡± Aili began, making sure her voice was loud enough to be heard both by the monks and the people of Suimer. ¡°You will tell the whole and absolute truth to the people of the nine villages, including the history that led to the current system you have in place. Two, you''ll give me my shard. Three, you''ll let Suimer inhabitants look for food outside the walls without being attacked." She had warned the council against adding the third one, since it exposed their weakness, but most had agreed it was worth trying, especially after the fishers'' expedition. They had crossed a temporary passageway Aili had set up over the debris and climbed the external wall to the ground with a ladder, even if Aili could have transported them all outside with her winds at the cost of precious viss. They had moved at the early lights of day, an optimal time both for fishing and moving in secret. Yet, once they had gathered the few boats that hadn¡¯t been damaged by Zeles during the construction of the wall or by the monks during their retreat, they had been attacked by a small fleet appearing from behind the rocks that delimited the beach. Two fishers had been captured, while the rest, including Saia''s dad, had managed to return to the wall, inside of Aili''s domain. Fish wasn''t the only food they lacked: most of the fields had been on the outskirts of the village, now buried under a mountain of debris. Zeles had saved what was already growing there and piled it up at the center of the square, but the new sprouts had been completely submerged. They had immediately set every private garden to use, but the fruits of that labor wouldn''t have been available for a long time, and would probably be insufficient to feed the whole population through the winter. They were already debating whether to keep a small stock of cattle or kill it all in the upcoming weeks in order not to waste food. The monks could imagine what they were going through, of course, but not see the full extent of it through the tall inner wall. With her request, Aili had given them a clearer picture of the situation. Only a small advantage, she hoped. ¡°I could tell you that we''ll consider it, but frankly it''s unlikely. You should know that, Ailima.¡± Aili hated that she had begun using her full name, when she hadn''t even as her mentor. ¡°I¡¯m not the one taking the decisions,¡± she said. ¡°It''s a council of Suimer''s inhabitants. You''re hearing their requests as well as mine.¡± She observed the people standing on the walls and the ones listening from the square. Rabam had read her entire speech out loud after the last council meeting was over, eliciting cheers of approval. Aili didn''t think they should have given that information to the monks, but the inhabitants wanted them to know. While Daira managed to remain impassible, the sentinels around her exchanged glances of disbelief. ¡°Very well, then,¡± Daira said. ¡°I will return in two weeks.¡± Aili had predicted it could go in two ways: one, the monks would have panicked and made their visits more frequent, perhaps even more violent, in an attempt to get her to yield. In the second scenario, they accepted a temporary defeat and dragged out the siege as long as possible, forcing Suimer to consume resources, testing the limits of its control on their gods. Apparently, Daira had been instructed to choose the second one. ¡°We can''t hold on for two weeks,¡± Aili said to each member of the council after the monks left. ¡°We''re already exhausted, they could reorganize in the meantime.¡± They were already gathering at the square, surrounded by an audience of other inhabitants who more or less participated in the debate by shouting their thoughts without an order. Aili knew they needed to find a solution to that, but she was hesitant to suggest the monks'' debate system. ¡°I suggest we wait it out,¡± a council member said. Protests surged from the crowd, forcing her to raise her voice. ¡°We can manage for two weeks, and they might be bluffing when they say they''ll return that late.¡± ¡°That''s not the point,¡± someone else said. ¡°We shouldn''t let them decide when it''s convenient to talk to us. We have to force them to listen.¡± ¡°Easy for you to say, but how?¡± ¡°We could steal a god,¡± Lada said. ¡°It should be easy, if we keep them all deactivated and Aili helps us fight the monks.¡± ¡°And then do what?¡± ¡°I don''t know, but it sends a pretty clear message.¡± ¡°We can do what we want!¡± someone shouted from the crowd, eliciting a cheer. ¡°Only as long as Aili protects us,¡± Lada specified. ¡°Which is why we shouldn''t wait and waste her viss.¡± ¡°There''s also my plan,¡± Rabam started. Someone shouted for him to raise his voice. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Which one?¡± an elderly council member said while knitting a holder. ¡°Bringing Aili up the mountain. There will be a siege here as soon as they realize that she''s not protecting the village anymore, but if we manage to distract them¡­¡± ¡°But keep in mind they have probably predicted that,¡± Aili interjected. ¡°They might have a plan in place, if not to stop me at least to escape.¡± ¡°They don''t have gods to attack with,¡± a council member said. ¡°They''re all sleeping.¡± ¡°They have Lausune''s new god. And they could create another one if they realize what we''re doing.¡± ¡°So the key is to act in secret,¡± Rabam said. ¡°That shouldn''t be too difficult, right?¡± ¡°They saw us when we went fishing,¡± Silem said. ¡°They might have some observers nearby.¡± The conversation went back and forth until it was clear that they were seriously considering the plan. ¡°Since it seems like you want to go along with this, I can fly there,¡± Aili said. ¡°Propelling myself costs a lot of viss, but I can go faster alone. As long as I hide my presence with some cloth.¡± ¡°How would you be able to communicate with us, then?¡± Lada asked. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t know if something goes badly.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the elder added. ¡°If they capture you and we don''t learn about it in time, we can only wait until they capture us all.¡± ¡°As if we could prevent that even if we knew,¡± another council member commented. ¡°If we lose her, we lose everything.¡± ¡°We might win everything, if we succeed,¡± Rabam pointed out. Aili observed the mountain. ¡°I can see at night,¡± she said, distractedly. ¡°I can guide whoever will bring me up there, but if they capture me or manage to deactivate me, they''ll be stranded. They''ll only need to light a fire to let you know of the danger, but they''ll certainly be captured.¡± ¡°And that''s why that someone has to be me,¡± Rabam said. ¡°They consider me dangerous, they might think I have a plot in mind even when there''s none and as a consequence be more careful about attacking you.¡± Aili knew it wasn''t the real reason why he wanted to take that risk, it was written all over his viss. Still, nobody had a better idea. ¡°If I have to leave you alone, there are preparations to be made,¡± she said. ¡°What do we need?¡± Lada asked. ¡°Some rocks, a scalpel¡­ Oh, and two volunteers.¡± At midnight, when the sky without moon was so dark Rabam couldn''t even find the walls without her help, they departed from Suimer. Her sphere was well hidden inside his backpack, while he held a torch with the pattern to create flames carved all around the handle, ready to activate it at the first sign of danger. ¡°Promise me you won''t put yourself in needless danger just because you feel guilty,¡± Aili told him, speaking in his ears. She kept her domain expanded enough to catch any sentinels before they could realize that the rustling of leaves was someone advancing toward them. ¡°Not that simple,¡± he whispered. ¡°I need to get captured if we don''t manage to defeat the monks in time. Otherwise, they''ll use my family as leverage, sooner or later.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to get them out, if I have the chance.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± He stumbled forward in complete darkness, with only her nudges as guidance. She admired his willingness to go on for hours despite the grim toots of howls all around, the rustling of boars and the trees constantly blocking his path. She helped him cross a stream with her winds. A soft light started to filter through the foliage, and Rabam stopped. ¡°We''re close,¡± he whispered. ¡°The night sentinels are never too far from the entrance.¡± ¡°Wait here, and be ready with the torch. I''m going to expand my domain.¡± She did, moving slowly. Part of her knew that the monks couldn''t possibly have a way to repel her, otherwise they''d have already used it against Suimer. But they were masters in keeping secrets, and she always expected them to have set something aside just for that occasion. She expected an attack, a dart of ballistae, or even to find that the village had been abandoned for days in favor of some other secret place. Instead, she felt another god. The barrier of light cut the forest in half as she felt a push against her domain. She pushed back almost as a reflex. ¡°They moved Lausune''s god here,¡± she said. Rabam raised the torch over his head, ready to light it. Sentinels were shouting and leaving their outposts to crowd around the barrier of light. ¡°We¡¯re being attacked! Send the signal,¡± the abbot said. Saia looked for him in the small group that was pouring out of the village''s entrance. It took her a bit to realize that the voice had come from above. ¡°You are a god?¡± she asked in disbelief. He didn''t answer. She thought back at Vizena, how the abbot and priors had declared that the rules were the most important thing, only to break them by bringing a god to their village. ¡°You hypocrite liars,¡± she screamed, not caring how much viss she was pouring into the attempt to make the abbot retract. ¡°Willing to betray your principles and rules when it could give you power.¡± She remembered Rabam''s words about some monks wanting to live free, or what they perceived as being ''free'', like the people of the villages. ¡°How is it possible?¡± she asked, addressing them, even if they couldn''t see where her attention lay. ¡°How could you accept something like this?¡± ¡°If you would stop screaming, I''ll be glad to explain,¡± the abbot said. ¡°Our ancestors have been farsighted, but even they had never imagined that a village could completely isolate itself, with a god inside we can''t control anymore and that can control our other gods. Our rules didn''t say anything about what to do in these circumstances, but we knew what our ancestors would have done: create new rules. So the night of the attack it was decided that the abbot can be transformed into a god to protect the village when one of the gods might attack it undisputed.¡± ¡°Who decided that? Why the abbot and not someone else?¡± ¡°Because in an emergency we can''t organize trials, and the abbot is the person who passed more selections than anybody else. I''ve been a prior for the better part of my life and worked in close contact with the previous two abbots. Yes, two: I was judged too immature the first time, and only obtained the position after years of hard work. The priors all agreed to this proposition, and the vote of the assembly sealed the approval.¡± Aili thought she would have loved to see how many votes had been in favor compared to the total, but didn''t trust the abbot to provide a truthful report. Besides, even if it was a narrow majority, it was probably still valid. ¡°So now you''ll be abbot for the next two hundred years?¡± ¡°No. You''re so eager to consider us evil that you think us stupid. I¡¯m not complaining, since it might be what we need to defeat you. But for your information, once I''ll have you defeated, I''ll step down from the role of abbot and protect Suimer instead, like any other god.¡± Aili could feel her rage grow at that: the monks knew the danger of having someone control them with absolute power for two hundred years, but when it came to the nine villages they considered it fair and even merciful. The abbot becoming Suimer''s god after he had refused to deactivate Vizena felt like a slap in the face of everyone who had ever lived in the village and fought for its freedom. ¡°So you want to be a god and an abbot at the same time.¡± ¡°Only until my successor''s training is completed.¡± ¡°Rades?¡± she asked, thinking that at least he seemed meek enough to reason with. ¡°Maris,¡± he said. ¡°They''re what we need, with a sphere still loose out there.¡± ¡°Yes, because they''re incredibly loyal to you.¡± ¡°Aili,¡± Rabam called. ¡°We need to go.¡± He was right: there were lights in the water in front of Suimer. The monks weren''t reluctant anymore about coming out at night, and she suddenly realized why: they had a god, now, that could perceive when another one was approaching. They didn''t need to be careful anymore. She flew out of Rabam''s bag, shining a light on the surroundings, then pushed him forward with her winds. Flying the whole day down from the mountain would have been a waste of viss, and dangerous if the inhabitants didn''t have enough viss to counteract the influence of the monks that were constantly trying to deactivate her. It took them a while to go down the mountain that way, with Aili half-carrying Rabam while he ran blindly forward. ¡°Leave me here and go to them,¡± he said. But the monks were in pursuit. Far away, for the moment, but numerous enough that they¡¯d have found Rabam the instant she flew away on her own. As they approached, the situation at Suimer became clearer. The monks were surrounding the walls again, from both forest, villages and sea. They had a god, Aili realized when she saw what was happening at the top of the walls: it was being peeled away, in crunches, together with the most superficial debris. The god, Lausune¡¯s god, since they were the only deity they didn¡¯t own a shard of, had probably realized that breaking the walls would mean having to block an avalanche of debris before it could bury the monks and nearby villages, so they had opted for a slower but more secure method. Suddenly, a sphere of light left the monks and flew toward Suimer. Aili felt her viss buzz uncontrollably: since she wasn¡¯t there, nothing could stop a god from taking her spot. She poured her viss into accelerating their descent, but knew she wouldn¡¯t have arrived in time. Then, two explosions rocked the external wall at two opposite points. The debris started to pour out of the holes. The god stopped halfway through their ascent to block the avalanche on their site, but couldn¡¯t do anything for Kivari. It submerged some of the monks, threatening their tents and the houses of the village. ¡°I¡¯ll stop it if you fly away,¡± Aili yelled. The god rotated in mid-air, as if indecisive. She expanded her domain as much as she could and pushed against theirs until they capitulated. They flew down toward the surviving monks, part of their viss still employed in preventing an avalanche on Tilau¡¯s side. Aili waited until she was back at the temple and Rabam safe inside the village before using a huge amount of her viss to repair the holes and carry the debris back. She found the two people who had made the devices explode, hanging for dear life to the ladders a few armlengths above the gaping holes, and brought them back. They were welcomed with hollers of victory. Aili was grateful that the monks had decided to report the pattern of explosions accurately in their book about the mountain¡¯s history. She braced herself for a long siege, but to her surprise the monks started retreating. She guessed it was because they didn¡¯t want to waste the only god that was entirely under their control, besides the abbot. They had made their point clear regardless: Aili couldn¡¯t leave the village unsupervised. She gave time to the village to calm down and organize a new meeting of the council. Rabam sat on top of the internal wall, observing with her. ¡°Where¡¯s his shard?¡± he asked. ¡°I was wondering the same thing. One thing is to transform the abbot into a god, another is to let him do what he wants. They must have a shard somewhere, outside of his reach. Possibly in a different place from the other shards. Are there many rooms inside the village that could be outside of a god¡¯s reach?¡± Rabam thought about it. ¡°The shard room, of course. Even the crater room.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Where we dump the ashes of our dead so that their viss can join the mountain, even if technically the original function of the place was to make sure nothing dangerous was happening inside the crater. It¡¯s the lowest room in the village, as you can imagine.¡± Aili thought that information was even more important than it seemed, but couldn¡¯t pinpoint why. ¡°Or maybe they¡¯re keeping the shard outside the village,¡± Rabam added. ¡°The top of the mountain,¡± Aili said, looking at the peak of rock almost deprived of trees. ¡°That could be a possibility.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s our next move?¡± Aili returned her focus to the village. A line of people was already bringing chairs and tables outside. ¡°I¡¯ll tell them everything, then we¡¯ll decide together.¡± 7.9 - Vissins Crossing Aressea¡¯s market felt like returning home, if the people at home had known how to jump down from the roofs without breaking a bone or weigh a piece of meat with a box of wood. Saia observed the surroundings while Serit haggled with a merchant. She was carrying an empty sack on her shoulders to hold their purchases, in case there were animals outside of her range spying on them. Periodically, a lamp of golden light passed through the eyes of the creatures she could observe: a quick sparkle that immediately moved on, from a bird high on a tree to a donkey munching on forage. Mayvaru was always observing, even if her attention didn''t seem to focus on one spot in particular. On impulse, Saia expanded her domain, careful not to touch any rats or tanhata. She chose an empty cart and pushed it with her winds until it fell to the side, causing a commotion. Animals descended onto the scene from every direction, invisible to the distracted crowd. Birds, a small creature that was apparently a cat, dogs that were so different from the Arissian sheepdog she couldn''t understand how they belonged to the same species. All of them had a glow in their eyes that lingered until the reason for the accident was attributed to an unstable wheel. The animals took that as a sign they could disperse again. Saia resumed surveying the crowd. She saw another cart that was being pulled by two moving plants. She examined them, looking for a pattern in the mass of foliage. She found a muzzle made of yellow-green leaves wrapped in an irregular cylinder. The creatures looked vaguely like a mixture of a cow and a horse, even if they had six legs and an impressive pair of branching horns made of wood. She expanded her domain a bit, looking once again for a pattern, or, more likely, several patterns, considering how realistically they moved. But the inside of the creatures was made of branches and spines, rotating with thousands of creaking sounds every time they made a step forward. She was reminded of the monster she¡¯d met in the external forest with Dan and Mor¨¬c, even if their outward appearance looked nothing alike. She moved the bag from one arm to the other. It wasn¡¯t weak anymore after she''d patched it up with the viserite that Ravisu had given her, as if Beramas had never made it explode. Serit had finished haggling and was now staggering toward her under the weight of a pile of furs. ¡°I think this is enough to attempt three plans like ours,¡± they commented. Saia helped them push the ball of furs into the sack. The whole operation was conspicuous enough to attract looks from the people, but not the attention of the animals, at least for the moment. ¡°I wish you were wearing the disguise,¡± Serit said. ¡°It''s not ready yet, I still need to study her a bit. And trust me, it''s not the kind of thing I can be careless about. The result would be... Weird.¡± They sighed, wrapping one of their new cloths tighter around their head. ¡°Next step?¡± Saia nodded. They walked down the market, examining every stall. There was a herbalist, but she didn''t seem to sell what they needed. ¡°Smells are for the rich at Irim¨¦ze,¡± Serit commented. ¡°Maybe we should check the shops.¡± They left the main road for a side alley. Saia checked there weren¡¯t animals around before approaching a passerby to ask where the shop was. It took two more attempts before finding someone that knew the answer. ¡°Rich people, told you,¡± Serit commented once they were in front of the building, far from both the market and the other shops. The perfumery looked like it wanted to categorically set itself apart from anything with a smell. They looked through the glass windows of the shop: Saia saw rows of bottles on shelves, just like at the herbalist shop back at Lausune, and bundles of dried flowers hanging from the ceiling and walls. She caught a movement inside, a person looking back through the windows. She forced herself to smile and opened the door. ¡°Good morning, is this the perfumery?¡± The woman behind the desk was thin and pale like a birch twig. She looked at her with mild suspicion that intensified when she saw Serit entering behind her. They were both wearing visibly cheap clothes, because Saia refused to steal anything more. ¡°Yes,¡± the woman answered. ¡°Although I have to warn you that my prices are adequate to the quality of my essences. And in case you¡¯re here for something other than perfumes, I need to inform you that my shop and wares are under Beramas¡¯s protection.¡± The overt threat was unnerving, but at the same time the woman had given them useful information: anything they said inside the shop could reach Beramas, and Mayvaru as a consequence. Serit¡¯s hand was already rising for a shilv¨¦ greeting, as if by reflex. They stopped in time. ¡°I ensure you we can pay the, uh, adequate price you speak of.¡± Saia took out two vissins from her bag and showed them to the perfumer. She passed a finger over their center and sucked in her breath. ¡°Very well, then,¡± she said in a gentler tone. Saia smiled wider to seem unbothered by the woman''s initial hostility. She had expected every single one of her reactions, but it was still nice to know that her and Serit''s theories were right. She remembered when they''d been at the market the previous day, trying to figure out how to pay for the things they needed. Serit had been pretending to browse the stalls while Saia examined the transactions happening all around them. She couldn''t make sense of the reasoning behind the exchanges, where a cheap pair of trousers cost sixteen vissins, but the customer paid ten of them and received two as change. She tried to look for the value of the coins on their surface, but in vain: they didn''t depict images, nor a number representing their value, just tiny lines that intersected on the surface, forming webs of various sizes and densities. At least she found confirmation that the material at the center, encased in a circle of silver, was viserite. It responded to her domain as if it was a detached part of her body, like the fragments of viserite of her arm she''d found scattered across the square. It held viss as well, bearing thousands of different imprints from all the hands that had touched it. After minutes of confused observation, she gave in and nudged a coin away from a merchant''s purse. She made it roll on the ground until it was out of sight, observed the crowd to make sure she wasn''t being watched by people or animals, then picked it up. She sat with Serit on the border of one of the many fountains of the area to examine her find. Serit traced the lines with their fingers, looking absorbed. They were so tiny and close to each other that they could never touch just one of them at the same time. ¡°What pattern is it?¡± Saia asked in the end. ¡°It''s not... I mean, it is a pattern, but it wasn''t carved by a person. These are usage lines. They emerge naturally when an object is used for a long time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them.¡± They raised their eyes from the coin to look at her. ¡°By ''a long time'' I don''t mean some years. Entire generations.¡± Saia thought of the monks, of how they had managed to hide both the existence of magic and the cyclical death of gods. Tools broke easily, after all. Serit seemed to hear her thoughts, because they turned the coin in their hand to show the lines on the other side. ¡°It''s rare for a regular tool to be used enough to develop lines without breaking. When they¡¯re dense enough, they help in making it more resistant, among other things.¡± ¡°Like?¡± Saia pressed on. ¡°Making them easier to use. A hammer that has planted nails for three generations will bury them in one strike while requiring no strength at all. If you start using it to break rocks, though, you¡¯ll need some more years for it to work more efficiently.¡± ¡°So coins are easier to¡­ spend?¡± Serit laughed. ¡°No. They¡¯re worth more, though. The lines are only formed after thousands of passages of hand. They¡¯re unique but not random, to the point an expert could tell if they¡¯re fake.¡± ¡°If they¡¯re unique, how would someone know how much they¡¯re worth?¡± ¡°I guess you can partially tell by the number of lines, but mostly it¡¯s the viss they contain. There¡¯s a maximum amount of viss that an object can hold, depending on the material. Every usage line increases this amount. Money tends to change hands a lot and viserite is optimal to store viss, so the coins are always full. I imagine small variations wouldn¡¯t make a huge difference. So you can gauge the final value from the amount of viss they contain.¡± Saia took the vissin from their hand and examined it with her domain. She sent viss into it, to mingle with the one already on its surface, but she had to stop after a few instants: past a certain quantity, it started to flake off, as if it couldn¡¯t find a hold. ¡°This still doesn¡¯t explain why these lines formed,¡± she commented. Serit touched the top of the pool of water behind them. ¡°There are theories. Not to get bogged down in the details, but the main idea is that human-like creatures can control their viss at least subconsciously. It behaves differently based on our general status, including what we''re doing or where our focus lies. Combine that with the viss we leave on pretty much everything we touch for a protracted time, and it''ll have an influence over generations." They saw a child looking with an open mouth at their gray fingers immersed in the water and quickly retracted their hand. ¡°And there''s a direct correlation between the skill and focus of the wielder and the formation of usage lines on their tools,¡± they added. ¡°It''s as if the object became an extension of the wielder. The lines continue the patterns that already run inside their body. That''s how humans discovered patterns, by the way. They tried to reproduce the usage lines of old tools on new ones. Over time, they discovered the basics of how viss moves and the correlation with the effects it produces. It¡¯s still extremely difficult to sculpt usage lines on a surface, though. They¡¯re too tiny and precise.¡± The child ran back to his friends and told them something, so Serit moved away from the fountain. Saia followed them down a road that ran parallel to the market. ¡°It''s all good to know, but this means we can''t copy money, right? We have to steal it.¡± ¡°It would be difficult to forge it regardless, since we don''t have silver and neither of us knows how to mold it.¡± Saia expanded her domain a bit, checking the purses of everyone around her. Each of them contained some vissins that were completely devoid of usage lines, even if most of them still contained a big quantity of viss. Still, if Serit was right they held the lowest value among all the coins. She made them slip out of purses and pockets and fall to the ground, then collected them with the help of her winds. She waited until they had entered a less crowded area before showing them to Serit. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°You said an expert could recognize them as fake, but what if I copy some patterns? As long as they¡¯re all different, nobody would know that they¡¯re not the originals. Serit looked at the vissins in her palm with wide eyes, as if taken by surprise. Then they smirked. ¡°So we could become the richest people of the market.¡± Saia rattled the coins in her hand. ¡°Just answer my question.¡± ¡°Yes, it can work. Just remember to fill the vissins before you use them, otherwise they''ll seem fake.¡± They looked ahead in silence for a bit, then sighed. ¡°Which means we can''t be the richest people around, I suppose.¡± ¡°I can''t afford to waste viss, so no.¡± Reproducing the usage lines on bare coins was easier than Saia had anticipated. She just needed to push a bit of viss into someone else¡¯s vissins to get a feeling of the patterns, then trace them on the coins by excavating the surface. Creating abstract patterns was easier than reproducing a detailed living creature, especially after all the practice she¡¯d had. Saia was observing the merchant¡¯s hands playing with her forged vissins, now. Weighing them as if they were genuine. She took them back. ¡°What are you looking for?¡± the perfumer said, pacing around the shop. ¡°We have all the most popular fragrances. This is called ¡®Sunset over the Waves¡¯.¡± She took a small bottle out of a shelf that contained a liquid with an orange tinge. Saia pretended to be interested when she opened it, to get in her good graces in anticipation of her request. She waited for an instant with a focused expression, breathing in. She couldn¡¯t feel the air entering her nose nor the smell it brought with it, but she still smiled and nodded with a satisfied expression. ¡°It¡¯s good, but we had something else in mind,¡± she said. ¡°Do you create custom smells?¡± The perfumer¡¯s face tightened in distaste in hearing that word used to describe her ¡®essences¡¯. She put the screw back and gently placed the bottle with the others. ¡°Of course. What did you have in mind?¡± Ten seconds later, Saia was leaving the shop, entangled in a screaming match with the owner, while Serit tried to calm both of them down. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt so insulted,¡± the shopkeeper was screaming, ¡°since that tattooer started stealing my job.¡± ¡°Just say that you¡¯re not good enough,¡± Saia replied. Serit¡¯s light tugs at her arm did nothing to make her move faster, but she still exited the shop before one of Mayvaru¡¯s animals could take notice. After all, if the perfumer was reacting that way, it meant that she wasn¡¯t able to do what they requested. ¡°Tattooer,¡± Serit whispered. ¡°Interesting.¡± Saia diverted her attention from the perfumery. ¡°Yes, we should look for them.¡± They walked down the street, observing the shops without much luck. Saia observed the crowd, looking for people with tattoos. She saw a man with a stylized flower on his shoulder and approached him to ask where he had commissioned it. He gladly answered her questions with indications for a tattoo shop on the other side of the city, but when Saia mentioned patterns that could produce smells, he became quiet and walked away from the conversation, repeating over and over that he didn¡¯t know anything. The same scene happened twice more, with people running away as soon as the word ¡®pattern¡¯ was mentioned or implied. Saia headed back to the main road of the market andstopped next to a wall to observe the crowd. There was something wrong with tattooing patterns, apparently. Even if the words of the perfumer had implied that they were wildly requested. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re hiding them,¡± she said, thinking out loud. The clothes of the locals made it easy to spot who seemed to be unnecessary covered: long gloves, long upper garments, scarves and hats, boots instead of the traditional sandals and shoes open on top. She examined all of them, uncomfortable about intruding on the personal space between their clothes and skin. For most, it seemed to be a matter of style. She left alone who was walking with confidence and looked for signs of discomfort instead. ¡°The tooth,¡± Serit whispered, as they had taken the habit to do every handful of minutes. Saia expended some viss to keep Mor¨¬c asleep. At the same time, she noticed a woman wearing gloves so long they covered her arms up to the shoulders. She squeezed them around her torso while walking past two guards talking to each other inside a void in the crowd. She was almost tiptoeing, maybe holding her breath. Saia detached from the wall. She walked fast until she was close enough to expand her domain and include the woman. She checked under the gloves: a swirling pattern covered her left forearm. ¡°Excuse me,¡± she said out loud. The woman didn¡¯t react, if not for an instant of hesitation. But the way her steps accelerated told Saia she knew, deep down, that she was the one being addressed in the midst of the crowd. ¡°I know about your tattoo,¡± Saia said, and that made the woman freeze. She turned, her eyes going to the guards distracting each other. ¡°What?¡± she could only utter. ¡°Just a question,¡± Saia said, finally obtaining her full attention. ¡°Where did you get your tattoo?¡± ¡°How do you know¡­¡± Serit finally caught up with Saia. Seeing more people paying attention to her made the woman retract. ¡°Tailor on the fifth road,¡± she said, then hurried away. Saia and Serit had to ask someone else where the fifth road was, then cross it from beginning to end in search of a tailor¡¯s shop. They found three, but only one of them was so small it seemed to be squashed by the nearby buildings, a bakery and an inn. The windows were small and didn''t betray any movement inside. The impression was confirmed when they were surrounded by a labyrinth of hanging drapes of cloth upon entering. Despite the trill of the bell, nobody emerged from the stuffed shop for a long time. ¡°How can I help you?¡± someone finally asked. A teen emerged from the back of the shop, a boy about Dan''s age. He was covered in a heavier cloth hanging from one shoulder and wrapping around his torso and legs. Saia would have thought he was the apprentice of a tailor, if she didn''t know any better. ¡°Can we talk to the owner?¡± ¡°She''s busy now. Return later.¡± He''d said the words with the unexpressive face and voice of someone used to repeating that same sentence multiple times a day. ¡°We''re not here to buy clothes,¡± Saia said. The boy turned and eyed them with an expert air. ¡°I¡¯ll let her know,¡± he just said, then disappeared between the drapes of cloth hanging from the ceiling. A door opened and closed somewhere, but Saia didn''t bother expanding her domain to see it. Besides, she suspected that rats could easily enter such a crowded shop, and she really didn''t want to catch Mayvaru¡¯s attention while carrying on her plans to fight her. Serit touched the hanging cloths while they waited, examining the patterns and texture with great attention. ¡°I didn''t take you for the fashionable type,¡± Saia commented. They shrugged. ¡°I didn''t bother back at Irim¨¦ze. Our cloths are rough and frankly dull compared to some things you can find on earth. But they''re expensive, if you''re buying them from our merchants.¡± Saia thought back at the tunics decorated with feathers and leather belts. She didn''t think they were dull at all, not the majority of them at least, but she didn''t get a chance to reply before she heard the door open again. An adult stepped through this time, peering from behind a blue drape as if it was a door kept slightly ajar. ¡°Who sent you?¡± Saia regretted not asking the woman whether there were requirements to get a tattoo. She could just use her strength and enter, but she preferred gaining the tattooer''s trust. It would have been easier to believe their pattern worked as expected, without hidden side effects that could betray her during a fight. ¡°The perfumer couldn''t fulfill our request, so she suggested we seek you out,¡± she said. The tattooer snorted. ¡°She''d sooner send us the guards. She can''t because nobody knows we''re here at the time, apart from a selected few. So I must ask again: who sent you?¡± ¡°I don''t know her name, but she showed me her tattoo. It looked like this.¡± She detached a piece of viserite from the palm of her hand as she spoke, turning it into a black flat tablet that looked as brittle as slate. She made her viss flow into it, tracing the tattoo''s pattern, and sure enough the carved lines appeared on the surface. The whole operation took so little time she didn''t even have to pause between extracting the viserite and handing it over. The hand that took it was covered in tattoos, none of them depicting a pattern. The tattooer looked at the tablet for a long instant, then promptly handed it back. ¡°I remember her. New customer, she seemed fairly sheepish. I didn''t know she''d have it in her to divulge a copy of her tattoo. But then again, she didn''t look like someone who would risk getting a pattern tattooed in the first place, yet here we are.¡± Saia took the tablet back and held it between her hip and forearm, ready to assimilate it back into her body at the first distraction. ¡°So? Are you going to let us in?¡± ¡°What kind of tattoo do you need?¡± ¡°A pattern, obviously.¡± Saia remembered the perfumer''s reaction and decided to withhold details until it was necessary. ¡°A custom one.¡± ¡°That''s not obvious, most of our customers want drawings.¡± ¡°Are they illegal?¡± Serit inquired. ¡°No, but patterns are. But the families keep tattooers under strict control regardless, so it''s better for us to hide everything.¡± The person had stepped out from behind the curtain as they spoke. Long black hair was interrupted by strands of pink or purple. Saia had never seen hair of such a bright color. ¡°Let''s not talk here, though. It''s safer in the back.¡± They led them to the door in the back. The room on the other side was similar to the tailor shop, except for the heavy curtains in place of the hanging cloths. They divided the room into orderly sections rather than creating a maze. Saia could hear whispering voices and moans of pain. She expanded her domain a finger beyond the curtains, expecting a horrid scene of torture. Instead, she saw a man laying on his belly, another tattooer bent over him while holding the smallest knife she''d ever seen, even if by the swirling patterns covering the blade it was clear it wasn''t a simple knife. It wasn¡¯t being used like a knife either: the tattooer seemed to be making quick up and down movements. A dark liquid ran down the patterns of the knife, together with the viss of the artist, injecting itself into the skin. It was tracing the shape of a tree, even if the drawing was still in such an early stage it was difficult to tell for sure. There were two more customers behind different curtains. Only one of them was having a pattern tattooed on her upper leg, in a spot usually covered by the trousers. They passed in front of many empty cubicles on their way to the other side of the shop. Saia expected the tattooer to enter one of them, but they proceeded toward a golden curtain hanging from the wall and hiding a metal door. ¡°She¡¯s the best tattooer in the city,¡± they whispered. ¡°Behave.¡± They knocked. The response was the most melodious grunt Saia had ever heard. ¡°Customers,¡± the tattooer replied. The door opened after a few instants. ¡°Come inside,¡± the woman on the other side said, her shadow retracting back into the suffused light of the room. Saia followed her, impatient to get the whole thing over with. The more she walked around the city wearing her actual face and with Serit in tow, even if they were careful to wear different combinations of cloths every time, made it more likely Mayvaru would have discovered they were up to something. The walls of the room were covered in more drapes, purple, pink and turquoise mixing together. The light came from the flame of a candle encased in a round glass that was open at the top. After the intense light of the shilv¨¦¡¯s spheres, Saia found the illumination atmospheric, if inefficient. Serit¡¯s rapid blinks seemed to agree with her second assessment. One area of that small studio was entirely occupated by a flat table, a pile of clean towels, a knife and inks. The rest was crowded with tall cushions and upholstered chairs with a high back. The tattooer sat down on one of them, gesturing at the rest of the room. ¡°Please, settle where you prefer.¡± Serit plopped down onto a cushion. Saia contemplated for a moment the uselessness of it all, then sat down next to them. ¡°If you¡¯re here, it means you need a custom pattern,¡± the woman said, hunching forward until her elbows were resting on her legs. ¡°Being admitted in here is difficult, but it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll create whatever you request. So make it interesting.¡± Saia observed her as she spoke: she was covered in tattoos, even more so than the other artists. It was a mix of drawings and patterns, wrapping around each other without ever touching, the light brown skin in between tracing a pattern of its own. Her hair grew in strands of different colors, covering her natural black almost completely: two green portions framed her face, then faded into azure, while the back of her head was crowned by four locks in red, yellow, purple and pink. Saia could see a pattern peaking out in places from her scalp, tendrils curving like baby hair. Her voice was particularly melodious, as if she was two people talking at once, one with a lower, mellow tone and another with a higher and raspy one. They mixed perfectly, to the point every word she uttered sounded like a duet. The pattern on her throat moved up and down with her words. ¡°We need something that can produce a smell,¡± Saia pushed herself to say, abandoning her contemplation. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you can do that.¡± The woman smiled with her lips and leaned back on the chair, arms crossed in front of her. ¡°The way you talk about my craft, it seems like you don¡¯t even know what you¡¯re signing up for. Are you aware that tattoos are permanent? They¡¯re not fragile and unstable like other ink patterns, and they certainly don¡¯t disappear after one use.¡± ¡°I know,¡± Saia said. ¡°A smell, then. We¡¯ve had a few requests for those, usually from folks that can afford to get discovered by the guards with a pattern on their body. Can you pay?¡± Saia took out the vissins. They didn¡¯t induce the same admiration the perfumer had expressed, but the woman seemed satisfied enough when she handed them back. ¡°I¡¯m called Teormu, by the way,¡± she said. ¡°Art name, of course.¡± She took out a stack of papers tied together and a sharpened piece of graphite wrapped in wood from under a cushion. ¡°Tell me what you want, exactly.¡± Saia exchanged a glance with Serit. They hadn¡¯t discussed what to do if the tattooer refused as well. There wasn¡¯t a nice way to phrase her request, so she repeated the words she¡¯d said to the perfumer. ¡°I need the stink of a wild animal. We don¡¯t actually need the tattoo,¡± Saia specified. ¡°Just the pattern.¡± The graphite was very gently put down onto the paper. Teormu stared at her for a long time. ¡°Where the fuck do you think you are?¡± Her voice sounded like being yelled at by two people at once. ¡°We¡¯re risking our lives here, to keep alive our craft. And you come in to request¡­ What is it, a joke? Too much money and time on your hands?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that, please,¡± Serit interjected. ¡°We truly need it. It¡¯s of vital importance, even if the request might seem disrespectful.¡± Teormu crossed her arms again. ¡°Then I want to hear how you plan to use it. Either you give me an explanation as to why I should humiliate myself this way, or you can leave my shop forever.¡± Saia couldn¡¯t think of any other explanation that would have resulted convincing, apart from revealing the plan itself. But talking about it out loud meant putting it in danger, especially without knowing Teormu¡¯s affiliations. She expanded her domain to include the entire room. She could see the woman¡¯s viss flow through the ink on her skin, complementing or deviating the natural patterns of her body. She didn¡¯t have a reaction to her domain, which meant that none of her body modifications had something to do with detecting viss. ¡°First tell me something,¡± Saia said, watching her reactions closely. ¡°What do you think of Mayvaru?¡± 7.10 - Ink Teormu stared at Saia in silence. Her pupils made small movements right and left, as if she was calculating the most appropriate answer. Her viss churned with discomfort. ¡°Mayvaru¡­¡± she began, then shrugged a bit, and that gesture seemed to give her the courage to continue. ¡°She¡¯s a great servant of the city. She helps us keep control of the conquered lands. She defends us from outside attacks.¡± Her voice was as melodious as ever, but her viss revealed her true feelings. The rage grew as she spoke, especially from the moment she mentioned the conquered lands. Saia could feel Serit¡¯s fixed gaze on her own face, as if they couldn¡¯t understand what she was doing, nor why she felt so proud of herself. ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± she said. Teormu stiffened. Saia hadn¡¯t anticipated the tinge of panic that started taking hold of her body. Teormu was observing their clothes and demeanor now, probably looking for signs that they were guards or affiliates of Mayvaru. Her left hand slithered away from the sheets and graphite to search for something under the cushions. Saia imagined she had some measures in place in case someone hostile entered her shop. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she said, and Saia admired how effortlessly calm her voice sounded despite not having the same control of a sphere. ¡°Tell me how can I prove my loyalty to the families.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Saia interrupted her before she could take out the bundle she was trying to reach under the cushions. ¡°We don¡¯t like Mayvaru either. We¡¯re planning to fight her and bring her down.¡± She didn¡¯t elaborate on what she meant with ¡®bring her down¡¯, because she didn¡¯t know either. It wasn¡¯t really worth thinking about, not until after she¡¯d faced her and survived. Teormu stared at her, and since she didn¡¯t seem to find the traces of sanity she was looking for in her expression, her eyes shifted to look at Serit. They nodded slightly, as if they could take the gesture back in case she didn¡¯t react as expected. Teormu¡¯s hand retracted from under the cushions. ¡°Speaking against important servants of the families is treason. Don¡¯t get me wrong, your feelings are very common inside the city, but nobody is so foolish to say them out loud. You¡¯re foreigners, and that¡¯s probably a big reason why you were admitted to this part of the shop in the first place: the guards are all Arissians. Fighting Mayvaru is something people have already tried. They were hunters, experts at dealing with creatures like her, but they failed badly. What do you even hope to accomplish?