When Ares awoke he inhaled the crisp air. He looked out to the open and clear sky. He glanced through the air and then around.

“Well, I didn’t die…” he whispered to himself. “That’s nice.”

Teorn made sure everyone was fed, Yinyin’s face in utter surprise as they ate in the morning.

“Are you okay?” Ares asked.

“Hyip, you feed in morning too?” Yinyin said.

“We always do.”

“Meat is from where, hyip?”

“Me.”

Yinyin looked at Ares peculiarly, her brows raised as she cocked her head aside. She narrowed her eyes, unsure of what to make of his words but she left it at that.

The next day passed by uneventfully as Ares and his company continued along their way. They trekked through the nearby forest, though the forest was filled with eyes in the darkness. Ares remained near Emerli, making sure she was safe. Saykkera remained nearby too, but it seemed as though they were only watched as they passed through. It took two days to travel through the forest until they finally saw the hilly regions up ahead.

Kask remained the point guard. Another day passed and they found themselves a ravine. Ares whistled as he looked beyond to see how far it went, though was then distracted by the echo of his whistle.

“She’s a big girl,” Ares said.

“Do you wish to travel down through the ravine?” Kask asked.

“That sounds like a bad idea. Unfortunately I’m trying to be good…”

“As you wish.”

They followed the length of the ravine and after a few miles it came to a close to one side. Ares spied a small group of tents down at the bottom but couldn’t see anyone about them.

“What kind of people live down there?” Ares asked.

“Those that prefer the shadows,” Kask said.

“Right… let’s not say hello then.”

They camped a fair way away, but during the night Ares heard distant roar. They did not grow closer and they sounded as though they came from nowhere in particular. Ares stayed awake to make sure nothing awful came across their camp.

“What is the matter?” Azzo asked.

“I heard some roars in the night,” Ares said.

“Roars?” Azzo turned to look at Kask who shook his head.

“There are no peoples here,” Kask said. “There should not be.”

“I don’t really know what they were but I heard roaring, that’s for sure. It was a few times in the night, but they stopped pretty quickly.”

Kask looked down at the ground and then began to pat it and scrape across it. “No. This land is clear. Nothing moves through.”

“Well…” Ares looked at Kask and then Azzo. He turned to look at the group that was waiting patiently. “Should we check it out?”

The group moved as silently as they could. Even Yinyin was deathly silent in comparison to usual when she’s giggle and yip. She hung low with Yipyip, who was carefully treading.

Ares’ ears twitched and he stopped, causing the others to stop with him. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He definitely heard something nearby. Splashes. Yipping.

He looked to Yinyin, but it definitely wasn’t her.

Ares pointed forward to where he heard the sounds and then the group continue to stalk forward.

It was then Ares could see through the swathes of leaves ahead. Somehow the branches of the brushes had lined up perfectly to gift him a glimpse of pale blue and red. Both were scaled, though slightly different.

Ares and his company stopped as they had found the source of the sound, which was far more clear.

Sobbing. Ares watched as a few figures with red scales disappeared away from the area. They looked like lizard people, thin and lithe, perhaps half a head smaller than the average beastfolk he had seen, though well defined.

The blue individual was slightly shorter though well built, as though all they had done was lift weights since they were born. Their face was flatter, though their head curved at the top. A… fish person? They looked human, save for their scaled body and their slightly rounded skull that seemed to go up to a smooth point, with webbed hands and feet. They wore open toed sandal boots and held onto a bident.

They continued to sob for some time before finally wiping their face clean from whatever blubber that had covered them. They stood up and then began to stumble away.

Ares and his company followed before finally Ares called out. “Hello.”

The creature froze and then snapped it’s head back towards them. It’s eyes grew wide and then it gasped before turning to run, though their injuries caused them great issues.

Ares walked quickly to keep pace as they fled. “Whoa whoa, relax!” Ares watched as they tripped over and face planted onto the ground. They turned and then scrambled back with their bident in hand.

“S-stay back, smoothflesh!” The creature cried out.

“Who are you calling smoothflesh, sca-” Ares cleared his throat. “Excuse me. I didn’t mean to alarm you. I am King Ares, Master of Waters, Kin of all Riveans.”

The creature froze. “M-Master of Waters?” It asked, it’s eyes wide.

“That’s right. As divined to me by Rivee,” Ares said.

The bident whistled through the air and Ares caught it ahead of him. The creature’s eyes were narrowed in utter rage.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“A human like you! How dare you!” It managed to scramble onto it’s feet and then lunged at Ares. Ares side stepped it though and then slammed the but of the bident’s sheath against the creature’s back and then pinned it onto the ground.

Ares heard some shuffling from around and he threw a look from side to side. He hadn’t noticed the various creatures surrounding them until just that moment, and his behaviour had caused his companions to draw their weapons.

From the shrubbery stepped forward a fish person. An older man who wore scale mail and wielded a much smaller bident in hand as well as a teardrop shaped shield.

“Would you be willing to let my child go?” he asked. “He is but a foolish young man who is harmless.”

Ares pulled the bident up from the boy’s back and then planted the bident onto the ground beside them. “He might be, but I don’t think the rest of you are.”

The older man slowly nodded his head. He had long hair under his helmet Ares noted, long and green-yellow in colour, like grass in autumn.

“I am Stah’O.”

“I am King Ares, Master of Waters, Kin of all Riveans.”

Stah’O’s eyes flashed with rage for a moment before it disappeared. “By whose right are you Master of Waters?”

“It was granted to me by Rivee.”

“The water-shais has offered you the title?”

“They granted me each of those titles. King. Master of Waters. Kin of all Riveans.”

Stah’O stared at Ares as the younger boy had stumbled over towards them.

Stah’O then looked up to Ares’ crown. “I wish to see your crown.”

“Alright,” Ares said. He lifted up the crown and stepped cautiously towards Stah’O.

Stah’O did not touch the crown, instead he examined it carefully from a few inches away. Then he stood tall and slammed his bident into the ground.

“So it has been recognised. Welcome friend of Shais.”

“Oh, thank you.”