The pain of my missing arm was intense, but ‘luckily’ for me, I had been through a lot of pain in the last couple of months I had been on my new world. What might have been completely debilitating on my arrival proved to be something I could push through. Concentrating, I reached into one of the rings on my toes and pulled out a healing pill before stuffing it into my mouth and swallowing. The pills had a multiplicative effect on my Lesser Regeneration, but I did not know if it would fix something as extensive as a lost limb.

I felt somebody kneel beside me as I tried to sit up and find a something to stem the flow of blood and was surprised to find it was Darina, a look of concern on her face.

“Hold still, I’m going to try healing you.”

I felt her hands clamp down around my stump and the wound blazed hot with pain. I let out a strangled grunt before I could get a handle on it. Breathing deep, I watched in fascinated horror as my skin closed over the ragged wound; it was like watching mould grow in time-lapse. It freaked me out much that I had to look away, my stomach roiling slightly.

“Is anybody going to answer me, or do I need to start smashing?”

“In profuse apology, Elder, I am sorry for not answering immediately. We are concerned for our friend.”

“The guy with the missing arm? I can see that being a problem. But again, I don’t suppose you have a phoenix egg with you? The Void-taken peacock of an Elder has been throwing a fit about it, keeps accusing me of having taken the thing, like I want its stupid egg. I don’t even like eggs.”

“In hesitant confirmation, we have in fact come to return the phoenix egg. We... retrieved it from those that stole it, and seek to return it to its parent.”

“Oh. Good! You guys are kind of puny, you’d probably die just from being near the bird, the way it’s been acting. Hand the egg over, I’ll return it. Oh, and by the way, were these people with you? If so, sorry; I smashed them. And what’s that stuff blocking my senses? Is that you? I don’t like it. If it’s you, I’m not sorry and I’ll probably smash you too. After you give me the egg.”

My arm now fully healed, I nodded at the apprentice and smiled in thanks, before climbing unsteadily to my feet. I tried not to think about being down half an arm, hoping that either my ability would heal it in time, or heal it another way.

Looking around, I saw a person standing nearby with his hands on his hips, glaring down at Reff, who had been speaking for the group. The apparent Elder stood taller than even Reff’s brother, at around twenty feet tall with shoulders that had to be at least eight feet wide. His upper chest and face were bare, but the rest of him seemed to be covered in glossy white fur, other than his head which sported a thick and flowing main of wild white hair. His skin was almost black, and his eyes were the roiling grey of storm clouds. Behind him stood an ape that was larger still, standing at least thirty feet. It looked just like a gorilla from back on earth, but scaled up. I knew that a normal gorilla was pound-for-pound much stronger than a human, and I hated to think what this mini-Kong could do if it was in a bad mood.

“Uh, hi... Elder. My name is Hunter and these dead guys are not with us. As for the whole, ‘sensory blocking’ thing, I’m pretty sure that was the guy who just left. With my arm.”

“With regret, you may not have seen, Hunter, but he vanished through another door, along with his strange companion.”

Turning, the white furred Elder roared at the gorilla behind him like rolling thunder.

“Oi, Borr, go see if you can find somebody with a spare arm, I want to smash him. The less small one said he went through a door, so look for a village.”

“I don’t think he means that kind of door, boss.”

“Sorry to interrupt, your Elderness, but Borr is right. Reff means he went to another world.”

The bestial Apex turned his head to me and glared suspiciously.

“How do you know what less-shorty meant? He said you didn’t see.”

I blinked up at the huge being for a second; that had not been the question I had been expecting from him. I had expected him to ask how I understood what they had said, which was a question I only half knew the answer to. Xiournal had given me a bunch of languages – maybe all languages – but this was the first time I had understood what any beast had said.

“Oh. Uhm. We’ve met him before, and he did the same thing? Right?” I looked over at Reff how gave a sharp nod of confirmation.

“Elder Rainmaker, my name is Darina Ever Flowing, and I once dwelled within your territory. They speak the truth – this man stepped through a hole in the air.”