¡± She shook her head. ¡°Don¡¯t answer. I don¡¯t want to be involved in this.¡± Saia created a wind. Some of the cushions flew away against the wall, startling both Teormu and Serit. The tattooer was looking around, as if she could find a plausible explanation for what had just happened. Saia made the knife and inks rise in the air and kept them there until Teormu noticed. Her eyes widened with fear. When Saia spoke, her voice came out from behind the tattooer. ¡°If there¡¯s someone that can fight Mayvaru, it¡¯s me. But I need that pattern.¡± Teormu held her breath, holding the stack of sheets so tightly the paper was crumpled under her fingers. She only relaxed when the knife and inks lowered back onto the table. She coughed a bit, more to recover her bearings than out of actual necessity. She smoothed the paper and tapped it with the back of the graphite. She seemed to be considering Saia¡¯s request with more attention, at least. In the end, she sighed. ¡°It¡¯s just a smell,¡± she said. ¡°I can always say that I didn¡¯t know what it would be used for. But if it¡¯s not a tattoo, I¡¯ll need to know on which material you plan to trace it and with what. I assume it won¡¯t be ink?¡± ¡°No,¡± Saia said. Teormu waited a bit for her to elaborate, then sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll also need to know the size and the general shape of the object it¡¯ll influence. You¡¯ll have to find someone else to trace it, though, because I strictly specialize in tattooing.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem,¡± Serit said. ¡°Why do you need to know all of this?¡± Saia asked. ¡°To make a pattern that¡¯s more efficient and precise. You won¡¯t need as much of your viss to activate it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested, then. I have enough viss.¡± Teormu crossed her legs with a sigh. Saia had the impression she was bracing for what could potentially be a long discussion. ¡°There¡¯s another reason. It¡¯s to protect the secret of my patterns. It¡¯s a common practice among the families, and also whoever invents patterns outside of the Arissian territories. Usually we start out by creating a general version of the pattern that only works when using a big quantity of viss. This version is kept secret, usually it¡¯s not even written down. Then we adapt it to fit the specific object, person and usage it¡¯s meant for. We also disguise it with inert lines, if the shape of the pattern allows them.¡± ¡°Inert lines?¡± ¡°Superfluous parts of the pattern,¡± Serit answered before Teormu could. ¡°If you remove them, the effect won¡¯t change.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible?¡± Teormu smiled. ¡°There are rules for everything, as long as you study enough. The families have pushed the art of pattern-making to the limit and ensured they were the only ones to reap the benefits. They have made it illegal to buy artefacts if not from them, and bringing them out of the city¡¯s borders is also illegal without an official permit.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°Should I tell her about the statues?¡± she asked in Serit¡¯s ears. They sat up straighter, and for a moment she thought they had forgotten about Teormu and were about to answer out loud. They scratched the side of their left hand, right under the protruding bone of their wrist. Whatever. It wasn¡¯t a particularly polite gesture, but she understood their annoyance: she had already revealed what they planned to accomplish without consulting them, might as well go ahead and tell the rest. ¡°I plan to trace it on viserite,¡± she said. ¡°Sculpt it, specifically.¡± Teormu raised her eyebrows. ¡°You¡¯re a sculptor? Not the material I¡¯m most familiar with, but at least it¡¯s more reliable than ink.¡± She jotted down something onto the untouched paper. Serit leaned a bit forward, observing her writing as if they were waiting for her to finish before they could talk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m curious,¡± they started when she didn¡¯t give any sign of slowing down. ¡°Earlier you implied that there are people using ink to trace patterns on surfaces. I was always taught to never do that under any circumstance, as tinctures, graphite and the like can¡¯t keep viss properly contained, resulting in bleeding out that sometimes can change the effect of the pattern. So I was wondering, is there really a way to use them without incurring these risks?¡± Teormu kept writing until she had almost reached the bottom of the page, and only then raised her eyes. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°You should ask the painters. But yes, it¡¯s possible. There are stricter rules to follow and a lot of calculations to gauge which side effects the pattern might cause if viss bleeds out in the wrong shape. Depending on the composition of the ink, it might be similar enough to the material on which it¡¯s traced to be a bit more stable. In general, you should never reuse an ink pattern twice, even if it seems fine to the naked eye. Not without retracing it first, at least.¡± Serit nodded, producing a small smile. Saia thought back at the painters, at all the families that governed Aressea. She had managed to learn the names and occupations of most of them by listening to the conversations of the market crowd and the official communications that were screamed from the rooftops by government officials. ¡°Why isn¡¯t there a family of tattooers?¡± she asked. ¡°You seem powerful enough.¡± ¡°Power doesn¡¯t mean much without legitimacy, at least in this city,¡± Teormu said. She abandoned the pencil, her eyes glinting at the candlelight. ¡°We were part of a governing family, about two hundred years ago. One of the three branches of the painters: artists, calligraphers and us, tattooers.¡± ¡°Then what happened?¡± ¡°War.¡± Saia had only heard that word at the temple, taken straight out of the sacred texts, and at Irim¨¦ze, in the threats of the spirits. It had never occurred to her that it might have happened on earth too, and so relatively recently. ¡°The families at the time wanted to expand the territories of the city to include the Golden Lands,¡± Teormu explained. ¡°They considered it their right, after Aressea had conquered the city of Darasa and its immediate territories, hundreds of years ago. They tried diplomacy, they tried withholding resources and granting others in great quantities, to sway the local governments in their favor. It didn¡¯t work, so of course they turned to violence.¡± Her eyes lowered to look directly at the candle. ¡°Now they try to pass it as a hard and suffered decision, as if it was necessary, but it only took a meeting of the families to take the decision to invade. They all agreed, except for the head of the tattooers¡¯ branch. She walked off, and the rest of her side of the family followed her in leaving the painters. As a punishment, and to avoid setting a precedent, they were forbidden to practice their craft ever again. We continued anyways, of course, mostly outside of Aressea¡¯s territory. A side of the family went to fight for the Golden Lands. They were all massacred there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a descendant of those tattooers?¡± Serit asked. ¡°Yes, on my mother¡¯s side. My dad¡­¡± She quickly shook her head, as if she didn¡¯t find it relevant. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just because of the war, of course. The painters already couldn¡¯t stand us, because they thought that we made their patterns easily accessible to everyone. All because you can¡¯t really block people at the borders the same way you would artefacts, especially if they¡¯re influential citizens or foreigners. When a couple of patterns leaked out, tattooers were prohibited to practice on people who didn¡¯t pass an extremely strict check. Nevermind that our knowledge had grown and we could make patterns tied to the person¡¯s specific imprint.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Serit asked, with a voice inappropriately loud compared to the somber tone Teormu had maintained up to that point. She raised her head and looked at the roof, pointing at the pattern on her throat. ¡°Some of these lines make it so that the pattern can only work on me. I used them for all the tattoos I drew on my body.¡± She lowered her head again. ¡°The other families have learned the same thing too, over time. Some of their artefacts can only be activated by either one specific person or a group of people that are sufficiently related to each other.¡± ¡°Fascinating,¡± Serit said in a breathy voice. ¡°How did you learn these things?¡± Teormu retracted a bit. ¡°It¡¯s not the kind of information I would share with anyone. It¡¯s a family secret, not just for tattooers but for the others as well. Only the people who have joined them by winning their contests can learn how to apply them.¡± Serit looked at Saia. ¡°No,¡± she said in their ears. ¡°I have no intention to participate in the sculptors¡¯ contest.¡± They slowly tapped a specific point on their jaw to indicate that they were sad. Saia thought she needed to tell them to only use the gestures for important things, and certainly not under the direct gaze of the people they wanted to hide their words from. Luckily, Teormu didn¡¯t seem to have caught onto the fact that they were communicating. ¡°What about the shape of the object you¡¯ll have to trace the pattern on?¡± she asked. ¡°Is it really necessary? Can¡¯t we make a compromise?¡± Teormu stared at her without answering, the graphite raised in the air. Saia¡¯s display of force had convinced her to help defeat Mayvaru, but not to obey unconditionally. On instinct, she checked the bundle she¡¯d tried to reach under the cushions. There was a small box without a lock, containing a rolled-up parchment closed by a wax sigil. She checked the content: it was a complex pattern traced with ink. The curves and loops were wider than the ones of the tattoos. She couldn¡¯t see any similarity with the patterns she knew, so she memorized it to examine it better later. ¡°We¡¯re not completely committed to the shape, yet,¡± Saia said. ¡°Can we bring you the details later?¡± Teormu nodded. ¡°Works for me. But I won¡¯t get started on the pattern until I have that information. Preserving the secrecy of my patterns isn¡¯t just something I do for the survival of my business, but also out of self-preservation. The guards tolerate us, but they will swarm immediately if one of our patterns spreads outside of Aressea¡¯s borders.¡± Saia nodded. ¡°If you don¡¯t have other requests¡­¡± Teormu said, half-standing. Serit imitated her gesture, but Saia stayed still. ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned people attacking Mayvaru in the past,¡± she said. ¡°Who were they? What happened?¡± Teormu settled down again. ¡°Before Mayvaru appeared, about ten years ago, we had an order of hunters trained to kill humanized animals. They are¡­¡± ¡°Animals who eat humans and look like them,¡± Saia quickly interjected. ¡°We know.¡± ¡°They worked for the Dulrir¡¯s clan, the beastforgers. The population feared them and the other families started feeling distaste for their increasingly disturbing experiments, so they founded that force to calm down the public opinion. They also served as an implicit threat to all the animal people in the area. Their communities weren¡¯t as numerous in the past for this very reason. But I digress.¡± She hid the sheets and graphite under the same cushion where they¡¯d been at the beginning. ¡°They kept working for the government after the beastforgers¡¯ sudden death, even if their numbers dwindled and there were frequent talks of assimilating their force into the city guard. They worked to destroy all the surviving experiments of the Dulrirs, a job that coincidentally sent them away into the Golden Lands, right as Mayvaru and Beramas took their place in the city. They didn¡¯t return to Aressea, people said they established a base somewhere in the ruins of Darasa.¡± She shook her head. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter: they decided to work alone when they attacked Mayvaru, knowing that even if they succeeded they¡¯d be probably incarcerated if not killed by the families for harming one of their servants. I don¡¯t know what happened, but Mayvaru returned to Aressea with most of their corpses, announcing that they had fought a creature too strong for them and failed. A lie, of course, as the information coming from the Golden Lands revealed, but it was a good enough explanation for the government to accept without damaging their reputation.¡± Saia reflected on her words. She had hoped for something more, for a detail that could give her an edge over Mayvaru. ¡°So that¡¯s it? They just died?¡± she asked. Teormu breathed in deeply. ¡°Not all the hunters were brought back. Nobody knows whether it¡¯s because Mayvaru didn¡¯t bother to collect their dismembered corpses, or because some of them managed to survive and run away. If they still exist, they are at Darasa. Nobody enters the ruins, except maybe for Mayvaru¡¯s animals, but I would expect the hunters to know how to take care of them.¡± Saia nodded. A thin trail, that could lead to nothing, because Mayvaru was a unique creature with mysterious powers and the hunters might have just underestimated her. But they¡¯d have to enter the Golden Lands anyway as soon as Mayvaru left to visit them, so they might as well check Darasa¡¯s ruins too. She stood. ¡°Thank you for everything. How much do we owe you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it once I work on the pattern a bit. I don¡¯t feel comfortable discussing prices when I don¡¯t have all the information to start the job.¡± Teormu walked with them to the door. She hesitated before opening it. ¡°Please be careful,¡± she said, the bitonal quality of her voice lowering to a whisper. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to disguise the pattern as a sculptor¡¯s work and not a tattooer¡¯s, but I don¡¯t know which resources Mayvaru can employ to seek out who created it. I know you¡¯ll have more important things to focus on during the fight, but please destroy the pattern before it falls into her hands. If possible.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Saia said, then expanded her domain a bit to peer into her viss. ¡°Are you sure you want to help us? You could be in danger regardless.¡± Teormu nodded with renewed determination. ¡°I want to see that bastard killed. I want to see the Iraspes defeated. Everyone with a brain in this city does.¡± Saia didn¡¯t know what to answer to that declaration of open treason, so she just nodded. Back into the midday sun, she took a moment to look at the city around her, at the pastel-colored buildings and the summits of the palaces towering on them all. She counted more of them than the current governing families. After hearing about the beastforgers¡¯ demise, and even the tattooers¡¯ fate, she wasn¡¯t surprised at all. ¡°What now?¡± Serit asked. ¡°Animals,¡± she said. ¡°I need to study more of them. Is there a zoological garden at Aressea?¡± Serit thought about it for a moment, then shook their head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if it exists, it¡¯s not famous enough to be described in the books about the city.¡± ¡°Then we need to return to the villages. Don¡¯t make that face, it¡¯s the only way to be sure we¡¯ll find some interesting animals.¡± ¡°I thought you already had everything you needed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure what I¡¯ll need. I can mix what I know, even make bigger versions of small animals. But I want to be a bit more prepared.¡± Serit sighed and adjusted the bag they¡¯d bought to hold all of their meager belongings. ¡°I¡¯ll study the maps along the road, then,¡± they said. ¡°Hopefully Darasa won¡¯t be too far.¡± 7.11 - The mission The woods around Aressea were dark and thick, and yet Dan didn¡¯t feel in danger. Not after seeing the external forest. And besides, he was currently accompanied by a group of dangerous fighters. The strays had displayed their prowess during the morning training: he¡¯d watched in awe, with the disquieting feeling that all of that training was going to be used on someone. ¡°What about venom?¡± Autur asked while they waded through the woods. Dan looked at her, half-expecting her to be addressing someone else. The entire day had been filled with talks of the strategy and precautions to use, discussions from which he¡¯d been excluded. Even Tagu had been more involved than he was, and she didn¡¯t even fight with a weapon. But Autur was looking straight down at him with her small boar eyes. ¡°Venom?¡± he asked. ¡°Yes. Sea snakes are venomous, right? Can you produce venom?¡± He was suddenly self-conscious about his teeth. He touched them with his tongue, looking for any differences. He would have noticed if something was different, would he? ¡°Not yet,¡± he said. Kaspuru chuckled. ¡°Careful there, don¡¯t bite your tongue.¡± That prompted another probing of Dan¡¯s teeth. He walked a bit slower to touch them with his fingers without the other two noticing. Was he immune to his own venom? Or would he die as soon as he swallowed it? He thought of Lihana, back at Lausune. He¡¯d seen her laugh plenty of times, but her teeth were completely normal. Granted, she hadn¡¯t pushed her transformation as far as Ulres and his family had, as far as he was about to push it. He regretted not asking them how they had dealt with it. Not that there had been time to ask much of anything, after Mayvaru¡¯s arrival. In an attempt to get his mind off of it all, he turned to Autur and asked: ¡°Why did you come to Aressea? If you don¡¯t mind telling me.¡± Before she could answer, Kaspuru emitted a shocked gasp. ¡°Why, you¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t believe Tagu¡¯s story? How could you?¡± She had spoken the words out loud, but Tagu was walking quite a few armlengths ahead of them, with Sibras and Merekis. Her ears turned a bit, but she didn¡¯t give other signs of having heard. ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± Autur said. ¡°My clan lives in a forest north of the Golden Lands, outside Arissian territories. There are no traitless humans among us. It was time for me to find a mate, but the only options were my cousins, and every single one of them is an idiot. So I left for the city, to find someone like me or a human willing to change.¡± ¡°Why would they need to change?¡± Kaspuru interjected. ¡°Why not an animal person of a different kind?¡± ¡°I plan to go back home, at some point. They wouldn¡¯t survive my clan¡¯s lifestyle. We have tried multiple times in the past, but the cold, the animals and the nomadic life have scared away most spouses, and eventually killed the rest.¡± Kaspuru made a sound similar to a snort. Autur answered with a deeper, guttural sort of snort that made Dan¡¯s hairs stand on end. They glared at each other. ¡°What are we doing today?¡± Dan asked, his voice made annoyingly high-pitched by the tension. He cleared his throat. ¡°Sibras didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Autur asked. ¡°No. I understood something here and there, but¡­¡± The last two days had been lost in a blur of preparations. Most of the time, the rest of the group had been too occupied in making sure everyone had something useful to do to actually sit him down and give him the details of the mission. ¡°Makes sense, he won¡¯t participate this time,¡± Kaspuru said. ¡°You have to stay out of danger, you hear me?¡± She tapped Dan¡¯s head with a feathered finger. He retracted, eliciting a laugh from her. ¡°I¡¯ve already given him some tips on what to do in case someone attacks him,¡± Autur said. ¡°We¡¯ll start properly training you if you survive this mission.¡± Dan nodded, trying to keep his face unexpressive to hide his apprehension. ¡°Today is going to be easier than usual,¡± Kaspuru said. ¡°We just need to scare off a participant to the sculptors¡¯ contest. We¡¯re still weeks away, but this one comes from beyond the sea, so they departed early.¡± ¡°Contest?¡± Dan repeated. ¡°I¡¯d ask you if you¡¯ve lived under a rock all this time, hatchling,¡± Kaspuru said. ¡°But anyone who lives around rocks knows of the sculptors and their contests.¡± ¡°Every governing family organizes one contest a year,¡± Autur explained. ¡°The winner can join their ranks. Usually by becoming a relative to a secondary branch, but the lucky ones get to marry into the main dynasty.¡± ¡°The one we¡¯re fighting today is too lucky, and now we get to knock down their luck back a notch,¡± Kaspuru said, tapping the two swords strapped to her back. ¡°Mayvaru wants them gone. Not killed, don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve never had to assassinate someone so far. Mainly because the families would ask Mayvaru to kill us if we did.¡± Dan thought back at the swarm of rats, of the control that she supposedly had on all the animals for towerlengths in any direction. ¡°Why can¡¯t she scare them herself?¡± ¡°She could, hatchling,¡± Kaspuru said. ¡°But then everyone would know or suspect it was her, and she doesn¡¯t want a diplomatic war between the weavers and the sculptors. It would hinder her influence.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more than that,¡± Autur said. ¡°The weavers are trying to exert their influence on the whole government, and to succeed they need supporters from all the families. They don¡¯t currently have them, because governing families are only loyal to themselves. So they need to infiltrate them by making sure only the people on their side win the contests. Strong rivals like the one that¡¯s coming are an obstacle to their plans.¡± Kaspuru whistled. ¡°Listen to her, she¡¯s the smart one about this stuff.¡± Dan nodded, but he felt uneasy. He had suspected the strays¡¯ missions weren¡¯t anything noble, nothing he¡¯d be proud to help them with. At least they didn¡¯t plan to kill anyone. ¡°We have a reputation as famous bandits,¡± Autur said. ¡°So tough that Mayvaru has tried to kill us multiple times but never succeeded.¡± ¡°And we¡¯re her sworn enemies,¡± Kaspuru said, then chuckled. ¡°Allegedly funded by Aressea¡¯s rivals. After all this time, everyone still believes it.¡± Dan wanted to ask for how long, exactly, they¡¯d been working for Mayvaru, but the group in front of them had stopped. ¡°Tagu, tell us if you spot something,¡± Sibras said. She nodded and jumped onto a treetrunk, immediately starting to climb it up to the lowest branches with the help of her clawed hands. From there, she jumped up, using the tail for balance, allowing herself just a second of calculation before the next jump. After she¡¯d disappeared into the foliage, only the occasional up-and-down movement of the leaves betrayed her presence. Dan thought of how she¡¯d been spying on him for days before she decided to talk to him and shivered. She rushed down after an instant. ¡°Carriage, road north from here. The dust cloud is big.¡± ¡°So it might have an escort,¡± Sibras said. ¡°They most certainly do,¡± Merekis added. They continued north until they came across a barren road dividing the grass between two stretches of forest. Kaspuru and Tagu walked off in two opposite directions to find a spot where the trees were closer to the road. Dan was waiting with everyone else for their return, when a heavy hand on his shoulder made him jump. ¡°Remember what I told you,¡± Autur said, her voice so low it almost sounded like a rumble. ¡°Stay hidden and out of danger, unless we explicitly tell you what to do. Don¡¯t be brave.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± Dan said, eliciting an amused grunt from her. Tagu returned before Kaspuru did, so they chose the area she had found. Dan hid deeper into the woods, on top of a rock hidden by a tree that allowed him to see most of the scene without being spotted. Tagu climbed a tree, this time disappearing into the foliage without reemerging. Sibras, Autur and Kaspuru positioned themselves behind trees at the sides of the road. As much as Dan looked around, he couldn¡¯t see Merekis anywhere. The silence fell on the entire scene. Dan felt the rock¡¯s moss dig under his nails, and at the same time a pang of faint guilt for being so scared when he was the only one doing nothing. Then, a low rumble started approaching from the road. He saw something move between the shapes of the trees. Autur stepped out from her hiding spot and positioned herself at the center of the road. Now the carriage was close enough for Dan to see it: it was being escorted by four people riding green creatures that resembled moving plants. Each of them held something long and metallic. The carriage itself was pulled by two more green beasts with branches at the top of their heads. The small windows to the side were covered by heavy drapes fluttering in the wind. Yells came from the riders, two at the front and two at the back, but Autur didn¡¯t step aside. She lowered her head, then started running toward the riders. One of them swerved to avoid her, while the other one was already out of her range, or so they thought. Autur¡¯s tusks grew until they rivalled with her in height, and with a movement of the head she hooked them to the belly of the creature and pulled. Rider and animal lost balance and fell to the ground. Autur pivoted on herself, bringing a hand to each of her tusks. She broke them with a crack that rocked her head from side to side. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. The other rider was turning around to assist their colleague. They raised an arm to protect themselves, since their armor in that point was thicker. It was made of a gray substance that didn¡¯t shine in the sun, so Dan guessed it was some sort of rock. Autur threw one tusk, then, when the rider moved their arm to deviate it, the second one. It caught the rider on the armored chest, pushing them off their animal. The other one had managed to slither out from under their fallen beast, and approached her with their long weapon. It changed shape as they got closer into something resembling a sword. Autur extracted a huge tusk from a sheath on her back, bigger and thicker than her own had been, sharpened on one side to form a blade. She engaged both of them, their weapons seemingly unable to pierce her thick skin in the rare chances when she moved too slowly to avoid them. The carriage slowed down and the driver found refuge inside. The riders at the back were approaching their colleagues, but Kaspuru and Sibras stepped out of the trees before they could reach Autur. Kaspuru¡¯s two swords cut away a leg of the nearest plant creature, but the rider was already expecting it and jumped down, ready to fight. Sibras was wearing the hood of his cape and holding his weapon, identical to the ones of the riders, but he didn¡¯t need to use it to stop them. He stepped aside and grabbed one of the creature¡¯s horns. It started falling to the side, and Sibras only seemed to pull it toward himself without effort as it progressively crumbled into a mass of foliage and branches. His whiskers shone in the light, moving faster than ever. He managed to swing his weapon at the rider, now shaped like a spear with a long blade at the top, but only obtained to chip their stone armor. Dan wondered how they could even move under that weight, but he imagined the patterns sculpted onto the thicker elements somewhat helped. He discarded that guess when the pauldron of one rider changed shape, growing spikes when Kaspuru stepped too close to it. She managed to elude the attack, so they retracted back into the armor. The next swing put her out of balance, but Autur saw her and threw another one of her tusks to slow down her assailant and allow her to get her bearings. Sibras engaged his adversary in close combat, their weapons turning to swords, to knives, to swords again. The rider managed to block his weapon. They tried to push him away with his shoulder, but Sibras avoided his attack and freed his weapon in one fluid movement. Dan heard the rider¡¯s swearing even from that distance, and realized they had hoped to use the spikes, but they hadn¡¯t appeared. Dan was biting hard onto his lower lip. He was constantly on the verge of yelling something, be it an alert or some encouragement, but Autur had made it clear he could only make the situation worse. So he observed the fight, hoping for it to end soon. The strays were slowly forcing the riders back and away from the carriage. Once the fight was far enough, something dark dropped from a tree onto the carriage¡¯s roof. Tagu crawled up to the border, tail whipping the air from side to side, and stretched out an arm to unlock the door on Dan¡¯s side. The cabin was dark and still mostly covered by a long curtain, so he couldn¡¯t see either the carriage¡¯s driver or the sculptor. Tagu waited a few instants, half-hanging down from the top of the carriage, then moved the curtain aside with a quick gesture. A stream of flames erupted from the inside of the cabin. For a moment, Dan couldn¡¯t see anything other than scorching light engulfing the spot where Tagu¡¯s arm and head had been. He tasted blood, but still managed to not yell. The riders didn¡¯t even look back, while the three remaining strays screamed Tagu¡¯s name. The flames subsided, revealing her crouched figure on top of the carriage. Dan blinked furiously to make sure she wasn¡¯t just a spot in his vision caused by the light. She jumped down on the opposite side just as two people emerged from the carriage. Each of them was holding a vase so big they had to carry it with two hands. Dan could barely see the dark lines on the surface, but he imagined the clay had been sculpted to form more patterns. He wondered how many of them existed. He briefly recalled asking Mor¨¬c that very question, and being told it didn¡¯t work like that. He could see the vases¡¯ open mouths as their wielders turned toward the fighters. One of them, probably the one who had shot fire, was shining with a trembling light, while the other was completely dark but definitely not empty, considering how carefully its wielder advanced. The riders scrambled away from the strays when the two people stepped forward. Kaspuru moved first, stepping diagonally toward the newcomers. The first vase shot another stream of flames, but she managed to avoid it by crouching down and stepping to the side. The other wielder waited until she¡¯d stopped moving, vase pointed at her, then a stream of transparent liquid gushed out of it in an arc. The flames that were still exiting from the first vase flared up, creating a second stream that headed toward Kaspuru. She rolled back, but something must have reached her anyway, because she furiously slapped a patch of her orange fur. ¡°Acid,¡± she screamed. The second wielder sprayed it around, turning on themselves. Autur stepped back, keeping the weapon to her side as if she wanted to protect it from the liquid. Sibras was the only one not to retreat. He only stepped to the side and sprinted forward. The wielders tried to aim both streams at him, but the acid one dwindled before it could reach him, and the flames moved too slowly. He grabbed the vase of acid with one hand, while the other closed around the wielder¡¯s arm. Even if the opening was aimed at his stomach, nothing came out of it. The other wielder realized that something was wrong and stepped away from them. They turned toward Autur, but Kaspuru made a sudden jump forward, so they aimed at her. She rolled to the side, but she was still too close to bring herself out of range. The flames spewed out, straight toward her. Then they stopped. The wielder dropped to the ground. Merekis was standing behind their unconscious body. He seemed to be naked, except maybe for a loincloth the same color as his skin. Dan couldn¡¯t see him well from that distance, and when he blinked, Merekis had disappeared. Sibras took advantage of the distraction to knock out the other wielder. Their vase broke on contact with the ground. Sibras stepped over its remains, heading toward the carriage. One of the riders was laying on the ground, apparently unable to stand. The remaining ones attacked Autur and Kaspuru. They fought back to back, the double swords cutting the air as if wielded by two different people, the tusk forcing the attackers to step back. Tagu stepped out from her hiding spot behind the carriage. She went inside after Sibras. After a few instants, they emerged with a screaming and thrashing figure held between them. The driver followed meekly, as if they didn¡¯t know what to do with themselves. Sibras voice echoed in the clearing, so loud Dan could hear it as if he was standing a few armlengths from him. ¡°We¡¯re clearly stronger. Drop your weapons or we¡¯ll kill all of you.¡± The riders paused the fight, still holding their swords, or spears, or knives. They seemed indecisive, as if expecting an order. One of them stepped toward Sibras, their spear transforming into a long sword. Before they could raise it, Merekis appeared behind them and snaked an arm around their neck. Another arm wrapped around the hand that was holding the sword. Another around their midsection. Dan blinked, wondering if he was seeing well. Merekis seemed to have at least five arms, now, three of which jutted out lower in his chest, almost at belly level. The rider screamed something and let go of their weapon, and when Merekis released him to disappear once again, they dropped to their knees. The others imitated them. Sibras and Tagu allowed the sculptor to kneel as well. ¡°What do you want?¡± they yelled. ¡°For you to return home. Take your fallen colleagues and leave the way you came. We will follow you, so don¡¯t try to use another road or a detour. If you come back, we will know about it, find you, and kill you.¡± The sculptor asked something, with a voice so thin Dan couldn¡¯t distinguish the words. ¡°You won¡¯t participate. Not now, not ever,¡± Sibras answered. There was another exchange of words where the sculptor moved their hands frantically, even trying to grab Sibras¡¯s trousers at some point. He stepped back and repeated his words in a tone of command. In the end, the sculptor seemed to understand: they slowly stood and entered the carriage. The riders left their weapons on the ground and approached their unconscious comrades. They barely managed to fit them inside the vehicle. The driver made the carriage turn, the plant creatures extremely obedient under the movement of the reins despite the fight they had just witnessed. The creatures on the ground didn¡¯t move, so the remaining three riders had to flank the carriage and proceed by foot. It took a bit for the vehicle to go away. The strays stared at it until it disappeared from view, then Tagu climbed a tree, probably to check that the carriage was actually proceeding along the road. Dan stayed hidden, unsure of what to do. Autur and Kaspuru seemed to be talking to each other, while Sibras examined one of the fallen beastplants. Merekis stepped out from behind a tree, wearing his clothes again. ¡°Come out!¡± Dan jumped when something swung in front of his face from the branch above him. Tagu was looking at him upside down. ¡°Everything alright?¡± he asked. The patches of naked skin on her fur seemed the result of a burn, now that he thought about it, but she looked identical to how she had before the fight. ¡°Obviously!¡± she said, and climbed back onto the branch. He walked toward the rest of the group while Tagu followed him by jumping from tree to tree. He stepped onto the road carefully, not knowing what mood to expect after such an intense fight. Autur greeted him by waving a giant arm, while Kaspuru let out a long whistle. ¡°Enjoyed the show?¡± she asked. Dan smiled, but the muscles of his face were too tense to express actual joy. ¡°It was scary,¡± he said. ¡°Oh, hatchling,¡± she stepped closer and ruffled his hair. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ve survived worse.¡± ¡°Worry about yourself,¡± Autur said, the broken tusks moving with her mouth as she spoke. ¡°My goal is to train you so well you¡¯ll be able to participate, next time.¡± That idea was scarier than anything he¡¯d witnessed that day. ¡°Kasp,¡± Sibras called, ¡°Follow the carriage. Make sure they leave for good.¡± Kaspuru nodded and ran along the parallel lines left behind by the passage of the carriage. Autur sat down and extracted a hunting knife from a pocket of her trousers. She started chipping away pieces of her tusks, making them progressively more pointed. Sibras sat down under a tree, and Merekis followed him after a bit. They started talking in a low voice. Dan looked around, but Tagu seemed to have disappeared somewhere else. He prodded with a foot one of the fallen beastplants, then retracted, expecting them to move. ¡°Let me guess, you don¡¯t know what they are?¡± Autur said. She tried sculpting while she talked, but her tusks moved too much, so she was forced to lower the knife to her lap. Dan shook his head. ¡°We didn¡¯t have them at the village,¡± he explained. ¡°We neither, at the forest,¡± she said. ¡°They¡¯re a product of the Golden Lands, even if the base plants come from further away.¡± ¡°Are they animals or plants?¡± ¡°Carnivore plants, fed with cows, horses and other herbivores. Mayvaru can¡¯t control them, that¡¯s why they¡¯re becoming so popular among the few who can afford them.¡± Dan nodded. He left Autur to her tusks and went to sit at the foot of a tree, on the opposite side from Sibras and Merekis. He managed not to get startled when Tagu dropped down next to him. ¡°It was fun,¡± she said. ¡°But now I need to sleep for ten hours.¡± She laid down on her belly, arms tucked under herself. Dan doubted it was a comfortable position to sleep in, but didn¡¯t comment. Merekis suddenly stood, throwing away his clothes to the ground. Dan was about to avert his gaze, but then he noticed the diaphanous membrane and the tentacles jutting out from his midsection and couldn¡¯t tear his eyes away. He used two of them tied together to cover his genitals, while the rest moved independently, folding the clothes neatly under a tree. He noticed Dan staring and produced a smile with a sad quality to it, then closed his eyes and disappeared. Dan kept his eyes peeled on him, resisting the urge to blink. He could still see his trembling shape, a slight distortion of the treetrunks behind him. Merekis moved, and following his shape became even more difficult. He stepped deeper into the woods, and soon Dan wasn¡¯t able to see him anymore. ¡°Where is he going?¡± he whispered, in case Tagu was already asleep. ¡°Merekis left?¡± She turned her head. ¡°Without saying anything? Rude.¡± Dan had already resigned himself to not receiving an answer, when she sat up next to him. ¡°He¡¯s going to the weavers¡¯ palace to get the recompense,¡± she said. Dan held his breath for an instant. He tried to fight back the fog of older, indistinct memories to catch the one of the dinner at Ulres¡¯s house, the last time he¡¯d seen his brother. They had talked about Mayvaru, told them that she worked for the Iraspes. The weavers. ¡°Is Mayvaru there?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Tagu said, cutting the air with her tail as if he had somehow irritated her. ¡°If she went to the Golden Lands, then Beramas will give us the food. But it doesn¡¯t matter who gives us the food, it¡¯s food.¡± He glanced at her, preventing himself to wonder too much about what, exactly, she ate. The previous evening, she¡¯d told the rest of the group that she wanted to look for garbage, then disappeared for a few hours. Kaspuru had chuckled as if her words were an inside joke. ¡°Is there a way we can go with him?¡± he asked. ¡°No, I¡¯ve tried. Sibras says he¡¯s the only one that can go to the palace because nobody sees him, so they don¡¯t know we are connected to Mayvaru.¡± Dan nodded. ¡°What if we try again, next time?¡± he asked. ¡°With my help, maybe we can reach the palace without Merekis noticing.¡± ¡°And Mayvaru? She saw me, last time.¡± ¡°You said she might leave for the Golden Lands. We¡¯ll wait until she¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°And Beramas?¡± ¡°Who is Beramas?¡± Tagu laid down, on her back this time. ¡°He can¡¯t see us from afar,¡± she said, ¡°But Sibras says he¡¯s dangerous.¡± Dan breathed in, then flashed her a large smile. ¡°I bet I can get to the palace before you do.¡± Tagu sprang up, eyes wide. Her pupils narrowed to slits. ¡°No, I will.¡± Dan felt a bit guilty about deceiving her, but if there was a place where he could find his brother, it was the weavers¡¯ palace. His home, or better, Mor¨¬c¡¯s home. ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± he said. 7.12 - Border control Saia waited in line with dozens of other people for the next carriage to arrive. They were larger and longer than the ones she¡¯d seen at the market, connected to the plant creatures that pulled them by thick branches, as if they were part of the same organism. The carriages were the only way to travel from Aressea to the Golden Lands. The only officer one, at least, even if she suspected that Mayvaru¡¯s presence discouraged any alternative. The monster had left the city, at last. It took a bit for Saia to be certain, since she had to rely on the discordant voices of the market. Unsurprisingly, there hadn¡¯t been a public announcement, but Beramas had started showing up more in public, to show that the security was just as tight as before. She thought back at the last couple of days, spent touring the villages that surrounded the city. The river had proven to be an even bigger source of inspiration than the sea, with its giant lizards hiding a finger under the surface and the herds of deer, horses and antelopes stopping at its banks to drink. The complicated patterns of their bodies swam freely inside her glass head. She was grateful they all moved on four legs, which simplified her work a bit. For the moment being, her viserite looked like a series of slate plates piled up inside two long bags of leather that she pretended to carry with great effort. The rest of the block that Ravisu had given her was hanging from her head in the shape of thick tresses piled up on top of each other and falling down to her lower back. She didn¡¯t think that hairstyle suited the current shape of her body at all. The woman had been a neighbour of the abandoned house that she and Serit had inhabited during their stay at Aressea. Even if she resembled Saia enough, she hated not wearing her own face and living in that body that was shorter, thinner and older, even if her strength was the same. She had transformed into her two days prior, both to get used to the different shape and to work on how natural her movements and expressions looked. Serit had left on their own the previous day, on another carriage, choosing a late hour that granted less traffic and less light. They had brought the furs with them, along with a big bribe of striped vissins, in case the guards looked too much at their gray face. All of that in the name of secrecy. They couldn¡¯t rely on Aressea¡¯s crowds anymore to hide themselves, and it was imperative that Mayvaru didn¡¯t know who they were until the moment they met. The next carriage finally arrived, and Saia waded through the crowd to reach its entrance, taking advantage of the fact that normal people couldn¡¯t push away neither her nor her cargo. The vehicle was pulled by four beasts, the driver sitting behind them on a huge knotty protuberance at the front of the carriage. The whole thing seemed to have been carved out of the trunk of an enormous tree. Saia looked for patterns once again, but didn¡¯t find any. She wondered whether the carvers, one of the governing families, were the ones to create those monstruosities, or it was something imported from outside the city. There were two officers inside, with the perennially angry expression of someone who had been discarded from the city guard in favor of rich Arissian offsprings. Saia readied her documents, but they didn¡¯t bother checking them. They looked over the small crowd of passengers as they sat down, barking at the ones that took too much space or invaded the central corridor, an area delimited by two lines of red paint that were supposed to infuse into all of them a vague sense of security. One of the officers was counting under his breath. He stopped at fifty and pushed down the crowd who was still trying to enter. It took a while and the combined effort of both officers to close the doors. The passengers were allowed to open the windows only after the carriage had set into motion. The urgency with which it happened made Saia feel grateful that she wasn¡¯t able to smell anything. She was too far from the windows to look outside, but she could expand her domain past the wall of wood behind herself to get a glimpse of the lands running beside them. The family sitting to her left was conversing in a language that was different from Arissian. She tried to find some similarities with her own, but it felt just as alien as Shiliz¨¦ had been, even if in a distinct way. The members of the family could have been Arissians, they were also wearing the same kind of trousers, but their upper garment had been replaced by a shirt in vegetable fiber with short sleeves and a neckline shaped like a dart pointing to the belly. She regretted not thinking about learning at least one of the languages spoken in the Golden Lands, but she¡¯d been too busy practicing her uncertain Arissian. Besides, there¡¯d been no time to look for one of the rare merchants who came back from the cloud cities with crates of story-bottles. The carriage crossed multiple woods, slowing down only when another vehicle was approaching from the opposite direction. The plant beasts were impassible toward everything around them, they didn¡¯t snap at each other like nervous horses, they didn¡¯t stagger or shake their heads. They were even less entertaining to look at than the endless foliage running by at the sides of the road. Finally, Saia heard the river. She tensed, along with everyone in the room. She remembered Serit¡¯s explanations: the river divided the Arissian territories around the city from the Golden Lands, and as such was heavily guarded. She got confirmation of their words when the carriage slowed down until it stopped. Now the rushing sound of the river was so loud it felt as if they were sitting right on top of it. The officers on the inside yelled at the passengers to make way as they approached the door. As soon as they unlocked it, it was pushed open by a guard. ¡°Come down orderly. Ready your documents and cargo,¡± she yelled to the people inside. The group beside Saia switched from their language to Arissian. She exited behind them, pretending to drag her two bags with a lot of effort, but not so much that she would slow down the line and get yelled at. Outside the carriage, the passengers were being divided into various groups depending on how many things they were carrying with them. Saia looked with envy at the fast-moving queue of the ones who had brought only a bag or backpack. She expanded her domain to listen to the interrogations happening in front of her. The guards opened each bag to examine the contents, that much was expected. She knew what not to carry: no weapons, no artefacts or even patterns drawn on paper without an explicit permission signed by a member of the families, no rare materials. Viserite fell under this category, but Saia was confident about her disguise. She readied her documents, a perfect copy of her neighbour¡¯s, except for some details like name and profession. Teormu had helped her and Serit find someone capable of forging documents, even if it required twice the vissins they had paid for the smell pattern. She could only hope it had been worth it. Most of all, it unnerved her not to know whether Serit had reached Darasa¡¯s ruins unscathed or had been stopped at the border, but the letters travelling in either direction were inspected just as closely as the people. The slow shuffle forward of the queue stopped when someone was dragged away for having an undocumented statue of glass. It was a delicate thing that looked like a tree without leaves. She wondered whether the sinuous branches of different levels of thickness were tracing a pattern of some sort. The shape was a bit different, with a lack of waves and whirls in favor of ample curves. Silence fell onto the scene as the tension raised between guards and passengers. Only the voice of the river dared speak out of order. Saia looked at the bridge that they were supposed to cross: it connected one bank to the other, with another outpost of guards waiting on the other side. Finally, it was her turn. One of the guards opened the first of the bags while a colleague examined her documents. Saia was irritated at the nervousness she was feeling. She could have thrown all of them into the river at the first sign of a problem. Instead, she was forced to answer their questions about her origins and occupation, because even if the guards weren¡¯t dangerous, Beramas certainly was and the city was still too close. The guards raised the first plate inside the bag to check what was hidden underneath. Their colleague handed back the document to Saia, but her hand remained open in front of her as if she was expecting to receive something else. ¡°Documents for the cargo,¡± she said with a bored voice after noticing Saia¡¯s confused look. ¡°It¡¯s mandatory when carrying a huge quantity of material of the same kind.