Chapter One

Collecting Thoughts

It felt good to be out of the filthy Human city. Several weeks had passed since the execution of the X’shmiran King, Queen, and their minions. Despite our obvious distaste for the creatures, a proper cemetery had been built outside Eormir’s walls and the criminals were afforded a proper burial. With a little nudging, the remaining Humans told us where the rest of the country’s dead had been dumped. The work had been difficult, but eventually we managed to unearth centuries of corpses and moved them all to the new cemetery.

With them gone, our focus had turned to a variety of pursuits. Eormir needed to be rebuilt, we had two centuries of archival records to sort through, and the beasts were an ever-present threat. Furthermore, there was the matter of the Mists and the Sihix Forest.

It was good to finally have time to be alone with my thoughts. I felt as if I hadn’t had the time to mull over our actions against the X’shmirans at all. However, I found myself troubled. After executing so many people in such a brutal manner, I was quite certain that I should have felt some level of disgust or regret.

Instead, I felt relieved. As if a burden had been lifted from my shoulders. Was it because, finally, I had been afforded the opportunity to act out a portion of revenge? Or was it because my role and instincts as Balance told me that those Humans needed to die?

Either way, I found it troubling that their deaths had no adverse effects on me. All that remained to trouble me were Arianna’s memories I had experienced, and her absence from my side whilst I remained in Eormir.

‘And…that, I suppose.’ I glanced up at the churning violet skies.

According to our men and women who were already stationed in Eormir, the locals, and my own experience—the region had never seen clouds before. Even when raining or snowing, the sky remained a solid, featureless violet. Yet, for the past few days, storm-like clouds had dominated the airspace around the floating island. To be safe, we had landed all our airships and turned off all their systems aside from barrier generation.

My destination for the day was the Sihix Forest, but I had chosen to travel above ground so that I might observe the Mists and any beasts that might appear. Thus far, I had taken the pace of a leisurely walk and only reached the edge of the forest surrounding Eormir itself. Before me sprawled the plateau Arianna had once crossed to flee from me.

An amused smile touched my lips as I looked out over the snow-free plateau. How much things had changed since then. Back then I never would have imagined, or dared to hope, that things would turn out as they had. The subtle swaying of the zrintaas hanging from my spear was a constant reminder of my ayraziis—now my fiancée. Both words I never thought I would utter to anyone.

“Where stinky-smellies?” Alala trotted toward me from the south in her larger form. Djialkan was perched on her back but appeared to be lost in thought.

“At such a slow pace I thought I would have come across at least four by now, given our people’s reports,” I murmured, crossing my arms. “The two of you found nothing as well?”

“Dead stinky-smellies.” Alala wrinkled her snout.

“We need a better way to dispose of the corpses.” Djialkan shook his head. “We cannot continue dumping them and the place your soldiers chose is poor. If rain comes, the slant of the earth will flood the city with run-off from the corpses.”

“Then we will have our mages incinerate the corpses.” I sighed in displeasure.

“We should search the western half of the island before making our way to Sihix’s Forest,” Djialkan craned his neck to look toward the plateau’s distant drop-off. “It was once the X’shmiran’s main region for both farming and fishing. Since their ascent into the skies, the wilds beyond the city were abandoned. Arianna and I have rarely made excursions there due to the distance.”

“I assume such trips were made only when Arianna was staying within Sihix’s domain?” I frowned, following Alala and Djialkan across the plateau.

“Aye, but it is arguably the largest region of the island. Our excursions were always hurried.” Djialkan nodded as I caught up and fell into step with them. “We found more beasts in the western reaches of X’shmir than anywhere else. When the Rilzaan Alliance’s expedition found the island, it was in the western forests they were attacked.

“She may not have shown it then, but she expended a great deal of power to get to them as quickly as she did. Had she been slower, the expedition would have been slaughtered and dozens of beasts would have been attracted to the corpses.”

“Dozens…” I grimaced at the thought. Regardless of my fondness for hunting, the concept of so many Dux beasts was not a pleasant thought. “And this is why hiding our auras in X’shmir is so important?”

“There are, of course, beasts in the eastern half,” Djialkan began thoughtfully, “but if they sense magic, ones from the west will come to hunt.”

“Then they should have come to hunt me by now,” I pointed out.

“I believe I may know why they have not.” Djialkan shifted toward me and then pointed at my spear with one of his forelegs. “The beasts of this land are terrified of Sihix’s power, and Sihix himself augmented your weapon. I believe they are avoiding us due to his crystals.”

