His third day without mortal danger (and the pumpkins did not count) ended abruptly. They hardly found elthean along the way, and the few they saw were calm but suspicious. He assumed that was when he was in the middle of towns, especially now that his two enemies were acting more frequently. The facts were referred to.

Leith and Rune’s wounds were mainly superficial, but the effort to evolve was something to consider. After all, it was something new and what they were getting used to. They ended up asleep sooner than they realized after the dinner, making Finnian wish to have a camera to immortalize the moment!

“Tell us something else about evolution,” Finnian asked Ead. “Can the elthean be combined as the pumpkins did?”

“It is quite rare for them to merge, but because they were so similar, it was easy for them,” admitted the thoughtful hummingbird.

“They were almost identical!” Aer exclaimed, shaking his head.

“And we could do it too?” Finnian suggested.

“Don’t you still control the normal evolution, and you’re interested in that?” Ead said severely.

“Ey, I’m just asking!” Finnian defended himself, raising both arms in a sign of peace.

“The process of evolution rely on their ability and development, but the process that Signers cause is different. You share your power with them, and that can overflow them if you are not careful. And especially in your case,” Ead said.

He decided not to continue with questions, partly because he knew what answers he would find. Having more than one partner was relevant, but he was not the right person to ask about it. Every time he was told that the answers were within him, his patience ran out like he was engaging in not solving that mystery!

He walked out of the tent, breathing in the fresh night air. He didn’t even hear what they were talking about inside it. What he needed least were more pressure.

“That Frionach is a party pooper when intended to” Aer’s voice came up behind him.

“You tell me” Finnian smiled.

“Don’t get angry. It’s normal to be worried. We are in uncharted territory,” Aer said, sitting next to him on the floor.

On that occasion, they did not have a stunning view at their disposal. As their path crossed two mountains, they had camped outside of it, taking refuge under the rocky mantle to have it behind them. At least they would have some protection if they faced another problem.

“What else do you want to know about Galya?” Aer said.

“Didn’t you want to let me watch it my own eyes?” Finnian asked, resting on the elthean.

“I can always make myself the interesting one, hype you up...” Aer mocked, releasing a cheerful laugh.

They had already explained to him that there appeared elthean eggs, though not how. All the Dorean areas were blessed to have life come from them, and although Aer did not fully understand that concept, it made the eggs appear there in practice.

“Then there is the what we call ‘Union’,” Aer explained. “That is when two elthean create one together. But don’t ask me what it is; I’m never done it!”

“I wasn’t going to,” Finnian said. “Then in Galya they appear eggs like this without more. Do you think I can see them?”

“Yes, of course. Maybe we’re lucky and see some elthean get born,” Aer said enthusiastically.

It would be worth going there, and not just to seek help, but because Aer had faith that it would be what he needed the most.

“I want to ask you one thing,” Aer muttered with a certain timidity. Finnian says nothing, waiting for him to continue talking. “What do you feel when they evolve?”

“I don’t know,” Finnian said, fast and fast. Aer eyes rolled, not wildly convinced with that answer. “I’m serious. It’s so suddenly that I find it hard to focus, though…. “

It was always when they were struggling, however, in those times where everything seemed to get more complicated and threatening. Rune, Leith, and even Aer reach to him, but instead of using words, it was something else.

“You want to fight, and you don’t know-how,” Aer said, to which Finnian nodded.

“And you help me make it possible.”

The night was nice and quiet. The whispers of nature seemed to be their sleeping song. The only light around them was the moons and stars. So much had happened and in a short time. Would the Signers before him have faced the same?

“I usually feel like this in my world, not being able to be myself,” Finnian began to say, speaking calmly. My mother is a journalist, as is my father. Although he previously played football, he quit because of a bad injury, but he wanted to go pro.”

“What has to do with you? “Aer said.

“Expectations,” Finnian said, raising both eyebrows.

Different in Elthea, but still defined by the same word.

“I’m not fast or strong like other boys of my age, and I don’t like sports,” Finnian said. “‘Keep playing, and you’ll get better, son’ or ‘I haven’t raised someone who gives up’ are things he usually tells me. The point is… it always seems that I am weak for not getting what he wants me to do or because I’m different from the others”.

“Being different is not a bad thing. Can you imagine a world where everybody is like the others?” Aer asked.

It would be a boring one, for starters.

“Still, you think why you had been chosen,” Aer said.

“I’m not that special,” Finnian admitted.

“You’re really wrong,” Aer said, putting one of his legs on his shoulder. “There are no more humans like you here. If you came to Elthea, you are.”

“And then there’s what Ead says, right?”

“Let’s sleep that for another moment, do you think?”

Finnian smiled after the words from his partner. Under that beautiful star mantle, he couldn’t watch much around him. The circle of protection, a spell that will warn them if there were threats nearby, will let them rest a little. At least they knew what they were doing, and even if he was taking the role of Savior, three days were not enough to fully understand what to do, right?

“You should rest. You barely did.”

“Same as you,” Finnian said. “I’m tired, but I know it would take my time to fall asleep. Darkness and I are not very good friends lately.”

“It’s never completely dark, haven’t they been told you?” Aer said.

“Because of the stars? “Finnian said, pointing to the sky.

“Yep. In Elthea there are all kinds of forces, and many think that light and darkness are not just opposite.”

“If not ‘good’ and ‘bad’, isn’t it?” Finnian added. “In my world, that happens too.”

“But here, it relies on the elthean, not on its primordial energy,” Aer said. “It is part of the balance of this world that both forces exist.”

“And what is the Lord of Calamity?”

“I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find it sooner or later,” Aer admitted.

“Together,” he finished adding, giving him a couple of affectionate taps on his arm.

Because for that day they couldn’t do much more. After returning to the tent, Rune’s snoring made them smile. They would do well to take advantage of that relief, as sooner or later the storm would catch them again.