¡± Saia didn¡¯t have them, but that wasn¡¯t the worst part: Serit didn¡¯t have them either, and they had crossed with a whole sack of furs. A wave of buzzing viss washed over her statue as she thought of what to do. She expanded her domain to include the whole outpost, looking for traces of their viss or presence. She found them in a chest full of vissins inside an office that looked like it belonged to some high-level officer. There were no furs, and the small prison at the base of the wooden tower only hosted two people. The smuggler of glass was being pushed in right at that moment. Serit had bribed the guards. Still, Saia couldn¡¯t relax until she had met them at Darasa. She couldn¡¯t afford to relax now either, with an officer yelling at her to immediately produce the documents or get arrested. She only had a few vissins on her, not particularly valuable, so bribing the guards was out of the question. She blinked, realizing she¡¯d been staring ahead without a movement for too long. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Sure, I have them here,¡± she said, then kneeled next to the second bag. The guards tensed, weapons suddenly in hand. Saia briefly considered her possibilities. The first one was to grab the bags and run. They¡¯d have tried to stop her, failed, and as a consequence discovered her nature and fake identity, attracting both Beramas and Mayvaru¡¯s attention. Unless she killed everyone looking, something she didn¡¯t want to even entertain. The second option was allowing them to arrest her, losing her bags for the moment, and breaking out during the night by putting all the guards to sleep and opening the cell. Once awake, they¡¯d be at least confused about whom, exactly, had helped the prisoners escape. But there was the risk they¡¯d bring the bags somewhere else in the meantime, maybe even examined the contents and found them to be viserite, then involved the sculptors and, as a consequence, Beramas. So that left her with a third option: scaring them all to the point they wouldn¡¯t dare call Mayvaru or Beramas. That would have started rumors, at the very least, but starting rumors was the first step of her plan, once inside the Golden Lands. Might as well begin a bit earlier. She changed the content of the bag one instant before opening it. Inside there wasn¡¯t slate anymore, but twelve big eggs. Or so they seemed to the guards, Saia could feel it in their confusion. She had drawn inspiration both from sea snakes and chickens, and as a result they were perfectly round, but with small brown dots here and there on the surface. They were as heavy as stones and full of viserite, of course, but the guards didn¡¯t know that. ¡°These are my documents,¡± she said, imbuing her voice with arrogance. ¡°Mayvaru¡¯s official request: beasts that belong to her. She wanted to carry them with her into the Golden Lands, but they didn¡¯t hatch in time, so they had to send someone to deliver them.¡± That mention of Mayvaru alone was enough to stun most of the guards. Only the one that had asked for her documents seemed able to fight through her shock, enough to ask: ¡°Do you have a document to prove it?¡± ¡°I was told you¡¯d be informed well in advance,¡± Saia replied. ¡°Have you checked your correspondence, officer?¡± Her eyes flared up, but she didn¡¯t dare protest, because if any of what Saia had said was true her whole life and career were on the line. Or so Saia assumed based on her expression. ¡°I¡¯ll go check with my superiors,¡± she said. She started to walk away. Saia needed to stop her: she didn¡¯t have time to lose, not when more carriages could arrive at any moment, more witnesses of her presence there and of her weird cargo. ¡°Look what you did!¡± she yelled, and made the eggs crack. The guards froze. The ones who were taking care of the other groups seemed to notice that the queue behind Saia was becoming a disorganized crowd and approached to yell at them to stand back. In a short time, a clear area was freed around Saia and the four guards in front of her, while the operations continued behind them in a somewhat orderly way. The cracks on the eggs were becoming wider. Saia even made them tremble, the shells raising a bit as if something was pushing from the inside. ¡°This is all your fault for slowing me down,¡± Saia said, pacing in front of the bag as if she didn¡¯t know what to do. ¡°Now they¡¯ve seen the light and are trying to come out. You¡¯ve destroyed my career. But I¡¯ll drag you down with me!¡± She was having a blast, even if she knew it was dangerous to prolong the scene. One of the guards started apologizing, while another one closed the bag with a tug, as if that could stop the eggs from hatching. It worked, of course, because Saia couldn¡¯t afford to waste viss. But she kept pacing and threatening, doing everything she could to raise the guards¡¯ nervousness level without manipulating their viss directly. ¡°Calm down, calm down,¡± the one who had asked for her documents said. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can arrange something. You said you need to reach Mayvaru before the creatures hatch?¡± Saia stopped in her tracks and glared at her. ¡°Yes, how many times do I have to repeat myself?¡± ¡°We can give you one of our vehicles. We use it for emergencies, but I¡¯d say this can be considered one. Just, please: don¡¯t talk about it with lady Mayvaru. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find the messenger responsible for this.¡± Saia stared at her. If her viss could emit a sound, it would have been a thunderous laugh. ¡°That will suffice, I think. If it¡¯s quick enough.¡± The guard¡¯s face and viss were washed over with relief. ¡°I guarantee you it is. You and you,¡± she said, suddenly turning to address her colleagues. ¡°Take the bags and follow me.¡± Saia wanted to protest that she could carry them, but it didn¡¯t fit the image of the high-level officer she had built around herself. So she watched the guards struggling under the weight of the disguised viserite while they all headed toward the wooden tower of the outpost. There were two vehicles behind the structure, tied to the animals through branches. The cabins were considerably smaller even compared to regular carriages. They were only big enough to host two people, apart from the rider that sat in front. He arrived shortly after, blinking as if he¡¯d been just awakened. One guard explained the situation, while another helped Saia enter the vehicle and placed the closed bags under the two seats. ¡°Do you need an escort? We have some personnel to spare,¡± the guard said, looking back at her colleagues as if asking for a volunteer. ¡°If I needed an escort, Mayvaru would have sent someone with me,¡± Saia said. ¡°I was supposed to be discreet.¡± That was enough to make her retreat, while whispering something that sounded like wishes for a good voyage. Saia relaxed when the carriage started moving, wheels and hooves thundering over the wooden bridge. Soon the river disappeared in the distance, and the woods gave way to open fields. Saia realized she hadn¡¯t told the driver where to go, but he proceeded quickly. The garland carved in the wood above his head, symbol of the city, was a shield against any possible attack. Saia thought he must have known where Mayvaru was, everyone probably knew if her trips were frequent enough. She deactivated her vision to check the map imprinted in her memory: there was a thick forest close to Darasa, even if the road they were currently on curved away from it. She kept her domain expanded to look for trees. If she focused on the link that connected her to Serit, she could feel whether she was moving closer or further away. At first, the name of the Golden Lands had made her think of a rocky countryside full of quarries for the extraction of shiny metals. The truth couldn¡¯t have been more different: the fields of wheat had taken on a golden tinge in the summer light, covering hills for towerlengths on end in every direction. The road traced the crest of one such hill, allowing her to admire the fields from above. She was surprised by what she saw: the plants didn¡¯t follow the perfect rows that characterized the fields back at the mountain, or even the ones she¡¯d seen around Aressea. They traced spirals and waves, whirls and vortexes. They looked like patterns. She observed them, wondering what it was all for. There was plenty of space between one branch and the next that could easily fit more plants. The layout seemed inefficient, almost a waste. She was pretty sure it wasn¡¯t even possible to activate those patterns by pushing viss into them. She didn¡¯t have time to wonder much longer: the carriage was proceeding fast thanks to the enormous strength of the two beastplants that pulled it, each step creaking and rustling like a falling tree. The road descended, snaked between two golden hills, and then started a wide curve despite the empty space. Saia saw trees in the distance, felt the trickle of viss that was leaving her sphere decrease in volume. The ruins were close. She grabbed the bags, moving with inhuman balance. She considered asking the driver to stop, then making him fall asleep and leave quietly, but it would have revealed where she was directed. Much better to disappear without alerting anyone. She left the few vissins she had in her pockets under her seat, then opened the door on the forest¡¯s side and jumped down. She let herself roll on top of the road, slowing down her fall with winds but not breaking it completely, because she¡¯d learned at Irim¨¦ze that it required too much viss. Her statue cracked and broke in places, but the sound was covered by the noise of the beasts and the stones crunched under the carriage¡¯s wheels. She only stopped once she was surrounded by wheat, and waited until the sound of hooves had completely subsided. The rider didn¡¯t slow down nor seem to notice anything. She still waited a bit, in case he turned to look, then came out of her hiding spot and set out to repair her statue with the pieces that had detached. Not even a fragment of viserite was left on the road when she finally hung a bag to each shoulder and started running toward the forest. It was a good towerlength away, but she didn¡¯t need to enter or even cross it to get to the ruins. She only ran around the perimeter toward the east, until she saw the top of a collapsed building emerging from behind a small hill. Darasa hadn¡¯t probably been as big as Aressea, but it was certainly taller. Even if the buildings had crumbled onto each other, their ruins were as high as the lowest palace of the capital. The architecture she could glimpse under the layer of vines and infesting plants was also different, square and decorated with geometric patterns instead of the round and smooth Arissian style. She admired the ruins for a bit before entering. She chose to step through a half-collapsed arc as if it was a doorway, despite the empty space on either side. It did feel like entering a room or a temple, since everything past that point was shrouded in silence. She expanded her domain to look for Serit, but felt other lives at the edges of her consciousness and shrunk it back. Of course the ruins were inhabited by plenty of animals, from birds to normal rats. Now that Mayvaru was somewhere inside the Golden Lands, she had to be careful about not betraying herself. So she proceeded in silence, determined to find Serit based on sight alone. She crossed a yard covered in tall grass, heading toward a road. She saw too late that it was blocked by a pile of broken stones, fallen pieces of a building that was now laying on the ground. A long rod of metal jutted out from the top. She followed it with her eyes until she found the opposite end: a triangular point that opened like the claws of an owl, each planted deep into the rock. She crossed a hall that had once been the lower floor of a building, but its ceiling was for one half made of foliage and half of open sky. There was another weapon planted in the ground, a dart taller than her that had created deep cracks in the marble pavement. The biggest pieces were missing, probably the work of thieves that had arrived at some point during the centuries and found nothing better to steal. Beyond the hall there was a square, sectioned into three parts by two buildings that had fallen at the same time, one against the other. The darts at each of their bases were even bigger than the others Saia had seen. The buildings had met in the middle and now waited suspended, the ivy slowly tying them together. Saia followed their perimeter, resisting the urge to yell Serit¡¯s name. Then a person appeared from a pile of debris behind her. She slowed down but kept walking, amused at how the man was standing without protection, so certain she couldn¡¯t spot him. He was wearing a hat with a triangular brim and holding a weapon made of a piece of wood with the extremities tied by a string, dart aimed at her back. ¡°Turn around slowly and state your name,¡± he said. Saia considered ignoring him. How confused he would be, expecting to scare her and not even obtaining a reaction. But Serit was very close and that man could know where they were, so she stopped and turned as slowly as possible. She even feigned a shocked expression. ¡°Who are you?¡± she asked. 7.13 - The ruins The stranger moved the weapon up and down, still pointing it at Saia. ¡°I¡¯m the one who makes questions. Who are you?¡± She didn¡¯t have time for that: she could see movement among the rocks, she knew the rats were there even without feeling them. Mayvaru could be listening right at that moment. A twang interrupted the silence, and the debris crumbled a bit, a dart jutting out. The movement had stopped: one rat had been killed, while the rest had dispersed. The stranger extracted another dart and rearmed his weapon. ¡°So?¡± he said, completing the operation without looking down. ¡°Start talking.¡± Saia was reminded of her meeting with Beramas. How ridiculous her threats must have seemed to him. ¡°Shoot me,¡± she said. ¡°What?¡± the stranger asked. ¡°I have no intention of giving you my actual name, and any other information we would exchange would be a lie. So shoot me.¡± He stared at her for one more second. He didn¡¯t advertise his intentions with a change of expression or a gesture: there was just another twang, then the dart was flying in the air. Saia slowed it down with a barrier of wind, then pushed it away with her hand once it was close enough. She didn¡¯t want him to know exactly what she was capable of. The stranger pointed the newly-armed weapon at her, almost out of habit. ¡°So that gray-faced bastard was right. You are powerful.¡± Saia advanced toward him. To his credit, he didn¡¯t retract. ¡°Lead me to them,¡± she said. ¡°I hope for your sake you haven¡¯t killed them.¡± The stranger turned to descend from the opposite side of the pile of debris. With the extra viserite dragging her down, Saia sunk to her knee at each step. They finally touched the barren earth, then the stranger led her toward another fallen building. Behind the structure, there was a series of large stairs leading into the ground, to a monumental square opening flanked by two statues. Their heads had fallen down, lost under a nearby mountain of debris that hid half of the opening, precarious enough to look like it could crumble and seal off the inside at any moment. The stranger crossed the narrow entrance, stepping into the darkness beyond. Saia could see a long corridor in the stone, the walls interrupted by more square openings on either side. The man moved as surely as she did despite the lack of light, keeping close to the left wall without needing to touch it to know it was there. There were stairs at the end of the main corridor, going down for so long Saia couldn¡¯t see their end. But there was no need to go that far: once they had reached the third-to-last series of openings, she spotted a faint light coming at the end of a lateral corridor. ¡°Serit?¡± she called out, making the stranger jump. The word reverberated inside the structure. The only answer was the sound of something shifting at the end of the corridor. Saia pushed past the stranger and accelerated toward the light. Serit was sitting in a corner in front of a dying fire. Their head was uncovered and a rag was tied over their mouth, preventing them from speaking. Their hands were tied as well, behind their back. They started mumbling something in a high-pitched voice while Saia was bending down to untie them. The knots were so tight she had to use one of her winds to cut the cloth. As soon as they were free, Serit started coughing. Saia patted their shoulder and stood. ¡°Did he hurt you?¡± she asked, nodding toward the stranger. Serit stared at him, as if wondering what to answer. ¡°No,¡± they said in the end. ¡°A bit, to tie me. And I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯d have killed me if I didn¡¯t reveal I was a shilv¨¦.¡± Saia looked at the man. He had the decency to step back and raise his weapon. ¡°But he¡¯s one of the hunters,¡± Serit added. ¡°So we need him, I suppose.¡± Saia nodded. She sat down next to them and pointed at the ground on the other side of the fire. ¡°Sit, we have a few questions for you.¡± The hunter stared back at her, then seemed to realize he had no choice and obeyed. He held the weapon horizontally, the string relaxed between his fingers. ¡°They said you want to fight Mayvaru,¡± he started before Saia could speak. ¡°Is that true?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Stopping projectiles is not enough to defeat her.¡± Saia didn¡¯t think she could get more irritated at him than she already was, but each of his words proved her wrong. ¡°Whatever,¡± he said, breaking the silence that had fallen after his last sentence. ¡°Since you¡¯re so strong, I¡¯ll indulge you. If monsters destroy each other, it¡¯s an easier life for normal people.¡± ¡°Did you just put me in the same category as Mayvaru?¡± Saia asked, lowering her voice to the point it could belong to someone else, someone feral. It was the hunter¡¯s turn to stay quiet and stare. ¡°Why don¡¯t we start from the beginning?¡± Serit said, their voice starting out as forcefully cheerful, then ending on a tired note. ¡°He¡¯s Caydras. He¡¯s been hiding here since Mayvaru defeated his group. The other survivors escaped long ago, he¡¯s the only one that remained here, in their base. That¡¯s all I managed to dig out of him. What do you want to ask, Saia?¡± ¡°Why did you fight her?¡± she asked. ¡°Despite knowing who she is?¡± Caydras lowered his weapon even more, until the tip of the dart touched the floor. ¡°I can¡¯t speak for all of them. We had different reasons for doing our job, like money or glory or hate. But we all agreed that monsters like Mayvaru can only survive eating people, so they should all die. They were animals, then they tasted a bit of human flesh, felt a sparkle of intelligence, and refused to go back to the oblivion they deserve. We had the skill to send them back into it, so we used it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you¡¯re even alive,¡± Serit said. ¡°Why did you stay here? Why didn¡¯t Mayvaru kill you?¡± The man lowered his head so much that his expression disappeared behind the large brim of his hat. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°She keeps me here. She sends some of her creatures every once in a while so I can hunt and eat, even if they try to kill me if I¡¯m not alert.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Because she enjoys torturing me. And because I¡¯m useful in case one of the beast people she controls gets ideas of grandeur. There was a donkey, once, who was gaining popularity by speaking against her. Much easier to send someone like me than risk ruining her reputation.¡± He adjusted his hat, revealing a lost gaze aimed at the embers. ¡°And I¡¯m her emergency food, I guess. She¡¯ll consume me like a snack once I¡¯m not useful anymore.¡± Saia felt a bit guilty for thinking so harshly of him. ¡°What was your plan?¡± she pushed herself to ask. ¡°What went wrong?¡± ¡°Our plan was nothing special. She couldn¡¯t be ambushed, so we just decided to hit her with everything we had, digging a tunnel through her animals until we could reach her. But we had prepared well. We built new weapons crafted from the darts left here at the ruins by the cloud bastards. We even convinced the blacksmiths to give us some of their experimental weapons.¡± ¡°Do you still have them?¡± Serit asked. Caydras glared at them. ¡°No. After everything ended, the blacksmiths claimed we¡¯d stolen all of it and took them back, even the ones we had created. As for what went wrong¡­ Everything, of course. We were doomed since the beginning and we didn¡¯t even know the extent of it.¡± ¡°The animals were too powerful?¡± Saia guessed. ¡°No, but they were too many. Even then, our resources might have been enough if it wasn¡¯t for those damn rats. At least we forced her to reveal that they existed, otherwise she¡¯d still be keeping them as her secret weapon. They came out from below, with the moles. Most of our weapons required viss to work, so we were massacred.¡± A rippling tension crossed his face. ¡°The worst part is that she wasn¡¯t even there. She flooded us with her animals and stepped away, and at some point during the fight we couldn¡¯t see her anymore. She killed us from afar. It was all hopeless.¡± Saia exchanged a glance with Serit. They scratched their arm between bicep and shoulder, a clumsy way to convey the word powerful. She was reminded of their warning about not underestimating Mayvaru and nodded. ¡°So that¡¯s it, then?¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t want to minimize your pain, but we¡¯re about to risk our lives as well, so any suggestion you have might help us win. And if we succeed you¡¯ll be free, right?¡± He looked at her for a long time. She noticed that the weapon was still balanced across his tights, but he wasn¡¯t touching the string anymore. ¡°We took notes about her animals, before attacking. The majority of them have powers, so we wanted to know what we were dealing with in advance. You can consult them, but I won¡¯t give them away without a fight: they¡¯re all it remains of many of my friends.¡± He quieted suddenly, as if saying that word out loud scared him. Saia wondered how old he was: he seemed to be at least fifty, but she wouldn¡¯t have been surprised to hear he was younger. ¡°My memory is strong,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll just need to read them a few times.¡± He set the weapon aside and stood, leaving the pale circle of light for the corridors. Saia imagined he had all but disappeared to Serit¡¯s eyes, but she could still see him until he turned a corner. ¡°What¡¯s this place, anyway?¡± she asked in a quiet voice. ¡°A vault, I think,¡± Serit said. ¡°I¡¯m surprised it hasn¡¯t collapsed yet.¡± Saia was reminded of Caydras¡¯s words. ¡°So the weapons outside are a gift from your people, uh?¡± They nodded, but didn¡¯t elaborate. Caydras returned fairly quickly, without a sound. He was holding a thick book with two hands, the weapon strapped to his back. As he got closer, Saia saw that the pages were bound in smaller stacks held between the leather folds of the cover, but not tied to them. ¡°Here, handle them carefully.¡± Saia took the book, pressing down on the cover to prevent the stack of papers from flying around. She skimmed them: they didn¡¯t have drawings, except for some details here and there like the shape of the muzzle, tail or horns of a specific animal, but at least the descriptions were long and detailed. They were organized into sections, one of which was titled ¡®weak points¡¯. Saia wondered which other parts of an animal could be weak besides its legs and neck. But the notes were extremely specific, like ¡®behind the left ear¡¯ or ¡®at the base of the tail¡¯. Most of the animals¡¯ ¡®weak points¡¯ sections were empty. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± she asked Caydras, pointing. ¡°It¡¯s to block their powers. Most of them are just guesses.¡± Saia held her finger on the page, waiting for him to elaborate. ¡°It¡¯s a bit how you defeated the rebels the first time they tried to kidnap me,¡± Serit said. ¡°They were using a tattoo not to fall asleep. It stopped working when you cut it.¡± Saia nodded, mentally shuddering at the memory. ¡°Well, the animals have patterns running inside their bodies, like all of us,¡± Serit continued. ¡°The ones with powers can instinctively change the course of part of their viss to obtain another pattern with a set effect. But if you damage the body parts through which that pattern flows, it won¡¯t work anymore. Right?¡± They looked at Caydras, and he nodded. ¡°So if I hit them there¡­¡± Saia began, but trailed off. The problem wasn¡¯t where to hurt the animals, she had enough strength to destroy them as soon as she got a hold of them. The problem was expanding her domain enough to reach them, with all the viss-eating rats Mayvaru had at disposal. She skimmed some more pages, taking in the descriptions. She recognized some of the animals that had accompanied Mayvaru when she¡¯d met her for the first time. The reddish ones were called raccoons, apparently: they had been imported from a land on the other side of the world, and were usually gray. Mayvaru¡¯s raccoons could eat anything, and their weak points were unknown. The beavers, instead, could bend branches and trees. They had been modified during the experiments of the Dulrir¡¯s clan. Their weak point was at the base of the tail. Then there was the gray bull. Another creation of the Dulrir¡¯s, that had mixed it up with another creature that came from the other side of the sea, a black and white herbivore with a short trunk. They were suspected to have powers, since their fur was an unnatural color for the species, but the hunters hadn¡¯t discovered what they were. The mentions of the Dulrirs increased the more Saia read. ¡°Why did you work for people that created monsters, as you call them?¡± she asked Caydras. He shrugged. ¡°As long as they didn¡¯t try to become human, they weren¡¯t a danger. Besides, we didn¡¯t know we¡¯d have to fight against them, after the beastforgers¡¯ tragedy.¡± Saia nodded. She closed the notes, with the intention of examining them better later. There was also the question of where, exactly, it would be better to fight Mayvaru. The forest was a candidate, the ruins another. Both provided too many hiding spots for the rats, but at least inside Darasa there were plenty of structures Saia could collapse on top of whatever horde of animals Mayvaru would unleash. ¡°What happened to this place?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯m not a historian. I only know that it was attacked by the Arissians centuries ago, or maybe millennia? I don¡¯t know. They stole all of their riches and used them to build Aressea as it is today. The Golden Lands have been in decline ever since, even before the invasion.¡± ¡°So why are there shilv¨¦ weapons around?¡± Caydras frowned at that word, but the question wasn¡¯t aimed at him. Serit sighed. ¡°You¡¯re not going to let me get away with it, are you? If it really happened that long ago, most of the cloud cities were going through a piracy phase.¡± Saia snorted out loud. ¡°That¡¯s what your textbooks call it?¡± ¡°Story-bottles. They were stealing resources from the lands below out of necessity, at least at the beginning. Because the spirits had abandoned us, and they were the ones visiting the land.¡± ¡°And ¡®stealing resources¡¯ includes destroying buildings?¡± ¡°Yes, if they contain them or are connected to a defence system. The strategy was sending a dart first, to disrupt, and then a grapple or net to gather resources. The loot was only sorted out at the end. But I bet most of the destruction you¡¯ve seen was the Arissians¡¯ fault.¡± Saia glared at them, and they retracted a bit. ¡°I¡¯m not saying my people were innocent, I¡¯m just describing what they used to do.¡± ¡°Used to,¡± Saia repeated in a flat voice. ¡°What made you stop?¡± ¡°The major cities put up protections. Patterns that created barriers, physical shields over the cities, some of them even trained sprites to attack us in the skies. Eventually commerce became more profitable, so we abandoned piracy. Most of us, at least.¡± Saia thought of the attacks on the mountain, but didn¡¯t feel like arguing. ¡°On the plus side,¡± Serit said. ¡°The weapons here are very old, the kind I had to study at the beginning of my career. I bet I can find the launchers around, since sometimes they detached after shooting a certain amount of darts.¡± They shook their head with a light smile on their lips, as if it was unfathomable for a modern weapon to behave in such an unreliable way. ¡°I bet I can do something with them. Maybe a portable version, or one that can attack from afar¡­¡± Saia thought about the plan. If Serit was actually able to create that kind of weapon, there was something else they could try against Mayvaru. But they wouldn¡¯t have liked it, so she kept the thought to herself. She tapped the book of notes to get Caydras¡¯s attention. ¡°Thank you for everything. We¡¯ll only stay here to memorize this, then we¡¯ll be on our way. We could bring the fight to the ruins in the next days, but we¡¯ll stay away from your hiding spot.¡± ¡°No, please, bring her in range,¡± he answered, grabbing the weapon and mock-aiming it at the ceiling. ¡°I¡¯ll be glad to help you.¡± Saia nodded, thinking she¡¯d have avoided that, in case Mayvaru took him hostage. Still, she was glad to have people like him or Teormu to help her. It made her feel like her plan wasn¡¯t that crazy, after all. 7.14 - Calculations It was the end of just another meeting, the tenth since Aili¡¯s unexpected encounter with the abbot. She was listening with just a marginal portion of her attention, while the rest of her was engrossed in yet another experiment involving viss. She felt a tiny bit of guilt about wasting it, so she only worked with a tiny bit of her total energies. She followed a strict procedure, each step carefully cataloged on a sheet of paper with her uncertain handwriting. First, she took a fragment of the material she was currently analyzing, noted the dimensions - usually smaller than a grain of sand - and filled it up with all the viss it could hold on its surface. It wasn¡¯t a straightforward endeavor, because some materials had much more surface than expected; she learned to hate limestone for all its small holes. Once she was done, she noted how many days of her viss the fragment could hold, then proceeded with a smaller one. The stacks of paper were hidden behind a heavy green curtain inside the temple. She¡¯d hung it between two semi-columns to section off a small area from the rest. She¡¯d briefly considered the ethical matter of seeking privacy from Suimer¡¯s citizens while they couldn¡¯t obtain it from her, but she just added it to the pile of things she wasn¡¯t supposed to be doing. Besides, they could always search her private corner while she was temporarily deactivated. The sound of chairs scraping on the wooden boards of the gym-turned-library alerted her that the meeting was wrapping up. As usual no decision was taken, nobody advanced new ideas, the only thing everyone agreed with was keeping the gods deactivated and the holders full. Aili was fine with that: the thought of what could have happened at the village a few nights before while she was away still haunted her. She could still see and feel monks lurking outside of the walls. She¡¯d been lucky that the pattern for the explosions had worked, that two volunteers had agreed to hang over the void for hours and risk being involved in the mayhem, but she was under no illusions it would have worked a second time. The monks would have adjusted, if she was ever so foolish to leave the village again. Not doing anything risky was the right choice, and Rabam could brood, mope and spread guilt on every surface he touched all he liked. She finished up her last experiment for the day while the council member designated to deactivate her left the table and started climbing up the road to the temple. Nobody enjoyed that task, both due to the fatigue and the bad memories the place evoked, but they all agreed to leave the shard on a neutral ground where it could be easily found in case of necessity. A small group of trustworthy guards kept watch over her sphere and shard day and night, in case of attempted theft. Aili was grateful for that: every once in a while, she noticed groups of people aggregate in the area of the temple, even if they never spoke or gestured about anything important while she was awake. In fact, they never gestured at all. She had suspected they were the pious Saia had talked about even before Lada confirmed it to her with a voice so sharp it could have been a hiss. ¡°Whatever they do or say, don¡¯t trust them.¡± Which wasn¡¯t difficult for Aili to do, because she¡¯d stopped interacting with much of anyone, aside from sporadic speeches during the meetings and brief chats with Rabam. The memory of her conversation with Dore had resurfaced violently and floundered on the surface of her mind until she¡¯d granted it a big portion of her attention. It had all started when Rabam had mentioned the crater room. The only topic in common between both conversations seemed to be the disposal of corpses. She wished she could ask Dore for clarifications, but she didn¡¯t know where he or Lorin were, nor whether they were still alive. She still had hope, since they hadn¡¯t been replaced yet: the monks still occupied part of the neighboring villages, and she didn¡¯t feel any other presence against her domain. All she knew was that funerary rites varied wildly around the mountain: in some villages burying was the most common procedure, cremation in others. Some people sunk the corpses into the sea or left them as far into the forest as the inhabitants dared to go, where she suspected the monks had a hand in disposing of them more than the animals did. In the end, it came down to the personal preference of the deceased and their families. Monks, apparently, used to bury their dead, then started burning them and dumping the ashes into the crater, apparently to preserve the infinitesimal amount of viss left in their remains. The only exception were criminals, whose heads were cut off and the blood drained into the crater as the ultimate sign of spite, as Rabam had told her in details. Aili couldn¡¯t understand why they did that when they could just as easily scatter the ashes inside the forest. The average monk could maybe consider it a purely spiritual custom, but the abbot and priors certainly knew better. She was mulling over those facts while putting away the material for her experiments, when her mind conjured the image of a giant hole inside the mountain, filled to the brim with ash from centenary corpses, every particle covered in viss. ¡°Rabam,¡± she called him, without bothering to hide the panic in her voice. ¡°Come to the temple.¡± He was returning home, or rather, to the house he shared with twelve other people, some of the unlucky inhabitants that had seen their houses being buried by a wall of debris. Rabam turned around at the entrance and immediately started the climb toward the temple, almost in a run. He briefly stopped to inform the council member that was supposed to deactivate Aili that he would take care of that instead, then rushed away without waiting for an answer. He only slowed down after entering Aili¡¯s makeshift tent, under the surprised gaze of the two guards on duty. But Aili¡¯s sphere was still on the pedestal between them, her light still golden, so they didn¡¯t stop him. While she¡¯d been waiting for Rabam to arrive, Aili had managed to fill a sheet of recycled paper with a web of calculations. She made it fly toward his hands. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Check it. Tell me I¡¯m not crazy.¡± He began uttering a sound of protest, but it was cut short by his heaving breath. In the end, he seemed to decide that he didn¡¯t have energies to spend arguing and sat down on the floor with the sheet in front of him, muttering numbers. ¡°As far as I can tell, it¡¯s correct,¡± he said in the end. ¡°What is it for?¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not all ash,¡± Aili said, her relief echoing all around the temple. She wanted to move on to her next theory, but she needed to ask Rabam some questions and he didn¡¯t seem keen to answer them without first receiving an explanation. ¡°Remember that time when I talked to Dore?¡± she asked, then proceeded without waiting for an answer. ¡°I thought about it and wondered if all the viss in the mountain was, maybe, stored inside ash? As if the monks had burned some thousand people at some point in the past and are still using their remains to create gods.¡± Rabam opened his mouth, but Aili continued without giving him the chance to utter a sound. ¡°But it¡¯s impossible. I know exactly how much viss an average speck of ash can hold, and even if the mountain was filled with it, it wouldn¡¯t be nearly enough to create eight gods, let alone all the ones who have existed until today. And the crater is a lot smaller than the mountain, otherwise there wouldn¡¯t be enough space for your¡­ the monks¡¯ village, I mean.¡± She paused, more to collect her thoughts than to wait for an answer. After the immobility of the last few days, they were rushing so fast she was finding it hard to keep up. ¡°Why did you even think that in the first place?¡± Rabam asked. ¡°I just¡­ Nevermind, listen: the room you talked about. Does it have a hole that leads into the crater? Like an actual, physical hole, not a metaphor or a tunnel or something else?¡± Rabam glanced around the makeshift room in confusion, as if noticing all the stacks of sheets for the first time. ¡°Yes, as far as I know.¡± ¡°How big is it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I was never allowed inside. But a monk should be able to enter the crater and fix whatever problem might happen, so¡­ Big enough to allow a person through?¡± While he was speaking, Aili started another series of calculations on a sort-of-fresh sheet of paper. ¡°You said it¡¯s deep enough that a god situated inside the village might not reach it with their domain,¡± she said. ¡°How come?¡± ¡°Well, it depends on where their sphere is, of course. The rooms aren¡¯t all on the same level, and the craters¡¯ room is the lowest. If a god is near enough to include it, they¡¯re probably leaving out some of the upper rooms, plus the lake and most of the outposts. If the goal is to protect the village, it wouldn¡¯t make sense to leave out those places just to include the crater¡¯s room. It doesn¡¯t have anything special, just¡­ a hole.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t fear sabotage?¡± ¡°There are sentinels inside and it¡¯s on top of the crater: it¡¯s a long fall to the bottom if you enter unprepared, and I expect any rope long enough to reach it would be locked up somewhere safe. If it even exists.¡± Aili stopped writing with her winds, the stick of graphite rolling off the page. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why Saia didn¡¯t mention anything about it.¡± Rabam shrugged. ¡°Maybe she didn¡¯t see it?¡± ¡°She found the shards room, though.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s different. I mean, I don¡¯t know where it is, but it¡¯s supposed to be so far away from the village that it would be outside of a god¡¯s domain no matter where they are. And at the same time, it has to be connected to the village so that it can be reached by the sentinels. The crater room isn¡¯t so far away, it¡¯s situated near the other rooms, just¡­ Beneath them.¡± Aili tried to imagine what it must have been like for Saia to observe the village from inside and from above at the same time. She imagined the rooms, the corridors bending and twisting to reach them all. The incline, when it existed, was never steep, but it kept going for a while, resulting in several rooms juxtaposed with each other, on different levels. Normal-looking rooms, to live or work in, with the crater room beneath them, not hidden but not advertised either, just enough out of reach to guess its presence without seeing what happened inside. Then, a corridor shooting off into the distance, no end in sight despite the size of her domain. It would have definitely caught all of her attention too. Especially at the beginning, when the all-around vision of the spheres was still new and confusing. ¡°And as I said,¡± Rabam added, ¡°that room has nothing special. Just¡­¡± ¡°A hole,¡± Aili concluded in his place. Just a hole, but it was the key to everything. ¡°Follow my reasoning,¡± she said. ¡°Tell me if something feels off.¡± Rabam left the sheet aside and sat more comfortably, legs splayed in front of him. ¡°If my calculations are correct,¡± Aili began, pushing the most recent ones into his hands, ¡°The viss inside the mountain should be anchored to something. If it wasn¡¯t, and it floated around like mine does, it would disperse a bit or completely every time the hole gets opened, for any reason. That¡¯s why it¡¯s sufficient to crack a sphere to immediately kill the god it contains. The viss could be anchored to the walls and floor, but the calculations show that there¡¯s just not enough surface for all of that energy, even considering an ideal material and a bigger chamber.¡± She waited for Rabam to examine her notes. He nodded, and she took it as a sign she could go on. ¡°So the only possible conclusion is that there¡¯s something in there, an object or objects that contains or otherwise anchors the viss. I don¡¯t know what it is, but I could maybe guess the material it¡¯s made of after some more experiments.¡± Rabam looked at the sheet for a few seconds, his eyes unmoving. When he spoke, his voice was slow and careful. ¡°Interesting, but why is it so important?¡± ¡°Dore,¡± Aili said as if it was an explanation by itself, then forced herself to slow down her thoughts and actually produce one. ¡°He knew things about animal people that he wasn¡¯t supposed to know, like that some of them ate animals that don¡¯t exist around the mountain. He was very secretive about his resources, so it made me think¡­ what if he didn¡¯t use books, but whatever are the objects inside the mountain? The viss they hold must be ancient. What if he was authorized to access them, and somehow knew how to read the viss, and thus discovered what happened when the villages were founded? Or even earlier than that?¡± She paused for a few instants to let her words settle in both of their minds. ¡°If we could access those objects and read their viss, we could discover the whole truth about the monks. About how all of this came to be.¡± Rabam¡¯s eyes were wide and unfocused, as if he was imagining which truths they might find. ¡°Right, and then¡­¡± He trailed off, his enthusiasm slowly subsiding. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s interesting and all, but¡­¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t help us with our current problems, no.¡± ¡°Unless you want to proceed with Saia¡¯s plan. Tell everyone the truth.¡± Aili¡¯s light flickered with mental exhaustion. ¡°Discussing what to do among us is pointless,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ll talk about our discovery at the next meeting. Let¡¯s fight about our disagreements there, where everyone can hear the arguments.