“That certainly defeats the purpose of coming to hunt.” I sighed and shook my head. “I will keep it out for now. If the western reaches are so heavily populated with beasts, it would be best to discourage them from coming to greet us.”

As we continued across the plateau, I contacted Maric and instructed him to have the beast corpses incinerated immediately. With the sky appearing constantly stormy, there was no telling when it would begin to rain. We couldn’t allow run-off from the corpses to reach the people within the city’s walls, or the livestock. There were too few reliable sources of food in Eormir to let such a thing happen.

By the time we reached the edge of the plateau it was afternoon. I looked out over the landscape below with a muted sense of appreciation. The wilderness was beautiful, as was the lake that took up most of the island. However, even from the plateau, I spotted beasts moving through the forests and along the shoreline of the lake. Shadows beneath the water’s surface indicated even more of the damned creatures.

“There are not usually so many.” Djialkan leapt off Alala’s back and hovered over the precipice, his eyes narrowed. “I do not believe we should venture there with simply the three of us. The Mists still interfere with your senses, do they not?”

“They do.” I pursed my lips and tracked one of the closer beasts as it lumbered through the forest. “Can we afford to wait? There’s no telling when we will be able to bring Arianna here, or if she will even want to. The people of Auvry’e will be of no use either.”

“Are you so eager to hunt that you would charge into their den?” Djialkan snorted at me, his eyes still on the scenery below us. “Deity or not, it could take days for you to slay so many beasts under normal circumstances. Given the Mist’s interference, it is a risk you should not take.”

I released a heavy sigh and followed the fae-dragon’s gaze. Alala whined and sidestepped over to me until she was leaning against my side. Djialkan was right. Dealing with so many beasts in a timely fashion would require extreme measures, such as when Arianna had wiped out large swaths of beasts in Falrrsald. With the Mists dampening my senses, I wasn’t confident that my aim would be accurate.

Furthermore, I had to consider the strain such action would put me under. I had no options for feeding in Eormir. The few brothels had all been disbanded due to forced labor. Without Arianna nearby to help me replenish my power, I had to take care and pace myself.

Needs aside… I missed her desperately. With all I’d discovered, I wasn’t certain how I would react to seeing her again. Her memories weighed heavily on my mind, refusing to let me be even when I attempted to sleep.

Taking a deep breath, I turned away from the precipice and followed it in the direction of the Sihix Forest. There was much I needed to discuss with the inhabitants there before moving forward with Eormir’s reconstruction plans. We wanted to make certain we were on good terms with Sihix’s people, and that meant I needed to coordinate with Corentine in some manner.

“Well then, Djialkan, where do you think the source of the Mists is?” I asked, watching as the fae-dragon perched on Alala’s back once more. “And do you still believe it is linked to the Sihix Forest’s disappearing aether?”

“Corentine’s visions, and her discussions with Sihix, have given us many reasons to believe most of Avrirsa’s current problems are interconnected,” Djialkan answered after a few seconds of contemplative silence. “I do not know how much she can tell us, but I think you will agree once you have heard what she is permitted to say.

“As ever, our primary issue is how to tackle the problems. Until we discover the source, or their ‘boss,’ we cannot be proactive. We can only continue to fix matters as they appear and wait for new problems to take their place.”

I glanced up at the sky, taking in the violent clouds. Djialkan was right. Thus far, and for some time yet, all we could do was react. Until we had more answers, we could do nothing to stop our enemies for good. The thought put a bitter taste in my mouth. I wondered if there was a way to lure their leader out of hiding. Perhaps by slaying every Jivyador we came across—it would certainly be a start.

‘No… That won’t work.’ I shoved my hands into the pockets of my robes, frowning. ‘The mortals and most of deities still believe the Jivyador to be the true Elder Gods. If we began killing them off, we would be “Exiled” and our job would become more difficult. Arianna would be thrown from her home after only just returning to it…’

My heart ached at the thought. Arianna finally had a place that she could call home, a place that accepted and adored her. Yet, a simple decree from the Jivyador could change all of that. Although I still yearned for revenge, I didn’t want to see Arianna ostracized by her people.

“Let your desire become determination,” Djialkan commented, earning him a faint glare. “If you carry out your role as Balance such matters will no longer be an issue. Look for the causes, not just the solutions.”

‘Refocus my efforts…’ I considered it before nodding. “When and where I can, I will. For now, let’s see if we can secure Corentine’s cooperation. Preferably without her forcing me to experience more of Arianna’s past.”

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