“I know you – you tried to fight a baby, didn’t you? Didn’t you leave with an Apex?”

“You are correct on both counts, Elder Rainmaker. I have returned with my companions as a guide, so we might return the egg.” Darina bowed low, keeping her eyes averted.

“Egg! Right, the peacock. Hand it over, or I’ll smash you and then take it back.”

Not knowing whether my quest would count as complete if I let somebody else resolve it, I thought quickly about what the thundering Elder had said so far, looking for something I could use to convince him to help rather than just refrain from smashing.

“Uh, won’t the phoenix think you really did take the egg, if you show up with it, Elder Rainmaker?” He had said the Phoenix already thought he’d taken it, so it was a natural assumption that his returning of it might serve as a confirmation. And that thought forced me to imagine two Apex level beast people fighting it out, and thought that that might be the cataclysm my quest had mentioned.

“Hmm, you make a good point, Most Puny. Borr, is there anybody who isn’t us that would survive the trip?

“I don’t think so, Boss. We could ask one of the villagers, but I’m not sure they’d be willing to go visit an angry Elder. We could feed this lot some fire-repellent treasures, they seem stupid – uh – willing enough.”

“The armless, most puny one would still get smashed by the Domain. He’s really, really puny. At least the others are just puny.”

"How far is he from being able to survive? We could feet him that Thousand Year Pineapple, it should give him a boost.”

“No, absolutely not. I was going to eat that.”

“It will have no effect on you, Boss. And besides, the tree is in Phoenix territory, so you can get more if you help calm the Elder down.”

The constant, thunderous roaring was starting to hurt my ears, and I could see Riffa surreptitiously covering her ears. As much as it pained me, I was paying pretty close attention – if they had a fruit that could help me complete my Core, I would listen to as much roaring as they could dish out. I’d listen to them sing a cover of Stairway to Heaven if it got me out of the Core stage.

The Elder turned to me with a heavy frown and stared for a few seconds, clearly torn between ending the feud and his mid-day snack.

“Most Puny, you’re pretty puny.” It wasn’t a question, but I nodded anyway; I was used to being considered weak, because realistically, despite my rapid growth I was still actually weak for my apparent age.

“I’ll give you a treasure – my Thousand Year Pineapple – that should help you finish your Core, which will let you survive to give the egg back. But there’s a condition.”

The other’s looked surprised at the Elder’s words, and I caught the apprentice rolling her eyes, but I hardly had time to register any of that, as I was busy trying to stumble over my own tongue accepting.

“Absolutely, whatever you need. I love pineapple. I’m your man.”

“You have to take one of us as your thingy. Your Example.”

“Wait, what? Doesn’t that mean I have to kill one of you? Why would you want that?”

For a moment, the elder stood staring at me, his brows pulled together.

“That doesn’t seem right. I thought you merged with whatever was your Example?”

“In quick interjection, you do not kill a living Exemplar in order to absorb it, merely defeat it. I suppose one could also volunteer, but I have never heard of such a thing happening...”

I thought back to my conversation with Sidona, weeks ago; I could not be certain, but I did not think she had actually ever mentioned killing a thing, so perhaps it was just my own assumption. For his part, Rainmaker lost his frown quickly at Reff’s words.

“There, see.”

The titanic Elder grinned and turned to his attendant to give a big thumbs-up.

“But, even so, why would anybody want that? I mean, I can see the benefit to me, in theory, but why make it a condition?”

“Well, it was actually her idea. She was in a fight as a child and her soul was injured. She’s reached the limit of how strong she can grow. She thinks it’s better to grow stronger as part of something else than to slowly stagnate and die. I said I’d try and find her a human, but the ones I meet tend to be too far along. Or smashed.”

“Can I have some time to think about it? Everyone had said how important this choice is, and I’d like to at least discuss it with my friends.”

“No! You will take this honour or I wish smash you all.”

“Boss...”

“Fine! Five minutes!”

I nodded my thanks to both Rainmaker and Borr before walking off a short distance, absentmindedly rubbing at my arm, joined by my three companions.