¡± Rabam smiled a bit, even if his downcast eyes were half-closed with bitterness. ¡°Let¡¯s,¡± he said, then went to deactivate her. 7.15 - Wheat Saia approached the village alone, even if nobody looking in her direction would have agreed with that assessment: her small army of statues advanced with her. She made all of them step forward at the same time, since she was still far enough that any realistic movement would have been a waste of viss and focus. Even after days of planning, she was still wondering whether she¡¯d chosen the right animals: she had a few Arissian sheepdogs, a couple of smaller creatures like cats and squirrels, a small pack of antelopes with long horns, two crocodiles, and three creatures that looked like mixtures of all of them, with horns, hooves, long tails and protruding teeth. She had added them in the slim hope they would attract Mayvaru¡¯s curiosity, despite Serit¡¯s skepticism. All of the viserite that hadn¡¯t gone into shaping the bigger creatures contributed to the flock of birds that covered her head and shoulders and rested on the back of the antelopes. For the moment, they appeared to rest with their heads under their wings. The truth was that she was already using too much viss to move the other animals to worry about the birds as well. She was fine with people thinking they were just ornaments. She tried to quell her anxiety by reminding herself that she could change any of the animals into a different species in a heartbeat, even if that risked revealing her nature to everyone. Besides, it¡¯d have been complicated to find a different shape that would fit the furs draped around every animal: she had changed the viserite to match their color, so it wasn¡¯t immediately visible where the statue ended and the fur began, but a change would have disrupted the illusion and possibly revealed the pattern sculpted on each animal¡¯s back. She couldn¡¯t feel its smell, but Serit had reassured her that it was immediately recognizable as that of an animal. She¡¯d sculpted the pattern on a piece of viserite and activated it at the market, and the alarmed reactions of all the dogs in the area seemed to prove them right. She¡¯d followed Teormu¡¯s suggestion when deciding where to place the patterns, but it had been worth it: every time she infused the animals with her viss to make them move, the flux activated the pattern too, without her having to focus on it. A crucial advantage, since the only resource she required more than viss was concentration, at least when it came to fighting Mayvaru. But for now, she only needed to spread rumors. She stopped right outside the village to observe the houses. During her voyage in the cart, she hadn''t wondered why she could see endless fields but no houses, until Serit had pointed out that there were villages nearby. They were mostly invisible from afar, except for the small shapes of people moving in the distance. The houses were painted the same color as the surrounding land: golden, gray and green. A woven roof covered all of them, as if the village was made of just one building. It hid them from above, from shilv¨¦ attacks. She wondered how frequent they were in those lands. The few people around in the heat of the late morning retreated when she approached. She still marched on, the animals in an ordered formation behind her. She caught glimpses of dark hair mostly without curls, skin tones that ranged from tanned to medium brown, hostile eyes. They looked similar to the Arissians she''d met, even if Aressea was much more hetherogeneous due to the people arriving from the sea. They wore the same kind of trousers, but the upper garment was more often than not a long shirt that covered shoulders and navel. Most of them didn''t look at her, but she could see the hostility in the ones who did. She guessed that the animals reminded them of Mayvaru, their worst enemy. Spreading rumors about a person that seemed to have her same powers was the entire point of Saia''s presence in the village, so she strolled on with a high chin, as if inviting further scrutiny. It helped that she was still wearing her neighbor''s face, even without the mane of hair. The clothes were of poor quality, but Arissian. The bag was the only thing in her attire that could have made her recognizable, but she doubted Mayvaru had paid any attention to it. Besides, it was so full at the moment that the original shape was unrecognizable. She reached what could be considered the central square of the village, even if the houses were so close to each other that it just looked like the intersection of a web of alleys. She stopped, surrounded by her animals. Undoubtedly the news of her presence was already spreading, but she doubted Mayvaru would have considered it worthy of intervention. She could have sent her animals to investigate, maybe even some soldiers or officers, but it was unlikely she''d come herself, and that was exactly what Saia needed. Her plan was to leave a trail of rumours that connected that general area to the ruins, where everything was ready for the fight. Then, she¡¯d have waited for Mayvaru¡¯s arrival. She was still prepared to deal with her at any moment, but she needed to aim for the most ideal conditions if she wanted a good chance to win. With her arrival at the village, the bait was ready: Mayvaru was a unique creature, but soon she''d have learnt of the presence of another powerful being with her same powers, controlling animals she couldn''t get a hold of. And not only this creature was human, without the powers of Arissian sheepdogs, but she was on the territory that Mayvaru was supposed to protect. The only thing left for Saia to do was to give a demonstration of her might, but not in a way that was aggressive or destructive, or she risked Beramas''s intervention. If she managed to sway the inhabitants'' opinion in her favor, Mayvaru would have felt threatened, but not in danger, and probably compelled to reassert her authority. Or so Saia hoped. So she looked around, examining the village in search of something she could do, like fixing crumbling buildings or saving children in danger. The houses were square and well kept under the layer of paint, sometimes covered in vines and decorated by geometric bas-reliefs under the ledges. She saw a few deerlike beastplants pulling carts. Plants in vases were positioned at regular intervals along the road, probably because normal trees might have disrupted the roofing. The light filtering through the woven fibers covered the streets with a thin layer of irregular shadows. The suffused light was pleasant to walk through. As much as she looked for debris or signs of decay, she found none. The houses were meticulously taken care of, the paint looked fresh and there weren''t any visible cracks. The village was small enough that she found herself back at the central square without even trying to, and yet she''d already seen every single building. All the inhabitants must have had a glimpse of her by then, so she resolved to approach one and ask. She chose a woman that was watering a plant through a window, holding a slender vase. Her free hand was on the shutter, ready to close it. Saia stood some steps away and produced a voice loud enough to carry without becoming a yell. ¡°Excuse me, can I help you with¡­¡± The woman returned inside without raising her eyes. Saia had half-expected that, so she left with her animals to look for someone who couldn''t run away so easily. She found a man who was filling a basket with the clean clothes hanging from a string between two houses. Saia approached just as he was trying to fold a long sheet. At first he tried to ignore her, then to send her away with glares. ¡°Excuse me,¡± she began, but the man didn''t give her time to continue. ¡°What are you doing here, with all those animals?¡± he asked. He spoke Arissian fluently, even if the accent was heavily different from the one of the capital. ¡°We don''t even have bread for ourselves. If you want to steal food, go somewhere else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not here to steal anything,¡± Saia said, but the man had wrapped the sheet around an arm and was making a hasty retreat. ¡°I just want to help how I can.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. The door shut close, leaving Saia standing there with the hanging clothes and the statues. Maybe it was a good thing, since she''d been about to say that her animals didn''t eat anything, which would have immediately revealed her ruse. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the fields,¡± she yelled instead, to whoever might be listening. ¡°They''re ready for harvest. If you need more people for that, I can help you." She wasn''t actually expecting an answer, but it came anyway. ¡°It¡¯s not that easy, foreigner.¡± She had to turn the corner of a house to see who was speaking. Between the building and the one behind it, there was a low wall of gravel and clay, seemingly uncomfortable to sit on. Maybe for that very reason, the elder was sitting on a cushion of an undefined gray-green color. He was dressed differently from everyone else in the village, with a dark blue tunic decorated with small diamond patterns. The diamonds were golden and all of different sizes, and some of them had a dark circle at the center that looked like an eye. Among the mimetic paint of the buildings, he stood out like a sea snake in a school of sardines. ¡°Why?¡± Saia asked, uncertain about getting closer and risking frightening the only person that seemed willing to talk to her. ¡°We''re doomed. People here are starting to talk about gods that don''t exist. Even if they did, they would be on the Arissians'' side, not ours. We should focus on the strengths and consciousness of our villages, instead.¡± Saia didn¡¯t entirely understand what he meant, but any follow-up question would have caused a delay she wasn¡¯t sure she could afford. Plus, his words reeked of religious stuff, and she¡¯d had her share of it for the rest of her life. ¡°What about the fields?¡± she said. ¡°Why can¡¯t you harvest?¡± The elder munched on something that might or might not have been there. ¡°It was all the resistance¡¯s fault. They changed the pattern of the wheat during the sowing without even consulting the people who took care of that field. They knew the Arissians didn¡¯t know our techniques, so they took advantage of their ignorance. But our wheat isn¡¯t like theirs, it grows fast. As soon as the pattern was complete¡­¡± The elder raised both hands, fingers that looked like roots tightly crossed together. ¡°The field collapsed.¡± He let his hands fall on his lap. Saia dared to approach the wall, and since the man didn¡¯t seem to retract, she sat down an armlength to his right. Her stone body didn¡¯t adapt to the irregularities of the surface, scraping a bit through the cloth of her trousers when she changed her position. The elder didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°There was an outpost nearby,¡± he continued, eyes focused on Saia again. ¡°They¡¯re everywhere now, especially where our wheat grows. It crumbled with all the Arissians inside. People cheered.¡± He shook his head. ¡°They should have known the Arissians would have retaliated. They forbade us from harvesting and sent even more soldiers to guard the fields.¡± Saia felt her viss buzz. ¡°I can fight them,¡± she said, not caring anymore whether it was part of the plan or not. The elder smiled, looking at her as if she was a child determined to kick down a mountain. ¡°They say it¡¯s to protect us from the other fields, in case they sink too. Everyone knows the truth: it¡¯s a threat, and extortion. They want to know our secrets. They want to know how our patterns work. The resistance didn¡¯t achieve anything, they only gave them the pretext to drop the appearances.¡± Saia was reminded of some conversations at the market. ¡°What about the gardeners?¡± she asked, since she couldn¡¯t recall the name of that specific governing family. The elder scoffed. ¡°Extortion. They pretended to welcome our lands under Aressea¡¯s control, even if we want to be free. But some people thought it would be a good thing: we¡¯d have one of our most respected families make decisions in our favor, right?¡± He looked at Saia as if to expect confirmation. When she nodded, he shook his head and looked away. ¡°Fools, all of them. The gardeners can¡¯t govern because they don¡¯t have a god to guide them like the other families, or so they said. They can¡¯t sell their artefacts because they haven¡¯t proven that they¡¯re safe. The Arissians want to know how the patterns work before they fully accept the gardeners as one of the families. Fortunately, they haven¡¯t betrayed us yet. They cling to what makes them powerful, like everyone else. So now the Arissians are threatening us with starvation.¡± Saia dared to cover the distance between them with a hand, fingers hovering at a short distance from the elder¡¯s arm. ¡°I can stop them,¡± she said, hoping her stone eyes could project enough confidence. ¡°Just tell me how. Do you want me to fight them? Buy the wheat? Steal it?¡± She flicked her wrist in an exaggerated gesture and made one of her owlets land on it. The elder¡¯s smile wavered when he saw what she was capable of. ¡°I¡¯m not with Mayvaru,¡± she added, realizing why he was suddenly wary. ¡°I¡¯m her enemy. Tonight I will leave your village and never come back, so if there¡¯s anything I can do to help¡­ Please tell me.¡± The elder seemed somewhat reassured. He raised a finger toward the owlet¡¯s beak, and Saia focused on keeping up the pretence, ruffling the few feathers attached to the stone and moving the viserite around them. It wasn¡¯t a completely fluid movement, but the elder didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°If you¡¯re so powerful, maybe you can figure out something. But don¡¯t be rash: you¡¯re a foreigner, the Arissians will find it suspicious if you help us. They¡¯ll think we sent you, and they¡¯ll punish us after you¡¯re gone. Whatever you do, don¡¯t let the fault fall on us. They still have weapons.¡± Saia nodded. She left the village through the shortest path, even if it ended on the opposite side from where she had entered. She knew she had to focus on the fight with Mayvaru, if not for herself at least for Dan and Mor¨¬c. For Serit, who had accepted to help her despite the risks. But she couldn¡¯t leave without seeing how bad the situation was. She walked toward the fields. Now that she was closer, she noticed that the wheat was considerably taller than the one at the mountain or around Aressea, reaching the height of a person. There was a fairly trafficked road not too far from the village, constantly traveled by carts, and beyond it a stretch of golden fields that followed the curve of a hill. She saw people standing between the plots of land, and even if they were far enough that she couldn¡¯t distinguish the color of their trousers, she knew they were Arissian soldiers. A structure caught her attention, too tall, colorful and visible compared to the rest of the landscape: a tower painted in light blue, with narrow windows and a wooden fence starting at its sides. It sectioned off some of the fields from the rest. She¡¯d seen enough Arissian architecture to recognize the building as a stray piece of the city. She approached, following a branch of the main road. The guards at the side of the door stirred while she was still far away, probably because of the animals that followed her. Saia wanted to break in, take the wheat and leave, but the words of the elder kept her in check. She decided to leave half of her animals behind and go on only with the antelopes, cats and birds. The rest of the statues became unnaturally still as soon as her domain left them, an improvised display of taxidermy. She could still change the ones following her into something more lethal, if needed. She thought that the gods at the mountain would have never let someone starve, or let the people of a village starve another. Not even Vizena. She accelerated. ¡°Stop!¡± a guard yelled. She slowed down, but didn¡¯t obey until she was a few armlengths from them. They were two, plus two more looking from a window on the first floor. It didn¡¯t matter, because she wasn¡¯t there to fight. ¡°Who are you and why are you here?¡± a guard asked. ¡°I¡¯m a farmer,¡± Saia said, letting her accent confuse their ideas on whether she was Arissian like her clothes suggested, an inhabitant of a village of the Golden Lands that nobody had ever discovered, or a foreigner from a different land entirely. ¡°I was going to Aressea with my animals, but I need to buy some food for my birds.¡± She made the flock stir all around her, most of them jumping down on her shoulders and extended arms, the rest on the ground. There was an empty cart to the side of the road: the only beastplant tied to it was standing almost still. The guards glanced at each other. ¡°We¡¯re not a market,¡± the one who hadn¡¯t spoken said. ¡°We don¡¯t sell anything. The fields are dangerous, didn¡¯t you know?¡± The other guard smiled without teeth, leaning on their weapon. It was a spear with a thick handle, covered in various patterns curled inside of each other, without touching. Saia wanted to put them to sleep and step through the door. Or yell straight in their ears, to see how they liked it. ¡°Can I talk to someone in charge?¡± she asked. ¡°I have vissins and don¡¯t require much. I¡¯m sure we can figure something out.¡± The guards looked at each other again. Saia could feel the refusal coming and didn¡¯t know what else to do to get the wheat. Before they could say anything, the heavy wooden door opened from the inside. ¡°Thank you again, commander,¡± Saia heard the person on the doorway say, ¡°The monastery will remember this.¡± The guards stepped a bit to the side, even if the people leaving the tower had more than enough space to step through. Saia was about to take a couple of vissins out of her bag, cursing herself for not creating some more precious ones, when a group of four people stepped through the door. Each of them was holding a woven basket. They bowed to the guards and to Saia as they stepped in front of them. Despite the heat, their gray tunics were so long that they almost touched the ground. ¡°Send my regards to the abbot,¡± said a voice from the inside, then the door closed. 7.16 - The outpost Whatever the guards had answered, Saia didn''t hear it. She was lucky that all her birds were already perched on a solid surface, otherwise they''d have dropped to the ground as if dead. All of her focus was on the four people leaving the Arissian outpost, on their words and clothes. Monks. Monks on the other side of the sea, away from the mountain, as unlikely as it seemed. But she recognized their uniforms, and there was no mistaking the word ''abbot'' for another: it was the exact same in her own language. Her viss was buzzing so violently it had started spilling onto the ground, so she redirected it outward, expanding her domain. The monks'' pockets were empty, but the baskets in their hands were full of grains. ¡°Do you need an escort?¡± one of the guards at the door asked. ¡°No, thank you,¡± the oldest monk of the group answered. ¡°We don¡¯t fear these lands. We¡¯ll send back some of our bread as thanks.¡± The guards near the door and the ones looking from the window cheered by raising their weapons. Saia wanted to say many things, so many that she felt stuck. It probably was for the better: all of them would have betrayed her in some way. The monks climbed onto the cart. The three younger ones secured the baskets in a pile so that they wouldn''t fall, while the oldest sat behind the beastplant and took the reins. Saia wanted to stop them, or follow them until she discovered where they lived. And then... And then she didn''t know what she¡¯d do. Ask questions, probably. Find out whether they were the same kind of monks that lived on the mountain or just some people who looked like them. Find whether they had gods, or knew what spheres were. But she couldn''t deal with both the monks and Mayvaru at the same time. So she forced herself to focus again on the guards, who had regained their stance as if she wasn''t there anymore. ¡°Bread?¡± she repeated. ¡°So they can buy wheat but I can¡¯t?¡± One of the guards snorted, while the other looked at Saia with annoyance. ¡°The monks have a special deal with our commander.¡± ¡°I want to make the same deal,¡± Saia said, keeping her voice calm, even if her buzzing energy made it very difficult to stay polite. ¡°The monks make bread to feed the faithful,¡± the guard replied with a deepening crease on his forehead. ¡°You want to give it to some birds. Get lost.¡± And with that, he looked away, but the spear transformed into a sword in his hand as a last warning. There was no pushing forward, not with words at least. Which was fine by Saia: she couldn''t hold still anymore. The thought of going back with empty hands after promising help was unbearable. She just needed to be smart about her next move, to prevent the fault from falling onto the nearby villages. Making it look like an accident. ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± she yelled, making her voice so loud the guards forgot their hostility for a moment and looked at her in astonishment. The birds started flying, apparently scared. It required a lot of viss and focus on Saia¡¯s part, since they were many and all of them were heavier than they looked. The winds she used to raise the bigger ones were noticeably strong: she hoped the guards would have considered them the result of too many wings flapping at the same time. The flock flew over their heads and proceeded toward the field. Saia put her hands in her now short hair and ran toward the fence, feigning desperation. The shouts of the guards followed her, but they didn''t step away from their post, maybe thinking the fence was high enough to keep her out. It wasn''t. She jumped, along with the antelopes, the dogs and the other animals she''d taken with her up to the outpost, and landed on the other side. The guards split up, swearing in a stream of words. One approached the fence and shouted to give the alarm, the other ran inside the tower. A dart flew toward Saia from a window on the first floor, but she deviated it slightly. She steered her animals out of range, because if any of them was hit she''d have to either simulate their death or let the guards discover that they weren''t actually alive. ¡°Stop, come back!¡± she yelled at the statues, to keep up the pretence it was all an accident. It hindered her plan of showing her perfect control over them, and thus her similarity to Mayvaru, but she could always start the rumors somewhere else once she was done with the outpost. There was another door at the base of the tower on the other side of the fence. It allowed the guards to access the fields, even if they could only leave three at a time. Saia didn''t wait for them to get a hold of the situation and dove behind the animals into the wheat. The plants were tall enough to disguise her and the smaller statues. She kept yelling at them to stop for the benefit of the guards, and at the same time used her winds to make every one of the darts miss in a plausible way. Hopefully, by then they were convinced it wasn''t an organized coup from the resistance. She suspected they''d still have punished the local population if she walked away from there with an armful of wheat. She focused on a small group of birds that were far enough not to attract the immediate attention of the guards. She carved a cavity inside their bodies, transforming the excess viserite into rats and squirrels, then she made them eat the wheat. They tore away the ears whole and stuffed them in their bellies. Even once they were full, they didn¡¯t hold nearly enough to feed a household, so she focused on the antelopes next. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The operation was more complicated, because the guards were aiming at them and they couldn¡¯t hide completely in the field. She resolved to fill one at a time, keeping up the chaos with the rest. She''d lost one year during the preparations for the fight, and now was quickly losing a second one. She hoped ten years of viss would be enough to deal with both Mayvaru and Beramas, or to find Dan and run away from there if she failed. Once the antelopes were almost full, she bent the wheat with a gust of wind to let the guards see that they were eating. They yelled and cursed, wasting even more darts to scare the animals away. Saia hoped it was enough to lift the blame from the locals: after all, they couldn¡¯t eat food that had already been ingested by an animal. As long as nobody realized they were statues, the fault would have fallen entirely on her. There were twenty people running around the fields between guards, soldiers and servants, and just as many animals wreaking havoc. Saia tried to keep track of everything, but a dart slipped past her winds and hit one of her dogs. Two soldiers stopped to puzzle over the animal¡¯s apparent indestructibility and lack of a reaction. It was time to go. Saia gathered all the animals around her, dropping the pretence that they were out of control. The guards were too panicked to notice anyway, at least not until later, after the rumor of what had happened already spread. She ran toward the fence, preparing to jump over it. One antelope tumbled and dropped to the ground, unresponsive to her attempts to control it. Saia felt her domain shrinking on multiple sides. The cause was still hidden by the wheat, but she didn¡¯t need to see the rats to know they were there. Mayvaru had noticed, and thought it necessary to intervene. Saia stopped, the statues forming a loose circle around her. She sent winds outward, slowing down the advance of the rats. She considered her options: she could run away and try to reach Darasa, but it was too far from there, with plenty of space for Mayvaru to gather animals and set up traps, once she had figured out where she was going. Her best bet was to force her to come out and fight, without giving her time to prepare. It was a problem she¡¯d been thinking about since listening to Caydras¡¯s story about the hunters: Mayvaru could choose to attack without showing up, consuming Saia¡¯s viss while keeping herself far from her range. She couldn¡¯t let her. She dove back into the wheat, the statues surrounding her to shield her a bit from outside eyes. Birds started to gather in the sky, so she sent her own flock soaring to confuse them. She stopped and knelt between the plants, letting the animals move in a circle around her. She changed the shape of her own statue into the one of an Arissian sheepdog, then made it stand. It was a quick imitation, imprecise in every detail. She opened her bag and took out the last fur she had left. It was a coat of long brown hair, the top sewn to form a sort of hood, with two protruding pieces like crude ears. She put it on, adjusting the color and texture of her statue to match the fur. She made the statues settle, dispersed the rats with a gust of wind, even if they were too many to be flung too far, and stepped out of the field. The guards cried out at each other to stop. Some of the soldiers even lowered their weapons and stood straight, looking at her as if expecting an order. Her disguise seemed to be working. ¡°Stand down,¡± she said with Mayvaru¡¯s voice. They faltered, weapons changing shape in their hands as if they didn¡¯t know what to do with them. Saia stepped forward, then lunged toward the nearest ones. They dispersed, screaming. She pushed a soldier down, making him disappear in the tall wheat, then put him to sleep. She needed them to feel in danger for her plan to work, to feel like Mayvaru was attacking them, as impossible as it seemed. Her plan could have failed to attract her attention, even if Saia had her same powers. She could have swarmed her with animals and defeated her like she did with the hunters. But she was the kind of person that kept an enemy alive for the sole purpose of killing her opponents without ruining her reputation. Would she ignore someone attacking her own people while wearing her face? ¡°Go back into the tower,¡± Saia heard someone say in the same voice she had used an instant before. ¡°Leave us alone.¡± Mayvaru emerged from the wheat, surrounded by rats and beavers, with other creatures lurking behind her. Saia kept the fur on. It was the only thing forcing Mayvaru to stay there, to prove she was on the Arissians¡¯ side and not the one attacking them. Still, the situation wasn¡¯t good: Saia was far away from the ruins and the traps she had prepared for Mayvaru and her animals. Even Serit was too far. She observed the area in front of the tower, where the rest of her statues were, together with one of the quick carriages that the Arissian military used to move around. She couldn¡¯t expand her domain to reach them, because the wheat was full of rats. Their numbers were growing: the more she waited, the more would arrive. But the guards were still returning to the tower, moving with caution between the animals. She didn¡¯t want to involve them. And she needed to think. ¡°Who are you?¡± Mayvaru asked. Saia wanted to smile, but she didn¡¯t know enough about the patterns of that body to change its expression. ¡°Can¡¯t you guess?¡± Mayvaru sighed and pinched her eyes, in a gesture that was surprisingly human. ¡°No, I mean¡­ I know who you are: the foreigner that can control viss. I don¡¯t know what you are, nor what you¡¯re doing here. I should have captured you the moment you stepped on the ship.¡± ¡°You could have tried,¡± Saia said. Part of her wished she had: with all the viserite laying around and the sea cutting off any entrance that the animals could use to get on the ship, it would have been a more balanced fight. ¡°Beramas wanted to. But the sculptors were interested in you, and we don¡¯t want to interfere with them.¡± Saia wished she could read her viss to see whether she was lying. If her words were true, it meant that the sculptors weren¡¯t already corrupted, and maybe would have accepted to help¡­ She forced the thoughts out of her mind. Mayvaru was only talking to gain time for her animals to arrive. She made one of her antelopes step forward, apparently to position itself in front of her like a shield. ¡°And,¡± Mayvaru said, showing her fangs. ¡°We had a kid to capture.¡± The antelope froze. Saia felt frozen too, despite the buzzing of her viss compelling her to kick those teeth out of her mouth, to do something. Nothing showed on the surface. Nothing on her voice, when she spoke. ¡°I thought you had to deal with some sort of resistance, here. I heard they managed to destroy an outpost.¡± Mayvaru showed even more teeth, even if the bend of her lips suggested the opposite of a smile. ¡°So you work with them? Good to know. If you yield now, the villages will be allowed to harvest.¡± Saia thought of Vizena¡¯s manipulations: she used to make plenty of promises to sway people on her side, then betrayed them as soon as she got her way. She opened her arms wide, a gesture that enveloped all the animals Mayvaru had brought. ¡°They won¡¯t need to, with all this fresh meat.¡± Mayvaru snarled. Saia made the antelope jump, adding the strength of the wind to that of her viss. It flew toward Mayvaru¡¯s face, turning in mid-air into a spike of rock. The rats jumped forward. 7.17 - Mayvaru The barrier of rats made Saia¡¯s domain fizzle out. It didn¡¯t matter, because a spike of viserite the size of an antelope was already flying straight toward Mayvaru, too fast for her to move out of the way. She didn¡¯t need to: the ears of wheat grew until they reached the projectile and bent to grab at it. They were too thin to stop it altogether, but it was enough to modify the trajectory. The spike fell down too soon, bumping and rolling on the strip of bare soil between two fields. Mayvaru was still grinning, her fangs bare. The beavers were unnaturally still, their paws and tails touching the plants around them. Saia was sure Caydras¡¯s notes had talked about them bending trees, not plants in general. She wondered what else they failed to mention, besides the information they already lacked. At least the viserite hadn¡¯t shattered, which would have revealed the wheat it contained. Mayvaru already suspected her involvement with the resistance and the local population, Saia didn¡¯t want to give her proof that she was helping them. She hadn¡¯t even completed the thought when a swarm of red creatures with protruding teeth jumped onto the spike. Raccoons, Saia remembered. They started chewing on the stone as if it was bread. She tried to stop them, but the rats were still advancing. She took a handful of viserite pebbles from her bag and split them into tiny needle-like shards. She waited for the rats to get closer, then threw her shards up in the air and aimed with her winds. By the time they left her domain, they had reached enough speed to hit their targets without her support. She managed to kill most of the approaching rats, and Mayvaru made the rest retreat a bit. The raccoons consumed the spike completely, revealing the cavity. ¡°Stolen wheat,¡± Mayvaru commented, her voice a low growl. ¡°I could spin it in so many ways. What do you think the families will believe, that you work for the local population against Aressea or that you¡¯re trying to sabotage their fields?¡± Saia didn¡¯t answer, setting out to prepare more shards. The ones she¡¯d used had mostly broken on impact, so she didn¡¯t bother getting them back and piecing them together. She took a new handful of viserite from her bag instead. ¡°It was all my initiative,¡± she said, knowing it was useless. ¡°Whatever, I¡¯ll decide what to say once I¡¯m back at Aressea with your body. I bet the sculptors will love to study it.¡± Saia realized she had seen her change shape into an Arissian sheepdog. She returned to her original form and tied the fur around her neck as a cape, ready to use it again if Mayvaru started retreating. With the usual shape and weight of her body she felt much more grounded, quicker to respond without fear that a wrong movement of her viss would change or break the statue. She threw another handful of viserite in the air to kill the next wave of rats, but before she could aim the shards, something collided with her body and sent her flying. She had barely a warning, just a vague distortion of the air an instant before being hit. She rolled on the soil, trying to get her bearings. It didn¡¯t hurt, even if it had been such a violent blow that it felt wrong to be able to just stand and mend the cracks in her statue as if nothing had happened. She had been separated from her animals, all of them frozen or fallen to the side. Rats were already swarming them, so Saia took out more viserite and set out to kill them as she ran back toward the statues. She looked all around herself in the meantime, trying to find the animal that had trampled her. Not only it was invisible, but its viss had been so faint she hadn¡¯t noticed it until it was too close. It had been enough for her to glimpse the shape of an enormous body. She didn¡¯t have time to reflect on that, because the rats were advancing again. She cleaned up the area with more shards of viserite until she could expand her domain enough to include most of her statues. She made the birds fly in a circle over her head and positioned the dogs and antelopes around herself, in order to slow down the next attack from the invisible beast. Mayvaru¡¯s animals lurked just behind the first line of rats, safe from her reach and ready to lunge at the first mistake. Saia looked at the statues she¡¯d left on the other side of the fence: she couldn¡¯t win without all of her fake animals at her disposal. She was already spread thin as it was, since she had to make some statues smaller or lighter than the corresponding animals due to the limited viserite the sculptors had granted her. She freed a corridor with her winds and shards, leaving dead rats in her wake, and bolted with all the statues she could carry with her. She left a couple of dogs and the small animals behind to bring with her two antelopes full of wheat and the flock of birds. The rats moved to block her way, so she jumped past them. The area in which she landed was free of animals, and she realized too late it was probably a trap. She perceived a faint trace of viss again in the air inside her domain. She¡¯d been expecting the return of the beast, so she moved her animals out of the way and readied the pattern for slashing. Before she could kill it, the earth under her feet started to move. Tiny hills appeared, set aside by monstrously big paws with the longest claws she¡¯d ever seen. Caydras had mentioned the moles, but she hadn¡¯t expected them to be so big compared to regular ones, nor so fast at digging. Rats started pouring out from the tunnels. Saia threw a handful of viserite in the air, but before she could send the shards to kill the animals around her, the invisible creature collided with her. She heard something crack in her side, saw pieces of viserite fly all around her as she tumbled away. It was a bull, she realized, her mind evoking the image of the gray-furred beasts that had accompanied Mayvaru the day she¡¯d met her. It was already out of her domain, vanished somewhere. Moles dug all around her while rats streamed out of the earth in even bigger quantities. Her birds had moved with her, but were now falling from the sky. She expanded her domain, letting the rats eat her viss at ground level in order to reach up at them and make them fly over her head. Actual birds started to attack them, but they only obtained to make Saia waste more viss to stabilize their flight. The rats had reached her feet. She tried to jump away, but discovered that she couldn¡¯t perceive her legs anymore. Her statue swayed, tipping over to the point it was dangerously close to falling down. She realized that once she was on the ground, the rats could easily reach her sphere and devour her mind, while the raccoons would take care of her statue. She let one part of herself panic while the rest focused on the birds. She had prepared them for a situation where most of her domain was unavailable, except for the top. She attached them to each other, smoothing over the viserite until it formed a circle with a hole at the center, then raised it with her winds up to the limits of her domain and pushed it toward the ground. The disk of viserite fell straight down at her. The hole at the center wasn¡¯t big enough to preserve her from the impact: it shattered half of her head, something she only barely registered. The viss started to flow normally through her body again, so she used it to jump away. The disk of viserite had squashed the rats and moles that had been closer to her, while the rest had dispersed a bit and wasn¡¯t currently trying to suck her viss away. She didn¡¯t realize the golden glow in their eyes had disappeared until it returned, reorienting the rats in her direction. Somehow, what she¡¯d done had forced Mayvaru to relent control over them for a few instants. She grabbed the disk of viserite and ran away with her statues. She reflected on what had happened while she used the rest of another year of viss to make herself and her creations jump over the fence. Whatever the reason was for Mayvaru¡¯s temporary loss of control, simply killing her animals wasn¡¯t enough: Saia had observed her the whole time, and she hadn¡¯t wavered when the shards had pierced the rats. Then again, it was difficult to decipher her expression. That small pause gave Saia time to reach the rest of her statues. She set them into motion while Mayvaru¡¯s army of rats slithered between the boards of the fence. The raccoons and beavers climbed up behind them, using the animals below as a prop. Saia heard a loud sound halfway through a crack and a boom, as if a bolt of lightning had broken a tree in half. There was an instant of silence, then screams coming from the outpost, and another loud boom as the main door exploded out of its hinges. Nothing visible stepped out of the gaping entrance. Saia didn¡¯t wait for Mayvaru¡¯s army to approach: she reduced the antelopes to round containers of wheat, getting back all of the excess viserite that had gone into the head, horns and legs. She used it to patch her own head, then put it together with the dogs, the mixed creatures and one of the crocodiles to form a semi-circular barrier in front of her that would force the animals to split up and circle around to reach her. She covered the ground with a thin layer of viserite to slow down the moles. The bull could be strong enough to make all of her protections crumble, and its viss was almost invisible among the swarm of animals, so she took a handful of viserite from the scarce reserve left in her bag, pulverized it and coated the air around her shelter with it, so that the creature would stain itself if it came too close. She climbed over the barrier and set down the disk of viserite, planning to use it as a reserve of projectiles to kill more rats once they got too close. The little shelter finally gave her a bit of time to stop and reflect. She didn¡¯t have many statues left: a crocodile, a couple of cats and some squirrels. She could maybe form the birds again, even if they were expensive to move and it was unlikely Mayvaru would have fallen for the same trick twice. The notes had talked about the bull being crossed with another creature, and she remembered the animal she¡¯d glimpsed at Irim¨¦ze¡¯s zoological garden, turning invisible when the tourists scared it. She remembered still being able to perceive its viss clearly, so the beastforgers had done more than simply transferring its abilities to a new species. She remembered Serit mentioning that it was a change in the creature¡¯s patterns to trigger those powers. She could maybe imitate them to achieve the same effect, but she first needed to capture the animal and make it stand still enough for her to analyze how its viss moved. She didn¡¯t think she would have the time, and letting her focus slip in that situation could mean death. The sea of creatures was advancing slowly, never stepping too close to her wall. Saia didn¡¯t see Mayvaru anywhere, so she prepared to retreat from that place and throw on the fur again to scare another outpost; it was better not to give her any time to prepare further, finding or creating even more powerful animals. Then, Mayvaru emerged from the demolished entrance of the tower. Still too far, with too many rats and critters in between them. Saia couldn¡¯t extend her domain without it being immediately devoured. At the same time, she was ready to kill any animal that dared approach. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Congratulations, I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d have survived this long,¡± Mayvaru said. Trying to stall and manipulate, as usual, because her power came from staying behind the lines and moving the strings. At least fighting directly was something she wasn¡¯t familiar with, which still wasn¡¯t enough to give Saia the advantage, since every instant of waiting could have meant the arrival of stronger enemies. She wondered how far Beramas was: with all the birds Mayvaru controlled, undoubtedly she had already alerted him and whoever was in charge of Aressea. The military carriages were pretty quick, she had experienced them first-hand. Then again, maybe Mayvaru still thought she could deal with her alone and hadn¡¯t asked for help yet. She surveyed the scene again, looking for something to use as a distraction. She had weakened some buildings at Darasa, in order to make them collapse on the animals once they had gathered in one place. She had also covered all the possible hiding spots with traps in case Mayvaru tried to make her creatures lurk in the shadows. But there was no use in thinking about that now. The only thing that could help her was finding out what had made Mayvaru relent control over her animals when she had squashed the rats. If she could recreate the same conditions in a crucial moment, she could get access to her and put her to sleep. She detached a piece of viserite from the disk and formed some shards. She aimed two of them at two separate animals, a rat and an Arissian sheepdog. She observed them closely as the shards approached them at a high speed, even if they were imperceptibly slowing down to give her the time to observe the situation. Once it was clear what the targets were, the two animals and a few of the ones surrounding them lost the golden glow in their eyes. She dropped the shard aimed at the dog and turned the other one at a different rat with glowing eyes, killing it. Meanwhile, she observed Mayvaru¡¯s reaction with her domain half-expanded, pushing against the rats that were eating it without much success. It was still enough to see her ears lower a fraction, her upper lip twitch as if she wanted to release a growl. Saia shrunk her domain. Neither she nor Serit had guessed it, but it was obvious in hindsight: she could perceive the world through her animals, so she also felt their death as if it was happening to her. That was why she relented control every time her animals were about to get killed, especially when they were close to each other and she didn¡¯t know exactly which one would die, which explained what had happened with the disk of viserite. If Saia wanted to hurt her, she needed to hurt her animals in an unpredictable way. As if Mayvaru had heard her thoughts, the rats lunged at the wall, scurrying to the side to circle around the barrier and piling up on top of each other to climb toward Saia. She killed the closest ones easily, using the shards multiple times to needle through them. Her high position only exposed her to the attack of birds, but they couldn¡¯t do anything more than hurt themselves by smashing against her body of stone. As expected, the bull charged against the wall. She saw its arrival in the particles of dust she¡¯d left suspended around herself. It took focus to see the viss moving through its body, but it was enough of a warning for Saia to throw down her disk of viserite and assimilate it into the wall, making the point of impact stronger. It still rocked her so violently that she lost her balance and tipped over the border. She managed to grab it and not immediately fall to her certain death in the sea of rats below. They were climbing fast, faster now that she had almost fallen, and the wall was so short that Saia had to keep her legs bent to the side in a position she¡¯d have never been able to maintain for long as a simple human. The bull became visible, probably because Mayvaru had relented control before the impact in order not to feel it herself. Saia couldn¡¯t expand her domain without it being gobbled up by rats, but she could manipulate the viserite through contact with her body. She pushed viss forward to make one part of the wall extend toward the bull. It managed to inglobate the horns, then wrapped itself around the neck, not too tight to kill but enough to immobilize. The viserite was still spread thin, so the violent shakes of the animal¡¯s head risked breaking it, but for the moment it was holding. Saia pushed herself up and out of the way of the rats, killing another wave of them with the viserite taken from the top of the wall. The raccoons were pushing through the swarm, their slightly open mouths showing the rows of mismatched and protruding teeth. She couldn¡¯t let them reach the wall nor the few statues she had left, so her priority shifted to killing them, which gave time to the rats to advance. She furiously started memorizing the patterns in the bull¡¯s body while she thought of a solution. She needed a moment of relief, and then to figure out how to use the bull¡¯s power to get her statues to Mayvaru. She kicked away her shoes and prepared more shards, making the wall smaller in the process. She raised them in the air above herself as much as she could without expanding her domain further, and aimed them at the shapeless swarm of creatures, keeping them suspended in the wind. She could swear the animals had faltered for a moment, as Mayvaru braced herself to let go of the ones that were more likely to be killed. But Saia pushed her viss down through her feet at the wall below, making spikes grow. The rats that had been piled up at the bottom died, while the ones at the top fell and were stepped on by the dogs that had arrived in the meantime. Saia heard a short scream as Mayvaru tried to hold herself together against so many deaths, then she used the shards to kill another wave of rats and saw her shudder, even if this time she managed not to emit a sound. The animals stopped for an instant, the golden glow gone from their eyes, and Saia killed them with targeted slashes, creating a carpet of corpses in a circle around the wall. Mayvaru regained control before she could reach further than that, neutralizing her domain again. Still, Saia had gained more than enough time to act. She hadn¡¯t killed the bull. Mayvaru had left it visible while she was still controlling it, since it couldn¡¯t move and Saia already knew where it was. When her mental grip disappeared, fear coursed through its body. It turned invisible on instinct, just like the strange black and white animal from which it descended. Saia took advantage of the instant of confusion to memorize its patterns, how they moved and how they changed. It was an approximate job, since she was focused on slashing at the other animals in the meantime, but she did detect a shift of sorts when the animal disappeared. Its viss became faint and difficult to see even for her senses, but it was there. She needed Mayvaru to forget about the bull¡¯s existence for a bit. It was her turn to gain time by talking. ¡°I do know that kid,¡± she said. ¡°The one you¡¯re looking for.¡± She could almost feel Serit yelling at her not to give away that information, but it seemed to capture Mayvaru¡¯s attention: the animals slowed down their advance through the corpses and the bull kept trying to run away, invisible and silent as if it could avoid detection. ¡°So Beramas was right,¡± Mayvaru said. ¡°He thought he¡¯d heard you call Mor¨¬c¡¯s name, and you seemed oddly invested in his fate.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t find Dan,¡± Saia said. ¡°What tells you we didn''t already?¡± ¡°You''re lying,¡± Saia said, wanting to believe her own words. ¡°We¡¯ll see. I¡¯ve wondered why you would attack me, but now I think I have an answer. And if it turns out I¡¯m wrong, we¡¯ll torture Mor¨¬c until he tells us.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t had much success with that, have you?¡± Mayvaru didn¡¯t answer, but her pointy muzzle rose a bit, as if she¡¯d caught a new smell. Saia smiled openly. She had memorized the bull¡¯s patterns, filling in the details with what she already knew about antelopes and deer. Mayvaru¡¯s army was decimated for the moment, but it became bigger by the second, with creatures coming from the fields. Saia risked finding herself once again surrounded and heavily overpowered. It was time to act. She tried to apply the pattern that made the bull invisible to the only big statue she had left, the crocodile. It didn¡¯t work, and the surface of the statue threatened to change into some unpredictable form, so she stopped. She had to transform the crocodile into a bull, first. Someone wouldn¡¯t have liked that. She set out to work, leaving the cavity inside the animal as much intact as she could. She added pieces of wall to the rest, since soon she wouldn¡¯t have needed it anymore, for better or worse. She kept the statue¡¯s back thin enough it could be broken by a simple scalpel. Once the bull was complete, she kept the viss running through it, then changed one specific pattern. The viserite bull disappeared. For the first time since the fight had started, Saia dared to feel hope. She expanded her domain as much as she could, up to the boundary of Mayvaru¡¯s army, then turned the wall into a thousand tiny shards, dropping to the ground and killing the living bull in the process. She started running in a straight line toward Mayvaru. She had gained her control back, so the birds started flying down from the sky en masse, impaling themselves on the shards that were advancing with Saia in order to weigh them down and reduce the amount she could use. The rats started eating wildly, reducing her range a bit. It didn¡¯t matter, because her winds made the shards shoot forward, and even if they couldn¡¯t carry long enough to reach Mayvaru, they showered the nearest animals. She didn¡¯t follow a specific pattern, but most of the kills happened on the left side, and they were mostly rats. She hoped Mayvaru wouldn¡¯t notice. She raised the shards that had been stuck in the bodies, heavy with blood, and attacked again. Mayvaru was stepping back now, toward the carriage she¡¯d used to reach the outpost. There were still rats following her, close enough to make her untouchable, but at least she had put more distance between herself and the rest of her army. Saia cleaned the left side again, forming a path between the ruins of the wall and Mayvaru. She couldn¡¯t reach her, but she didn¡¯t need to. She only had to get close enough, or better, to get the statue of the bull close enough. ¡°Now,¡± she made her voice boom inside the cavity of the fake animal. A crack followed her words, then a figure emerged as if from thin air, mere steps away from Mayvaru¡¯s position. She froze as Serit pointed their makeshift weapon at her, a portable ballista that they had called ¡®crossbow¡¯. ¡°Yield or die,¡± they said. They sounded scared to death, but also somewhat proud of their words. Saia didn¡¯t slow down, taking advantage of Mayvaru¡¯s shock to get closer, in case she had an animal nearby that could hurt Serit. Apparently, she didn¡¯t. She growled, and her animals stopped acting like one giant creature. The rats scuttled away, the dogs sniffed around with their tails held low, the beavers slapped their tails on the ground in alarm. Saia expanded her domain and put Mayvaru to sleep. She dropped down, but Serit kept aiming their weapon at her. ¡°Is she gone?¡± ¡°She¡¯s asleep,¡± Saia said. They sighed with their entire body and lowered the crossbow. Saia let the bull statue become visible so that they could get down safely. They grumbled the whole time. ¡°Are you insane, leaving the crocodile behind like that? Our whole plan hinged on me coming out at the right moment, and you almost squandered it.¡± ¡°Our plan was based on her coming to Darasa, not attacking here.¡± ¡°Right. I wonder if someone did something to provoke her, instead of just spreading rumors like we had agreed.¡± Saia didn¡¯t feel tired, nor hurt. It seemed wrong, after all that running around and killing animals. ¡°We won. Can¡¯t you be happy about it instead of tormenting me?¡± ¡°Yes, we won. But I¡¯m not doing it again for Beramas,¡± Serit said, wiping away the viserite dust from their tunic and the sweat from their face. ¡°We¡¯ll have to find a new plan.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re not doing this again,¡± Saia said, letting bitterness fill her words. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough viss.¡± Serit looked at her in alarm. ¡°How much do you have left?¡± Saia saw guards looking out of the doorway. ¡°Later,¡± she said. ¡°I bet they already alerted Aressea.¡± She bent down to pick up Mayvaru¡¯s unconscious shape and draped it over one shoulder. She approached the bull statue, wondering how much viserite she could bring with her. There was no way she could gather the whole block, since it had mostly been shattered into too many shards, in turn buried into too many little bodies. She didn¡¯t have viss nor time to waste. Her bag was empty now that the fur hung from her neck, so she detached the bull¡¯s head and shaped it into a block that could fit inside it. ¡°Help me with the containers,¡± she said, walking over to the ovoid pieces of viserite full of wheat that had once been the statues of two antelopes. Serit barely managed to raise one. Saia effortlessly picked up the other with her free arm. ¡°Where are we carrying it?¡± Serit asked. ¡°To the village, as soon as we¡¯re out of sight.¡± She hoped the resistance could take care of feeding the population, now that Mayvaru wasn¡¯t a problem anymore. She couldn¡¯t do more for them. ¡°Then what?¡± Serit asked. ¡°Back at the ruins?¡± ¡°For now, yes. Then¡­¡± She thought of the monks. Of Beramas, who could already be on his way there. ¡°Then we¡¯ll see what to do,¡± she concluded. 7.18 - Excavation ¡°¡­ And this is all we know about what could be inside the crater,¡± Aili concluded. Rabam sat up straighter. He had tried aiding her during the presentation, but the questions from the council had been too many and he¡¯d had to sit down, exhausted. It had also started raining halfway through, so they had moved the chairs and the tripod holding the blackboard from the public square to the gym, starting the current explanation from the beginning. She stopped to enjoy the silence, without interrupting it to ask for more questions. The council members weren¡¯t shy about asking them regardless of whether she was already speaking or not, so it was safe to assume that at least most of them had, finally, understood. ¡°So,¡± elder Nakai said, returning to the knitting needles and the incomplete holder in her lap. ¡°What do we do?¡± The sound of her voice seemed to awaken the public that had gathered all around the room. Chatter broke out, mostly people asking for a summary from their neighbors or commenting on unrelated matters. Aili wished she could cut their words out without missing what the council members were saying. At least she could hear the rain too with her domain expanded, and the relaxing tapping sound it made on the roofs. Nobody answered the elder, so Lada looked at the empty chair. ¡°What do you suggest we do, Aili?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± she said, feigning a bit of hesitation. ¡°There¡¯s nothing we can do to reach those objects, whatever they are. And I doubt the information they contain would help us.¡± ¡°The information maybe not.¡± Davem, the blacksmith, leaned back on his chair with a twinkle in his hazel eyes. ¡°But if we steal their viss, we can force the monks to leave us alone.¡± Aili could see the enthusiasm spread from him to all the other council members. ¡°They almost captured the village last time,¡± she pointed out, but her words were covered by someone else asking: ¡°What if we dig through the mountain until we reach it?¡± There was a bit of hesitation as the council considered the question. ¡°I think you¡¯re underestimating the situation,¡± Aili tried again. ¡°We should start from the forest, though,¡± Caida said. Her house had been buried under the debris, so she had organized the housing situation for everyone who had found themselves homeless like her. ¡°Higher from here. Rabam can guide us, right?¡± He glanced up, as if telling Aili he was sorry, before answering. ¡°As far as I know the crater is at the center of the mountain and goes down almost to sea level. But nobody knows for sure.¡± ¡°So it should be reachable everywhere,¡± Caida said. ¡°We don¡¯t need to go too far.¡± Lada raised both hands, capturing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°I suggest we vote before elaborating this idea further.¡± ¡°We should include everyone,¡± elder Nakai said, eyeing the crowd. ¡°Right. And if someone has another idea, speak up now.¡± Nobody did, so they proceeded with the votation. In the end, they had adopted a system similar to the one used by the monks without Aili needing to mention it. ¡°Who wants to wait for the monks to come here again?¡± Of the hundred or so people in the gym, at least thirty raised their hands. Aili knew they weren¡¯t enough and braced herself. ¡°Who wants us to discuss the idea of digging through the mountain?¡± The rest of the public voted, squashing any hope Aili might have had. ¡°Very well,¡± Lada said. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss what can be done.¡± Aili couldn¡¯t understand what was wrong with the people of Suimer. Lausune¡¯s inhabitants had been calm, preoccupied with their lives, uncaring about the rest of the village because Zeles was better at taking care of it than they ever could. Maybe it was Vizena¡¯s fault. Maybe now that they had tasted a kind of freedom they¡¯d never experienced, they were determined to keep it even if it could annihilate them. She didn¡¯t know whether it was the right explanation, but she chose to believe it. ¡°I have to warn you, though,¡± she said. ¡°We should still be careful not to destroy the crater and whatever it contains. Without viss, there will be no more gods, and without gods the mountain will crumble.¡± They already knew that, and they didn¡¯t listen. ¡°Somebody has a map?¡± One of the school¡¯s teachers asked. She helped the group of people next to the bookshelves looking for it. After turning the slim geography section upside-down, they only found a colorful drawing on two pages of one side of the mountain. It wasn¡¯t even remotely accurate, but they all leaned on it as if it hid a secret entrance to the crater. ¡°There¡¯s an old mine here,¡± the teacher said, pointing at a gray patch surrounded by trees. ¡°Although they have already covered it with soil and it¡¯s not deep.¡± ¡°We could start there,¡± Davem agreed. ¡°But we¡¯ve never done something similar on such a big scale under¡­¡± He gestured, but didn¡¯t say her name. ¡°We should ask around if someone has any idea how to proceed,¡± Lada commented. ¡°I¡¯ve mined there for some personal projects,¡± a voice said from the public. ¡°I can help.¡± Aili had seen him stand and already anticipated the moment when everyone would turn to look at him and recognize who he was. ¡°Enem,¡± the public hissed at slightly different moments from all the corners of the gym. He stood straight, hands joined in front of his body. He had a pendant dangling from his neck, a reproduction of Vizena¡¯s statue carved out of the stone of her body. From what Aili could gather, the pious had entered the temple during the night while the rest of the village was celebrating and taken away as many fragments as they could while Zeles was asleep, before being discovered and kicked out. ¡°I¡¯ll help you,¡± he continued, despite the sounds of protest coming from the rest of the audience, ¡°Only if you¡¯ll let the followers of Vizena leave with food, water and tools. And we want to leave at night, when the monks can¡¯t catch us.¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°You can leave now, if you want,¡± a man yelled. ¡°Nobody will miss you.¡± Similar considerations were expressed out loud by the rest of the crowd. None of the council members seemed intentioned to stop them, and Aili and Rabam knew better than showing to be on the side of the pious in any form or way. They were still considered outsiders, after all; the trust they received depended only on the help they could give. ¡°The pious want to leave,¡± Davem said with his booming voice. ¡°We should listen. It¡¯s a great deal for the rest of us.¡± ¡°Not with our resources,¡± elder Naika said, lowering the holder. ¡°They¡¯re consuming them anyways by living here,¡± the teacher commented. ¡°It¡¯s a trade-off. We can give away a lot of food now to hopefully preserve the rest a bit longer.¡± Lada looked up, then at the empty chair. ¡°Could you dig for us, Aili?¡± ¡°Inside the forest? Maybe, but I would need to leave the village. I don¡¯t want to risk it again, after last time.¡± ¡°That also means the volunteers won¡¯t be under her protection,¡± Rabam pointed out. ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find someone,¡± Davem said, then looked at Enem. ¡°Come here, before they strangle you. Let¡¯s talk about the details.¡± Enem was next to the wall and far from the table, but he didn¡¯t struggle to reach it, since the crowd had moved to create an empty space around him. He bent over the drawing and started pointing, talking about people, materials and resources. They decided to go out at night, and bring with them everyone that was trained enough to use a spear. The noises couldn¡¯t be avoided, so every musician, be they beginners or professionals, would have played for the whole night. A group of fast runners would have waited outside the village to distract the monks in case they noticed and came to investigate. The work would have lasted three nights, from the moment the sun set to the first lights, and then they¡¯d have reevaluated their progress to decide whether it was worth continuing. By midnight, the gym was even more crowded and the plan had been defined in every possible detail. And yet, Aili followed the rest of the meeting with the sensation it would all be useless, but she couldn¡¯t pinpoint why. They returned early, and it was just the first night. Aili feared something had happened, so she made the musicians stop and focused all of her attention on the limit of her domain. She could see movement between the trees, but at least no trace of gray tunics. Rabam was the first one to resurface, with a blank expression. ¡°We can¡¯t go on,¡± he said. ¡°We reached a quarter of a towerlength, then we might as well started punching the rock. It didn¡¯t move. We can¡¯t go past it.¡± It made sense. It made perfect sense, and Aili hated herself a bit for not being able to guess it before. ¡°It¡¯s the gods,¡± she said. ¡°We prevent the mountain from crumbling and the rocks from detaching. That¡¯s why you can¡¯t dig too deep.¡± The rest of the volunteers had started gathering at the feet of the external wall, caked in dirt and sweat. They looked at the long ladder that led home with something akin to desperation, so Aili carried them inside using her winds. Rabam declined her help for the moment and propped his back against the wall. ¡°It would have been nice to have guessed it before we did all this.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Sorry.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m angry at myself. Every single one of us had the information to guess it. It doesn¡¯t always have to be you.¡± Aili realized that she wanted to be the one to guess everything, and not succeeding felt like a failure. She pushed the thought aside. ¡°It wasn¡¯t completely useless. Now we know why the monks weren¡¯t worried about the gods digging a tunnel through the mountain to reach them. Or¡­¡± She thought about the village. The first thing she and Saia had seen the day they arrived was the houses they were building on the outside. ¡°Or the fact it was all built before the gods ever existed, and never changed.¡± Rabam¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°I¡¯ve never thought about it. I always took for granted that the mountain was more delicate than it looked, and that was why we never dug new rooms.¡± ¡°Another thing we can¡¯t use,¡± Aili commented. ¡°No, but¡­¡± Aili knew that look of intense focus, how dangerous it was on reckless people like Saia or Rabam. ¡°There are ten gods around the mountain, now,¡± he slowly said, eyes fixed as he gathered his thoughts. ¡°If we steal one, and you leave the mountain with them, we could make it tremble.¡± ¡°And then what? Digging while the mountain crumbles around you means certain death. And if I leave the village again, the monks could seize it this time.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t need to go far. But no, I didn¡¯t mean digging.¡± ¡°What, then?¡± He stood in silence for a bit, then shook his head. ¡°Forget it, you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°I can see you¡¯re lying, you know? You have an idea I won¡¯t like.¡± ¡°Exactly why you should forget I ever said anything.¡± ¡°Right, so that you can tell it to everyone at the meeting, because the people of this village are insane and will agree with you no matter what I want or say.¡± Rabam nodded. He was actually smiling a bit through the guilt. ¡°Pick me up?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m tempted to just leave you here.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d never know my idea. The curiosity will eat you alive.¡± Aili evoked a wind strong enough to make him stumble, eliciting a laugh. She intensified it until it could carry Rabam back into the village. A small crowd had gathered in the square. They were all pious, with bags full of clothes, food, tools and weapons. Enem stood in front of them like a hero. A disheveled, dirty, sweaty hero. The rest of the village lingered around the group, glaring at them. ¡°We¡¯re ready to leave,¡± he said. Aili heard the hatred in his voice, the same every pious used when they were forced to talk to her. She obliged, carrying them out without worrying too much about being gentle. She realized the conversation with Rabam had made her nervous and slowed down, handling the sacks full of provisions more gently. The pious disappeared into the forest, at night, without a torch to guide them. She almost felt pity for them. ¡°The conversation isn¡¯t over,¡± she told Rabam. He just smiled, but it was a tight expression. Just thinking about his idea made him worried. Aili had a bad feeling about it. ¡°It¡¯s madness.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely. Are you going to help me, now?¡± Rabam was bending over the bundles of herbs laid out on the table in front of him, trying to distinguish their names and properties at candlelight by comparing them to the detailed drawings in a thick book. The gym was empty at that early hour of the morning, probably because the rain was pouring down stronger than ever. The herbs had been a gift from the local herbalist, just like the small bottles that littered the rest of the table. ¡°I can leave, you know?¡± Aili pointed out. Rabam had dismissed everything she¡¯d said up to that moment, so she was becoming increasingly desperate. ¡°There are ten gods now, I¡¯m not needed to keep the mountain whole. I can refuse to help you with your stupid plans.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make an attempt anyway. I would even have tried alone, if the council had refused.¡± ¡°Somehow that doesn¡¯t surprise me. If you want to die so badly, why didn¡¯t you remain at the monks¡¯ village?¡± He took an unlabeled bottle, opened it and sipped the content. Soon he started sweating more than normal, hands trembling. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Poison,¡± he managed to say. ¡°From a sea snake.¡± ¡°Are you insane?¡± ¡°Now, which herbs can I use to heal myself?¡± Aili pushed her viss into his body until the symptoms disappeared. ¡°That¡¯s not how it works. There¡¯s no cure.¡± ¡°And yet you just healed me. How?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t tell you.¡± He raised the bottle again, but Aili snatched it away from his hands with a wind. ¡°They¡¯ll deactivate you later this morning,¡± Rabam said. ¡°You can¡¯t keep it away from me forever.¡± ¡°They can deactivate me if I allow it. They are not the monks, and I¡¯m their biggest advantage.¡± Rabam closed his fists on the table. Aili realized it was the first time she¡¯d seen him angry, even if his anger mostly seemed to be aimed inward in some way. ¡°I need to prepare,¡± he said. ¡°The plan has been approved.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean anything if I won¡¯t let you leave.¡± Rabam sighed. ¡°You¡¯re right: this is not the kind of relationship I want to have with you. I don¡¯t want to take orders and execute them mindlessly. I¡¯ve decided to see this plan through and I need a friend that supports me, not another problem to deal with.¡± ¡°Zeles died because he didn¡¯t listen to me. And now you¡¯re doing the same.¡± ¡°He died because it was his choice, you had nothing to do with it.¡± ¡°Saia left!¡± Aili yelled. ¡°Then you disappeared, then Zeles died. Why are all of you so determined to leave me alone?¡± Aili focused on the rain. It had a way to calm her down, even if it was a poor replacement for crying. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be in constant mourning for the rest of my life,¡± she said, more quietly. ¡°It has become too long for that.¡± Rabam fiddled with the corner of a page. Aili wanted to snatch away the book too, but the risk of tearing it was too high. ¡°I won¡¯t change my mind,¡± he said. ¡°But if you help me prepare, maybe I will succeed. And if I fail¡­ Is this how you want me to spend my last days? Bickering with you?¡± Aili missed having a statue to pace with. ¡°I used my viss,¡± she said. ¡°I added it to yours. The human body has a lot of healing patterns: most of them mend tears or fix broken bones, over time. One of them can destroy toxins like snake venom. Usually it¡¯s not strong enough to fight something this powerful, but with a big enough quantity of viss it can clean up everything.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s just a matter of pushing viss inside my body? I don¡¯t need another pattern or something?¡± ¡°Yes. Just viss.¡± Rabam¡¯s eyes twinkled in the candlelight. ¡°Good.¡± He lowered his eyes onto the bottle of venom. ¡°Good. I can work with that.¡± 7.19 - Too loyal ¡°The end of the Golden Lands,¡± Caydras announced, standing at the edge of the cliff as if there wasn¡¯t a drop of a towerlength a step away from him. ¡°There¡¯s only ocean past this point.¡± Saia savored that word, ¡®ocean¡¯. It was a pity it didn¡¯t look bigger than the mountain¡¯s sea from where they were standing. She remembered her bottle-diary and promised herself to fill it with that view at the first chance she got. ¡°Please don¡¯t tell me we¡¯re stopping here,¡± Serit said, standing a few steps behind. For a shilv¨¦, they were surprisingly unnerved at the idea of falling, even if Saia suspected a short drop where they could see the bottom scared them more than a long one. She turned around and walked toward the nearest patch of trees. Mayvaru¡¯s unconscious body was draped across her shoulders like an expensive fur. In those five days of voyage from the ruins to the edge of the Golden Lands, half by foot and half by carriage, Serit had been administering her a tough sedative in addition to Saia¡¯s manipulation, to make sure she¡¯d stay asleep regardless of any contingency. Caydras had accepted, no, insisted to join them when they asked him at the ruins. He¡¯d been the one to suggest the paths that were less likely to be guarded by soldiers and the carriage drivers who wouldn¡¯t betray them. The news of Mayvaru¡¯s defeat hadn¡¯t yet reached far from the outpost, at least officially. Still, Saia had been wearing her neighbour¡¯s disguise as an extra precaution and Serit was using clothes and scarves of an incospicuous light brown, as much as it pained them. Caydras was dressed as usual, but had accepted to carry the hat with the triangular brim in one of his bags. He started setting up the fireplace and bedrolls, lending Serit his spare one. The evening was becoming dark: Saia was disappointed she¡¯d missed her first twilight on the ocean by just one hour. ¡°So,¡± Caydras broke the silence once the fire was flickering and everyone had settled around it, with Mayvaru¡¯s unconscious shape to Saia¡¯s left. ¡°I think you should kill her.¡± ¡°Repeating it every day won¡¯t make me change my mind,¡± Saia said. ¡°We need answers.¡± ¡°Then how do you plan to stop her from telling everyone that we¡¯re here the second you awaken her?¡± Saia pointedly turned her head to look at Serit. They took out a map of the Golden Lands from their bag and opened it on the ground in front of them. ¡°We don¡¯t know anything about the range of her powers except that it¡¯s huge,¡± they said. ¡°But we¡¯re more than five days of voyage from Aressea, so hopefully she can¡¯t reach the city directly. She doesn¡¯t know where we are, only that we stopped somewhere along the coast. There aren¡¯t any outposts immediately nearby that she can use to send messages or gather information. In this situation, there are some precautions we could take.¡± They looked at Saia. ¡°Don¡¯t let her talk too much. Put her to sleep every two minutes and every time you perceive her patterns change. She shouldn¡¯t have time to get her bearings. Every animal she manages to send away will forget about her commands as soon as she¡¯s asleep. We saw it happen after we defeated her.¡± Saia nodded. She remembered the rats and dogs going about their business as soon as they were freed from her influence. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye on the area,¡± she said, and circled a finger in the air, a new gesture she had coined to mean ¡®domain¡¯. The ample rotation suggested she¡¯d have kept it expanded to the absolute maximum. Serit hesitated at that, but they couldn¡¯t say anything about her viss in front of Caydras. The hunter didn¡¯t even suspect the full extent of her powers, and for the moment Saia was inclined to not reveal anything more. ¡°And you¡­¡± Serit began, turning toward him. He raised the armed crossbow that they had handed him after the fight. ¡°I¡¯m ready to kill her as soon as she tries something.¡± Saia saw Serit glance at her, but didn¡¯t turn her eyes to meet their gaze openly. They had told each other that bringing the hunter with them was the sensible thing to do, because he knew the area, he wouldn¡¯t have betrayed them, and was good at surviving in the wilderness. The truth was that neither of them liked the idea of killing a helpless enemy. Saia thought she could if it was necessary, in a fight maybe, but by then it would have been too late. So they had accepted Caydras¡¯s enthusiastic help. ¡°Well,¡± Serit said, ¡°The sedative should wear off any moment, now.¡± Saia checked that Mayvaru¡¯s hands and feet were tied tight. She observed her viss in the meantime. Soon the slow waves of a deep slumber were replaced with a light buzzing. Mayvaru didn¡¯t move. ¡°I can see you¡¯re awake, you know,¡± Saia said. Caydras aimed with the crossbow. ¡°Sit up and answer or I¡¯ll blow out your head.¡± Her ears twitched with surprise at the sound of his voice. She seemed to realize the movement had betrayed her, because she sat up with a groan, her fur mixed up with grass and fallen leaves. Saia expanded her domain to the maximum, looking for the shining shapes of animals in the wilderness. A bird changed its trajectory mid-flight and started beating its wings faster. She was about to stop it with her winds, then realized it would have revealed the limits of her domain to Mayvaru, so she just put her to sleep, supporting her upright by the fur of her neck. The bird flapped around, confused, then found its way again and disappeared into the trees. ¡°Let¡¯s make some things clear,¡± Saia said after awakening Mayvaru again. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t bother trying to escape, because we have your viss.¡± Serit raised a thick piece of Mayvaru¡¯s fur they had cut out of the tail. ¡°I will know it if you lie,¡± Saia continued. ¡°And he can¡¯t wait to kill you.¡± The hunter raised his eyebrows when Mayvaru¡¯s eyes fixated on him. ¡°So, first question,¡± Saia said. ¡°Why were you and Beramas looking for Dan and Mor¨¬c?¡± ¡°It was an order of my master.¡± Saia waited, but nothing more came. She thought that maybe Mayvaru was focusing too much on the animals to answer, but they didn¡¯t seem to behave in any different way. It didn¡¯t mean much: maybe Mayvaru was acting outside of her range, maybe she was just looking out from their eyes, without actively controlling them. ¡°Who¡¯s your master?¡± ¡°One of the weavers.¡± ¡°We already knew that. If you don¡¯t start telling us more, there¡¯s no point in leaving you alive.¡± ¡°Those two damned kids¡­ They¡¯re part of the Lauhas, the main dynasty of the weavers. Mine and Beramas¡¯s task was to kill them, since they were a danger to my master¡¯s legitimacy. They disappeared, so after a while we were called back. Then the master learned that the Lauhas were the only ones to know a powerful pattern and sent us out again to find them. Alive, this time.¡± ¡°Beramas wanted to kill Mor¨¬c.¡± ¡°Beramas always wants to kill.¡± Saia was a bit surprised by the disdain in her voice and viss. But the answer was over, so she put Mayvaru to sleep and waited a bit. ¡°Which pattern?¡± she asked once she was awake again. ¡°It¡¯s called ¡®holder¡¯. It stores viss, as far as I know, and if you connect it to another pattern, you can use the viss it contains in addition to your own. But they deteriorate fast if they¡¯re full of unused viss for too long.¡± ¡°And nobody else knows that pattern in the entire world?¡± ¡°Some weavers of minor branches of the Lauhas knew specific variants of it, yes. The one for the carpets is famous. But they can¡¯t be applied to anything else. It¡¯s a complicated pattern: you need to know how to create it, change it to fit the material, and then adapt it to other patterns and their variants.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. A furious scribbling distracted her. Serit was writing down her words on the back of the map with a piece of graphite. ¡°Ignore them, look at me. You mentioned that your master is a weaver, but we want to know who they are. How did they replace the Lauhas, and why? What¡¯s their role in the government?¡± Saia realized as she spoke that she didn¡¯t know anything about how the families in power actually governed. She tried her best not to make Mayvaru aware of it. ¡°The Lauhas were evil and corrupt, like all the families. All they care about was growing their riches and power.¡± ¡°And your master sent you to kill two children. That¡¯s pretty evil too.¡± Mayvaru lowered her ears and closed her eyes. ¡°I can¡¯t talk about him. Even if I wanted, I¡­ This body is too loyal.¡± ¡°I can kill her now, right?¡± Caydras said, a finger already on the trigger. ¡°You said I could kill her if she refused to answer.¡± Saia saw an instant of genuine terror in Mayvaru¡¯s viss, immediately followed by hesitant acceptance; she was ready to die to preserve that secret. She put her to sleep. ¡°No, we still have more questions to ask.¡± She waited for Serit to finish their tiny treatise on the holders. Her mind was crossed by the silly image of them discussing viss properties with Aili. Provided she didn¡¯t realize they¡¯d been the one that kept Saia away from the mountain, otherwise she¡¯d have ripped them in half. ¡°Thoughts?¡± she asked them when they raised their eyes from the map. ¡°Dogs are loyal to their owners. They consider them family, they can actually feel love or something akin to it toward them. If Mayvaru was a dog and not a person before becoming this¡­¡± ¡°Maybe she was this man¡¯s dog,¡± Saia concluded. Serit shrugged. ¡°Could be. Or maybe it¡¯s another manipulation of the beastforgers.¡± Saia nodded, observing the half-person half-dog she was holding upright with a hand on the back of her neck. ¡°Whatever it is, I don¡¯t think she¡¯ll reveal anything about him.¡± She tried to press the matter anyway, once Mayvaru was awake again. ¡°What about the rest of the family, then? What can you tell us about the weavers?¡± Mayvaru shook her head as much as Saia¡¯s grip allowed it. ¡°They¡¯re part of my master¡¯s plans. You can kill me if you want, but he will create someone else like me as soon as he¡¯s sure that I¡¯m dead. A lesser creature. It will certainly take time and the result won¡¯t be as loyal as me, and he can¡¯t create too many without immediately having all the other families against him. But if I die, he will. And you might not be so lucky next time.¡± Her words managed to worry Saia a bit, but she was determined not to let it show. ¡°So what you¡¯re telling us is that if we kill you, we have to bury your body so deep nobody will ever know?¡± Mayvaru¡¯s ears lowered, but she didn¡¯t answer. ¡°If you die, the weavers will still have Beramas,¡± Saia said, remembering the distaste she had perceived when Mayvaru was talking about him. ¡°Don¡¯t you think he¡¯ll be enough? He¡¯ll probably take over your duties too.¡± ¡°I know what you¡¯re trying to do, but it won¡¯t work. Beramas¡¯s master isn¡¯t the same as mine. Contrary to me, he doesn¡¯t share any connection with them.¡± ¡°Really? He seems more powerful than you, though.¡± Mayvaru¡¯s nose was trembling. ¡°He¡¯s an exhibitionist and a sadist. He would only use his powers to hurt people, if he could.¡± Clearly, her loyalty didn¡¯t extend to Beramas at all. ¡°He can¡¯t?¡± ¡°No. His master keeps him in check.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s his master?¡± Mayvaru didn¡¯t answer. Another weaver, Saia guessed. ¡°How do they manage to control him?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve asked myself this question a thousand times, but he threatened to kill me if I pried.¡± ¡°Would he be able to? Defeat you, I mean. Kill you.¡± Mayvaru didn¡¯t answer, but it was a silence different from the one she had maintained when refusing to talk about her master: she was considering the question, choosing her words. ¡°He is powerful,¡± she said in the end. ¡°I have to admit it. He¡¯s the perfect human: he generates more viss than normal and controls it perfectly. He¡¯s immune to manipulation. He can hear, smell and see better than any human, even if not as good as some of my animals. His body regenerates constantly, it¡¯s impossible to tell his age or hurt him. And he has a perfect memory.¡± ¡°Which is a problem,¡± Serit murmured. ¡°Who knows how many patterns he can use. And he can trace them anywhere, at any moment.¡± Saia put Mayvaru to sleep, but waited only a little while before awakening her again. She needed to know more. ¡°How did he become like this? Or was he born with these powers?¡± Mayvaru showed her teeth, an expression that could be the start of both a growl and a laugh. ¡°He¡¯s a cannibal. He¡¯s more than a human because he takes the best traits from all the humans he eats.¡± Saia didn¡¯t know what she had expected, but it wasn¡¯t that. She put Mayvaru to sleep on instinct, as an act of self-defense from anything she could say next. Serit stood. ¡°Oh goddess, I¡¯m going to throw up.¡± They didn¡¯t, but kept their face turned to the sky, with both hands crossed over it, as if they wanted to hold inside tears, screams and vomit at the same time. ¡°And you want to fight him,¡± they added, voice muffled by their fingers. ¡°He¡¯s an immortal cannibal and we¡¯re going to fight him with six years of viss and a crossbow.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± Saia asked no one in particular. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make sense. He eats humans, so he becomes more¡­ Human? What does ¡®more human¡¯ even mean?¡± Serit laughed. It was a bitter sound, tense and maybe more than a little insane. When they finished, they lowered their hands abruptly and looked at her with a blank expression. For a moment, they seemed the one made of stone. ¡°He¡¯s on our tracks, you realize that, right? Since the moment the guards at the outpost told him about Mayvaru, and you can bet someone did. We have to find the nearest big city, hope a m¨¦ze extends a ladder to trade, find a way to be accepted on board and leave.¡± ¡°Can you please calm down?¡± Saia said, tone rising to a yell. ¡°You saw how he looked at me at the sculptors¡¯ palace. I bet I¡¯m a rare delicacy to him.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t eat you.¡± ¡°Says the one with the body of stone!¡± Saia was very tempted to just put them to sleep. Then she realized they could feel her nervousness in addition to their own, through the link that connected them. ¡°We have Mayvaru hostage,¡± she said, keeping her voice calm. ¡°Even in case he hates her as much as she hates him, they have goals in common, so it¡¯s in his interest that she doesn¡¯t die. And believe me, after using six years of my life to fight Mayvaru, I don¡¯t want to face him at all. We¡¯ll keep out of his way and look for Dan, then we¡¯ll decide how we¡¯re going to free Mor¨¬c. With Mayvaru unconscious, we can go anywhere without being immediately spotted.¡± Serit sighed and dropped down next to her. ¡°I want to go home.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± They sat a bit in silence. Caydras was pretending to polish the already shining metal of the crossbow, eyes fixed on Mayvaru¡¯s unconscious body. ¡°Have you ever had to deal with anything similar?¡± Saia asked him. He lowered the weapon. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of a couple of similar cases. Bodies that were found with traces of bites and missing parts. My colleagues had been called to investigate, because the local authorities believed it was some sort of beast. The culprits didn¡¯t live long: that much power is addicting, they have to eat more and more to keep up. One of them went too long without eating human flesh and whithered away on their own, despite ingesting normal food as well. The other became careless with their murders and was killed during a capture attempt. Either way, I was glad I wasn¡¯t on the case.¡± ¡°Really? It was that simple to get rid of them?¡± Saia asked. Caydras looked at the flames, as if trying to remember something. ¡°Now that I think about it, I don¡¯t recall anything about them using magic. I guess being employed by one of the families has its advantages.¡± ¡°Corpses and patterns,¡± Saia said bitterly. ¡°All he needs to keep going forever.¡± Serit hugged their legs to their chest, eyes fixed on the flames. ¡°My guess,¡± they said, very quietly. ¡°Is that their body uses the information in the viss of the people that they¡­ In their victims, to better itself in some way. Repeat the process enough times, and you get a person with superhuman abilities. The transformation is faster because it doesn¡¯t require the adapting process animal people constantly go through, but the changes are still extreme, so if they don¡¯t keep up with them they die.¡± ¡°Look at the bright side,¡± Caydras said. ¡°If you manage to cut off his provision of food, you might kill him without a fight.¡± ¡°Yes, sure,¡± Serit replied. ¡°Except his provision of food is one of the most powerful families of Aressea.¡± ¡°What about you, Caydras?¡± Saia interjected before the hunter could take offense at Serit¡¯s snarky tone. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to kill him now that you know what he is?¡± He raised the crossbow to examine its surface more closely. ¡°I would love to take out another abomination from this world, but I have other plans. Contacting my ex-team members, the ones who are still alive. Recruit more people. Mayvaru has allowed her monsters to prosper for ten years, I bet there¡¯s a lot of work for me out there.¡± Saia nodded. She focused on Mayvaru again. ¡°Well, let¡¯s get this interrogation over with.¡± Once awake, Mayvaru sniffed the air and showed her teeth again, looking at Serit. ¡°Scared, are you?¡± ¡°Look at me,¡± Saia said. ¡°Do you eat humans too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°And yet you despise Beramas for doing the same?¡± ¡°We are not the same. Mine is a necessity: only in this form I can talk to my master and understand him. The thought of going back to a time when I couldn¡¯t is sickening.¡± Caydras looked at Saia with a bitter smile. ¡°Told you.¡± She ignored him. ¡°When you couldn¡¯t? Do you mean when you were with the Dulrirs?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What do you remember about them?¡± Mayvaru only looked at her, without answering. Saia understood it had something to do with her master. Was he a Dulrir? There was no point in asking. Her silence was the best answer she could obtain. She put her to sleep, then released her grip on the back of her neck. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°So now I can kill her?¡± ¡°No. Didn¡¯t you hear what I said? It¡¯s our hostage.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a mistake. She¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Believe me, I know. But we don¡¯t have much choice.¡± Caydras shrugged. He started gathering the few things he had scattered around the fire. Serit reluctantly took their bedroll and handed it to him, but he refused by shaking his head. ¡°Keep it, it was superfluous anyway. I want to be as far away from you two as I can before morning. I¡¯ve been inside those damned ruins for too long.¡± He returned the crossbow to Serit. They took it with the tip of their fingers, as if it could bite, or somehow shoot the dart at their head instead of the fire it was aimed at. ¡°So the monastery is here, you said?¡± Saia asked, pointing at a little unlabeled square on the map. It was on the coast of the inner sea, some days of voyage into the Golden Lands north of Aressea. Caydras leaned forward to get a better look, then nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t expect much, though. The Arissian religion is in the hands of the families, they have their own people for it. Those monks are just an old order that has fallen in disgrace. They¡¯re only allowed to exist here because they help spread the religion to the locals.¡± Saia nodded. They said their goodbyes, briefly; as soon as Caydras had realized he wasn¡¯t allowed to kill Mayvaru at all, a sense of urgency had started to flourish all over his viss. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t go to the monastery,¡± Serit said once he was gone. ¡°Too close to Aressea.¡± Saia didn¡¯t want to start another discussion, so she focused on the sound of the ocean in the distance. ¡°Rest a bit. We¡¯re leaving tomorrow.¡± 7.20 - The palace Dan¡¯s days began with a lot of running. Tagu usually joined him while the adults sparred with each other, then left halfway through the circuit to practice her climbing and agility, covering the bark of the nearby trees with scratches and tiny holes. He sometimes wondered whether she had forgotten about the bet they¡¯d made after his first mission. He knew where Aressea was, but he vaguely remembered Mor¨¬c mentioning that the weavers¡¯ palace was extremely difficult to break into, even if he couldn¡¯t recall why. For that reason, he planned to wait until Merekis left again and observe him from afar to see how he would enter. Tagu¡¯s help would have been invaluable: she knew more about the city than he did, and his senses weren¡¯t yet developed enough to follow a completely invisible man. He didn¡¯t want to discuss it with her, though: there was always someone nearby and she couldn¡¯t really keep a quiet tone. After the training, he usually helped wash the clothes and keep the general area of the camp in order. Once a week, the strays moved to a different spot, so everything was always ready for a hasty escape. In the afternoons, when he didn¡¯t wander around the forest with Tagu, Kaspuru brought him to a local market to practice his Arissian while she bought ingredients and equipment. Sometimes, Autur taught him how to fish without alerting the crocodiles floating in the river. Sibras organized frequent meetings, mostly focused on anticipating possible missions and organizing the resources they already had. They were all waiting for Mayvaru to contact them again. Merekis periodically left for a nearby village to which she usually sent coded letters when she was too far to deliver them with her animals. One evening, while Dan was helping Kaspuru cook the meat for dinner, trying his best not to wonder where it came from, Merekis returned from his usual trip with a letter. ¡°The Iraspes,¡± he only said, handing it to Sibras. He read it out loud. It was very short, barely a sentence: they requested he sent someone trusted at the palace to discuss the most recent events. ¡°Which events?