“So, what do you guys think? Boosting me all the way up to the Path stage sounds pretty great, not to mention they seem to think I’d die just being around the phoenix Elder unless I improve. They also mentioned something about giving us some fire-resistant treasures, to help withstand the flames. But - and I know this is kind of selfish - doesn’t this just go against every piece of advice I’ve had.”

“In deliberation, in other circumstances, I would advise you to wait and come to a decision naturally. But given the circumstances, if you wish to complete your mission, you may need to accept his offer. Do you think you could complete your Core and find a suitable Exemplar in the time you have remaining?”

I thought about how long it had taken to achieve the fifth of a Core I currently had, but I know that a lot of that had been time spent filling my channels. There was a possibility I could manage it, but was it worth the risk?

“In time? I was not aware of a time limit on this mission, other than preventing the Elder’s rampage. And since when can you understand beasts?” Darina’s voice was questioning, but held no trace of mockery or her usual acerbic tone. Reff was aware of my personal time limits, but I had not yet confided in his sister or the small apprentice. Maybe I should let them in on at least that aspect, I did not have to come clean about everything, after all.

“I have some issues... part of that is I can speak most languages, but there’s also the fact that if I don't return the egg within about a month, I’ll die.”

“That’s ridiculous, none of the Apexes would impose such a punishment!”

“It’s not a limit set by Walker, it’s personal.”

“I see...” Her tone said she was not done enquiring, but was willing to at least let it go for the moment. “In which case, I think you should take his offer; an incompatible Exemplar might limit your future growth, but not as much as death would.”

“In agreement, Darina is correct. Death will delay you far longer than even the most tangled Path. But perhaps this would not be so poor a choice? You use lightning, and so do they, do they not, Darina?”

“That’s right. When they transform, they become stronger and faster, and surrounded by lightning like you do, Hunter. They also gain the ability to become lightning for short bursts.”

That did sound like it would be pretty compatible with my Focus – from what I understood, you could enhance or add to your Focus, I did not think it possible to add wholly unrelated abilities, though as people liked to say, ‘The world is wide, and time is deep.” When I had created my Focus, it had been with the Intent for the lightning to make me faster, and to act as both defence and offense. It sounded like taking a thundering ape as my Exemplar would enhance both of those things. I did have another question, however.

“Do you... they do anything when not transformed?”

“They are very strong, physically. And I believe they can still emit lightning, though to a lesser degree than when transformed.”

“We can!”

I chuckled a little when I head Rainmaker shout over at us; it had not occurred to me that he would possess the extended sensory abilities Apexes had, despite his earlier mention of The Shadow Faced Guy’s obfuscating abilities.

“Well, they definitely seem like a better fit than the other beasts I’ve encountered, and I haven’t found any lightning themed natural treasures or any convenient artifacts either, so... I think I should go for it. Thanks guys.”

My friends all nodded at me, the siblings wearing small smiles and Darina with a thoughtful look on her face. She seemed to have passed the asshole stage, but I knew I would have to see what her inquisitive side was like, now that I seemed to have piqued her interest.

"Before I officially give Elder Rainmaker my decision, I don’t suppose you guys know if it’s possible to regrow my arm? I heal pretty quick, supposedly from most things short of death, but I don’t know if a missing arm is one of those things...”

“I cannot heal such a thing, though I may be able to in the future, once I have fully integrated my own Exemplar. My Master can certainly repair such a thing for you, however.”

“Well, that’s a relief. Oh shit, will I have to re-burn my channels?” I was glad that there was a good chance I could get my arm back, but I was not looking forward to having to burrow through my own flesh again.

“... It is likely.”

“Something to look forward to... Right, well, first thing firs!”

Turning and still rubbing at my arm, I walked over to the two apes.

“You have yourself a deal, El-”

“Yes, yes, I know. You better appreciate the opportunity I’m giving you, Most Puny. Thousand Year Pineapples are really tasty...” The fruit loving potential calamity took a huge breath and let it out in a sigh before gesturing deeper into the jungle.

“This way.”