¡± Sibras asked. They all looked at each other, waiting for someone to answer. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear anything at the market the other day,¡± Kaspuru said. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re keeping it a secret.¡± ¡°I have a bad feeling about this,¡± Sibras murmured. He turned the letter upside-down, held it up to the light, then tossed it into the fire. ¡°No need to worry yet. I¡¯ll go to the palace tomorrow,¡± Merekis said. Dan glanced at Tagu: she was already looking at him, her pupils two hair-thin slits. She remembered. The next day, he completed the circuit faster than usual, to the point Autur gave him one of her rare compliments. He put on a shirt, Arissian trousers and a short cape and announced that he was going to the river to bathe and fish. Tagu left to look for garbage. They met in the woods, not too far from the camp. ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Tagu said. ¡°Do we start the race from here?¡± ¡°No,¡± Dan said. ¡°It¡¯s easy to cheat in the woods. We¡¯ll start at Aressea, near the palace. We¡¯re doing another game, now.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll follow Merekis. If he sees one of us, we both lose. Deal?¡± She nodded, even if her ears lowered a bit. She was too competitive to enjoy the idea of collaborating They waited until Merekis returned from his bath at the river after the sparring session. He said goodbye to everyone, then closed his eyes and disappeared. Dan waited for Tagu to move, but found she had vanished too. Then he looked up and saw a dark brown tail dangling from the foliage. He followed it as quietly as he could, even if it was difficult to tell without any kind of augmented hearing. Luckily Merekis didn¡¯t have it either, as far as he knew. It took them at least one hour of walking through the woods to reach the outskirts of the city. Dan raised the hood of his short cape to hide his face. As soon as Tagu dropped down from a tree to join the crowd, he raised her hood too. She hissed. ¡°Where is he?¡± Dan whispered. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Tagu said in a whiny tone, grabbing at the brim of her hood. ¡°There¡¯s too many people.¡± There was a small crowd flowing into the city from one of the main roads. Dan¡¯s heart accelerated when he thought he had lost Merekis, then saw a weird movement in the middle of the crowd: people seemed to disappear for a moment, replaced by a portion of space the color of the road and the grass beside it, as if it reflected a reality where the city was empty. Merekis¡¯s powers, whatever they were, didn¡¯t extend to people. ¡°I see him. Quick,¡± he said, and this time he was the one leading the way. Merekis was cutting the crowd diagonally, slipping in between the groups of travellers. It became difficult to spot him once he had reached the side of the road, because the people there were more sparse. ¡°How does he do it?¡± Dan wondered. ¡°He explained it to me,¡± Tagu said, her voice too loud as usual. ¡°People are too complicated for the colors inside his skin. He¡¯s a weird kind of octopus.¡± Dan took it to mean he had some powers, like Autur and Sibras. ¡°How does he move around with his eyes closed?¡± Dan whispered, hoping she would imitate him. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe he uses his tentacles?¡± Merekis was even more difficult to spot once inside the city, since he could avoid most people by keeping close to the walls. Tagu grabbed Dan¡¯s hand, forcing him to slow down. ¡°We won. We got through the woods and he didn¡¯t see us. We don¡¯t need to follow him, I know where the palace is.¡± She ran away before Dan could stop her. He glanced over his shoulder, but he couldn¡¯t spot Merekis anymore. He bolted after Tagu, who was climbing the metal ladder protruding from one of the buildings. Despite all of his training, he was out of breath when he reached the roof. Tagu was waiting for him with her tail twitching. ¡°You¡¯re slow.¡± He couldn¡¯t even take in enough breath to answer. It didn¡¯t matter, since she was already jumping onto the next roof. Dan looked down: it wasn¡¯t a big drop and the buildings were close together, but he didn¡¯t know how to activate the pattern in his trousers. He tried to focus on his viss like Mor¨¬c had attempted multiple times to teach him. He didn¡¯t feel anything, except for the blood rushing in his pulsing ears. He knelt down and grabbed the border of the roof, then swung himself over the edge. He dangled for a few instants, then held his breath and let go. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The fall was rough. He tried to roll as Autur had taught him, but it barely did anything to lessen the impact and it brought him dangerously close to the border of the roof. Tagu was already running on the walkable archway that connected the building to the next, but stopped and came back down. ¡°Are you stupid?¡± she asked, grabbing him by the shirt, the same he¡¯d been wearing the day he arrived on the other side of the sea. ¡°You have to use the pattern.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how!¡± ¡°Like this.¡± She touched a dot embroidered in the tight of her trousers. ¡°Then you push out your viss.¡± Dan could only look at her with his mouth half-open. His side was starting to pulse with a painful ache. Tagu¡¯s ears lowered. ¡°You don¡¯t know what viss is?¡± ¡°I know, I just don¡¯t know how to use it.¡± ¡°Autur taught me. She said I had to use my animal traits to feel it.¡± Dan stared at her. She turned and bolted for the next roof, as if that sentence was enough to help him. Two people arrived in the opposite direction, gave him a funny look and proceeded on their way. He closed his eyes and thought about sea snakes. They mainly did two things: bite and swim. He wasn¡¯t inclined to test whether he had already developed venom by biting his own hand, so he closed his eyes and held his breath. The seconds passed without him feeling anything except for slight discomfort. Soon, a minute had passed, then two. He felt a prickling sensation on the back of his arms. He opened his eyes, but he didn¡¯t see anything. He closed them again and waited some more. The slight trembling in his skin intensified. The sensation wasn¡¯t new, but he couldn¡¯t place it, which meant he¡¯d been very small when he had last experienced it. He tried to push the feeling forward, whatever it meant, and was surprised to sense it moving toward his fingers and from there to the slate roof, where he couldn¡¯t feel it anymore. He stood, still holding his breath, and jogged up the archway. There was another drop afterwards. He put his hand over the dot on his trousers and jumped. He felt the cloth tighten around his legs as he pushed his viss forward. He dropped to his feet as if he¡¯d just bounced in place. He couldn¡¯t see Tagu anymore, but he didn¡¯t need to: the thirteen steeples of the weavers¡¯ palace were emerging from behind the higher buildings. It was difficult to believe he had anything to do with such a big place. Hundreds and hundreds of cloths covered a structure that no creature alive had seen since the moment of its creation. The thirteen steeples were the only defined elements emerging from that mass of shifting veils, curtains as tall as towers, and layers of knitted fibers. The central one was the tallest, while the others were positioned around it in groups of threes, maintaining an equal distance from each other. The colors of the cloths on the surface were bright, with yellows, reds and pinks. They raised in the wind to reveal the darker colors below, greens, blues and purples like the carapace of a beetle. He was so busy gaping at the palace he almost didn¡¯t notice Tagu crouching at the border of a roof. He sat down next to her, lowering his gaze from the steeples to the base of the palace. It wasn¡¯t surrounded by a garden or fence, only by a large square covered in flagstones. There weren¡¯t guards on the outside. ¡°Where¡¯s the entrance?¡± he asked, feeling a bit of shame about not knowing such a fundamental thing about a place where he used to live. ¡°They change it. You have to know where it is. If you enter from the wrong place, the guards will catch you.¡± A pigeon landed next to one of the lower steeples, where the solid structure underneath was closer to the top. Ripples expanded from the bird in circles, as if it had landed on the surface of a perfectly still lake and not dozens of layers of different cloths at once. Dan wondered how it was possible, since there were no visible patterns. A short curtain right under the steeple shifted when a hidden window was opened. A guard leaned out and looked up, as if knowing exactly where to find the culprit of all that movement, and scared the pigeon away with a barrage of insults. Dan was reminded that they were supposed to avoid animals. He looked around, but he couldn¡¯t see any in the area. ¡°Do you think Mayvaru saw us?¡± he asked. ¡°No,¡± Tagu said. ¡°The animals don¡¯t glow.¡± Her ears were low, as if she didn¡¯t consider it good news. Dan raised his hood a bit more to conceal his hair completely. As friendly as the strays were, he needed to remember whose side they were actually on. Merekis appeared some steps away from the palace. He headed toward a specific spot, already reaching out with one hand. Before he could touch the curtain that covered it, Tagu ran past him and grabbed it, causing ripples on its entire surface. ¡°I won,¡± she yelled. ¡°Did you see, Dan? I won!¡± He looked at the empty roof beside him, incredulous. He hadn¡¯t even noticed her leaving. Merekis said something, then looked up in the direction Tagu was yelling at. Dan retracted a bit, but he was still clearly visible. ¡°Come down,¡± Merekis ordered, and Dan threw his legs over the edge and let himself drop, activating the pattern with one hand. He approached the palace meekly. Merekis usually had a kind expression, but now he followed Dan¡¯s approach with a pointy gaze. He braced himself for a scolding, but the curtain Tagu had touched was brusquely flung aside, revealing four guards and an open door. They didn¡¯t wear the same upper garment of Aressea¡¯s inhabitants, but an ochre shirt completely embroidered with patterns that extended to the trousers. ¡°Identify yourself,¡± one of the guards said. ¡°Merekis of the strays.¡± The guard nodded, looking up and down at him with open disgust. ¡°Here,¡± another one tossed a long coat at him. ¡°We were waiting for you, but we weren¡¯t told anything about these two. Who are they?¡± ¡°Tagu and Dan of the strays.¡± Merekis sighed. ¡°They¡¯re with me.¡± ¡°Next time alert us that you won¡¯t come alone, or we¡¯ll throw them in prison,¡± the first guard said. Merekis nodded. Dan felt guilty about forcing him into that situation. The guilt faded at every step he took inside the palace, as fragments of memories tugged at his attention. Some of them came from conversations he¡¯d had with Mor¨¬c, others from his life before the mountain. Even the inside of the palace was covered in tapestry. Rectangular works of art of various sizes were sewn directly to the walls. The solid structure underneath was covered by a woven layer of cornflower blue that enveloped the floor as well, hiding every corner that the long carpets couldn¡¯t reach. Embroidered patterns and decorations ran up and down the walls, snaking around the tapestries. Dan extended a hand to graze the reproduction of a constellation, but a tentacle slapped it away. ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything,¡± Merekis hissed. ¡°You two shouldn¡¯t be here. Did someone see you?¡± Dan thought about the two people on the roof. He shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re wearing hoods,¡± Tagu said. ¡°Keep them on. Don¡¯t speak to anyone.¡± They entered a small hall. The corridors and rooms were brightened by spheres that contained a shifting luminous fog, woven into the tapestry of the walls like eggs in a spider nest. Merekis stopped at the center and waited. Soon enough, a man emerged from one of the three corridors that started from that room. A servant, Dan thought in seeing his uniform of the same color as the walls, as if he had emerged directly from them. ¡°I¡¯ll escort you to the meeting room,¡± he said. He promptly turned around and started marching along a different corridor. Merekis followed with another sigh. ¡°Are we meeting with Mayvaru or Beramas?¡± he asked. ¡°I wasn¡¯t told,¡± the servant replied. Dan felt his heart skip a beat. He looked over his shoulder to gauge whether it was too late to bolt for the exit. Meeting Mayvaru again in the weavers¡¯ palace was like inviting her to investigate him. As much as he looked for a sign of where he was inside the palace, he couldn¡¯t make sense of the corridor¡¯s twists and turns and the position of the stairs. He remembered how easy it was to get lost. Nobody knew the structure of the building underneath the layers of cloth, except maybe for his parents. Some of the tapestries were thicker than they looked, acting as secret doorways. Dan remembered following his brother into an opening in the wall, losing him in the dark, and eventually being found while he bawled his eyes out. He observed the tapestries on either side, dreading the moment when the corridor would have given way to a room with Mayvaru inside. He slowed down to let Tagu walk ahead of him and touched the wall with the tips of his fingers, ready to retract his hand as soon as Merekis or the servant turned around. He remembered a distant scolding about not touching the cloth with dirty hands, because the palace took an entire month to clean. The next tapestry depicted an orange fish swimming on a background of leaves. Each scale was depicted with a darker color, the edges curving and touching each other as they followed the bend of the fish¡¯s tail. Dan stopped. He remembered that tapestry, and most importantly, he could see the pattern traced by the scales. The cloth it was made of felt different under his fingers. He looked at the rest of the group. Their steps made almost no sound on the soft woven floor covered by a carpet, so Merekis and the servant hadn¡¯t yet noticed that he wasn¡¯t following them. Only Tagu had slowed down and was looking at him. Dan raised a finger to his lips, then touched the only visible eye of the fish and pushed out his viss. For a moment the stupidity of that gesture caught up with him: he didn¡¯t know the effect of that pattern. It could have been a defence system, for all he knew. But then the strings at the side of the tapestry started to part, revealing a dark cavity beyond. Dan slipped into it. Tagu called his name in alarm, but he retracted his hand from the tapestry and the strings closed behind him. 7.21 - Who remains The wall of cloth was thick enough to muffle sound, even if a bit of light still filtered through the corridor. He could see Tagu¡¯s silhouette traced behind the fish, immediately joined by Merekis¡¯s taller one. He ran away before they could figure out how to activate the pattern. He needed to get as far away from Mayvaru as he could, then look for his brother. Maybe even free him. The dark became deeper. He stretched both arms at his sides to touch the walls and steady himself. There weren¡¯t carpets or tapestries, corridors or doors, nor another direction to follow other than forward. He ran as fast as he could. Soon he met another wall of cloth, light piercing it through a thousand tiny holes. Just like when he was little, he didn¡¯t know how to get out. He touched the wall that sealed off the corridor as well as the ones on either side. He felt a slight change in material and explored its shape until he was sure it traced a pattern. He started following each line with the tip of his fingers to find the dot. Most of the whirls and waves ended in nothing, forcing him to go back and choose another branch. It took him so long he expected to hear Tagu¡¯s voice yelling at him in the dark. But there was absolutely no sound, and as much as she could move silently, it was impossible not to be spotted in that tight space. He touched the dot with his finger and leaned forward until his ear was pressing against the wall. No sound came from the outside, so he activated the pattern. The strings parted as before, allowing him to emerge into another corridor covered in maroon tapestry. He clearly remembered the dining room being of that color. There were no doors in sight. He didn¡¯t see any guards or servants, so he retracted his hand and let the wall close. He memorized the tapestry in the area and went right, figuring any direction he took was good enough as long as it led him away from the shortcut. He jogged, causing only a series of low thumps that couldn¡¯t be heard from afar. He feared encountering a guard. Servants he could deal with, probably. He slowed down when he saw a heavy green curtain on the left. He slowed down and put his back to the wall, close enough to glimpse inside. Judging by the sound of cutlery and low conversations, it was a dining room. From his position, he could see a portion of a cabinet full of precious ceramic plates. He didn¡¯t dare move the curtain and look inside, in case one of the room¡¯s occupants was facing the entrance. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat it!¡± a child screamed. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving the table until you finish your steak. Come on, take a bite.¡± The voice that had spoken was rough and feminine. The child emitted a high-pitched screech that made Dan flinch. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a stupid lizard. I want to be a shark.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t use that word with me!¡± Then, softer: ¡°It¡¯s not a lizard, sweetie, it¡¯s a crocodile. It¡¯s strong. Nobody will ever be able to hurt you.¡± But the child kept screaming. ¡°Mom,¡± said a different voice that sounded like it belonged to a boy about Mor¨¬c¡¯s age. ¡°I didn¡¯t start that young. And you gave me a list to choose from.¡± ¡°Times have changed. Now our family has specific needs. Once we¡¯re ready to step out into the sun, we need to show the full extent of what we can do.¡± He let the curtain fall back. The room was interesting and all, but his brother wasn¡¯t there. He turned and saw a shadow projected on the corridor¡¯s wall, becoming more and more defined as it approached. Dan retreated inside the room. He moved with caution among the tables filled with glasses, beckers, and other objects he¡¯d only ever seen before in Saia¡¯s house and at the herbalist¡¯s shop, and never in such quantities. At least, it meant that the room had plenty of spots to hide. He crouched under a table and waited in silence. From that position, he had a better view of the light on the ceiling. It came from a big glass container filled with water. Something moved inside it: a milky-white creature shaped like a small sheet of cloth, as big as the palm of Dan¡¯s hand. Its outline pulsated with an irregular blue light that changed intensity depending on the creature¡¯s movements. The shadows were wiped away by the golden light of a lantern. Dan blinked, trying to see who had entered the room. ¡°Who are you?¡± He made a step back in hearing the voice, but only managed to bump against the leg of the table. A man approached from the entrance, holding a lantern that was ten times more luminous than the others. The light subsided, revealing that his dark blond hair was actually of an earthy brown and his eyes didn¡¯t shine as much as suck the light in. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Dan took advantage of that moment to bolt away from him. He yelled something and tried to stop him by extending an arm, but only managed to knock down an empty still. In any other situation, he would have managed to reach Dan as he sprinted from one table to the next, but the space was too tight and the man too tall. Dan flung himself beneath the curtain and immediately rolled to his feet, like Autur had tried to teach him. Only while he was already running down the corridor did it occur to him to check that the man was alone. He risked a glance over his shoulder: there weren¡¯t guards with him, but he was also incredibly fast. ¡°Wait!¡± he yelled. Dan accelerated. He saw the geometric tapestry and extended a hand, trying to gauge where the pattern began. There was a shape to the left that resembled a sun, so he pushed as much viss as he could into it, hoping it would spill to the pattern whether it was connected to it or not. The strings of the tapestry started parting. If he If he closed the tapestry just at the right time, he could gain some seconds while the stranger figured out to open it again. At least he didn¡¯t seem armed, which made him unable to cut the cloth. The man stopped, gaping. Dan was about to slip through, when he heard what he was muttering. ¡°Danv¡­ No, Dan. It¡¯s Dan now, right?¡± He froze, his hand still on the woven sun, the corridor open beside it. ¡°How do you¡­?¡± he began, then realized. They had Mor¨¬c. They had forced him to tell everything. And yet they knew his name, but how had the man also recognized his face? Why would Mor¨¬c reveal who he used to be, when they didn¡¯t even suspect a connection? When Mayvaru had sniffed him and looked at him up close and concluded he wasn¡¯t the person she wanted? The man stepped closer until he was five armlengths away from Dan, then stopped. He held the lantern out even if there was no need for it, as if the light was a peace offering. ¡°I just want to talk,¡± he said, his voice suddenly softer. Dan remembered that tone, but couldn¡¯t grasp further than that. Another possibility occurred to him: that Mor¨¬c had decided to reveal who Dan was, because he somehow trusted him. Or maybe he had been manipulated into trusting him. His brother was so fragile, sometimes. He couldn¡¯t decide what was the truth, so he stood with his feet on either side of the hidden corridor¡¯s entrance. ¡°You don¡¯t remember me, it¡¯s perfectly normal. I¡¯m Irdes Lauhas-Toberis. Or maybe I should say Irdes Iraspes-Toberis, now.¡± The man glanced over his shoulder and lowered his voice. ¡°I¡¯m the husband of your father¡¯s first cousin. I joined your family through a contest. I was tasked with bringing you and Mor¨¬c to the other side of the sea.¡± Dan¡¯s eyes widened. The memories were always just pieces, as if looking at the scene from afar and out of the corner of his eye, and it had a dreamlike quality that made him doubt whether he had imagined it all. He wished he knew Irdes enough to ask questions only he would know the answer to. Instead, he asked the only one that mattered. ¡°How¡¯s Mor¨¬c?¡± ¡°Well, considering his situation. He¡¯s asleep most of the time, and even when he¡¯s awake it doesn¡¯t last long. They can¡¯t force an answer out of him that way.¡± ¡°How¡¯s that possible?¡± Dan asked, kicking himself for never listening to his brother when he tried to teach him magic. ¡°Someone must possess enough of his viss to control him from afar. Someone powerful, I guess. They manage to resist even against Beramas¡¯s manipulations.¡± ¡°Our parents?¡± Dan asked. Irdes¡¯s expression softened even more. He made the lantern change hand and extended the one he had freed, as if to reassure Dan. He was too distant to reach him. ¡°No, not your parents,¡± he only said. Dan knew. He had always known, abandoning the idea of ever seeing them again as soon as he was old enough to have a bit of practical sense. Mor¨¬c was the one still hoping, still believing. And yet, he had kept a piece of his old name, the only thing he owned that came from them. The only thing he would ever have. He cried. Irdes covered the distance that divided them and hugged him with one arm, still keeping the lantern above his head with the other. ¡°I wish I could do more for you two,¡± he said. ¡°But it¡¯s a miracle they never found out it was me to bring you away. They only kept me alive because I know how to make the flying carpets. They¡¯re forcing me to study the pattern because they hope I¡¯ll find the most general holders. I¡¯ve created some minor inventions for them, but I don¡¯t know for how long I¡¯ll be able to keep them at bay.¡± His voice managed to calm Dan a bit. He felt centered in the present once again, where he was in the middle of a palace that didn¡¯t belong to his family anymore, enemies at every corner. He stepped back, wiping his eyes. He had let go of the tapestry and the strings next to it had closed, hiding the corridor again. ¡°Only a Lauhas can activate these patterns,¡± Irdes said, passing his hand over the geometrical shapes. ¡°And if someone were to cut it down in an attempt to open it, the entire cover of the corridor would collapse on them. Never let anyone see you activate these patterns.¡± He retracted his hand. ¡°The Iraspes, Mayvaru and Beramas are all looking for you. You took a huge risk coming here.¡± Dan looked up at him, wondering what to tell him. He didn¡¯t get the chance to say anything, because shouts came from the end of the corridor. ¡°You, go left. You, with me. If the kid is here, drag him away before the family can see you.¡± Irdes put a hand on Dan¡¯s shoulder and, to his dismay, shouted: ¡°Found him!¡± The men arrived from the end of the corridor, armed with the shifting weapons of the city guards. They were out of breath, probably after looking for Dan in the other areas of the palace. ¡°I¡¯ll escort him outside,¡± Irdes said. ¡°This matter is out of your hands.¡± ¡°The servant said he disappeared,¡± one of the guards said, panting. ¡°Maybe we should imprison him and wait for lord Beramas.¡± ¡°He only got lost and wandered too far. Don¡¯t you see he¡¯s scared to death?¡± Irdes vaguely pointed at Dan¡¯s face. He looked down to hide that he had cried, which he realized was exactly what a sulking child would do. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take responsibility for any damage or information leak.¡± With that, he gently pushed Dan forward. Soon they crossed a door that was as big as the whole corridor, thread and strings weaved so well around it that there wasn¡¯t a single glimpse of the wall all around. A rare occurrence inside the weavers¡¯ palace. It took them a surprisingly long time to return to the blue section of the palace. Irdes stopped at the hall that opened behind the palace¡¯s temporary entrance. ¡°Wait here and don¡¯t move for any reason, or I won¡¯t be so lenient next time,¡± he said out loud, to the benefit of the guards standing a few armlengths from there, then he turned and left. Dan looked at his back, resisting the urge to call for him. In the end, he sat down next to a wall and waited for Merekis and Tagu, hoping that at least they hadn¡¯t encountered any problems. His hope vanished when they appeared from the end of the corridor and he saw Merekis¡¯s deep scowl. ¡°Put on the hood,¡± he ordered, any trace of his usual mellowness gone from his voice. ¡°We¡¯re leaving.¡± Dan obeyed. He fell in step next to Tagu and shot her a questioning look, but she just shrugged. Once on the other side of the square outside the palace, Merekis stopped and grabbed both of them by their shoulders. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell Sibras about this. He won¡¯t like it.¡± He looked ahead and resumed walking. ¡°There¡¯s nothing he will like about any of this.¡± 8.1 - The monastery Saia didn¡¯t know what she expected the monastery to be like. While she and Serit approached the area that Caydras had pointed at on the map, she paid attention to the soil under her domain, in case the local monks lived underground. She couldn¡¯t imagine them living anywhere else other than a system of tunnels and small rooms without any natural light. And yet, when she saw the giant dome on top of a five-story palace sprawling on the plain like a flower with twelve petals, so close to a cliff that the tall waves sprayed the side of the building, she somehow knew she¡¯d found them. After all, it was the closest thing to the mountain she¡¯d seen during all of her permanence in the Golden Lands. ¡°Always living at the top of everything,¡± she commented. Serit nodded, eyes lost on the horizon. They¡¯d been distracted in the past few days of voyage, and Saia had learned to never ask them what was wrong if she didn¡¯t want to spend the next hour listening to all the possible worries a human mind could produce. She checked again that Mayvaru wasn¡¯t recognizable, observing her from afar with her domain expanded. That morning, she had wrapped her up in Serit¡¯s bedroll with pieces of ropes they¡¯d found abandoned next to a field. She was completely covered, only the top of her head visible in a way that made her fur look like hair. Saia had changed back into her neighbor. Staying in one place long enough to study a different person was too dangerous, and so few people had seen her clearly, far enough from there, that she didn¡¯t think she was at risk of being recognized. She still remembered the faces of the four monks who had visited the outpost and was prepared to avoid them. ¡°She¡¯s too powerful,¡± Serit said. Saia had thought the conversation about Mayvaru¡¯s powers had been over that morning, when they had stopped at an inn to get them something to eat. The lands closer to Aressea hadn¡¯t been punished by the local soldiers, so the food was abundant after the harvest. ¡°What?¡± she asked. ¡°Her range is even bigger than yours. Twenty times bigger at the very least. But she¡¯s not a sphere, she doesn¡¯t have viss floating around. She doesn¡¯t have a domain.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°So she has to connect with all her animals in another way. It¡¯s not the link I¡­ Vanan has discovered. It¡¯s not permanent, for one, and she can create it with multiple animals and let them go when she doesn¡¯t need them anymore. That¡¯s not how it works.¡± ¡°Why do you even bother thinking about it? We defeated her. Now we have other problems.¡± ¡°If the Iraspes are capable of creating creatures like her, we should know how they work. And if I discovered how to replicate the same kind of connection she does, Vanan¡¯s research would be irrelevant.¡± Saia smiled. ¡°What?¡± Serit asked, piqued. ¡°I should have imagined you were thinking about how to use it to your own benefit.¡± Serit stopped. Saia kept smiling, but she saw in their viss she had pushed them too far. ¡°You don¡¯t understand. If I could find a different way to reach the same results, better results, and Vanan doesn¡¯t, then¡­¡± They trailed off. ¡°What?¡± Saia asked. ¡°Then you can prove you¡¯re better than him or something?¡± They shook their head and resumed walking, their expression devoid of the indignation that had flooded it one second before. ¡°No, not that. But I can offer something at the representatives, and maybe it will be enough to silence whatever Enanit will have convinced everyone I had done.¡± Saia knew they weren¡¯t saying everything going on inside their mind. She reached them in two viss-powered steps, despite their attempts of putting distance between them. ¡°What about focusing on something else? You¡¯re not just a part of Vanan. There are other things you could do that would be useful to fight Beramas.¡± Serit didn¡¯t answer, so Saia didn¡¯t insist. The plain of grass was so empty on all sides that the monks had probably already seen them, even if she couldn¡¯t detect any movement on top of or around the building, except for small silhouettes walking around its perimeter every few instants. ¡°Did you think about what to write?¡± she asked Serit. ¡°Yes. I still think it¡¯s a terrible idea.¡± Saia didn¡¯t rise to the bait. She accelerated, making her statue shine as if there was a layer of sweat on her skin. She approached the main door of the building, while Serit struggled to keep up with her. She banged the door frantically, her stone knuckles transforming her blows into thunders. ¡°Help!¡± she yelled, doing her best to appear agitated. Serit¡¯s nervousness contributed to making the scene convincing to anyone who might have been watching from the windows. A side door slowly opened, revealing the dark eye of a lanky monk. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°We need to see the abbot. Now,¡± Saia added, since the monk¡¯s answer was just a confused blink. ¡°She¡¯s obviously very busy. What happened?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time to waste.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we can help you without bothering the abbot, if you only would tell me your problem.¡± Saia had anticipated some resistance. She unknotted the ropes tying the bedroll and placed it on the ground. She lowered the border with the tip of a finger, and the monk wrinkled his nose as if he expected a foul smell. His eyes slowly widened when he saw Mayvaru¡¯s unconscious face. ¡°We were in the area when she was attacked,¡± Saia said, keeping her voice low but perfectly clear to the monk¡¯s ears. ¡°She¡¯s not dead, but she doesn¡¯t wake up. We¡¯re foreigners, we don¡¯t know what to do. We need the abbot¡¯s guidance.¡± The monk licked his dry lips. ¡°One moment,¡± he said, and retracted inside. Saia followed him with her domain, expanding it as slowly as she could. Despite Mayvaru and Beramas having no idea about what she was capable of, not entirely at least, she still expected the monks to at least know about the spheres. So she examined the rooms and even the walls of the monastery, looking for traces of another domain. She perceived a few rats sucking away her viss, but they ran away immediately, as if perceiving her attention on them. Their normal behavior, when they weren¡¯t being controlled. The monk took the stairs up until he was at the edge of her domain, then turned along a corridor to reach the biggest room in the area, an office with a giant table and a chimney. Compared to the rest of the palace, it was fairly modest. The abbot, a woman of about sixty years with a braid abandoned over one shoulder, thick and gray as her tunic, exchanged a few words with the monk. They both left, heading back down the stairs and toward the entrance. Saia admired the corridors full of paintings and the shiny marble floor of the monastery while she waited for them to open the door. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°If this is ¡®disgrace¡¯, I don¡¯t want to know how rich they were before,¡± she commented. Serit sighed. ¡°Please don¡¯t mention it with them.¡± ¡°I know, I know.¡± Finally, the door opened on the abbot¡¯s scowl. ¡°Why do you have Mayvaru?¡± She was speaking with Saia, but staring at the bedroll at her feet. ¡°We were in the area. Please, let us in: we¡¯ve been followed by the attackers and we don¡¯t know how far they are from here.¡± The abbot raised her eyes, her lips a line over her brown face, as if it was just one of the many wrinkles that crossed her cheeks. ¡°You can leave her here. We¡¯ll give you a carriage to go back to Aressea.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not from Aressea,¡± Saia said, and the abbot¡¯s slow nod confirmed she was aware of that. ¡°But the attackers are. This is the only place in towerlengths where we can be safe.¡± Saia realized too late Arissians didn¡¯t use that word. The abbot didn¡¯t seem to give it any weight. ¡°Serit,¡± she said in their ears. ¡°Sure,¡± they answered, so full of tension that they didn¡¯t notice they were speaking out loud. ¡°We need to send a message to Aressea to explain the situation.¡± That sentence and, Saia suspected, their evident fear, mellowed out the abbot a little. ¡°A message to whom?¡± ¡°The sculptors,¡± Saia said. ¡°I will read it first.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± The abbot turned around and gestured for them to follow her. They didn¡¯t have to go far, which disappointed Saia because there were portions of the monastery she couldn¡¯t fully reach with her domain. The abbot led them to a side room with tall glass windows on three sides. The sea couldn¡¯t be seen if not leaning out from one specific spot, but the rhythmic crash of the waves was so loud it enveloped her every thought. Maybe for that reason, the abbot let them in even if there were three monks sitting at the long tables scattered around the room, each bent in front of a piece of parchment. Tools for writing were scattered all over the available surfaces. A few tomes were open on bookrests, all of them positioned amid the chaos but somehow still far enough from every bottle of ink. The abbot pointed at Serit, then a bench. She nudged ink and quill close to them, then looked around for the paper. Saia had already seen a full stack of it laying at one extremity of the table, but still let her search for it on her own. ¡°Are you sure you can write in Arissian?¡± she asked in Serit¡¯s ears. ¡°Yes,¡± they said. They looked up at her. ¡°But in case you see a dictionary laying around, can you check it for me?¡± Saia didn¡¯t answer. The abbot was already coming back with the paper, when the floor slightly quivered. Saia looked at Serit and the other monks, but they all continued staring in front of them without a reaction. She was about to conclude she had imagined it, when she noticed that the surface of the less dense inks was trembling a bit. ¡°Do you have earthquakes here?¡± she asked the abbot. ¡°No, not in this area. Why this question?¡± ¡°I felt something.¡± The abbot¡¯s face managed not to let anything through, but her viss trembled with a plethora of different reactions. Worry and irritation resurfaced above them all. ¡°Sometimes the waves are stronger than usual. Nothing to worry about.¡± Saia just nodded and didn¡¯t press the issue, despite the lie being extremely obvious. At least she had confirmation that there was something going on in that monastery, even if she still didn¡¯t know what it was. The abbot positioned herself behind Serit, where she could see every word they were tracing. Their hands trembled, so Saia had to calm them down with her viss. Their nervousness was her fault too, after all. As soon as Serit set the quill aside at the end of the letter, the abbot snatched it and started to read. Serit¡¯s sentences were concise, and it unnerved Saia not to know how correct they were. But the abbot¡¯s viss wasn¡¯t giving signs of suspicions, not more than usual at least. ¡°In summary, we saved Mayvaru, but she¡¯s unconscious for unknown reasons. We and Mayvaru might be still in danger. Please send us reinforcements,¡± she read. ¡°Tell them the soldiers will have to bring their own provisions.¡± Serit nodded, taking the letter back. They quickly added a sentence in the end, the abbot still looking over their shoulder, then slid the sheet into an envelope. ¡°I¡¯ll add my seal,¡± the abbot offered. Saia let her work. Their ask for help and the detailed description of what had happened seemed to have convinced the woman of their sincerity. No enemy of Aressea would write directly to the city asking for more soldiers. ¡°I¡¯ll have a carriage prepared,¡± the abbot said, taking the letter in her own clutch. Her trust only extended so far. ¡°That would only put the rider in danger,¡± Saia said. ¡°You should use a bird.¡± The abbot¡¯s eyebrows raised, and for a moment Saia expected a scolding for questioning her. ¡°Mayvaru was almost killed by these people,¡± she added. ¡°Are your monks better than her?¡± ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll send a bird, but we¡¯ll prepare another letter, to make sure at least one of them will arrive.¡± The abbot headed toward the door. She tapped on the shoulder of one of the monks on the way out, a man squinting so hard that he might as well be asleep. ¡°Find them a room,¡± Saia heard, her domain expanded. ¡°Then go back to yours and get some sleep.¡± He jumped to his feet. Saia and Serit followed him out of the room, while the abbot headed in the opposite direction. 8.2 - Teachings Saia only noticed it was almost midday when Serit awakened. ¡°Found a solution to face Beramas and not die horribly?¡± they asked, stretching their arms. Reading had become a mechanical thing, so she kept skimming two books at once while she returned most of her attention to the room. It was like trying to follow multiple conversations at once, but the gist was enough to be sure that neither of the volumes contained a mention of the monks, the mountain, or spheres. ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°You haven¡¯t even thought about it, have you?¡± ¡°No. We¡¯re staying here until I find out the truth.¡± Serit looked around the room, as if noticing it for the first time. ¡°Beramas will find us, eventually.¡± ¡°You¡¯re free to leave.¡± They glared at her. She felt a stab of guilt: of course they couldn¡¯t leave on their own, as much as she couldn¡¯t when she was trapped over the clouds. Even if they weren¡¯t being followed around by birdguards, they couldn¡¯t go far without everyone realizing they were a shilv¨¦ on earth and taking advantage of that. had been useful in the fight against Mayvaru. ¡°¡­But I¡¯m risking my life too, and I won¡¯t gain anything from this.¡± The bells rang before Saia could reply. Serit finished tying their headscarf. ¡°I¡¯m going to eat something decent, now. It would be nice if you waited until I¡¯m finished before doing something rash.¡± Saia nodded. Once they were gone, she took out Aili¡¯s shard. She wondered what to tell her, exactly. Found huge library. You would like it. Where are you? Still Aressea. Looking for Dan. How are you? Zeles? Busy. Might know soon what''s inside crater. Viss doesn¡¯t float, tied to objects. Don''t know more. Found monks like ours, but different. Do you have idea where to look? Don''t know. Secret passage? Is one of foreign languages code? Everything fine? Busy, told you. How''s it going with telling truth to villages? A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. What plan if they refuse? What society would we create? Don''t know, she admitted in the end. Want to think about it together. ¡°Gods have always been ten. Whoever told you about nine gods has never followed our teachings. You shouldn¡¯t listen to them.¡± ¡°But the governing families haven¡¯t always been ten.¡± The monk took a piece of chalk, but only turned it between her fingers without writing anything. ¡°You¡¯re talking about the beastforgers. Their demise has been a tragedy, and we don¡¯t yet know which god has willed it. We¡¯ll wait for Lunusu to choose another governing house.¡± ¡°How would he do it?¡± ¡°She. Probably through a vision, or a dream. By letting the designated family grow and be successful. The gardeners might be a candidate, but the goddess hasn¡¯t spoken in their favor yet.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Saia remembered the words of the elder, but she had enough control over her voice to not let the bitterness show. ¡°What about nine gods?¡± ¡°They were never nine.¡± ¡°I know for sure they were,¡± Saia insisted. She caught glimpse of resignation in the teacher¡¯s viss. ¡°Our predecessors thought they were nine in the distant past, but we¡¯ve since amended the offenses to the god we had forgotten with prayers and sacrifices.¡± ¡°These predecessors didn¡¯t seem very bright.¡± She had intended her words as a joke, but the teacher¡¯s viss flared. ¡°If our order didn¡¯t crumble after the betrayal, it was all their merit. We owe everything we have to their wisdom.¡± ¡°Which betrayal? What happened?¡± The teacher feigned perfect calm again. ¡°It¡¯s forbidden to discuss it.¡± ¡°Who betrayed you? Other monks?¡± The teacher started gathering the few documents on the desk. ¡°You don¡¯t care about the gods, you only want to pry.¡± Saia considered forcing her to reveal what happened in some way. Maybe manipulating her viss, even if monks were more likely to be experts at detecting it. Or by intimidating her with her powers. She set her ideas aside. There was still the question of what was hidden at the end of the stairs. She could always look for the teacher later, once she and Serit were ready to leave the monastery. ¡°I won¡¯t insist, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Saia said, and couldn¡¯t think of a better way to convince her to stay than asking her another question. 8.3 - Meat Sibras stood. His eyes were wide, showing only a liquid black. ¡°Is she dead?¡± Merekis lowered his head. Dan felt his hand slowly let go of his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve talked to Beramas: the families decided to send him into the Golden Lands to investigate. He was very annoyed. I guess the Iraspes wouldn¡¯t accept to send him away if they knew for sure that she¡¯s dead.¡± Sibras nodded once, or maybe dropped his head in defeat. ¡°Good. What about us? Did he give you a new mission?¡± ¡°No. He said to stay put and wait for further instructions.¡± Sibras nodded again. He turned and started walking out of the light of the campfire, but didn¡¯t go too far before stopping and sitting on a rock, his back to the rest of the camp. ¡°Leave me alone.¡± Merekis turned and headed toward the other side of the fire. Dan stood where he was, glancing at Sibras, then at Tagu. She walked away too, so he thought it was safe for him to follow her. ¡°Dan.¡± He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Sibras. ¡°Come here.¡± A fresh wave of fear washed over him. He glanced at the woods all around them, but he¡¯d seen the strays fight: if he ran, they¡¯d have found him. He didn¡¯t want them to think he was involved in Mayvaru¡¯s disappearance. He didn¡¯t want to have them as enemies, and not just because they were dangerous. So he walked on, hesitant step after hesitant step, until he was in front of Sibras. ¡°I¡¯m disappointed,¡± he said. Dan lowered his gaze. He hadn¡¯t expected his words to hurt, but they did. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just thought that Tagu¡­¡± ¡°Tagu is only eight. You should be the responsible one. Now we¡¯re in a difficult situation and you¡¯re a mouth to feed who can¡¯t participate in missions. Are you going to be a problem?¡± Dan managed to look up at him. He ached to explain why he had deceived them, but he wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d have found sympathy. At least they didn¡¯t seem to consider him an enemy either. ¡°No. I won¡¯t do it anymore.¡± ¡°You¡¯re forbidden to leave the camp by yourself. Your training will be redoubled, as well as your chores. You won¡¯t talk to Tagu alone until you can prove you can be a good influence. Is that all clear?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then go. Leave me alone.¡± Dan walked away with his head bowed. His fear slowly subsided, then spiked up again when he saw the faces of the others sitting on the treetrunks around the fire. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± Merekis asked. ¡°You know secrecy is the only thing that keeps us alive.¡± Another stab of guilt. Dan sat down on the ground, as far away from everyone else as possible. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I just wanted to see the palace.¡± ¡°We were worried sick,¡± Kaspuru said. ¡°Tagu always tells us when she leaves and never stays away that long. I thought something happened to you.¡± Dan closed his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°At my village, the one who enters the forest alone dies,¡± Autur said. ¡°Except for the strongest warriors. I¡¯ll do my best to turn you into one. I promise you won¡¯t like it.¡± And Dan didn¡¯t. Fighting with Autur day after day after day covered his body in bruises, even if they were using wooden weapons or sparring with their bare hands. Since he didn¡¯t really get off days, his muscles were constantly sore. He wasn¡¯t sure it was healthy, but the training doubled as punishment, and he was just glad Sibras didn¡¯t condemn him to something worse, or that he hadn¡¯t pried deeper into his reasons for entering the palace in secret. One morning, Autur disarmed him with her wooden staff, sending his fake sword flying across the sparring area. He sighed and jogged to get it back, but Autur barred his way by lashing out with the staff. He managed to avoid it by dropping down into a squat, the muscles of his legs protesting. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°I just wanted to get my weapon,¡± he said. Autur readied another blow, so he made a few steps backward. ¡°You¡¯re an animal person, not a helpless human. If you don¡¯t have weapons, use your body.¡± That moment of distraction was enough for Autur to hit the back of his left hand. He retracted with a yelp, then realized it wasn¡¯t hurting as much as he expected. He observed the scales covering his hand between knuckles and wrist. It had become a common view in the last few days, since his skin was always itching with every new one that emerged. He hadn¡¯t realized they were that sturdy. ¡°You already said that. As long as you don¡¯t do it anymore, we¡¯re even.¡± She walked a few steps behind him, stopping when he did, slowing down with him. It was impossible to guess the right direction based on her behavior. ¡°What¡¯s going to happen now?¡± he asked. ¡°Sibras seems upset.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know yet. We¡¯re still hoping for Mayvaru¡¯s return, I guess. Our whole livelihood depends on her.¡± Dan looked at her. ¡°Really? But you¡¯re so strong. You would be able to survive on your own.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still reasoning like a human, hatchling. We need very specific foods. Autur¡¯s boar is rare outside of her forest. If Mayvaru doesn¡¯t return and her stash depletes, she might be forced to go back.¡± Dan couldn¡¯t stand the sadness in her voice. ¡°You can hunt them yourself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I told the others. If Mayvaru is gone, we should take her place until she¡¯s back. But it¡¯s too soon to talk about that. Sibras isn¡¯t in condition to take such important decisions.¡± ¡°Take her place? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Find rare meat and redistribute it among the villages. We wouldn¡¯t need to hide anymore. They wouldn¡¯t look with suspicion at other people like us.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Well, maybe that¡¯s a bit too optimistic.¡± They had reached the village. Despite being early afternoon, there was almost nobody around. The pit at the center looked like it hadn¡¯t been used for a few days, with the dead cinders and the weeds pushed against the base of the tree trunks by the wind. The few people passing by took a look at them and disappeared into a side alley. ¡°I¡¯ll wait here,¡± Kaspuru said, leaning against the round wall of a house. ¡°Don¡¯t take too long or I¡¯m going to look for you.¡± Dan walked around the village¡¯s central square alone, keeping his eyes on one specific door. The deserted atmosphere of the village was affecting him. Something had happened, but he planned to take the meat and leave before finding out what it was. He stopped in front of Ulres¡¯s door. He only allowed himself an instant of hesitation before knocking. His anxiety diminished a bit when nobody answered, replaced by a mild irritation. He had to knock twice more, and the sound was so sudden in the silence of the village that the neighbor opened the window to look who it was. Finally, the door moved. Not enough to open, but he recognized the eye that looked out. It seemed to recognize him as well. ¡°Cousin?¡± Ulres said, and the entrance opened wide, revealing his wife right behind him. Dan was prepared to ask for what he needed and nothing else, maybe make them aware of how much he resented them for abandoning him with some offhand remark. He didn¡¯t get the time. ¡°We¡¯re terribly sorry we kicked you out,¡± Ulres said. ¡°Come in. Is there anything we can do for you?¡± ¡°I need meat,¡± he managed to squeeze out before being dragged inside almost by force. 8.4 - Fangs Dan sat at the kitchen table, facing the sea snake family that had crowded on the other side. They were staring at him and avoiding his gaze at the same time, to the point the situation was becoming embarrassing. ¡°So,¡± Ulres finally broke the silence. ¡°You survived. We didn¡¯t expect that, after your friend told us that you never arrived at Aressea.¡± ¡°My friend?¡± ¡°A woman that came here after you left.¡± ¡°Saia,¡± Veylu, his wife, offered. Dan couldn¡¯t speak. The idea of Saia, or anyone else from the mountain for that matter, crossing the sea to appear at Aressea was absurd. But it made no sense for Ulres to know her name otherwise. If it was true, suddenly what Irdes had told him made sense: there was someone keeping his brother asleep. He realized he was smiling, but couldn¡¯t bring himself to stop. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Ulres said. ¡°She left the village, probably to look for you.¡± ¡°There was someone else with her,¡± Veylu added. ¡°A person that didn¡¯t show their face and didn¡¯t talk much, but they seemed to be on her side. Didn¡¯t you meet them?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ve been¡­¡± He caught himself in time before mentioning the strays. ¡°In the area.¡± ¡°She was very angry at us for the way we treated you,¡± Veylu added. ¡°She was right. We shouldn¡¯t have let you go on your own. But we were scared of what Mayvaru could do to us, and we didn¡¯t know Beramas was looking for you as well.¡± Dan felt a tightening pain in his throat at the idea of having almost met Saia again. After she¡¯d disappeared with the monks, he couldn¡¯t count how many times she had come back only to leave shortly after, and nobody could ever tell him where she was and what she was doing. ¡°Who¡¯s Beramas?¡± he asked, trying to anchor his thoughts to the conversation. ¡°I¡¯ve heard his name before.¡± ¡°He operates mostly at Aressea,¡± Ulres said. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about him if you¡¯re never going there.¡± ¡°He has my brother. He knows I¡¯m here.¡± They looked at each other. ¡°In that case,¡± Veylu said. ¡°You should leave the country. Take the first ship and go to the other side of the sea. There are animal people everywhere.¡± ¡°But who is he?¡± Dan said. ¡°What can he do?¡± ¡°Anything,¡± Ulres said. ¡°As far as anyone knows. He¡¯s more powerful than anyone in the families, even.¡± ¡°More powerful than Mayvaru?¡± There was an instant of silence. ¡°Well, she was killed, right?¡± Ulres¡¯s daughter said. ¡°Or at least kidnapped.¡± ¡°Careful,¡± Veylu said, but her tone was tired more than threatening. ¡°But it¡¯s true. Why would there be hunters around if she was still alive?¡± ¡°Hunters?¡± Dan asked. Ulres sighed. ¡°If you live in a village you don¡¯t have to worry about them, they usually target isolated families. And they¡¯re not a danger to regular animal people.¡± ¡°In theory,¡± his daughter specified. ¡°Well, their methods are dangerous, but they have never killed anyone who wasn¡¯t an animal before. Sure, it¡¯s better if you never meet them in the first place, but if you do, follow their orders and you¡¯ll be fine.¡± His tone was meant to be reassuring, but Dan couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the strays, and the fact they didn¡¯t know about hunters. He needed to go back as soon as possible and tell them, but not before getting what he came for. ¡°Do you have some spare sea snake meat?¡± he asked. ¡°I can¡¯t go to Aressea right now.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Veylu said, and stood to open the cabinets. The scene reminded him of when they had sent him away from their home, after Mayvaru¡¯s visit. He was aware of the exact spot his brother was standing on when she¡¯d entered. He tried his best not to glance at it too much. The glass containers full of dried meat were handed to him inside a cloth bag. It was enough to last him a month. ¡°Are you sure I can take all of this?¡± he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can get them from our cousins at Aressea,¡± Ulres said. ¡°Is there anything else we can do for you?¡± Dan knew they were only helping him because Mayvaru wasn¡¯t around anymore, but he still found their warmth nice. ¡°Yes,¡± he said, setting the bag aside. ¡°I think my teeth are growing and I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± He grinned wide to show his canines. Ulres leaned forward, squinting a bit. ¡°They are,¡± he confirmed. ¡°My kids had them at this length when they were four. They¡¯re going to develop fast, especially if you eat sea snakes at every meal.¡± Dan relaxed his mouth. ¡°Is it dangerous?¡± ¡°Not until you start developing venom. Then there¡¯ll be a span of a few months when you¡¯ll have to be careful not to bite your tongue until they can bend properly.¡± ¡°Bend?¡± Ulres opened his mouth wide, to the point it became unsettling. His canines looked human, even if a bit rounded. They started to move, extending slowly until they became snake fangs long like half of his mouth. Dan realized he couldn¡¯t see the bottom part when Ulres smiled because normally they were bent against his palate, protected by a layer of skin. He retracted them quickly and closed his mouth. ¡°Cool,¡± Dan said. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to do this soon. But the venom is dangerous to us, so you should be careful in the meantime. Some people build immunity by ingesting a drop of it at lunch.¡± ¡°What if I bite myself?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°You¡¯ll die,¡± Ulres¡¯s daughter said. ¡°We¡¯re a bit resistant to our venom, but not immune,¡± Veylu added. ¡°And you¡¯re still too human anyway. Let me see, we should still have some patterns¡­¡± She left for an adjacent room. Dan heard her opening and closing drawers while muttering to herself. When she returned, she was holding a rolled-up piece of paper. It was closed by a string and sealed with green wax. ¡°This is a pattern we bought from the painters when our nephew was born,¡± she said. ¡°Place it against your skin and activate it to heal your blood of venom.¡± She handed it to him with care. The detailed symbol of a hand holding a brush impressed on the seal and the thickness of the paper gave Dan the impression of holding something precious. ¡°Store it in a place where it won¡¯t be squeezed or bent,¡± Veylu added. ¡°It¡¯s crucial that you keep it as intact as possible, so don¡¯t open it until you need it and don¡¯t keep it under the sun. And never, ever use it more than once. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°The ink deteriorates after the first use,¡± Ulres answered to his confused glance. ¡°If you activate it again, it could work as another pattern entirely and there¡¯s no way to know which one. It¡¯s best if you avoid it.¡± Dan kept the rolled paper in his hand with the tip of his fingers, as if it was a sea snake itself. ¡°Are you sure you want to give this to me? What about your family?¡± ¡°We have another one,¡± Veylu reassured him. ¡°And we¡¯re going to get a tattoo soon,¡± her daughter added, elbowing her brother. ¡°So we¡¯re not in danger anymore.¡± Once again, the silence fell in the room as all the eyes turned to her. ¡°Yes,¡± Ulres said. ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to talk about it because it¡¯s very illegal, but it¡¯s possible to get the pattern tattooed.¡± He pulled up his sleeve to show the pattern on his shoulder. He dropped the cloth. ¡°This way you¡¯ll always be immune. The closest tattooers are at Aressea, though.¡± Veylu raised a hand in front of his face, and he stopped talking. ¡°Tattoos are for adults. You¡¯re at least sixteen, right?¡± she asked, peering into Dan¡¯s eyes. ¡°Yes,¡± he lied. Ulres delicately pushed aside his wife¡¯s hand. ¡°In that case, look for Teormu. Her shop is disguised as a tailor on the fifth street, but she moves every few months.¡± Dan thanked them and stood. He hung the bag from one shoulder, while the pattern went into a front pocket of his trousers. ¡°Be safe,¡± Ulres said while accompanying him to the door. ¡°You have found a place to stay, right?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve found some friends.¡± ¡°You seem to have a lot of them around, for a foreigner,¡± Ulres¡¯s son commented. ¡°If you need more meat, come here,¡± Veylu said. ¡°Don¡¯t risk going to Aressea.¡± Dan nodded. Their suggestions were starting to pile up, so he stepped out of the house and thanked them as he walked away backward. When he turned, Kaspuru was in front of him. ¡°Found the meat?¡± she asked, leaning forward to pry into the bag until her beak was inside it. Dan nodded. As they walked back into the woods, the sun approaching the horizon, he realized that he would grow silver scales, just like Ulres and his family. The strays had only accepted him because they thought he was an outsider like them, but soon they¡¯d have discovered his lie. Sibras was already angry at him, maybe he¡¯d have decided to kick him out. His only hope was to become strong enough to be useful, develop his fangs as soon as possible, and maybe go to Aressea to buy some paint. ¡°There are hunters around,¡± he said. He realized he hadn¡¯t specified which kind of hunters, but Kaspuru¡¯s feathers raised in alarm. ¡°That would explain why everyone¡¯s scared,¡± she said. ¡°We¡¯ll tell Sibras. Maybe it¡¯ll give him something else to focus on.¡± Dan nodded and accelerated. He wasn¡¯t used to finding his way in the dark, so Kaspuru had to steer him around a couple of times. At one point, she extracted one of her swords and put a hand on his shoulder, grip just tight enough to force him to slow down. ¡°Do you hear anything?¡± she asked, her fox ear twitching back and forth. Dan stopped and waited a few seconds. ¡°No?¡± Kaspuru stepped in front of him. He matched her caution, even if he couldn¡¯t quite advance without noise as she did. It took half a towerlength in the dark before he started perceiving the clangs and screams. Kaspuru extracted her second sword. ¡°Wait here.¡± Dan watched her march onwards alone. He wondered what to do: Autur had trained him, but he wasn¡¯t ready to face an actual enemy. Still, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to stay hidden in the woods alone. The memory of Mayvaru dragging away Mor¨¬c was still fresh in his mind. He didn¡¯t want to stand back again. He followed Kaspuru from afar, making so much noise she¡¯d have undoubtedly noticed him hadn¡¯t she been so focused on what was happening at the camp. Now the light was visible: either the fire was flickering wildly under an invisible wind, or it was obscured by people in constant movement. Autur¡¯s voice screamed something. Kaspuru jumped, then started running forward, disregarding all the rustling she was causing. Dan tried to keep up with her, but she soon disappeared from view, becoming just another shadow in front of the fire. He crouched and stepped from tree to tree. The camp had been upturned and covered in nets, viscous liquids and darts. Autur¡¯s giant shape was moving back and forth, dodging and hitting with her sharp trunk a group of attackers that had surrounded her. Dan saw a weapon that looked like a giant dart with curved spikes coming out of her shoulder. A net was covering half of her body, forcing her to fight with one arm and constantly move to protect her incapacitated side.She screamed in fury at every movement. Kaspuru appeared behind her, dealing with three enemies in a quick series of movements. Dan couldn¡¯t avert his eyes, but thankfully the irregular light of the fire made it difficult to see the details of what was going on. He noticed the people face-down in the soil, only a few of them still moving, and felt a shiver. Kaspuru and Autur seemed to be in control of the situation, so he felt like he could look for the others without fearing they would be killed while he wasn¡¯t looking. Two attackers were carrying something away. He only recognized Sibras thanks to the long hood of his cloak dragging behind him. He was wrapped up in more ropes than necessary, but Dan imagined he didn¡¯t give the attackers enough time to make a better job. Merekis appeared for an instant, arm wrapped around a hunter¡¯s neck and tentacle around their neighbor. He slit their throats, but a third hunter managed to cut his tentacle with a sword before he could disappear again. Merekis let out a hissing scream and staggered back, colors rippling through his skin. A hunter was behind him in an instant, knocking him down with a blow to the head. Dan grabbed the tree trunk in front of him to steady himself. ¡°We should kill him,¡± one of the hunters commented while wrapping him up in a rope. ¡°No killing,¡± another hunter screamed from the opposite side of the campfire, aiming his weapon at Kaspuru. ¡°They¡¯re monsters, but they could be people.¡± ¡°They¡¯re killing us!¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re a bunch of incompetents,¡± the man screamed back. As if to make a point, he fired his weapon right as Kaspuru was advancing toward him. Dan stood, holding himself back from screaming, but the dart became a net that enveloped Kaspuru whole. Her swords got stuck in it and were yanked away from her hands, and she could only fall down while a hunter started pulling the net from under her feet. He had to bend to avoid Autur¡¯s swipe with her blade. ¡°Run away,¡± Kaspuru yelled. ¡°You can save us later.¡± Autur kept attacking, but the hunters were closing in on her. She slashed the piece of net that was keeping her trapped and charged through them, disappearing into the woods. Only a few ran behind her, but she was too quick. Tagu, Dan realized at that moment. He couldn¡¯t see her anywhere, not even among the bodies on the ground. He saw three hunters clustered around a tree on the right side of the clearing. He approached in that direction, trembling so hard it was difficult to stay hidden. He broke into a run when one of the hunters started shooting darts into the foliage, one after the other. Tagu dropped down onto his face and slashed it with her claws. She bolted away from him, but another hunter captured her in a net before she could reach the next tree. She thrashed around furiously, limbs going in every direction, enveloping herself completely. Dan remembered Sibras¡¯s words about Tagu being only eight. He knew he should follow Kaspuru¡¯s suggestion and hide, find Autur, then decide what to do together. But he was a human: he didn¡¯t run any actual danger if Ulres¡¯s words were true, and why would a coward like him lie about how dangerous the hunters were? But Tagu was almost certainly a cat, and if someone didn¡¯t help her hide it, the hunters could find out. He filled his pockets with the smallest jars of meat and sprinted toward her. The hunters spotted him, so he screamed and showed his teeth. He managed to plunge into their midst and grab the net, but Tagu was still thrashing, so he couldn¡¯t drag her away. It didn¡¯t matter: his plan was getting captured, and a net was already closing on him. He pretended to fall while the hunters laughed all around him, Tagu¡¯s net still in his clutch. He tied them together as best as he could, hoping it was enough to convince the hunters not to separate them. They didn¡¯t even notice. They dragged both of them across the camp, over their things and clothes. Dan watched them catch in the meshes of his net. Then the camp disappeared, replaced by trees and rough terrain. Dan kept his head raised from the ground and told Tagu to do the same, even if she was crying so loud he wasn¡¯t sure she had listened. He remembered her calling the strays her family and didn¡¯t know how to reassure her, just like he hadn¡¯t known what to tell Mor¨¬c every time one of his most promising carpets didn¡¯t work as he hoped. ¡°It¡¯s going to be alright,¡± he said, even if he had repeated that lie enough times to know it never worked. 8.5 - The hidden staircase ¡°I need to enter the library,¡± Saia told Serit once they were back from their lunch. ¡°And you¡¯re going to help me.¡± They closed the door. ¡°I felt good for about ten minutes, of course it was only temporary.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a secret staircase in the library. They won¡¯t let me enter because I¡¯m not a monk, but you can pretend to be a scholar of viss that wants to study their books.¡± ¡°I am a scholar of viss. The practical side of it, at least.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be hiding inside your bag, so¡­¡± ¡°Wait. Which books do they have?¡± Saia expanded her domain to read a couple of titles next to the secret doorway. ¡°I¡¯m on board. Not that I had a choice, but I actually want to read that.¡± shilv¨¦ history to the mechanism behind the way their cities floated. Serit didn¡¯t just answer her questions, but flaunted their knowledge so openly that Saia was always on the verge of telling them to at least feign a bit more uncertainty. shilv¨¦ were the ones to learn how to train sprites. It might have been humans, as far as we know, even if we lost that knowledge long ago.¡± shilv¨¦ society, though." we believe in is the truth, have you considered that?" Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. shilv¨¦ gods are just a variant of the Arissian ones anyway. They simply came to associate the materials they couldn''t find in their cities with each god during their piracy phase. For example, when they couldn¡¯t steal enough wood from the earth, they prayed to the goddess of wood and so on.¡± god," Serit hissed. and law. He shaped our¡­ their societies, gave them structure. Lunush¨¦ gives them clean water, but she also makes sure they return home safe from their rain-voyages.¡± They had reached a table, the long sides hidden by bookcases running parallel to them. It was right at the end of the library, where the secret entrance was. Saia expanded her domain bit by bit, since she didn¡¯t know what to expect. She could see more of the staircase, and a door at the end of it, but it was too far down to see what was behind it. Serit and Avuru were continuing the conversation next to the table, completely ignoring the chairs. ¡°See, it¡¯s a bit like the Arissian gods,¡± Avuru said. ¡°The goddess that protects the carvers might be considered an equivalent to your god of wood. She¡¯s more associated with nature than law and society, though.¡± ¡°The point isn¡¯t that they¡¯re similar. Why should one replace the other?¡± ¡°Our goal isn¡¯t to replace, but to offer an alternative.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not needed.¡± ¡°But what if we¡¯re right? Their souls should get the chance to pray to the right gods before meeting them in the underworld.¡± ¡°Then you should advocate for the contrary too. For our religion to spread to Aressea. In case we¡¯re right and you¡¯re wrong.¡± all of them. expert like you knew that most of the priests are shilv¨¦,¡± Serit was saying. "They can''t go to earth." There were more of them in the adjacent rooms, Saia could see as Serit advanced: one was filled by a series of beds, separated only by a cloth divider mounted on a frame. Some of the monks were sleeping, or trying to, while others made conversation, as if they were standing in a separate room and not a few armlengths from everyone else. The other room was a pantry of some kind, connected to a kitchen, connected to a bigger dining room she couldn¡¯t see in its entirety yet. Only a few people were still lingering behind, completely dressed in black jumpsuits of a tighter material compared to the tunics, which were hanging from their shoulders like capes. The central room, the one behind the metal door, intrigued her the most: it was incredibly long, with smooth stone walls and a floor covered in layers of metal. Steel, maybe. There was just one object filling a portion of that empty space, and it was placed right at the end of the room. No doors led into it except from the one in the vestibule. She observed the object, but couldn¡¯t figure out what it was. A piece of something, probably, since it had a vaguely triangular shape, but it curved to the point only the three corners touched the ground, as if they were following the shape of something invisible. It was made of gray-green metal, scratched and darker in places. It was bigger than a person laying down with their limbs spread open. Saia didn¡¯t recognize the material, but the object had to be important if the monks had dedicated an entire room to it. She observed the adjacent rooms and saw a group of other monks discussing among each other about something that seemed important. Saia listened for a bit, but they were only mentioning rationing food and producing new clothes. 8.6 - Second entrance Serit¡¯s steps echoed in the big empty room. They walked next to the wall, looking circumspectly all around as if the empty space could hide some secret corners. ¡°That¡¯s the thing you were talking about?¡± they said, pointing at the triangular piece of metal. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a material like that.¡± ¡°Any idea about what it might be?¡± Serit knelt beside the object. It was huge when compared to them, to the point they couldn¡¯t cover it completely even if they laid down on top of it. When they passed a hand on the surface, the metal vibrated with a low hum. They lowered on their fours to look under the small cavity created by the curving shape of the object. ¡°Already checked,¡± Saia commented. ¡°There¡¯s nothing there.¡± Serit sat on their talons, looking around the room with an inquisitive gaze, their fear apparently forgotten. ¡°The walls are perfect,¡± they said. ¡°But the floor is damaged.¡± Saia observed it: the hard plaques of metal that covered it curved around the object to form a shallow bowl. Serit touched them with the tip of their fingers. ¡°What does it mean?¡± Saia asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± While Serit examined the object, Saia perceived a movement in the general area of the room. It was a monk wearing leather reinforcements over her chest, abdomen and joints. She had a stuffed hat that made the back of her head look like a loaf of bread. She was holding a tube of metal encased and intersected by what looked like the twisted roots of a tree. Saia assumed it was dead wood until she noticed the viss moving inside it. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming here,¡± she said. Serit dropped down to hide behind the triangular object. ¡°You¡¯re sending them away, right?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Putting them to sleep?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s a chance to know what this place is. You could pretend to be a monk and ask her what they¡¯re doing here.¡± ¡°Are you insane? I¡¯m not even dressed like a monk.¡± ¡°But they don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for outsiders to enter here. Look at the lock. If you act like you know what you¡¯re doing¡­¡± ¡°I won¡¯t do anything of the sort. Talk to her yourself.¡± ¡°Would you answer to a voice that comes out of nothing?¡± ¡°What does it matter? Can¡¯t you force her?¡± ¡°Sure. Then the monks will alert Beramas as soon as they can.¡± The monk had almost reached the vestibule. There was no way to fix the lock, so Saia pushed the metal door open before the monk could see it. She stopped for a moment, as if taken aback. ¡°Hello?¡± she called, entering the room. ¡°Someone in here?¡± ¡°Come on,¡± Saia told Serit. They furiously shook their head, crouched behind the piece of metal. The monk waited a bit, then closed the door. Saia pressed it against the frame with her winds. She produced the sound of a lock popping into place. ¡°I¡¯m going to find the idiot who left it open and make them regret they joined us,¡± the monk mumbled, her words amplified by the empty space of the room. ¡°What¡¯s your plan, then?¡± Saia asked Serit. ¡°Wait until she leaves?¡± They glared at the ceiling, but she knew it was meant for her. ¡°Alright, my old shiny friend,¡± the monk said, raising the tool in her hands until the extremity of it was pointed at the triangular object. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you¡¯re going to survive this.¡± She pulled one of the roots near the end of the tube. The viss of the plant started flowing faster, from the wood to the metal and back. The roots moved to the side, revealing a pattern on top of the metal tube. The monk put a hand on top of it and pushed out her own viss. The flux of viss from the plant seemed to increase, as if it was being generated from nothing. The roots at the center of the tube grabbed each other, forming an irregular ball, or a very tight pattern. ¡°What is she doing?¡± Serit whispered, almost without emitting a sound. Saia thought about the words of the monk. They didn¡¯t expect the metal to survive. ¡°Stand,¡± she said. ¡°Whatever she¡¯s doing, it¡¯s better if you don¡¯t stay here.¡± ¡°If this is a way to trick me into¡­¡± ¡°Stand.¡± The urgency in her voice seemed to convince them. They rose from the floor until their head was over the border of the triangular object. The monk¡¯s face drained of blood when she saw them. She pulled some of the roots, but the flux of viss didn¡¯t slow down. She aimed the end of the tube a bit higher. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Run!¡± she yelled. Serit obeyed. They had barely left the cover of the piece of metal when the sphere of roots was shot out, tracing an arc toward the metal object. The monk stepped back and crouched next to the door, eyes closed, covering her head with both arms. Saia considered moving the ball out of the way, but it could have been even more dangerous, for all she knew. So she pushed Serit, using her winds to both propel them forward and stop their fall. Once they had landed next to the monk, she raised a barrier of wind in front of them both. An explosion of light erased the room from her view. She expected the sound to be so intense it would hurt, but nothing came. Winds erupted from the explosion, pressing against her barrier, violent enough to slam someone against the wall and kill them. They were followed by an intense rumbling that reminded her of the first earthquake she¡¯d ever felt at the mountain. When the trembling ended and the light faded, Saia expected to find the room completely destroyed. The metal triangle was still there, in the same shape as when they¡¯d found it. The floor seemed to curve a bit more, even if it was difficult to tell. The rock underneath was still maintaining its shape, but it was crisscrossed by cracks. Saia wondered how the rest of the structure managed to survive, if the monks were causing those explosions multiple times every day. Or maybe they worked differently from normal explosions. She let the barrier dissolve when the monk raised her head. ¡°Who are you?¡± she yelled at Serit. ¡°What in the world were you doing there?¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± they just whispered. They were so shaken they couldn¡¯t stand without leaning against the wall. ¡°Everybody knows it¡¯s dangerous to enter this room, even the gray idiots up there.¡± Serit recoiled. Saia wanted to push them to ask more questions, but they didn¡¯t seem to be capable of talking at the moment. her, though. ¡° was a second entrance. Next time, she¡¯d have to go alone. 8.7 - Inside the wagon crossed the woods, the wheels bumping constantly on the irregular terrain. Sitting on the wooden floor became uncomfortable and soon veered on painful, until they finally reached a road. They traveled into the deep night, leaving and re-entering the road for hours on end until Dan couldn¡¯t orient himself anymore. It didn¡¯t help that the only visible portion of the outside world was half-obscured by a deer¡¯s antlers. Most of the hunters were following them on the last wagon of the queue. Every once in a while, laughs and pieces of jokes reached the prisoners. ¡°Where are we?¡± someone with maculated fur asked. ¡°Still at Aressea,¡± someone else whispered back. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t let a wagon full of kidnapped people through the border.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± the deer man yelled. ¡°Guards can be corrupted. You won¡¯t escape your punishment.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t either,¡± someone commented. Dan turned his head like everyone else. The people inside the wagon collectively held their breath. ¡°I¡¯m a herbivore,¡± the deer man said. ¡°They only captured me because I was traveling with this idiot. As soon as they¡¯ll see who I am, they¡¯ll let me go.¡± The idiot in question was a weasel person sitting beside him and looking just as menacing. Dan realized he didn¡¯t know for how long all of those people had been huddled inside the wagon. He looked at them more intently for the first time. Only a few of them had enough human traits that it was possible to tell their age. They all seemed young like him and Tagu, or slightly older. It was difficult to tell, but even the deer man¡¯s antlers weren¡¯t long enough for an adult, based on what Autur had taught him. The one next to him was a boy with hollow cheeks and a worried frown. His eyes were fixed in front of him, wide as if everything he saw terrified him. Dan could see small dark feathers framing his face, but it wasn¡¯t enough to gauge which animal they came from. ¡°Hi,¡± Dan said. The boy was startled. He looked down at Dan with extreme suspicion. He didn¡¯t answer the greeting. ¡°We just arrived,¡± Dan said. He glanced at the deer man and his friends every few seconds, to make sure they weren¡¯t paying attention to the conversation. ¡°How long have you been here?¡± ¡°Since yesterday,¡± he said. He didn¡¯t elaborate, so Dan decided he had to reveal something about himself first. ¡°How did they capture you? We were just camping in the woods. They came out of nowhere and attacked our family.¡± Tagu hissed. ¡°Don¡¯t tell him about us.¡± The boy retreated a bit, even if it was impossible to go too far without bumping into the girl next to him. ¡°I¡­ met them. And they took me. Like everyone else here, I guess.¡± Dan nodded distractedly. He rummaged in his pockets until he reached one of the jars of snake meat. He opened it and dropped a few pieces into his hand. ¡°I have food,¡± he whispered, handing them to the boy. He held them as if they were burning, wide eyes darting from Dan to the deer man. He pushed them all into his mouth in one go. He kept it covered with one arm until he¡¯d finished chewing. ¡°Thank you,¡± he told Dan in the end. ¡°I actually left to look for the hunters myself because I thought they could help me. There were rumors about my grandpa, that he was an actual crow that ate so many corpses he became human. I wanted to know if it was possible, and if I was like him in some way. What it could mean for me.¡± He was talking so quickly, in a voice so low, it was difficult to make out his words over the rumbling of the wheels. ¡°But of course they captured me. They took it as a confession or something. Now I¡¯m going to die, right? I shouldn¡¯t have eaten. Maybe it¡¯s easier if you¡¯re starving.¡± Dan started to regret having talked to him. His nervousness was feeding his own, and judging by Tagu¡¯s expression she was feeling the same. But there was nothing to do about that, so he offered his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Dan.¡± The other shook it. His grip was weak and sweaty. ¡°Durnis,¡± he said. He held out his hand for Tagu too, but she didn¡¯t take it. His eyes somewhat narrowed for the first time. ¡°She¡¯s¡­¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°My sister,¡± Dan interrupted him. He could tell Durnis was still suspicious, but he relaxed, as much as it was possible for him to relax, and even smiled a bit. ¡°Understood. Thank you for the food.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Let¡¯s stick together, alright?¡± He nodded. The wagons seemed to have entered another patch of the woods, because the wild rattling started again. Dan could tell something was different, but he didn¡¯t realize what it was until Tagu pointed it out. ¡°The other wagons are gone,¡± she said in a whiny voice. Dan saw the deer man turn his head a bit and shushed her. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°They went in another direction. Or we went, I don¡¯t know. I can¡¯t hear them anymore.¡± Dan patted her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll find them again. Let¡¯s focus on surviving this.¡± She didn¡¯t react. Dan looked at her, thinking that if even Durnis had caught onto the fact that she might not be human, the hunters would too. He tried to think of a solution. He remembered his first night with the strays. ¡°So you don¡¯t sweat?¡± Tagu shook her head. Dan turned to Durnis. ¡°Do we have water?¡± He sighed and nodded toward the opposite side of the wagon. There was a barrel right behind the deer man. The weasel person was immersing a bowl into it right at that moment. They drank it, drops falling from their chin, ignoring the pleas of the people nearby. ¡°They¡¯re keeping all the water and food for themselves,¡± Durnis commented. Dan looked at them. If he only had fangs, everything would have been much easier. He stood. To his credit, Durnis tried to stop him despite his fear. He crossed the wagon, being careful not to step on anyone¡¯s limbs. He focused on the movements of his own shoes to ignore the eyes shining in his direction. ¡°What are you doing?¡± the deer man said. Dan approached the barrel. The weasel person stepped in his way. ¡°I wanted to make an exchange. A bit of water for¡­¡± He rummaged in his pockets. His hand brushed the paper with the pattern, but it was too important. He kept going until he found one of the jars. ¡°Meat,¡± he said, handing it to the weasel. He took the container and turned it in his hand. He exchanged a glance with the deer man. ¡°Check what else he has,¡± he said. Dan scrambled backward before the weasel could reach him. The bodies of the other prisoners bent all around him to pave the way or push back. Mercifully, the wagon stopped. Through the oval of night of the cart¡¯s opening, he could see the hunters advancing toward them. ¡°Come down!¡± one of them shouted. Everyone was retreating toward the back of the wagon, so they had to drag the closest one out to convince the rest to follow. Dan took advantage of the chaos to retreat. He reached Tagu and grabbed her arm, while Durnis put a hand on his shoulder. They advanced together, letting go briefly when it was time to jump down from the wagon. They were in an opening of the woods littered with tents. Not a single light illuminated the place, so Dan could only glimpse the other constructions, with shapes so unlikely he couldn¡¯t guess what they were for. He heard the splash of water somewhere in the middle of that place. Tagu had been right: the cages were nowhere to be seen. Sibras, Kaspuru and Merekis had been brought somewhere else. A shiver caused by the cold wind made him sneeze. As soon as he opened his mouth, he felt a metallic taste on the tip of his tongue. He breathed in at the same time, tongue sticking out a bit, until he was sure: that place smelled faintly of blood. He glanced at Tagu, wondering whether she could smell it too. Her nose was wrinkled in a menacing way, exposing the tip of her fangs. The hunters herded the prisoners away from the wagon. One of them stepped onto a box on the ground. Dan couldn¡¯t distinguish anything of him besides a hat with a triangular brim. ¡°Your trial is about to begin,¡± he said. ¡°If you prove you¡¯re human, we¡¯ll bring you back with our sincerest excuses. If you¡¯re a beast, you¡¯ll be killed. If you try to run away or attack us, we¡¯ll slaughter you like the animal you are.¡± As if on cue, a spark crossed the darkness and erupted into fire. Dan recoiled, like everyone in the crowd around him. The flames wrapped around the pyramidal structure in front of them and rose toward the sky. ¡°This is your first trial. If you jump through the fire, you¡¯ll be safe. You might get burned, but don¡¯t worry, there are buckets of water on the other side to extinguish you. If you run¡­¡± A menacing twang came from the hunters. A dart flew into the ground between the prisoners and the fire. The ones at the front staggered back. ¡°Now, form a line. I suggest you don¡¯t think too much about it and just jump. Unless your instincts are strong enough to stop you.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± Dan whispered. ¡°Everyone¡¯s scared of fire.¡± Durnis looked at the hunters in alarm. He stepped in line as soon as one started to form. ¡°Let¡¯s just do what they say.¡± Dan slipped in behind him, followed by Tagu. Her ears were as low as ever, eyes reflecting the fire. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared,¡± Dan said, even if he was sure she could see and smell his own fear. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± she said. ¡°Autur has taught me how to start one.¡± Dan thought it didn¡¯t mean much, but didn¡¯t point it out. The first person in the line jumped across the fire. They didn¡¯t go high enough, so they emitted a screech when the flames enveloped them. There were calls for water and shouts on the other side, then everything settled again. ¡°Send the next one,¡± someone yelled from beyond the pyre. Dan shifted forward with the rest of the crowd. He didn¡¯t have to stand on his toes to see the next prisoner in line: his antlers made him taller than anyone else. ¡°This is absurd,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m a herbivore.¡± He was trying to be intimidating, but his voice trembled. ¡°Pigs eat people,¡± the man with the triangular hat said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a deer eat a bird. There are many kinds of monsters in the world.¡± The deer man lowered his head and stepped back, as if he was preparing to charge. He ran toward the fire, but before reaching it, he changed direction. He hit a hunter with his antlers and raised his head to toss it behind himself as he sprinted toward the woods. For a moment, Dan thought he could make it out of there. He was fast, he turned around quickly enough to avoid the hunters barring his path, and everyone moved out of the way when he lowered his antlers. Then a dart hit his leg. He stumbled and fell, and the hunters were on him. They dragged him away, but Dan still caught a whiff of blood. He pressed a hand against his mouth, disgusted both by the smell itself and the fact that part of him enjoyed it. He was grateful his eyes weren¡¯t developed enough to see the rest. The queue shifted forward. The weasel managed to cross too, no second thoughts given to their fallen companion. Durnis took a deep breath and screamed all the way through, but managed to cross. It was Dan¡¯s turn. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared,¡± he said again. ¡°Imagine there¡¯s your family on the other side.¡± ¡°I can do it,¡± Tagu hissed. ¡°I don¡¯t need help.¡± Dan wished he could say the same. Worrying for her had kept him sane up to that point, and now he could feel his body panicking. The hunters were arming their weapons again after using them against the deer man. He felt the tension of the queue behind him, kept silent only by fear. He was making things more difficult for everyone by standing there. He took a deep breath and started running. The fire became hotter, too intense for his eyes. His legs hurt from his training with Autur. He¡¯d gotten through so many things, just to find Mor¨¬c. He needed to protect Tagu and save the strays. The thoughts carried him into the flames. The warmth was unbearable, then became a slap of coldness all over his body. He gasped as the water drenched him. The hunters laughed and retreated to fill their buckets again. He was pushed, shivering, toward the prisoners who had jumped before him. He looked over his shoulder at the fire, waiting for Tagu to cross through. She emerged with her fur on fire. She lashed out with her arms, not to hurt but in pain, until the water they were splashing on her was enough to extinguish the flames. The smell when she stepped closer made Dan hold his breath and close his mouth. Still, she was mostly safe. They all huddled together, trying to touch each other as little as possible while still craving the warmth that the contact provided. More people emerged from the flames, others were left screaming on the other side. At least the smell of blood didn¡¯t reach through the fire. In the end, the two groups of hunters reunited and guided the surviving prisoners toward a long structure of wood, perfectly rectangular, with two entrances without doors. They were ushered inside, where numerous torches planted on the ground illuminated a row of desks. Some had food on them, some paper. ¡°Second trial,¡± the hunter announced. ¡°We¡¯ll test how good you are at human things. Writing, eating properly, reading.¡± Dan looked at the books with wide eyes. Tagu grabbed his arm. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re going to succeed.¡± He knew she meant it sincerely, but he saw the irony. The hunters had a very narrow idea of what set apart humans from animals, and his Arissian wasn¡¯t good enough. He¡¯d been wrong all along: he was in danger as much as Tagu was. 8.8 - Proven human The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. human. He felt guilty about having wasted such a valuable gift. 8.9 - Gambles they were the hunters on the prowl. The people accompanying him were shifting in place and whispering, never loud enough to put the mission in danger. They didn''t talk to him, but he could feel their glances. They all thought he was going to die. "So you¡¯ll wait for my signal in the woods? What if I fail?¡± "You¡¯re a goddess. I think you won''t have any problems." "We won''t be able to do it twice. The moment we take one god, they''ll know they''re not safe anymore and start replacing them." "We won''t do it twice." "I don''t understand,¡± council member Cadia said. ¡°Is it an actual rescue mission or just a distraction?" "We should aim for both. We need to know what happened to the people they took. We''ll also need cloud water, if I succeed." "What''s the plan if you don''t?" "I think you should prepare to leave." "This is our village. It''s absurd we''re even entertaining the idea of leaving it." "I hate to say it, but Aili is right on one point: if I fail, and it''s likely, the monks will change strategy. They might discover the holders, they might realize what we''re after and put protections in place." "I also said that they might capture you and read your memory. But not even you think you''re going to survive this, do you?" "And you think that yelling that will be enough?" "Between you kidnapping a god and the attack at the tents? Yes. Enough to think there''s something more to what we''re doing. Maybe it¡¯ll convince them not to kill me on the spot." "They''re going to find it." "No, they''re not. We''ll make it flat and hide it in an internal pocket." "They might pat you down." "In that case, we''ll add some padding." "Who''s ''we''? You don''t know how to sew." Elder Nakai set aside the knitting needles and slammed her hand on the table. ¡°That¡¯s enough. I¡¯ll take care of it personally." "How much time before it dissolves?" "Two hours, give or take. Don''t drink water." Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "You want me to do what?" Davem¡¯s hazel gaze made Rabam feel like a fool. It didn''t help that he could practically feel Aili''s disapproving presence as she silently followed the conversation. "It doesn''t have to make sense, it just needs to look believable. And make it as flat as possible." Davem observed the rough designs he¡¯d provided. "This is the kind of work a clockmaker should do, not a blacksmith." "I know, but we don''t have any available. Do your best." "And when are we supposed to attack? It''s not like you can give us a signal." "Once we have a god, we can use it as a hostage. Threaten to break it if they get too close. So you can leave the village, and wait around until the monks bring me past a certain point before intervening.¡± "You''re not going alone," Lada said, looking at Aili''s empty chair. "We might need to contact you, and you might need help from us. Some of us are coming with you.¡± "What if Laius has access to the crater room? What if he kills you himself?" "I don''t know." "Right. Then maybe we shouldn''t go on with this." "It''s a gamble, Aili. We''ll do everything in our power and hope for the best." "You''re not hoping for the best." "Let''s say everything works out exactly as you''re imagining it: how do you think you''re going to come back out?" "I guess I''ll find a way once I''m there. It depends on what it contains, right?" "I just think you''re going to die on impact. I hope they capture you and put you in prison again, so at least you¡¯ll be safe.¡± "I just need to time everything right." 8.10 - The second one The wind that battered the cliff and sprayed Saia with drops of salt would have been unbearable in a body of flesh. She walked up to the very edge, the tunic pressed against the front of her statue, her figure shrouded by the night. She''d emptied her bag of anything that could be damaged, destroyed or made heavy by the water, leaving only the block of viserite. She looked down for a long time, not out of fear but fascination: she¡¯d fallen from higher heights, but it was the depths that interested her. She jumped. The water met her halfway through, trying to crush her against the rocks, but her fall continued as if it was nothing more than a gentle push. She let out a laugh, hoping there was at least one monk looking out from the monastery¡¯s windows, confused and scared by a sudden voice coming from the sea. Water in different shapes paraded in front of her eyes as she sunk to the bottom: sea foam, currents, dark depths. Some ancient instinct was still trying to convince her to hold her breath. She saw the rocks coming from below and landed on them with the grace of a dancer, the tunic she¡¯d stolen from the monastery¡¯s closets billowing all around her. She observed her surroundings: rocks enclosed the base of the cliff. On the side that wasn¡¯t battered by the currents she spotted mussels, algae, and other sea creatures. They clung to their pockets of tranquility amid all of that movement; Saia¡¯s steps were the only disruption they¡¯d probably felt in their entire lives, if they were capable of feeling anything at all. She walked on, not knowing what exactly she was looking for. Some sort of tunnel, perhaps a cave. Something silvery darted through the water at the edge of her range. She stopped, waiting for the movement to return. Since it wasn¡¯t coming back, she started running towards it, in defiance of the sea¡¯s attempts to correct her trajectory with violent currents. She stopped as soon as she found out what they were: sea snakes. If not identical, at least similar to the ones that lived around the mountain. She remembered the ones at Irim¨¦ze¡¯s zoo. She took their presence as a sign of good luck. She was proven right when one of them darted into a hole on the side of the cliff. Saia stepped forward. The cave¡¯s entrance was big enough to fit the monastery¡¯s luxurious hall. The jagged edges betrayed its natural formation, in a time when the monks didn¡¯t exist yet. She expanded her domain to check the inside. There was a light in the distance, slowly approaching. She stood beneath the entrance, not bothering to hide: it was difficult to tell with her enhanced vision, but it seemed dark enough that a human couldn''t spot her. Her confidence in her senses wavered when she saw the thing coming out of the cavern and couldn¡¯t distinguish what it was. She¡¯d had the same sensation at the hidden monks¡¯ village, while watching the structure that had emerged from the secondary entrance. She¡¯d later recounted the scene to Serit, after they had been scolded by the abbot and still managed, with Saia¡¯s hidden help, to convince her they hadn¡¯t put one foot beyond the doorway at the end of the stairs. ¡°A glass pattern, you said?¡± they had commented in the end, the mystery too interesting to keep up the silent treatment. ¡°Glass and viss behave weirdly.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Glass absorbs viss easily, but it doesn''t let it move well. It¡¯s handy when you have to isolate two different patterns from each other, but it¡¯s a pain to work with when the glass is right at the center of whatever you¡¯re working on. You can''t really trace patterns with glass.¡± ¡°There''s an entire family in the government working with it.¡± ¡°Maybe that''s what they do. Patterns to disrupt the effects of viss.¡± If that was the real function of the glass pattern, it didn¡¯t protect the bottom of the structure. Saia caught a glimpse of it while it hummed past her, away from her domain. Fins protruded at the sides, realistic enough to seem real even if they didn''t move. After a quick inspection, she realized they were made of metal exactly like the rest of the hull. They were crossed by veins and wrinkles that traced a subtle pattern. The lines were so delicate in their shape that they put to shame the flying ships of Irim¨¦ze''s rebels. The fine workmanship and the glass pattern suggested a connection between the hidden monks and Aressea. Saia didn¡¯t have time to reflect on it; she¡¯d promised Serit a swift return. She¡¯d promised the exact same thing one too many times to everyone she cared about, and had yet to keep her word. The ship was gone, so she entered the hole with a calculated jump. The natural formations at the bottom of the cavern had been cut in half, the wall at the end of it excavated to form a tunnel. She climbed it, moving a bit sideways to let the water slide around her body instead of pushing against it. The climb became steeper until the tunnel was vertical, large enough to accommodate a structure bigger than any ship. Another one was arriving, she realized from the humming of the water at the edge of her domain. Not seeing any handholds in the artificially smooth walls of the tunnel, she propelled herself upwards. There was a gaping hole at the top. Past that, the empty room and two monks, gaping as well at her shape surfacing from the water. She made them fall asleep, then dragged their unconscious bodies out of the door. There wasn¡¯t time to dry her tunic completely, so she exchanged it with one of the monks and stepped back into the otherwise empty room. Her statue remained completely still as the upper half of the ship broke the surface of the water and occupied most of the space in front of her. Saia was nervous about being openly visible in front of a structure she couldn¡¯t see clearly. For all she knew, behind the warped vision created by the pattern there could be monks looking at her, with one of their destructive weapons aimed at her delicate sphere. She waited, focusing on the portion of her vision that wasn¡¯t distorted. Something moved, but it was only when a metallic clangor hit the stone pavement that she realized the hull had opened and was now showing the inside of the ship, if only she was able to see it. She saw movement, silhouettes that belonged to people, even if their species was still a mystery. She¡¯d learned not to take humans for granted. Finally, someone stepped outside of the glass pattern¡¯s area of influence: a monk wearing a tight black suit and a confused expression. ¡°You are?¡± ¡°Sorry, I can only speak to the one in charge.¡± The monk was still looking at her with suspicion, but turned her head slightly towards the now open hull of the ship. Her arm disappeared into the distortion as she gestured in someone¡¯s direction. Those monks didn¡¯t seem to have sentinels, but they respected hierarchy in the same way. Someone else emerged, stepping just outside of the distorted area. Saia couldn¡¯t tell how much of his frown was caused by her presence and how much by the water dripping down his suit. ¡°Who are you? Where are the two artificers I requested?¡± Saia was briefly tempted to ask ¡®what¡¯s an artificers?¡¯, but filed away the question for a later time. ¡°The abbot sent me. Can I talk to you in private?¡± The man¡¯s eyes lingered on her face. ¡°You¡¯re not a monk.¡± The words sent a ripple through the group of monks that had just started emerging from the ship, wearing suits and carrying backpacks. Saia didn¡¯t need to check their contents, because now they were being aimed at her: weapons of various shapes, but all made of wood and metal, some of them already emitting light. Memories of Saia¡¯s first meeting with the tattooer Teormu and the hunter Caydras resurfaced to her mind: she¡¯d obtained their attention and respect by showing what she was capable of. But she couldn¡¯t show how dangerous she was in a place where the wrong word could get to the families, and through them to Beramas. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. She put all the monks to sleep, holding up their bodies with her winds. The only one to stay awake was the leader, which would have certainly noticed that something was wrong unless Saia distracted him. ¡°No, I¡¯m not a monk,¡± she admitted. ¡°But I have a problem, and I hope you can help me.¡± She opened the cavity in her chest until the intense light of her sphere shone through the dark cloth of her stolen tunic. The eyes of the leader widened much in the same way. Saia observed his reaction closely, then reached down to take out her sphere. He watched in stunned silence. She read his viss, trying to find a hint of understanding, a sign that he knew what he was looking at and could explain why and how it was possible in the first place. She found nothing besides bewilderment. She felt a resemblance of fear herself: the deeper she dug, the fewer answers she found. Soon she''d have revealed everything about herself without getting a single answer in return. Maybe Serit was right: all she could accomplish by digging deeper was putting them both in danger. ¡°Is there someone I can talk to about this?¡± she asked, letting the cavity close again around her sphere and awakening the other monks. They looked at each other, confused, not yet aware of what had just happened. The one in charge was startled into action. ¡°I¡¯ll ask our prior.¡± _______________ The office was nothing special, a small room with two doors that could turn it into a corridor if needed. One end was obstructed by monks in black suits, standing behind Saia like a school of fish mesmerized by a light. The woman sitting at the other side of the desk, instead, kept her eyes closed and pinched between two fingers, as if trying to forget the last few minutes of her life. "Who and what are you, exactly?" were the first words out of her mouth after the expedition¡¯s leader had explained the situation. Saia didn¡¯t let her tone intimidate her. ¡°I have questions for you too. Why do you live here and not at the monastery?¡± The prior opened her black eyes, wrinkles spreading all around them. Her hair was piled up on one shoulder, showing an impressive scar on the other side that started at the back of her head and snaked down the neck, disappearing under the dark cloth of her tunic. She reached behind the desk and put something onto the table: it looked a lot like a tangle of metal and roots, the only opening pointed at Saia. She let the prior aim it at her, pretending she didn''t know what it was. It was still an improvement from the dozens of weapons she¡¯d had to face only a few minutes before. She could deal with just one of them. The monks at her back apparently couldn¡¯t, because they retracted as one. ¡°Out, all of you,¡± the prior said, and they dispersed with a frenzy of whispers. "I can kill you," the prior said once she was alone with Saia. "So you should start answering my questions.¡± ¡°Believe it or not, I can kill you too,¡± she only replied, and kept staring at her. The impasse protracted for a minute, then the thought of Serit waiting alone, Dan and Mor¨¬c in danger, and Aili hoping for her return set her statue''s lips into motion. ¡°I¡¯ve been told I¡¯m similar to a tanhata,¡± she started, keeping a close watch on the prior''s viss for any reaction that could betray her. There was none, for the moment, besides mild curiosity. "I come from the other side of the sea," she added. She''d been about to mention the mountain, but the prior''s interest flared up so suddenly that she held back. ¡°If you¡¯re telling the truth, how did you come here?¡± ¡°The cloud people gave me a passage.¡± The prior''s interest disappeared as quickly as it had ignited. "I can tell you what¡¯s going on there, near mount Ohat, if you answer my questions,¡± Saia said in an attempt to rekindle it. But the prior was already shaking her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Saia then remembered her first meeting with Beramas, at the sculptors¡¯ palace. He¡¯d mentioned having tried to cross to the other side of the sea multiple times, even dealing with an invisible barrier. If the monks were in direct contact with the families as she suspected, they already knew what he¡¯d seen from afar. Worse than that, the cloud cities could have sold the information recorded in their bottles. Maybe what was going on at mount Ohat wasn¡¯t the mystery she thought it was, at least not for the families. She had less information to bargain with than she had initially expected. "I want to know about you,¡± the prior said after a moment of reflection. ¡°Establish how much of a danger you are. You can start by showing me your sphere." Saia did, and the sparkle in the prior''s eyes came back, even if it wasn¡¯t as strong as before. The woman¡¯s eyes shifted from the sphere to the weapon on the table. Weapons that produced light when activated, explosions made of viss. Suddenly Saia knew what the woman was thinking, why she had accepted to speak with her. "You can''t use my energy, if that''s what you''re wondering. I''m dying." Saying it out loud sent a trembling through her viss, even if the total control she had over her voice didn''t let anything through. She watched as the last inkling of interest disappeared from the woman¡¯s viss, replaced by a fresh wave of hostility. ¡°You said we could help you. What do you mean?¡± Saia reflected on what the prior could already know. The mountain¡¯s monks were careful not to step outside and remain as hidden as possible. On the other hand, Serit was aware of their existence, thanks to Rabam. But even they didn¡¯t know everything, and it seemed the kind of information Irim¨¦ze¡¯s representatives would at least try to keep quiet. "I was transformed into a sphere by monks like you. That''s why I''m here." The woman leaned forward, palms pressing on the desk. Not touching the weapon, Saia noticed. ¡°Monks like us,¡± she repeated. ¡°What do you mean, exactly?¡± "I won''t tell you anything else until you start answering my questions." The prior''s fingers tapped the wood and metal of the weapon, almost distractedly. "That''s not how this works." "The way it works is that if you don''t answer, I''ll leave forever.¡± It was a gamble, based on the fact that she seemed to want Saia''s answers more than she wanted her gone or killed. Anger and frustration rippled through the prior''s viss. "Our very existence is supposed to stay a secret. It''s bad enough that your companion came so close to the entrance of our village and that we found one of our artificers unconscious in the testing facilities. She hasn¡¯t awakened yet. It¡¯s your fault, right?¡± Saia decided to ignore the accusation, or anything that would lead the conversation away from the only thing that mattered: answers. "It''s a risk you''ll have to take,¡± she said. "We work with the families. If you reveal anything to anyone, they''ll be the ones to hunt you down. You might not fear us, but I suggest you don''t underestimate them.¡± Saia focused on the weapon again, without letting her stone eyes stray away from the prior''s face. Beramas wasn¡¯t the only dangerous thing the families had access to. ¡°Understood,¡± she said. The woman leaned back on the chair, dragging the weapon across the table until it rested near the edge that was closest to her. "We are the same, the monks above and us. We follow the same doctrine and teachings. The belief that split us in half is much younger than our religion." "In half? Not three parts?¡± "No. The monks on the other side of the sea don''t have anything to do with this, even if they''re the reason we''re now divided." ¡°That¡¯s¡­ confusing.¡± The prior sighed and briefly closed her eyes. Saia took it as a sign that her defenses were lowering. ¡°Let''s start from the beginning. At the end of the war between Darasa and Aressea, some of our brothers left with all the riches of the Golden Lands. The families didn''t trust each other to protect the coins without using them to their own benefit, but they trusted our order. We were huge, rich, and most importantly independent from Aressea and its politics, even if not strong enough to oppose them. This made us the perfect candidates for the task.¡± Saia thought back at Caydras''s hiding spot at the ruins. Serit had called it a vault. "I don''t think there''s that much money going around mount Ohat,¡± she said. ¡°It''s probably hidden. It certainly wasn''t brought to the other side of the sea just to be left laying around. The cloud people were already trying to get it for themselves after Darasa''s defenses crumbled. Or maybe they''ve since succeeded in their goal and managed to steal it. Nevermind. What you must know is that we soon lost contact with our brothers on the other side of the sea. Shortly after, the monster appeared.¡± Saia could almost hear the questions drip from her mind into that silence. "So they stopped talking to you," she said. ¡°This still doesn''t explain why you''re split in two." ¡°You can easily imagine what happened afterward. The families learned about their riches disappearing, and now there was something preventing them from ever getting them back. And whose fault was it? Of the ones that were supposed to protect that money with their lives." A suffused kind of anger awakened in the woman¡¯s body, deeper than skin, as if she¡¯d been alive all those centuries ago to see the events she was talking about happen in front of her eyes. "We barely survived. Our order gave up all their riches and influence. Even this palace had to be wrestled back from Aressea''s hands, and only as a loan, a symbol of prestige that helped us gain the locals¡¯ trust. The order declared those monks heretics and traitors, it tried to distance itself from them as much as possible. At least two hundred years had to pass before we could entertain the idea that, perhaps, there was something more to this story." She seemed to realize at that moment just how close she had gotten to Saia, leaning forward as she was. She put her back against the chair and rested a hand on the weapon. "A few monks disobeyed the orders of the abbot and refused to forget our disgrace. They left for the lands above the clouds, at the time still foreign and hostile, to seek information. We discovered that one of the two mountains was still standing, thriving even. Houses were being built where no human had set foot before, where our brothers were supposed to keep their presence hidden and quiet¡­¡± "Wait," Saia stopped her. ¡°One of the two mountains?" "Yes, of course. The families weren''t so stupid to put all of their riches in one place like Darasa had." Saia roamed the woman''s viss with her senses, desperately looking for the signs of a lie. "So there''s another mountain?" "There was," the prior said in the grimmest of tones. ¡°On the same side of the sea, but a bit further down the coast. The monks looked for it but didn¡¯t find anything, not even ruins. Something, or someone, has wiped it away.¡± 8.11 - Ash Rabam groaned in pain. The coins pressed hard against his back, puncturing his skin with spots of pain. His left leg sent searing waves up his body. He couldn''t even see the damage, because the light all around him was so intense that even with his eyes closed and a makeshift blindfold wrapped around his head all he could see was a wall of golden brightness. He focused on the goals he had established with Suimer¡¯s council before his departure, seeking a bit of strength in the memory of so many people putting their faith in him. He needed to make sure it was the coins that kept the viss anchored to the mountain and there wasn¡¯t anything else. Take some viss with him so that Aili could study it properly. Look for a way in that wasn''t the hole inside the monks'' village, or at least an idea on how that secondary entryway could be created. He groaned again, then pushed himself up to a sitting position. There were two directions he could take: up to the top of the coin pile, or down toward the walls. Since he''d have to climb anyways if he wanted to leave that place, he decided to explore the rest of the chamber first. Maybe he could even leave the light behind and actually see something. He tried to stand, but his left leg refused to hold his weight. The irregular terrain, the incline, and the thought that the coins might not be as solidly attached to each other as they seemed convinced him to sit back down and push himself forward with his arms. He was forced to stop after barely three pushes and turn the other way, so that his injured leg was being dragged instead of pushed. It still hurt, but at least it didn''t get caught in the protruding coins nearly as much. For a long time, he couldn''t feel anything but metal edges scraping against his chest, abdomen and legs. It occurred to him that it could take him hours to get to the bottom of the pile, while Aili had promised him a half-hour at best. He started counting the seconds under his breath. He didn''t care about dying nearly as much as before jumping down the crater, but the thought of all that pain being useless was intolerable. He had almost reached nine-hundred seconds, when the consistency of the coins under his fingers changed into something soft and granular, like sand made of wool. The surprise made him stop. He noticed that the light had dimmed, even if a quick attempt at glancing under his blindfold revealed that it was still too bright for his eyes. He scooped a bit of the substance into his fingers and brought it to his nose. Dust, he thought, but it was too solid. He immersed his hand in it and kept going until it touched the coins underneath. He looked up as if he could see the hole, and realized: it was ash. The accumulated remains of all the monks who had ever existed, sprinkled with their viss. He retracted his hand, overwhelmed by a sense of awe and disgust. If the ash was there, there were also the bodies and severed heads of the criminals who had been executed. He''d have joined them, in one way or another, should the mission fail. A maimed corpse drowned in a sea of ash. He rolled over, straining against the pain, until he was resting with his back against the coins and head one finger away from the ash. He couldn''t go on. The substance was probably deep enough that he couldn''t keep his head out even if by some divine intervention he managed to stand. He sighed. Aili had been right: the whole plan was folly, beginning to end. He had found out what was hidden inside the mountain, but he couldn''t bring the information out. Not that it would be useful to Suimer''s people in any way. A sinking feeling took hold of his chest, squeezed his throat. It was familiar, something he¡¯d felt many times in the past. Defeat, helplessness. Loss. So far, he''d only managed to push through because there was someone helping him, his grandma above all. It was easy to imagine her in that golden flow, telling him to get up and climb the mountain, that his friend was wasting energy for him outside, trying to keep the abbot and monks distracted, while he was lying on a pile of coins. He rolled on his stomach, moving the injured leg with his hands when it refused to comply. The pain almost made him pass out. He waited for it to subside, trying not to think of the terrible process of turning around and starting the climb. Aili would have told him that she''d been right, as expected. He''d always known her as a voice inside his head, so it was easy to imagine her words. ¡°I didn''t come up the mountain to save your sorry ass just to find out you were already dead.¡± It was so unlike her he let out a breathless laugh, then used the momentum to pull himself up and away from the ash. He was sure she''d have still found a way to include him in her experiments, broken leg or not. "Wake up, I have a new theory to test." Or: "I already guessed there were coins inside the mountain. It was all pointless." Or, again: ¡°Sure it''s weird how the ash is all at the bottom of the pile even if it gets poured on top of it?¡± He stopped and turned his head, as if he could see the lake of ash behind his shoulders. It was weird, especially considering that the coins on the upper part of the pile were completely clean. He thought about it hard enough to forget the leg pain at least for a few heartbeats, but he still didn''t come up with an answer. Maybe it was an insignificant detail, maybe not. Only Aili was smart enough to figure it out, but he needed to bring her that information first. He started climbing with purpose. He tried to pry the coins away a couple of times, but they didn¡¯t move. He moved on until he heard a metallic rustling behind him. He slid back, excitement overriding pain, but if some coins had detached, he couldn''t find them. He''d lost count of the seconds, so he pushed through, deciding to ignore all the sounds he heard. He suspected they were a trick of his exhausted body to make him stop and rest. The slope became gentler, but it was only once the ground started to descend that he realized he had reached the top of the pile. He stopped and took out the blindfold, taking care to only look upwards. The golden glow above him wasn''t as blinding as the light of the coins, but he still couldn''t see anything past it. He raised his right arm and activated the pattern. The tug was so weak it might as well have been a twitch of his exhausted muscles. It occurred to him he might not have enough viss to cross the space that divided the pile of coins from the trapdoor. While he gathered his strength and courage both, a clinching came from somewhere behind him, so loud that he couldn''t ignore it. It sounded like coins tumbling over each other. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He let out a sigh and turned around once more, somewhat relieved that the moment of truth was being postponed. He patted the coins in front of himself, not really expecting them to move but knowing he needed to try. Something slipped from his grasp. He frantically extended his hand, fingers closing on one, two, three coins. He held them close to his chest and used his other hand to look for more. Something grabbed his fingers. It was cold and hard, snapping shut like a snare, unrelenting against Rabam¡¯s tugs. He cursed at the absurdity of finding a trap down there, of all places. But the more he fought, the more the five points of the trap pressed down on his skin without hope for release. He felt a rush of panic at the thought of remaining stuck there, so close to fulfilling his purpose. He raised his right arm, the three coins stacked in his closed fist, and activated the pattern in his sleeve. The pull was so weak at first that he feared it wouldn''t be enough to lift him. He poured more of his viss into the pattern, using his panic as fuel. The trap snapped closed when his hand slipped away from it, the tips scratching his skin. Nothing compared to the pain in his dangling leg as he ascended upwards, out of the golden gloom. He pushed the blindfold up, expecting to see the hole. A far-away structure started to emerge in front of his eyes. The chamber¡¯s gloom didn''t allow him to distinguish the shapes, nor the material they were made of, except for a greenish sheen. A cylinder protruded from the center, just above the tip of the coin pile. Rabam realized he was looking at the extraction system. It was difficult to tear his eyes away, even as his body was being pulled toward the ceiling at an increasingly alarming speed. He didn''t dare slow down, not yet, since his viss might finish at any moment. He finally saw the hole, so small he wondered how he could fit through it. He saw the sword he''d stuck in the opening and raised the other arm to protect his face. He struck the rock ceiling with his chest, while the blade cut the fabric of the tunic at his side. He flayed with his right arm until he had a grip on the pole next to the entrance. His muscles were burning from the climb and the constant pulling they had to sustain, but letting go meant death, so he wiggled his way into the room, heaving himself with his elbows. The sword became unstuck in the process. It slipped past his body and into the chamber below. Rabam finally sat on the floor, legs spread in front of him. He let out a smile and a cough while he wrapped the cut in his side with his blindfold, the sweaty fabric providing a bit of refreshment to the burning pain. He couldn''t believe he was still alive, but he couldn''t bring himself to celebrate. He still needed to get out of the village, and he was in an enormous amount of pain. He still made himself stand, propping the weight of his body against the pole. He wobbled next to the open trapdoor, but the thought of pushing it closed made his arms ache. He forced himself to focus only on the few steps that led to the nearest wall. Then he''d have waited for Aili to act, a matter of a few seconds. He tried not to think about the stairs. He hadn''t yet found the courage to make a single step, when a key turned in the lock and the door started to open. He sighed, remembering the otherwordly softness of the sea of ash against his fingertips. Headless corpse it was, after all. Daira stepped through and closed the door. Rabam was so relieved to see a familiar face and not a group of sentinels that he smiled. She didn''t reciprocate, holding a sword in front of her body instead. Her grip and posture betrayed the fact she wasn¡¯t trained to use one, but she didn¡¯t need to. "Come on," Rabam said, his words coming out as a weak whisper. "You have done nothing,¡± Daira began, ¡°But betraying us again and again. This will stop now.¡± Rabam looked around the room for something to defend himself with. There were just two unconscious sentinels, only one of them still armed but well out of his reach. He swallowed. ¡°How did you know?¡± he asked. She didn''t answer immediately, eyes staring at him with murderous intensity, so he spoke again out of fear: ¡°I deserve to at least know this.¡± ¡°A trinket like that could fool a young scholar, but not me,¡± she said, and made a step forward. "I only needed one glance to know it was a trick. But the abbot didn''t believe me when I told him that the pattern couldn''t be used for anything. None of my colleagues dared to say I was right, because they still think of me as a traitor. They''d rather study a piece of useless garbage for hours than risk being associated with me. And it was all because I helped you once, in good faith.¡± She pointed the sword at him, the arm trembling from the weight. "You betrayed my trust and killed a prior. A mentor. I swear I''ll kill you if I must, to set it right and gain my place back.¡± Rabam couldn''t go anywhere. He knew he was only alive because something was holding her back. He read it in her pained expression, under all that anger. ¡°You''re a good person,¡± he said. ¡°Killing me will destroy you. Believe me, I know.¡± ¡°I can just wait," she said, "And make sure you don''t escape until the others figure out what''s going on. I don''t have to do anything. But I will, if you try to escape." Rabam looked down at his injured leg. He was in pain, depleted of viss and unbelievably tired. He lowered himself with puffs and grunts, his face a grimace, until he was sitting on the floor. ¡°Is my family doing well?¡± Daira looked at him for a long time, clearly deciding whether to keep that information to herself. ¡°For now they are. They''ll only be truly safe once you''re dealt with.¡± Rabam nodded. He opened his sweaty hand, revealing the content: he was almost surprised to see that he was actually holding coins. The center was a gray stone that reminded him of the gods¡¯ statues before they were used as a receptacle for a sphere. In place of the incision shaped like a mountain, they were crisscrossed by thin curving lines. The borders were encased in an iron ring. ¡°What do you have there?¡± Daira said, raising the sword. Rabam showed her. She frowned. "How did you take the coins without using the magnet?¡± ¡°I don''t know. I was lucky, I guess.¡± He used the cut in the side of his tunic to tear a piece away, making sure it was clean of blood. He wrapped the coins and tied the corners together. ¡°You don''t like the abbot and the direction your village is taking, right?" he asked while he worked. ¡°You¡¯d like Aili''s side. The people of Suimer have a council that represents them. Aili listens to them, even when she doesn''t like their decisions.¡± "You are traitors." Rabam tested the knot with a tug. "So are you. The only reason why you''re still hoping to become a prior is that you don''t want to side with me, right? Because I went too far for your liking." ¡°There are many reasons." Rabam raised his eyebrows. ¡°Like?¡± Daira shook her head. Rabam would never know what she was about to say, because the earth started trembling. Her eyes widened in terror as she stepped back, searching for the wall with her free hand. ¡°Aili needs you,¡± Rabam yelled, both to be heard over the rumbling and to make Daira focus on his words, and not on the fact that only a wobbling floor of stone divided them from an endless chasm, "She''s scared and alone. If you want to make an impact, to change the mountain for the best, bring her this.¡± He tossed her the bundle of coins. Daira watched it fall to the ground. It took a few seconds for her to kneel down and reach out to it, using the sword as a prop against the violent shakes. "She''ll also need cloud water," Rabam continued. "You''re a scholar of viss, so I''m sure you can figure that out. But you need to be quick, she can only distract the abbot for a few minutes." Daira mumbled something along the lines of not wanting to do any of that, even if her voice was too low to be heard over the earthquake. ¡°Someone has to, because I can''t," Rabam said. "You won''t have to deal with me anymore, I can promise you that. But you need to run, now.¡± She started walking toward the door, still too hesitant, but at least she''d abandoned her resolution to kill him and was taking the coins with her. He relaxed, content with watching her go. Whatever came next for him, he had done his part. She looked back one last time, standing on the doorway. Rabam mustered one last, hopefully encouraging smile. It became a grimace when something yanked his tunic from behind. He watched in horror as the room flew past him and became a hole, smaller and smaller while he fell down toward the pile of coins. 8.12 - The monster Saia examined the prior''s viss over and over again in the silence that followed her words. She carefully picked the most important question from her thoughts, sharp and unrelenting like snake fangs. "Are you certain? What happened?" "Completely certain. All of our records and the chronicles in Aressea¡¯s library agreed about the presence of a second mountain. Knowing the families, it makes perfect sense that they would hide their treasure in two places. As for the rest, we don''t know what happened. It was as much a surprise for our monks as it is for you now." Saia didn''t investigate further. She knew what must have happened: one of the other mountain¡¯s gods had made a mistake and the mountain had crumbled on the people living there. "This is why we split into two groups," the prior continued. "The monks above want to forget that this whole story ever happened, and make others forget as well. We, on the other hand, want to find out the truth through any means possible." She tapped the weapon softly. "But in order to get our people to the other side of the sea, we need to kill the monster, or tame it like the Arissians wish. Provided it''s actually possible, and so far we haven''t found any evidence either way." Saia forced her mind away from If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. tanhata ship in the sea in front of the mountain. It never happened before." everything. We can¡¯t build a barrier strong enough to stop it. Besides, the strait is barely larger than its body. We think it was the monster itself to create it, and it¡¯s undoubtedly strong enough to do it again. As for its food..." was you, then. I had my suspicions, after seeing how easily you entered here.¡± tanhata clans or by the Ohaten forest, we would." tanhata territories and managed to stay close enough to the coast?" wanted that answer, and a thousand others as well. Still, the abbot was coming straight to the prior¡¯s office, and it was too dangerous to be found there. 8.13 - Retreat if she didn¡¯t hurry, there would be nowhere for them to retreat back to. The boulder was still gaining speed, slipping from her grasp at every bounce. Toward Suimer, and everything Zeles had built with his sacrifice. ______________________ Daira walked fast toward the exit, clutching the three coins and a bottle of cloud water to her chest. She looked conspicuous amid everyone running to safety, and yet she couldn¡¯t bring herself to go faster: she was still stunned by Rabam¡¯s scream as he fell backward into the hole. The magnitude of her choice weighed her down. She knew her days as a prior were over, and even on the off-chance she got reinstated, there was no point in having a government if the abbot was an ever-present, all-powerful being inside the village. If she had to serve a god, she preferred Aili. After all, she was doing everything she had accused her, Saia and Rabam of: betraying the monks, the village, and all they believed in. She expected the abbot to stop her. The enormity of what she was doing seemed too big not to be noticed. She stumbled outside, pressed between two groups of monks. The sentinels were too preoccupied with avoiding a stampede to even acknowledge her. The earthquake had stopped, even if there was still a distant rumbling somewhere. She found a weapon on the ground and grabbed it, holding the coins and bottle awkwardly with the other hand. She charged the wall of dust in the distance, pretending to join the small horde of monks that was following Suimer¡¯s rebels. She covered her face with an arm, in case the wall was more solid than expected. She felt the debris brush her face and every bit of exposed skin, then the cold air of the night. The only light came from two sentinels who had managed to bring a torch with them. They were advancing slowly, observing each tree in case there was a rebel nearby. Daira stopped and looked back toward the village. They were just outside of the abbot¡¯s range, unless he decided to leave for some unfathomable reason. Her disappearance might have been one. She examined the sentinels on her side of the wall of debris: seven in total, slowly growing with the few who were brave enough to cross the barrier. She flexed her hand around the spear: she wasn¡¯t strong enough to win a fight against trained warriors. Not alone, at least: she needed to reach the rebels before the monks did. She reached out for the nearest tree and closed her eyes. There were no traces of viss on the trunk, so she stumbled to the next one, and the next, until she found a fresh trail full of fear. She set off alone, in the dark, with only a speck of viss here and there to guide her. Still, she was proceeding in the right direction, faster than the sentinels, at least until they managed to organize themselves. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. They only managed to get halfway down the mountain before they heard the sentinels again. It was a bigger group, a line of torches coming down fast. They didn¡¯t even bother to hide. ¡°Ideas?¡± Lada asked. ¡°Run,¡± Daira said. ¡°If we¡¯re lucky, they won¡¯t catch us all.¡± They did, even if the rising sun made it easier to spot their movement among the trees. Daira didn¡¯t have any doubts that all the binoculars of the village were trained on them. Words of her betrayal must have already reached the abbot. Shapes appeared in the forest in front of them. Gray tunics, like the ones that were following them. Daira swore under her breath: she had forgotten how many monks were waiting in the villages. If they¡¯d been alerted, there was no hope of escaping the trap that was about to close on their group. The sentinels collapsed as one. Daira blinked a few times before the event actually registered in her tired mind. ¡°Aili!¡± one of the rebels cried out. A couple of them started pointing up. A sphere of light fell into Lada¡¯s waiting hands. ¡°Please hurry, there are a lot of monks around Suimer and they might be planning something.¡± Daira received an additional message that nobody else seemed to hear. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to join you,¡± she said out loud. Muttering wasn¡¯t her style, especially when the conversation at hand could improve the rebel¡¯s opinion of her. ¡°What about Rabam?¡± Daira hesitated. Admitting she was the last person to see him alive didn¡¯t seem like a good idea at that particular moment. ¡°It¡¯s better if we discuss it in a safe place.¡± They marched down the last stretch of forest before Suimer¡¯s walls. The monks in pursuit had realized there was a goddess nearby and had halted far behind. Daira wondered how they were all supposed to enter the village, when Lada and Davem were lifted by an invisible force toward the top of the wall. The rebels took flight one by one, leaving her there. She waited patiently, glancing around for traces of the monks¡¯ presence. Only after a few minutes she began suspecting that Aili had no intention of letting her join the rebels. She realized how foolish she¡¯d been in taking it for granted just because Rabam had told her to go. Aili had wanted to help her once, but she had refused in no uncertain terms. She¡¯d undoubtedly considered it a trick of the monks. She wondered what she could say to convince her. Maybe leading with excuses might set the tone for a productive discussion. But gods could feel lies; she felt plenty of guilt, but wasn¡¯t particularly sorry for anything. The rising sun made her feel too visible. She concluded that speaking was better than saying nothing at all. ¡°The monks might kill me before the cold does,¡± she said. The answer came swiftly enough to surprise her. ¡°The council is deciding whether they want to let you in.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to extract viss from the coins I¡¯ve brought you. I¡¯ve done it multiple times, I could help.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told them that. It¡¯s not my decision, though.¡± ¡°Is there anything I can do to convince you to trust me?¡± ¡°No. I wouldn¡¯t know what the truth is.¡± There was an instant of silence. The wind blew away a handful of dust from the top of the wall, and Daira stepped back to avoid it. ¡°We want to know about Rabam,¡± Aili said. ¡°We were waiting for him.¡± Daira focused on her viss to hide her apprehension. She decided to broach the subject from afar. She told Aili of how she discovered that the object that Rabam was carrying was useless, then looked for him everywhere and only thought of checking the crater room right when he was coming out of it. That he was badly injured, and had asked her to bring the coins to Suimer, telling her that Aili needed her help. ¡°Is he alive now?¡± Aili cut her short. Daira took a deep breath. She relented control over her own viss, let her true emotions shine through. ¡°He fell into the crater.¡± The answer came distorted, as if Aili was struggling to keep her voice under control. ¡°Voluntarily?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t think so.¡± She felt the wind grow under her body. It carried her upward, and she struggled to maintain her calm when it wavered, wondering whether it was a normal occurrence or Aili losing control. Then she was high enough to see Suimer itself, and the crowd of people that had decided of her fate. Despite the circumstances, she put on a smile, the same she¡¯d been trained to use once she¡¯d become an abbot. Unwavering, reassuring, and extremely fake.